Sabian's New Logo
- Thread starter Lennytoons
- Start date
I did return it, but for the opposite reason: it was sold as new but wasn't really; more like a long-suffering floor model replete with fingerprints all over and a few nicks in the edge. The kicker was six inches of solidifed tape residue on the bottom. Ah, GC...
AzHeat
Platinum Member
Just like Coke Classic's come back. Ahhh...there will be peace in the universe and Sabian's schmuckery will be forgotten!
AzHeat
Platinum Member
Loud as F***! I guess there were no better words to describe their sound!
Tamaefx
Silver Member
This marketing campaign is then as bad as it could be . . .
Being a AA user (full set) : describing them that way is painful.
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TK-421
Senior Member
Everything about this new logo and campaign is painful. I'm just wondering when Sabian will wake up, fire that POS agency and go back to acting rational. They don't necessarily have to go back to their old logo, but they need to drop their new one -- and their new "attitude" -- asap. If they don't, it's entirely possible that in ten years, people will be wondering "what ever happened to Sabian?"
Think it can't happen? I'm sure the people in charge of Slingerland and Rogers thought the same thing as well. Both were at one time on roughly the same level as Gretsch and Ludwig, but they ended up failing in large part due to bad business decisions. I don't see how Sabian's new campaign can be described as anything but a bad business decision. Just how bad remains to be seen.
equipmentdork
Junior Member
I emailed them nine days ago. The email didn't bounce, to my knowledge. Even taking into account the emails they must be getting, this is disappointing. AF, even.
Dan
Dan
BertTheDrummer
Gold Member
I'd actually be pretty surprised if you got a response.
There's a difference between those companies coming and going a few times, and Sabian, who continues to grow in its original form.
In Slingerland's case, it was too-little-too-late against the stronghold that DW, Gretsch, Ludwig and Yamatamapearlapex had on the market. Don't forget, Slingerland was all-Asian for a while - you ordered their gear online from musicyo.com (I think) - before re-emerging twice again as a US company in the '90s and 2000s, the last version as an expensive Keller sheller.
In Rogers' case, the Island Music era wasn't very kind to the name, and then Yamaha USA's budget version was basically the kiss of death to the brand. Reliance had been sitting on the name for about 5 years and is just starting to come on strong with snares and hardware - all excellent BTW - but will that be enough to lure new buyers?
Anyway, Sabian's been there without interruption for 35+ years, and unless they abandon or drastically alter their flagship AA and HH lines, it's doubtful they'll lose any business as a result of the new campaign. But they wouldn't have sought a new direction just to stay where they're at. Growth among younger/future buyers is the goal, and with new ads & attitude in place literally for not even 3 months a this point, those results remain to be seen.
I don't feel left out by the new attitude, I'm pretty sure they didn't have classic drummers in mind, and they really don't need to market to or retain those of us who made up their minds a long time ago. It will be interesting to see how the millennials 'take' to the new ads.
Bermuda
BertTheDrummer
Gold Member
I do agree, Slingerland's issue came when Gibson bought them and Rogers came with Island Music and then later Brook Mays Music.
Gretsch Drums could have easily ended up in the same boat after they were sold to Baldwin, and probably would have had they not been bought back by the Gretsch family before the whole big import drum push happened.
I think Sabian has enough market share they they won't go under because of this.
Winston_Wolf
Platinum Member
The problem isn't that it's trying to attract younger customers (therefore alienating older ones) or that it isn't classy enough or serious enough or whatever else. I think the biggest problem is it comes off as fake. And that new younger target audience can see pandering coming a mile away.
I also doubt all of this is going to kill the company, but I still question their thinking here.
I also doubt all of this is going to kill the company, but I still question their thinking here.
Hit the nail on the head there. It comes off as really fake and corny. It's the hopelessly square guy trying to be hip with the young cats with their rock and/or roll. The narc trying to fit in around the hippies. The CHiPs version of a punk rocker. Etc...
Lee-Bro
Senior Member
I highlighted that part because "younger" is ambiguous and relative. But it's most likely very well defined by Sabian. I'm guessing it's for drummers and drummers-to-be under the age of 15, possibly even 13 or younger.
TK-421
Senior Member
I've given some thought as to what could potentially happen to Sabian due to their new branding and logo. So here's a VERY hypothetical scenario that most likely won't play out, but may not be totally out of the realm of possibility.
2 Months AR (After Rebranding) – As of now, Sabian sales continue to be strong, as new inventory with the new logo has yet to hit dealer shelves, and more mature/experienced drummers snatch up all remaining cymbals with the old logo before they're no longer available.
6 Months AR – New inventory finally begins to take the place of cymbals with the old logo, right as promotional materials with the new "We don't care" attitude hits dealers. Turned off by this new look/attitude, more mature and experienced drummers who were interested in Sabian begin to explore other brands, discovering that they like many of the cymbals from Zildjian, Paiste and Meinl. Meanwhile, younger players, whom the new marketing direction seems to be aimed squarely at, can't afford to spend much on cymbals so they're not buying many. Sales for Sabian begin to falter somewhat.
