New magazine, no calendar

alfadriver said:

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

It worries me that you suggest that you have to make such tough choices like that. 

Worry more when we make the choice to produce something we can't pay for. Like Margie said, the bottom line was we couldn't interest a sponsor. In the past, when we're sold calendars individually, we sold some, but not nearly enough to assume all the risk of funding it entirely ourselves and trying to sell them to recoup our investment. 

And when we say we couldn't interest a sponsor, they weren't telling us "we don't want to work with you" but rather "we want to work with you, just not on calendars." Luckily we're flexible enough to be able to produce other products (like the glovebox books, and the website, and our events, and the live show...) that our partners are interested in, AND that are awesome additional bonuses for the readers. 

In reply to Marjorie Suddard :

Understood, and please know I'm not complaining. 

For reference, how much $ would a sponsor need to contribute to make calendars happen for 2019? 

I’m in my 40s and can’t remember the last time I used a paper calendar. GRM is doing the right thing in my book. Spend the money, time, and mental energy on higher yield stuff. 

EastCoastMojo said:

What aboit a digital version we can print ourselves? I love my GRM calendar and proudly display it at work. 

Yeah, For years they or the classic Motorsport one has been a prominent fixture on the only bit of my office wall availabile to hang something. I'm sad I'll need to replace it with something else,  but I totally get it, and the trackside companion was a great idea. I would never actually write on mine, but used it just about every day as a visual aid to reference dates/days of the week/how far out things are.

Foam hand needs to be blue like a harbor freight glove w/ black printed grease marks.

Actually, I'd pay for a digital version you downloaded and printed yourself if GRM took the time (cost) to lay one out. Obviously a bit late for this year, but maybe the #'s would work that way?

Maybe different sponsors?

I'd have sponsored if I could have. 

Perhaps it's a good item to consider a different form of sponsorship... if the big national sponsors won't pony up, maybe you could regionalize it or localize it and have more sponsors, each of whom was smaller. 

It works for television, and things like the Super Bowl.  Networks make significantly more money selling into local markets at a lower price point, with the ability to sell the same real estate many many times in many different locales. 

Just a thought...

Rats. 

Margie and JG

I understand about the calendar, there are not many of us who use them, apparently. I love mine, but the greater point is that I don’t want you guys to be struggling. 

That your advertisers think we don’t use a calendar is their lost opportunity, I think. Seems as if they don’t know their own customers. 

And thanks for the companion offer. I’ll let someone who can use it have mine. Really, carry one to the track, find a newbie, hand them one on my behalf. I don’t race anymore.  

I have my GRM calendar in the kitchen and I write my blood sugar readings on it every damn day...  :( 

This sounds like a thread opportunity for photo submissions for the Official Unofficial Print it off and Hang It 2018 GRM Calendar.   Submit photos and whatever 12 shots gets the most likes by 12/31 are in.  Of course, there's prolly no reason that readers couldn't just select their favorite 12 from the thread but maybe a one click download would be nice....  

Just a thought. 

Daylan C said:

In reply to Woody :

We're almost 6 years late for 2012 by this point and frankly I'm upset about being lied to. 

But has anything since then felt real?

Our car club makes calendars of club member cars every year.  If there is enough interest I could ask the person who prints them how much it would cost to make some.

Yeah, I'm one of the few that puts one up at work and uses it, plus #becauseracecar photos...  See if the SCCA sends one next Sportscar.

I am sad these are going away. I kept it in my office and used it all the time.   The track day race book thing I got was nice. I will never use it and will gladly send it back or to someone else if they will use it. 

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

I’ve got some sponsor ideas for the foam fingers. Preparation H perhaps?  I don’t know who could help with the turboed puppies though. 

Over the last twenty years or so I'm sure all of us have noticed the fund-raising calenders that started with hunky scantily clad firefighters/footballers etc.  then e/de-volved to scantily clad everybody.  Maybe an unclothed line up of GRM staff would get the advertisers salivating?  Sex did sell until very recently. 

nutherjrfan said:

Over the last twenty years or so I'm sure all of us have noticed the fund-raising calenders that started with hunky scantily clad firefighters/footballers etc.  then e/de-volved to scantily clad everybody.  Maybe an unclothed line up of GRM staff would get the advertisers salivating?  Sex did sell until very recently. 

Hmmmm, yeah!  The GRM version could feature Miatas with no fenders!

stroker said:

This sounds like a thread opportunity for photo submissions for the Official Unofficial Print it off and Hang It 2018 GRM Calendar.   Submit photos and whatever 12 shots gets the most likes by 12/31 are in.  Of course, there's prolly no reason that readers couldn't just select their favorite 12 from the thread but maybe a one click download would be nice....  

Just a thought. 

I might be able to make this happen as there's more than one print shop in my family.  Do you want me to ask about what we'd be looking at for cost?  It'd be a print and mail deal if it were to go through and there would be no download option.  It being a bit of a family run shop, I think the calendars look a bit basic compared to what GRM has put out in the past but if you guys don't mind I'd be happy to shoot an e-mail.  I figure the worst case is we try it for a year and if it doesn't work out then it doesnt work out.

Here's what they put out this year for another local car club:

 

The GRM calender always hangs on the wall in my office at the firehouse.

Frankly, as firefighters, we get a little tired of looking at ourselves on calenders.

Hungary Bill said:

stroker said:

This sounds like a thread opportunity for photo submissions for the Official Unofficial Print it off and Hang It 2018 GRM Calendar.   Submit photos and whatever 12 shots gets the most likes by 12/31 are in.  Of course, there's prolly no reason that readers couldn't just select their favorite 12 from the thread but maybe a one click download would be nice....  

Just a thought. 

I might be able to make this happen as there's more than one print shop in my family.  Do you want me to ask about what we'd be looking at for cost?  It'd be a print and mail deal if it were to go through and there would be no download option.  It being a bit of a family run shop, I think the calendars look a bit basic compared to what GRM has put out in the past but if you guys don't mind I'd be happy to shoot an e-mail.  I figure the worst case is we try it for a year and if it doesn't work out then it doesnt work out.

 

 

 

Is this where we submit our photos for consideration?

SVreX said:

Maybe different sponsors?

I'd have sponsored if I could have. 

Perhaps it's a good item to consider a different form of sponsorship... if the big national sponsors won't pony up, maybe you could regionalize it or localize it and have more sponsors, each of whom was smaller. 

It works for television, and things like the Super Bowl.  Networks make significantly more money selling into local markets at a lower price point, with the ability to sell the same real estate many many times in many different locales. 

Just a thought...

Sorry, SVreX, but since the calendar is a $35,000 buy, it’s just not something that our smaller customers can afford. That’s not a price where we make money, either—that just offsets the costs of production. And unfortunately, regionalizing it wouldn’t help. That would make it more expensive per region than it would cost total. 

Id be in for $100 if it had my birthday called out as a holiday with a picture of my car just on that day.  That x 365 is $36500.  

I, too, will miss the GRM/CMS Calendars.  

My wife goes to Costco and makes her own calendar with pictures of the family - I only have room for one so the family calendar got tossed into the recycling bin.

Seriously - you can make a Costco or Walgreen's calendar at home online and it will be ready for you in 1-2 days.  

https://photo.walgreens.com/store/8x11-12-month-wall-calendar-details?tab=photo_Calendars_SDPU-8x11#!/view

In reply to Tom Suddard :

$35,000?!

I applaud you for your wise business decision. 

Yeah, wow. No idea they cost that much to produce. 

Yeah. There’s printing costs, and there’s paying JG and the rest of the staff to make them, but the main cost was all the trips to the Chinese buffet to pick the 12 cars in it.