edcayton Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I am really concerned about the Hornby advertisement on the back cover of the latest BRM. It is the sort of thing I would expect to see in the Sunday supplements nearing Christmas, and not in a magazine aimed at enthusiasts who know at least a little about the subject. "Designed by Hornby's experts in the UK". Bah! It also concerns me that the ad is a direct sale from Hornby. Where will this leave the model shops when purchasers wish to buy accessories? It seems to be accepted that Hornby stepped up into the fine scale model league with the release of the Merchant Navy some years ago. and they have produced some excellent models since, but I do wonder if they have decided to pull out of this market altogether now in the light of the supply problems etc. I hope I am wrong. Any thoughts? Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hilux5972 Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 8, 2014 What is the ad for? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 A Tornado+Pullmans train pack, plus the Railroad Tornado loco. I kind of assumed (yes, I know) that people on here would have the mag. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 7013 Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 8, 2014 Received an email from Hornby offering 'Roadshow' wagons 2014, 2011,2003. (tooling almost as old as the prototype wagon) at a penny shy of £15 each. Good to see they are clearing the backlog! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TrevorP1 Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 8, 2014 I see what you mean... Oh dear. Reminds me of the adverts you saw in the 1960s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRealistic Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I'm not enlightened enough to understand why demand for the wagons is expected to be 'very high'? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 A Tornado+Pullmans train pack, plus the Railroad Tornado loco. I kind of assumed (yes, I know) that people on here would have the mag... It was famously written 'no one ever went broke under-estimating the taste of the (American) public' and I reckon the same is true in the UK. The model railway market is still broad. All the way from 'looks vaguely train like' to shooting for perfection. As an indicator of where the centre of gravity of the market resides, I believe set track outsells all other track options combined. Having had a look at the pics and diagram of the K1 it seems to me that Hornby have a fair idea of what the modeller sector of their customer base is after. But that doesn't preclude them from also going after other sectors such as collector, casual purchaser, train set, general nostalgia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 8, 2014 The July BRM had the Hornby Sentinel in their ad on the back page, the Tornado ad has appeared elsewhere and I presume (dangerous) that they just happen to run a series of ads for whatever the marketeers/sales folk/agency want to bring to the attention of the market at a particular time. Some of these things (e.g the Sentinel) get a good welcome in the hobby and Tornado has obviously sold to someone, or rather to lots & lots of someones. So I think it's basically the whim of the ads dept or whoever; and the good thing about it is that they are at least putting advertising revenue into the modelling magazines. To answers Ed's question I think Hornby have long had difficulty in sorting out their markets and I don't know if they're getting anywhere nearer a sort out of them thus far under the new regime - we might have half an answer to that around next March with the Interim Report? But Ed's question poses another one - who is BRM aimed at? (and the same question may be asked of all the other 'mainstream' model railway mags as well I believe - the only immediate answer to that which comes to my mind is 'trying to gain market share from the Railway Modeller' although in the case of Hornby Magazine the answer might be slightly different and amount to 'trying to gain market share from Model Rail'). And on that happy note I shall retire to my morning study of RMweb Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 8, 2014 I'm not enlightened enough to understand why demand for the wagons is expected to be 'very high'? Bulk purchases by Ebay Carpet Baggers mostly. Some of the Hornby Roadshow wagons and indeed anything allegedly limited edition have been hoovered up in bulk and then put up on Ebay with insane mark ups. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 8, 2014 I think this advert is also in Model Rail this month. The Tornado and three older style Pullmans and also Tornado itself in Apple Green. It did strike me at the time I wonder why they are advertising this here, Model Rail Mag buyers being reasonably savvy I really didn't think this was the target audience for these items . But it also struck me that here is Hornby, who downplays its attempts at selling direct , doing exactly that selling direct to public. I suspect there are a few model railway shop proprietors starved of goods who are looking at this with dismay! That said it maybe they have an overstock on Tornado , have satisfied all model railway shop demand,and are liquidating their surplus stock. It is odd , its the sort of advert I'd expect in the back of the Daily Mail/Express not BRM/Model Rail and possibly other mags. Wasn't overly impressed with style either Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I am going to turn Devil's Advocate here, and suggest that Hornby do know their market. It will be the people who make them the most profit. That is for them to know and us to speculate on (probably incorrectly). I might also suggest that their market is *not* going to be the people who take every opportunity to slag them off on a daily basis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 8, 2014 I think Ed raises a pertinent point, essentially that Hornby are advertising train set items(toy market) in model rail magazines(modellers market) I have no doubt that they recognise