FLY8MA's latest video, A solid commercial for Bearhawk.

[Bcone1381]

Rob;

I am curious....with your background in promoting and branding, what is an ideal promotional plan? A person sees a Product. Then he must spend time and imagination on the product.....What activates a person to make a decision to spend time on a topic long enough to say "I want one" and then make a life changing time and financial commitment?

I am thinking maybe there should be one star of the show.....In the OP video, the star is bush flying with some STOL competition, but we all want the Patrol to be the star.

I don't youtube much but I like Patey. Enthusiasm, his imagination, his ability to create is what I think makes me desire to go back....I think "Maybe I could do that" helping me to imagine more than what I did before. A positive imagination is called hope. Contrast a Patey video with a video starts with a personal apology.....that is waisted screen time for me, and lowers my desire to stay with it.

[robcaldwell]

There are 2 viewers in this scenario. #1 Is the long time subscriber who is intimately familiar with Jon and his channel(s)(He has two). &… #2 Is the causal passerby who knows nothing about Jon and wants to see some off airport ops.

Viewer #1 (me) has been watching Jon and Stephanie fly her 170 all over the place. We know all about their camper trailer and the 2 dogs. And Jon’s lackluster love for the tiny mutts. Then one day…. “Wait a minute…. What’s that?!?” Is Jon flying a different airplane?…. What is it?

Using an example that someone mentioned above...

One day James Garner (the Star) shows up in a black Camaro Z28. What happened to his gold Pontiac Firebird? The next episode…. Garner is driving the Camaro AGAIN…. Then again and again. Why? Will we ever know?

Wanting to or not, we develop compelling emotional reasons for returning and staying committed to something; anything. We will not dedicate ourselves to inconsistency and unknowns and will quickly lose interest.

In the world of advertising and marketing, branding and awarenesses from more than one source must occur before we become aware > attracted > interested. You know it’s a Bearhawk and I know it’s a Bearhawk. Does anyone else?

When one of the narcissists is flying in their machines, we eventually know what it is (usually 1/2 way through the 1st video) because we are continually told and reminded of it. And then he talks about his buddy flying the same machine. And then we are taken behind the scenes to talk more about his favorite machine. Maybe even a visit to the factory or an interview with a fellow pilot flying the same machine as him, comparing each others skills….

Viewer #2…. Sees airplanes. They may have heard of a Piper Cub. Possibly a Cessna 170. A Bearhawk? No. I met a guy last week that has been in GA for 40+ years. Never heard of a Bearhawk….

Want to know why everyone knows that Steveo1Kinevo flies a TBM 850? Because he starts every video saying, “Today, I will be flying the TBM 850 to Po Dunk, Kansas!”

Again, the effort to create this awareness is ridiculously simple.

[Bacon]

Insert Ron Burgundy kicked back drinking a highlife...

[schu]

When looking at the branding thing there are a couple of ways to look at it:

1. Branding is about how cool or effective or competitive something is. It's like the ford vs dodge vs chevy thing. Constant comparisons and contrasts to boost support in a brand.

2. Showing off the product in an environment where people are having fun, and others wanting to be them.

From perspective #1, I couldn't care less. The bearhawk is just like any other airplane, it has compromises, and in the case of experimental, even compromises in the build. What do others expect Jon to do? Tell the viewers about how short the bearhawk lands? It very obviously doesn't land as short as the experimental cubs. Contrast that with how much more load it can take or how much faster it is? Talk about spring gear vs shock struts? Lycoming vs rotax? Perhaps he can show the difference in fit and finish between the carbon cub and the bearhawk, then contrast that with cost and performance? To what end? What would that solve?

From perspective #2, the bearhawk is as capable of gravel bar hopping as any other light bush plane configured to Alaska standards. When I saw the video I missed Alaska a lot and I'm looking forward to doing all of those things in my bearhawk. I saw a good well rounded setup, but more importantly I saw people having fun, I saw Jon enjoying the airplane, I saw the things you can do in it. I think that's more important, and truthfully it's what the other youtubers are doing. People aren't looking at Trent because he is talking about how his airplane is better or worse than some other airplane they simply want to be him on his adventures... (well, not me, the narcissism bothers me, a kitfox is way too small, and high DA flying is lame compared to AK).

By far the most impressive thing I saw in that video was Andy doing all of that stuff in a pacer with his wife next to him. That's skill.

[Bacon]

That little pacer was doing it with the best of em from the looks of it. I really considered a pacer/colt pa22 clone scratch build before looking at the lsa. Who knows, might also be in my future.

[alaskabearhawk]

I've lived in Alaska a long time and not too far from Seldovia...never heard of the guy until Mark G. told me about it. It takes time to put videos together and I think he did a great job. I didn't make it through the video however because: 1. I live here and 2. I would rather watch paint dry than a STOL competition. The main thing for me is getting together with friends and just enjoy the moment. I have flown over beaches and small strips. You will see PA18s that are tricked out to the max, worth $150K and more, just to park next to a shabby 108-2 with 8:50s. I have always said that the majority of pilots don't have the skill to fly their aircraft to their full potential.

[Russellmn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjgQlb14xWs

[svyolo]

I just watched that video, or at least some of it. So the Patrol outperforms a 170. Well, actually, a 170, with a 175 wing STC, Roberston STOL STC, 180 hp STC, Prop STC, 180 gear STC. Did I miss anything?

