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[SchmoeNoMo']

I want to read your suggestions, but at the same time, I'm also very interested in your complaints or your perspectives on the marketing problems that women's bodybuilding faces right now.

[Juggernaut]

This is an informal marketing survey I take on from time to time regarding the image of womens bodybuilding. I am in my forties no longer a teen and I've been following the sport for twenty years or more. Now what about the demographic concerning young people who are in their twenties or are teens? I am interested to know what are their vews regarding lifting weights and building up their muscles in the shape and form of a bodybuilder? I want to know what they think?

So if I get the chance say if I am at Starbucks, the beach, a Cafe or a High School football game or the mall food court I ask groups of teens or young people just what they think of womens bodybuilding and female bodybuilders? Well what kind of responses do you think I get?

These days they are overwhelmingly negative and that is in my view very unfortunate and needs to change. If you go back in time to the Eighties when I was in my twenties the attitudes were a whole lot different. Sure then there were people that thought bodybuilding was disgusting and used negativity as a view but there were many more positives.

I think the future of bodybuilding depends on whether young people will accept it, whether TV will broadcast it and whether or not judges, sponsors and promoters will require attractive feminine women to be the champions that young people can admire and look up to or whether these folks will accept the status quo which is in a direction that I feel is not doing anybody but a few serious drug abusers any good at all?

[TheNew]

The niche is too small, the events need to hold more substance whereas it can actually qualify as a sporting event in order to attract more followers. Probably more importantly is that America will not accept a sport where doping is the norm. So, things need to change before it's really marketable.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but even as a fan of FBBs I don't like the in contest look, it just doesn't look natural for females. I wish there was a way we could see them compete athletically in order to show off their strength and hot physiques.

Not trying to down anyone, I have a lot of respect for FBBs, but that's just my real opinion.

[SchmoeNoMo']

TheNew - Would you prefer a transition from 'bodybuilding competitions' to 'bodybuilding exhibitions'? 

[TheNew]

I think something that combines a strongwomans comp with a BB comp would be great. That way it gives purpose to the physiques. Again, I'm not saying it doesn't have a purpose now, but you have to put yourself in the shoes of the more casual observer.

I still see strong man comps on the TV, so that segment has to be marketable. If they could somehow tie the two in I think they would have a great product on their hands that more people would be interested in.

If that's even possible, I don't know. But if you look at females that run track, box, or even compete in MMA now, a lot of these females are very muscled up, but America is more accepting to it because it's an actual sporting event. They see the direct reason behind the muscle.

[TheNew]

some other minor things that need to change; don't call it a Bodybuilding contest, it doesn't sound feminine, I'd change the name to a Physique Pageant and incorporate things whereas fans can get to know the competitors a little better. Interview sessions, etc. Not something that will factor into the contest, but just a nice added addition.

[Juggernaut]

The niche is too small, the events need to hold more substance whereas it can actually qualify as a sporting event in order to attract more followers. Probably more importantly is that America will not accept a sport where doping is the norm. So, things need to change before it's really marketable.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but even as a fan of FBBs I don't like the in contest look, it just doesn't look natural for females. I wish there was a way we could see them compete athletically in order to show off their strength and hot physiques.

Not trying to down anyone, I have a lot of respect for FBBs, but that's just my real opinion.

The New. I do not feel you are in the minority because I agree with you. I know a lot more people do. Young people have got to be able to admire and emulate the Olympia champions, the contenders, the competitors and not disdain them. Femininity should be the key to winning womens bodybuilding shows because it will be critical to marketing the sport to sponsors, future competitors, broadcast TV, Magazines and toward creating a larger fanbase

[Lingster]

Female bodybuilding is dead.  It was suicide.

[ibarramedia]

Female Bodybuilding is dead. Long live Female Bodybuilding. LOL.

[Lingster]

Female Bodybuilding is dead. Long live Female Bodybuilding. LOL.

"Long live figure," anyway.

[jasons805]

Female Bodybuilding is dead. Long live Female Bodybuilding. LOL.

"Long live figure," anyway.

So we can bore people to death?

[SchmoeNoMo']

So we can bore people to death?

They've learned to successfully use 'drama' to sell interest in figure contests:

http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=168721.0

Even without Wauggie in the mix, this year's Figure Olympia generated a lot of chatter. 

I'm fine with discussing figure here. 

[diamondj]

I think something that combines a strongwomans comp with a BB comp would be great. That way it gives purpose to the physiques. Again, I'm not saying it doesn't have a purpose now, but you have to put yourself in the shoes of the more casual observer.