18 Months AR – Sabian sales have now been down for four straight quarters. Under pressure from outside investors, Guitar Center can't afford to have cymbal lines that aren't selling take up valuable retail space. So GC reduces their Sabian display inventory, cutting them back from one full wall to a half wall. Meanwhile, they've noticed an increase in customer interest in Meinl, due to their hip artist roster and excellent marketing. So they give the newfound wall space over to Meinl in most stores, and begin to promote the brand more heavily.
24 Months AR – With GC's move accelerating Sabian's woes, and with sales of the other Big 3 cymbal makers taking its place, market share erosion begins to accelerate. Sam Ash and other big box retailers have taken notice, and have reduced their Sabian display inventory, accordingly.
36 Months AR – Due to shifting demand, the younger players Sabian courted with its rebranding have gravitated more toward Meinl, while older/more experienced players, who have been completely turned off by the new logo and attitude, have largely abandoned buying new Sabians. Consequently, the market for used Sabians with the old logo explodes, as demand escalates rapidly. Unfortunately for Sabian, the used market does not provide a revenue stream for the company.
48 Months AR – Sabian has now lost half its market share. Independent dealers begin to drop them altogether as the big box retailers cut back their inventories even more.
60 Months AR – With years of declining sales, Sabian is now in serious trouble. But their modern manufacturing facilities and artist roster makes them ripe for a takeover. Wanting to "bring the family back together", Zildjian purchases 100% of Sabian. At first, they promise to keep Sabian's identity separate, as two distinct product lines. They even return to the old Sabian logo to woo back lost customers. Sabian fans celebrate the return of the old logo, but are weary of Zildjian's ownership stake.
72 Months AR – Despite Sabian's return to prominence and increasing market share, Zildjian decides that it's just too expensive to maintain two distinct brands. So they decide to kill off the Sabian name and use the Canadian factory to increase Zildjian's output. With this move, Zildjian has a dominant position in the market that it uses to its advantage to negotiate better deals with the big box retailers.
90 Months AR – Someone asks "Whatever happened to Sabian?"
Like I said, this is highly speculative. I don't really expect anything like this to happen, but you never know!
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AzHeat
Platinum Member
I saw their new AAX at GC last week. The logo is huge. I liked the AAX. Better than what GC used to carry. I could get over the logo by wiping it off, but won’t have a thing to do with their childish and obnoxious “new” attitude.
I’m not looking for cymbals at the moment. Seriously contemplating it, but I went through that frustration a couple of years ago. If I happen to be in a store like DCP though, I’ll pick up something I like and offload the Sabinas.
Sell cymbals, not a crappy attitude. Way too much of that already.
I’m not looking for cymbals at the moment. Seriously contemplating it, but I went through that frustration a couple of years ago. If I happen to be in a store like DCP though, I’ll pick up something I like and offload the Sabinas.
Sell cymbals, not a crappy attitude. Way too much of that already.
I would say that it's the mature and experienced drummers who won't be affected by the logo and marketing, certainly not enough to actually switch brands (assuming they weren't inclined to do so in the first place.) They will muse about the campaign, but the serious Sabian fans won't make a change as long as the product remains the same. It certainly won't change my mind about the cymbals, and if mine start showing up with the new logo, that's fine. Cymbals (and drums) are about the sound for me, not what the logo looks like.
It's extremely unlikely that the new ads & logo will cost them business, and the real question being will it grow their business. I think the worst that will happen is... nothing. At worst, this will be an exercise in marketing strategy that didn't work out. They'll keep moving forward as they have since they started, and in a few years we - and probably Sabian - will chuckle at all this hoopla.
Bermuda
AzHeat
Platinum Member
Im either super immature - entirely possible, or unconvinced Sabian is the only brand for me - more likely. When I was narrowing down my cymbals, I had Sabian, Zildjians, Meinl, Paiste, Istanbul and Ufip models. All has voices that sounded good to me on YouTube. I decided on Sabian, because I figured if I didn’t like one or two, I could send them in to be reworked.
That all changed with their new attitude. The service is no longer provided, so it wouldn’t be a factor in my decision today. Would have most likely gone with Meinl, Istanbul or Paiste, since Ufip is almost impossible to get in the US. One pass at their campaign and I would have passed on Sabian entirely. Back then, they were selling cymbals!
That all changed with their new attitude. The service is no longer provided, so it wouldn’t be a factor in my decision today. Would have most likely gone with Meinl, Istanbul or Paiste, since Ufip is almost impossible to get in the US. One pass at their campaign and I would have passed on Sabian entirely. Back then, they were selling cymbals!
oldskoolsoul
Silver Member
They still are..!
And, lets also not exaggerate too much about that new campaign..
I mean, ok, maybe they could have used a few different words here and there, but, lets also not act as if their campaign is about promoting to steal bags from vulnerable old grandmas or something like that..