they make more profit selling direct (but apparently advertising in the wrong places). I don't think anyone is slagging them off, but neither are we prepared to assume Hornby are all knowing and always right. If they were this would be a fantastically profitable company, and we modellers would be excited and overwhelmed by the volume ,quality and quantity of new releases. Clearly this isn't the case. Also there has been a change in management and marketing , so I think the concern is , are they getting it correct Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 8, 2014 I think Ed raises a pertinent point, essentially that Hornby are advertising train set items(toy market) in model rail magazines(modellers market) I have no doubt that they recognise they make more profit selling direct (but apparently advertising in the wrong places). I don't think anyone is slagging them off, but neither are we prepared to assume Hornby are all knowing and always right. If they were this would be a fantastically profitable company, and we modellers would be excited and overwhelmed by the volume ,quality and quantity of new releases. Clearly this isn't the case. Also there has been a change in management and marketing , so I think the concern is , are they getting it correct Good point but I think the new management are still 'working their way in' and sorting their policy for the future. Some of the latter is settled, for this year at any rate, but let's give them time to find their feet before we wonder if they are getting it right. As for advertising in the model railway mags - why not, they might have a better idea of who reads them on a casual basis than we do and provided those readers are in the right socio economic group that is what matters when it comes to sales. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Getting advertisement artwork made up is an expensive exercise and it is quite normal for the same ad to appear across a number of different titles. Market-specific artwork would be very much more expensive, requiring different designs for several different titles. I have not known major advertisers, including Hornby, to do anything specific in the past. On some occasions, due to differing deadlines, the same artwork may be spread across more than one month. It may be that there was nothing more appropriate to advertise this month, and the contract with the magazines will require that the space is filled by Hornby regardless. I find the original poster's singling out of the UK design team at Hornby in what seems be be a scornful manner, to be unnecessary and unfair. I would invite him to read - with an open mind - my editorial comment in the August 2014 Model Rail. CHRIS LEIGH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I am really concerned about the Hornby advertisement on the back cover of the latest BRM. It is the sort of thing I would expect to see in the Sunday supplements nearing Christmas, and not in a magazine aimed at enthusiasts who know at least a little about the subject. "Designed by Hornby's experts in the UK". Bah! It also concerns me that the ad is a direct sale from Hornby. Where will this leave the model shops when purchasers wish to buy accessories? It seems to be accepted that Hornby stepped up into the fine scale model league with the release of the Merchant Navy some years ago. and they have produced some excellent models since, but I do wonder if they have decided to pull out of this market altogether now in the light of the supply problems etc. I hope I am wrong. Any thoughts? Ed Judging by some of the examples at the recent press day I would say they are still in the fine scale league. Doesn't stop them having a reserve team in another league . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Its the "Train Pack" version of the set (R1169), minus the oval of track, short siding and analogue controller. R1169 was "listed" at about £149 and offered at the bargain price of £99 by Argos late last year. Given that readers of the model railway press won't want a third radius oval, etc, an offering of the loco and three coaches isn't completely out of place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Do Hornby need to advertise to 'modellers' ? No, why? Because we know what products they have because we read the reviews, look on the internet, pour over wish lists and froth to amazing levels just before the annual 'next years releases' announcement. These sorts of advert are aimed at the occasional modeller, the one who holds Hornby in very high regard and will happily buy a red box item when they see one they like. Hornby have had cost & supply problems, they haven't lost the plot completely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Parker Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 "Designed by Hornby's experts in the UK". Bah! Having met the design team a few weeks ago, I can confim that they are based in the UK, specifically, Margate. Everyone who met them was very impressed with their expertise. Thus, the advert is correct. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I would read that ad comment between the lines as "We're not just importing US-Chinese sweat-shop approximate impressions of what GB trains look like". (like the other guys do). This is quality, and accurate, GB stuff you can shown your knowledgeable neighbor and not look foolish. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted July 8, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 8, 2014 Where Hornby usually seem to come unstuck is in professing to produce two different ranges and persistently turning out models that fall between them. That is not an issue with the Train Set mentioned, which is clearly targeted though I initially thought the advert was misdirected, too. However, maybe modeller Grandads on decent pensions are better placed these days to supply little Johnnie's trains than Dads on frozen pay scales. Maybe Hornby are a bit more savvy than some of us give them credit for....... John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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