I still see strong man comps on the TV, so that segment has to be marketable. If they could somehow tie the two in I think they would have a great product on their hands that more people would be interested in.

If that's even possible, I don't know. But if you look at females that run track, box, or even compete in MMA now, a lot of these females are very muscled up, but America is more accepting to it because it's an actual sporting event. They see the direct reason behind the muscle.

I'm in agreement here as well. I think i mentioned something similar a couple of weeks ago saying that there should be "Fitness Weekends" carrying a whole scope of activities (male and Female).

I suppose that another problem is that some of the "products", some of the competitors use can, and i stress CAN, have an abverse effect on a womans face, this must surely put women off even getting involved in the "Scene". To the casual observer there must be a point where someone thinks that they will end up with a face that has some manly characteristics simply if they get involved with lifting.

The question always arrises concerning female bodybuilding at comp' time, but to be honest i don't really like the look of Men at competition time either , yes i can concede that it is impressive and i can applaud their commitment to what they do but from a sheer asthetic point of view it's not that attractive and in all honesty i don't know too many women who like it either. From an advertising perspective i have always thought this was a fundermental problem. What most people see is a Bodybuilder at comp' time, Male and female, they never see them off season carrying plenty off muscle and some extra body fat. I was reading Flex one day when a friend of mine saw a pic of Lee Priest and his response was "that is f***ing vile, look at all the vains and stuff", my response "yes, but he only looks like that when he is competing", there also happened to be a pic of Lee off season and still looking quite good (not one of Lee's "eat anything that moves" off seasons either), my friends further respone, "Oh, he looks alright there, he's still massive but...he looks alright". My friend basically thought that "bodybuilders" always looked like they do at comp' time , but when he realised they didn't he took a differnet view of the whole thing.

I suppose to the general public the problem stems form the fact that they assume that a muscular body should be an attractive one but to a bodybuilder the whole thing is not about being attractive, it's about being the most ripped, or the biggest on stage and their criteria is set out by the judges and not by what is actually attractive. While these two perspectives are at odds bodybuilding will never gain popularity for either of the sexes; a female friend of mine asked if she could have the poster out of my bodybuilding magazine of Arnie during his Heyday and put it on the inside of her cupboard in her bedroom, (this was a few years ago when we were both in our early twenties), Mr Olympia Arnie she liked, Christ, she fantasised over that poster, but guess what, she never wanted the pic of Ronnie Coleman!!!

[musclesrsexy]

Unfortunately I don't think you can start thinking about marketing bodybuilding until the contests are drug tested.  Even if they use the same lame tests they currently use in the natural bodybuilding contests because they even fool a lot of the posters on this board into believing that they are natural so they will surely fool most of the general public.  I think with all the negative attention on steroids from the media it's the only way forward at this point.

[sithlord]

this question needs to directed to the fbb's themselves.they are the ones who have the greatest stake in this.we dont matter.it is obvious the powers that be dont give a damn what the fans of bodybuilding think.they need to decide whether they want to be taken seriously or are they fine with being a sideshow attraction.

[GERONIMO3000]

The whole idea of marketing FBBs is an interesting one. If you look at the big picture, the real question is how do you market a niche sport in a sports/entertainment world? You can’t and you don’t really need to.

The equivalent is taking a niche sport like Fencing and trying to figure out how to market to the American public. It’s extremely difficult and there’s a natural limitation to how far you can go. Bodybuilding overall is a niche sport and female bodybuilding is essentially a niche within a niche.  The competition look, which I personally like, is never going to have the mass appeal but it doesn’t need that. FBB camp doesn’t need marketing at this point. It needs institutional and financial support. Without that, marketing is not even consideration.

So what we’re really talking about is not marketing per se. The future of female bodybuilding will depend on the following:
a) The bodybuilding institution giving FBBs the respect and the financial support that they deserve
b) FBBs flexing their financial muscles by pooling their resources (in effect unionizing themselves by creating a safety net)
c) FBBs and sponsors organizing small-venue (low-cost) competitions geared to true fans  (go small in order to sustain the sport)
d) FBBs paying more attention to their core audience instead of trying to win over the institution (Criticize her all you want, but Denise Masino has an approach that works)
e) FBBs being more consistent in showing their offseason AND in-competition look (so that newcomers to the sport understand and appreciate the work they put in and how they look off the stage)

So far, the powers-that-be have focused on hyping so-called "feminine" figure competitors over FBBs but that’s the equivalent of the NHL/FOX creating the “FoxTrax” hockey puck (historians look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FoxTrax), a cute gimmick that never really did other thing, other than let NHL die a slow death. The institution has some work to do but so does the FBB camp. 

