Dixie finally reveals target demographic

[geniusMoment 0]

 

This is from her interview with gov. officials. Just read it all the way through, hilarious.

 

 

 

 

Q Can I just go back to the demographics? One of your

sources of revenue are toys?

 

A Uh-huh.

 

Q Can you describe what kind of?

 

A It is mostly collectibles, action figures. And I

don't know if any of the men around this table admit to

having any. But it is really -- it is more in the

collectible side where guys keep the toys and they keep them

in their boxes and then they increase in value and things

such as that. They're not as much, you know, play toys as

more collectible items.

 

Q And who is the target audience for those items?

 

A Well, collectibles are a much older demographic. I

mean, they are probably -- I mean, they are more grown men.

I mean, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s even. Have you seen the

40-Year-Old Virgin with that man that has all the toys? I mean, that is kind of -- that's our audience.

 

 

 

 

 

TNA's target audience is 40-year-old virgins.

 

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

TNA IS THE PLACE TO BE!

[Art Sandusky 0]

Well, she's kinda right.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

Great goguly-moguly

[2GOLD 0]

 

For the toys, why not? Is she supposed to say the toys are for kids? She's not saying the target audience for the show is for guys like the dude in 40 year old virgin but the toys are. Not seeing the hilarity in the least. Vince would probably say the same thing, only he's so out of touch he would say they are aimed at guys like Tom Hanks in BIG.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

As somebody who owns a Shark Boy figure in an autographed package, I feel like a complete fucking loser right about now.

[DerangedHermit 0]

As somebody who owns a Shark Boy figure in an autographed package, I feel like a complete fucking loser right about now.

 

At least you didn't admit your crush on Cute Kip.

[luke-o 0]

I don't quite see the funny side to this.

 

Bearing in mind that we on this board tune into TNA week in week out (well some of us) and none of us are under 20 (as far as I know). And from what I can gather from when I first started posting here, some of us also collect wrestling action figures. I know I do.

[Sideburnious 0]

Who else watches / buys merch from TNA other than 40 year old men (and/or) virgins?

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

I don't quite see the funny side to this.

 

It's because the head of the company basically said that they market their line of action figures to losers. That's why it is funny.

[SamoaRowe 0]

Who else watches / buys merch from TNA other than 40 year old men (and/or) virgins?

 

Judging from their Youtube fanbase, mainly a whole bunch of virgins.

 

 

 

I own a few TNA toys, but I've actually opened them... how sad does that make me?

[luke-o 0]

I hope not too sad, I opened mine.

[Jingus 0]

While this is hilarious, a key point has been missed. The entire reason she made that dumbass statement was obviously just to say that TNA isn't marketing to children. After all, here you've got a show filled with bloody violence and Russo swearing and sex crap, which is rather at odds with the fact that they're selling toy dolls of the characters. Wrestling has come under fire repeatedly in the past for having kids as part of their target demographics. Dixie's brainfart was just an incredibly clumsy and ill-considered way of claiming that they're not trying to peddle this smut to kids.

[LuckyLopez 0]

She simply called upon a popular and well known character that was an exaggerated extreme of a very real demographic. And really, the Virgin's friends thought his toys were cool too. That's just 18-35 year old men or whatever. And that's wrestling's demographic. And that's who they've been selling these action figures/collectibles to forever. Not just TNA or wrestling but all those MacFarlane and Palisades figures.

 

Its mildly comical that she called on such a character to try and describe the audience but isn't it also pretty obvious? Wrestling fans often are comic fans and buy action figures, spend a ton on DVDs, internet folks, etc. Geeks. Geeks are certainly a group TNA and WWE WANT to get a ton of money from as we/they tend to spend lots on stupid stuff like video games and action figures and DVDs.

 

Of course a kid who watches TNA would theoretically want the toys too, but I think its probably safe to assume that in 2009 this VERY lucrative business of collectibles and action figures is largely marketed to adults. After all, the place I know where to look for them a decade ago wasn't the toy store as much as it was the comic book store, sports collectible store, or video game store.

[Jingus 0]

Sure, there are plenty of nerds out there who still buy toys. But more than kids who buy toys? I haven't been in a Toys R Us or Kaybee in many years, but I imagine you'd find TNA's dolls in there, rather than in Tower Records or Hot Topic or whatever.

 

...if they even have a real merchandise distribution deal at all, come to think of it. Do retailers sell TNA's action figures and other merchandise? (Not counting the dvds and video game, of course.) Are they even available in stores, or do you have to order them from their website or something like that?

