Let's Talk Squash - SUSPENDED

bny768 · Prolific Contributor Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 89

First, if I was the marketing guy at Head, I'd drop Ramy.

And second, here's why: as a fan, I would never buy a racquet that 'looks like' the one Ramy is using. I mean the racquet is so so so so different- the stringing pattern is totally different. No fan would buy the 'normal version'.

Third, the Prince 130 is very hard to duplicate because of the patent stringing pattern. Even if Head had the patent or the patent ran out for Prince, everyone would just say Head copied Prince. Might as well just buy Prince then.

And worse of all, Ramy went back twice to use the Prince. It shows he really truly likes the prince better. Fans know this, they're well informed individuals, so its not only a case of poor return on investment, its negative return on your brand. Basically Ramy going back to prince twice is telling the world prince is better. Head would be better off never signing Ramy. Any increase in sales surely is not correlated with Ramy.

Having said all that, Head nor prince had changed the shape of their racquets much for a long time. Tecnifibre looks like coming on strong with different shapes, like blacknight. dunlop basically has one shape also.

airstick is $99 usd, go and get some!

Flash · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:42 am Post subject:

Someone was trying to tell me the other day that even the top players basically only get free equipment in their sponsorship deals with racquet companies - ie are not paid. I find this very hard to believe and the question for me is rather how much (roughly) the top pros would get paid to use a company's equipment. If I was Ramy Ashour and wasn't actually getting paid to switch to a racket I didn't prefer then I simply wouldn't (certainly not for a couple of racquets, shirts and a bag!).
So to get back to the point of this post, does anyone have any idea how much the top pros would be getting to use a particular brand of squash racket?

Pass the Stripe · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:13 am Post subject:

If somewhere in the UK sold the airstick i'd certainly be tempted to see what the fuss is all about... Esp if it was £55-60 or so!

But currently, who wants to pay £100/$200+ for a top of the line Prince racquet twice a year? Obviously plenty of people, perhaps says a fair amount about the average squash demographic, have the disposable income for such goods... I have played with Prince since the CTS Extender days and they have ALWAYS had the "coolest" and "best" racquets. Prince / Benneton / Whoever owns it now knows they have the best brand recognition in the market, so they don't have to care about competitors in the marketplace as they are percieved to be a luxury/Veblen good!

ANYWAY, back to the point... Head are snookered and need to let Ramy go to Prince. End of.

Mad Dog · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:57 am Post subject:

Who makes the airstick that you are talking about?

I saw an ad for Head Rackets in a mag the other day. A picture of Ramy holding one of their rackets that bears no resemblance to the one he actually plays with. Very obviously photo-shopped into the picture.

He must get paid if they are using his image in press ads.

Pass the Stripe · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:44 pm Post subject:

Mad Dog · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:54 pm Post subject:

I thought that was the one you were talking about and knew it had the word 'Air' in the model name, didn't remember anything about a stick although I would probably be better playing with one half the time.

It is a nice racket. I like the weight and balance of it.

I got it off ebay for 17 quid! Very Happy

Adrian19 · Prolific Contributor Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 230

Well, yeah, if he's using another company's product he's probably in trouble... they almost always make you sign a contract. Ramy might be looking at some lawsuits...! Might see Ramy at every tournament now trying to make some money.
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bny768 · Prolific Contributor Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 89

hes using it again in the most recent tournament!