Marketing Concepts
800*600



This is the Academy of the IKV Melota.
This is where you will find useful information on HOW TO to many of the things that we assume are regular processes for our ship.







This page is about the business of running a ship:




This is not a proper thesis, but a collection mostly of emails to others that reveal marketing concepts in action as well as a few paragraphs of more coherent thought.


About the word "marketing". Too many people think Amway when talking of visiting and using the word "marketing". But we are a business. We are in the business of fun and intend to remain an ongoing concern. Part of our success is that we do view the club as the non-profit business that it is. As the saying goes, "Expand or Die". Since we cannot conquer militarily, we must gain recruits by less violent means. This is true marketing. We must sell ourselves as fun guys to be around, the ship as an entity worth joining, and KAG as an organization. We don't sell toothpaste, but we sell concepts that lead to fun. Marketing is to get noticed (in a positive manner) by mundanes. Wearing our Class B Uniform Tshirts. Doing klingon events in public in uniform or Class B's. Handing out business cards with the ship's name and website. Serving others in Class B or full armor such as the C.A.T.S and Borders work. I wear a trifoil, six or five lug belt buckle every day to work. On the train or in the halls at work, mundanes then ask or comment about these. That opens the door for a conversation marketing our ship without forcing myself upon these poor mundanes. Various members have brought in a few recruits wearing their Class B to work and talking to customers.
It IS all about marketing.
Today, Tshirts.
Tomorrow TV.
After that, the world! Muahahahahah!!!!


From our perspective, part of calling the Uniforms, "Uniforms", is the fact that they must be respected for the value that they are. They are a valuable part of our marketing effort. Also, many of our ship's complement are current or ex-military and thus we naturally see Uniform Tshirts as ClassB's to our armored ClassA uniforms. Likewise, they are not "costumes" but "uniforms" to us.
Say it, and you respect it.
Wear a costume and you are playing.
Wear a uniform, and you are representing your ship.
Like the boot camp ritual where recruits put one hand on their M16 and the other on their crotch.
"This is my rifle, and this is my gun. One is for killing, the other for fun."
Not every klin or ship will understand or follow these concepts. But at least you might now understand why we do.


Force Projection is an important part of marketing. Many times there will be potential recruits, or a ship that just does not seem to have the spark. Don't wait for them to come to you. They won't. Go to them! We take our Ceremonies, Bloodwine, and Batleth on the road. We have driven from Dallas to an hour outside of St. Louis. Ok, that expedition failed. We have gone to West Arkansas for a great payoff. We, lastly, and with another big payoff, went to Louisiana.
We have already discussed driving to ______ and having a recruiting drive with uniforms, banners, and batleth practice for the IKV _______ to help them provide a recruiting presence in their own town. We just need the blanks filled in to make it work. Heck, to show up with the manpower and park cars for a local event in ______ for the IKV ______ is still a possibility.
Go out and market klindom to the mundanes. Go out and show a weaker ship that klindom can be really fun. Force Projection is an expensive form of marketing. But it is certainly a fun form of marketing. It causes instant bonds because you actually greet, meet, beat fellow Warriors and share a mug of Bloodwine with them.

As to marketing, one of the reasons behind the pageantry of the Ceremonies, as well as putting out pictures and videos on the Internet and wearing your ClassB uniforms when buying groceries is to attract the attention of others. If you get the attention of a potential recruit, you have the ability to convince them to join your ship. If you hand them a business card pointing to a well stocked website that has real information as opposed to just imaginary ranks and pictures (see Website Commentary), you have given them something to view and entice them to join you. It is paydirt if you can attract the attention of the media who will then further your cause by spreading your word over a wider area at no cost to your club.


Cdr. Salek Sutai
Ship's Brewer
IKV Melota
www.janissaries.net


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The IKV Melota is a non-profit organization supporting Mr. Roddenberry's vision of the future. We find it very distressing that Viacom and Paramount do not share his visions. We recognize all trademarks and copyrights as belonging to their owners and hope that the owners have sense enough to realize that we fans pay the bills. There is no need outside of testosterone and rectal attitudes to pursue fan sites.

Given that this is not a commercial venture, as webmaster, I partake of the KISS principle and shall have a very simple site. Simplicity is beauty, like the curve of the Ba'Leth.