[Jericholic82 0]

LOL poor Dixie. She was in a no win situation with that question. Now she knows what I felt at Lockdown 08 when she jokingly told me to stop texting and watch the show as she made rounds in the aisles thanking all of us for coming . I didn't realize who was talking to me and ignored her handshake attempt, then clumsily apologized when I recognized her.

 

So TNA's Target auidence was Nathaniel from Wrestlecrap Radio? Too bad the new Trolla Tron killed him.

 

Come on there has to be one of the 12 listeners posting here along with me.

[claydude14 0]

I've seen TNA figures in Wal-Mart before, but not recently.

[garfieldsnose 0]

Why would you apologize to Dixie Carter? She should apologize to you.

[Jingus 0]

It was a running joke how in the Nashville days, Dixie would inevitably be sitting in the front row, beer in hand, loudly screaming for her prettyboy favorites. Maybe she was just trying to help provide a sense of energy for her portion for the live crowd, I dunno, but it always seemed like a rather odd, markish, and improper way for the CEO of the company to behave in public. (Yeah, you can of course counter that with any of a thousand "but remember when Vince did Horrible Tasteless Thing #24601, isn't that worse?", but he's presented as part of the show and the storylines while Dixie just sat in the crowd and got crunk.)

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Huh, her full name is "Dixie Carter Salinas".

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Sure, there are plenty of nerds out there who still buy toys. But more than kids who buy toys? I haven't been in a Toys R Us or Kaybee in many years, but I imagine you'd find TNA's dolls in there, rather than in Tower Records or Hot Topic or whatever.

 

...if they even have a real merchandise distribution deal at all, come to think of it. Do retailers sell TNA's action figures and other merchandise? (Not counting the dvds and video game, of course.) Are they even available in stores, or do you have to order them from their website or something like that?

Yeah, they are. I haven't seen any TNA figure made after '05 there (including plenty of Killings and Raven figures), but I always see TNA stuff at Toys R Us and Kaybee. I'll go in if I'm in the area just to check out what the brats are getting today and whether my shit was better or not 15 years ago.

[Boner Kawanger 0]

I'd go to the Impact Zone if there were more drunk cougars in the audience but as it stands I've yet to give TNA one red cent, including the time when they offered a one-cent pay per view

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Do they really serve alcohol at Diznee World, or was Dixie given special treatment?

[Steviekick 0]

Do they really serve alcohol at Diznee World, or was Dixie given special treatment?

 

Jingus was talking about when they used to run their shows at the Fair Grounds in TN.

 

I went to an Impact taping at Universal, and I'm pretty sure they had alcohol available.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

I went to an Impact taping at Universal, and I'm pretty sure they had alcohol available.

 

I don't even want to know how much they would charge for even a domestic beer.

[Maztinho 0]

I went to an Impact taping at Universal, and I'm pretty sure they had alcohol available.

 

I don't even want to know how much they would charge for even a domestic beer.

 

Soda is like 5 bucks right? So Beers gotta be a kidney or something.

[Steviekick 0]

I went to an Impact taping at Universal, and I'm pretty sure they had alcohol available.

 

I don't even want to know how much they would charge for even a domestic beer.

 

Soda is like 5 bucks right? So Beers gotta be a kidney or something.

 

I think the most I paid for soda that vacation was like $3, so I'm guessing a beer would be somewhere in the $5-7 range.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Probably in a plastic cup.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

I went to an Impact taping at Universal, and I'm pretty sure they had alcohol available.

 

I don't even want to know how much they would charge for even a domestic beer.

 

Soda is like 5 bucks right? So Beers gotta be a kidney or something.

 

*Rimshot*

[luke-o 0]

Sure, there are plenty of nerds out there who still buy toys. But more than kids who buy toys? I haven't been in a Toys R Us or Kaybee in many years, but I imagine you'd find TNA's dolls in there, rather than in Tower Records or Hot Topic or whatever.

 

...if they even have a real merchandise distribution deal at all, come to think of it. Do retailers sell TNA's action figures and other merchandise? (Not counting the dvds and video game, of course.) Are they even available in stores, or do you have to order them from their website or something like that?

 

We did sell them at the toy shop where I work. Then took them off the shelves because they didn't sell well (we had the Lockdown twin packs and Series 7 and 8 of the figures - which include Joe, Sting and Angle). We put them back on when we had nothing else to sell. They did sell, but we sold them at a reduced price and I think parents bought them because they were cheap rather than buying them for who they were.