I am not sure you can call that a 170 anymore, other than the FAA still says 170 on the registration. So a bone stock Patrol outperforms probably one of the most heavily tricked out and expensive 170's in the world.

[zkelley2]

Yup. Very few 170s are that tricked out. An O-300 170B with a stock wing would have had a very poor showing.

As far as what you can carry it was a 2 seat vs 4 seat so not really apples and apples.

Also you can build a Patrol for what the mods to the 170 cost.

[Pbruce]

$14,000 Trailblazer prop. Twin Garmin G5’s (better, lighter, no vacuum)

I think Mark’s patrol has one too, but that is one tricked-out 170

[robcaldwell]

Just watched this. Best video Jon has produced yet demonstrating the Patrol! Love it!

[schu]

I like how honest Jon is, and I appreciate him trying to educate. Way better than the what's up cowboys.

[schu]

Btw, Zane is working on his latest project as we speak.

One other thing most people miss... the last video, Fools Errand, he wrote and composed all of the music for it.

I also want to mention that movie making is totally different than random youtube content. So much thought goes into telling a story. The main characters aren't the posers that probably had one too many beers, the characters are Sherbert and the brisket. Also, you need lots of interesting B-roll to make it all work. The shots of Willow airport happened a year later on a day that had roughly the same sky, and the taxi scene was shot with a gimbal mounted camera pointed out the side of my 170 after I removed a door.

[svyolo]

The quality of the last video was great. Very professionally done. So much so, I trust the opinion at the end. The opinion at the end is that one person prefers the Patrol because it is more fun to fly, the other likes the "170", and it performs almost as well as the Patrol, and carries a lot more stuff (it doesn't).

To the uneducated, a quick search on 170's shows quite a few for sale for 30-50K. No Patrols for sale, and they sell for a much higher price. That makes me want to go out and buy a 170.

The summary comparison should have been "A 60 year old 170 with >$100k in upgrades, vs the Patrol". Instead it was a 170 vs a Patrol.

I should have just bought a 170 I guess.

[way_up_north]

Leave a thumbs up and a nice comment on his videos..it helps the cause

[Pbruce]

I watched Jon’s last Alaska video today. I thought it was pretty good, his best so far, and the Patrol shows quite well in it.

I do however, find myself wishing that the BH line would be showcased a little bit more directly, overtly, LOUDLY. Without social media, I would not have bought my kit, and if that coverage had been better, I would have bought sooner and with greater confidence. When my kit arrived I was absolutely thrilled at the quality. It’s remarkable how much Mark at Avipro and Mike at Bearhawk Canada under-promised and over-delivered. I wish people knew how good these kits really are. I hear a similar buzz from those who have finished building: Flies even better than expected!

I share in this BH community’s wish to see these extraordinary planes featured, unashamedly compared, and proudly promoted. It’s good for Bob and Mark who brought us these designs and kits, it’s good for us, since we depend on them for support and it’s good for grass-roots aviation.

I’m really hoping that others from the BH community will step forward and fill the content void which obviously exists. Personally, I can’t wait to get my plane done and then venture out beyond where the Kitfoxes and Carbon Cubs won’t follow because they can’t. I don’t know much about video and I’m kind of ugly on camera, but since we are showcasing adventure (not sex) maybe with some effort, maybe even I could produce something entertaining?

I find Rob Caldwell’s videos absolutely riveting and I feel in my bones that there must be a hundred stories out there which are just as compelling: The guy who bought a set of plans and some tube and a few weeks later has a fuselage, the couple who built two patrols, people like Rob who build a show-quality bush plane. There is a hunger for BH content. There must be a hundred “wanna-be’s” for every builder, and some of them will join us if we fill their need to see and learn along with us.

My point is that maybe we need to do more ourselves to meet what seems to be an obvious need.

[500AGL]

I wasn’t going to comment as I didn’t have something to contribute. But here’s my viewpoint as someone that has been in a niche market for 25 years.

Enthusiasm sells by default. Someone having fun also sells because others want to have that much fun too. This is where The Patey’s and Trent Palmer excel. They convey fun; easily and often.

I never considered myself a salesperson, I simply share a love, a passion, and my excitement for something. If the person I’m talking to get’s excited then they will do their own purchasing.

To convey excitement, I don’t use terms like “pretty good”. I say things like Awesome, Cool, Sweet, and Bad-Ass! And I laugh and smile, because I can’t help myself. I love aviation.

I have no interest in watching another interview and test flight. Let’s go fly!!

[Isilverone]

Well gang, I guess I will chime in and take responsibility. I convinced Mark to give Jon the Patrol after meeting him in Alaska. I too was craving more video content and figured the Patrol was Better in Jons hands than sitting in Marks Hangar collecting dust. Jon didn't come asking for it guys and certainly isn't a paid promoter. Yes, we all wish and maybe expected something different than we are seeing but its sure better than nothing. Jon works extremely hard at his craft and I'm thankful guys like him are out there tirelessly promoting aviation so we can all sit here complaining while watching you tube.

[Russellmn]

I've been a subscriber of his since well before he flew the four place, much less got the Patrol. I like his videos, I'd just like to see more of what his latest video was, a comparison between the Patrol and other popular aircraft.