…GERONIMO

[lort888]

I want to read your suggestions,

If you're serious, just reply to this post, Tre'.  That's all I ask.  Nothing more, nothing less.

[Chubs]

Lort, I think Tre meant "yore" suggestions, as in how can we bring back FBB popularity, like the days of yore.

[joenutbag]

I agree with everything Geronimo said. Before trying to market to a broader audience, they should concentrate first on making the niche market viable. It starts with having an organization that is committed to making the women's division work, not just as a sideline to the men's division.

There is a small, loyal audience for women's bodybuilding, spread all over the world.  It's the type of niche market that isn't profitable for traditional media, but is perfect for the internet, as proven by the hundreds of shmotography sites.

If the IFBB or contest promoters could figure out how to generate revenue for contests via the internet, I think there could be enough of an audience to make the sport viable, maybe even make contest prize money for the women what it deserves to be.

If that could be achieved, then marketing to a wider audience is next.

[lort888]

Lort, I think Tre meant "yore" suggestions, as in how can we bring back FBB popularity, like the days of yore.

LOL, there's lots I wouldn't mind from back in the days of yore.  For all we know, Tre' could've been talking about "eeyore". 

Actually joenutbag is on to something.  There is definitely interest in fbbs on the Internet, meaning guys "support" female bodybuilding via staying at home (for lack of a more tactful way of putting it).

One need only look at the rise in popularity of webscams.  While I personally think fragmenting webscams (moreso than just ftvideo and herbicepscam) is about as wise as fragmenting the telephone book business (who wants to look at 3 (or more) different phone books just to find a complete list of escort services in town (oops, or any other service or product you're looking for - laff))?

No one that I know.  I'll let a webscam pro like Bernard talk more about webscams (if he so chooses), but there's definitely interest among femuscle admirers, if they can continue hiding behind their keyboard.

Even joenutbag, who lives in STL, has never met HDP, and he's expressed interest in wanting to meet if I recall correctly.

So that's a VERY stark example of the guys out there.  We want our FBBs!  Just as long as we don't have to leave our computers for them.

All we have to figure out is how to harness that immense force-field of energy out there for good and not evil.

[Juggernaut]

You just cannot ever stop marketing womens bodybuilding to young people say 17 years old to 34 years old a little bit more mainstream then what has been done because that is the future of the sport, you know?

[EverydayPeople]

test test test.  That's it.  You need to have tested events in female bodybuilding.  As of now you're marketing to the same people for every show.  The guys who don't mind a women with a little facial scruff.  It's lost me.  I'm not a big fan of figure but I prefer it at this point.

The fan base is so minuscule you could charge $2 for a show and you'd have the same number in attendance.   It's not a legit sport, between the roids and the judging it's tainted and has been for too long.

[Leonard ORTega]

test test test.  That's it.  You need to have tested events in female bodybuilding.  As of now you're marketing to the same people for every show.  The guys who don't mind a women with a little facial scruff.  It's lost me.  I'm not a big fan of figure but I prefer it at this point.

The fan base is so minuscule you could charge $2 for a show and you'd have the same number in attendance.   It's not a legit sport, between the roids and the judging it's tainted and has been for too long.

Pardon me while I clear my throat, ahemMarionJonesahem.  Shoot, still a scratchy throat, ahemBarryBondsahem. 

Okay, last I checked, those 2 competed in "legit sports", no?

[Chubs]

test test test.  That's it.  You need to have tested events in female bodybuilding.  As of now you're marketing to the same people for every show.  The guys who don't mind a women with a little facial scruff.  It's lost me.  I'm not a big fan of figure but I prefer it at this point.

The fan base is so minuscule you could charge $2 for a show and you'd have the same number in attendance.   It's not a legit sport, between the roids and the judging it's tainted and has been for too long.

Good points, Twicedead

[ibarramedia]

Why don't we study the NFL and NBA model.  Arguably the most successful professional sports franchises.  How about Euro league and the English Premiere league(soccer)?  I would normally reccomend boxing but it too has been on the throes but still brings much more revenues as far as prize money.  If i had the means, i would award the contest winners a few million dollars and every contestant will win some $$.   Let us even look at professional pool or bowling.  I think those sports bring in more money than FBB.

   Advertising and promotions should be tied in with some movies and products.  Most people were sick of the over commercialization of Star Wars the Phantom Menace.  But it did bring a lot of revenue and exposure.  Fame or infamy go a long way in our female athletes being recognized instead of this just being a completely underground thing.