Idea: FTA Booth at the Mall?

[carload]

I was wandering through the local upscale indoor shopping mall, and I saw that the oddball video game booths had returned. Maybe you've seen them stuck in the middle of traffic demoing virtual tennis, zillion-in-one games, all overpriced and all getting sold to folks who had no idea that they wanted one.

I know another technotoy with a big Wow factor that could easily appeal to shoppers like that. Would it make sense for a dealer to rent a booth to sell FTA equipment?

I imagine large signs saying "Satellite TV for $0 per month - Forever!"
I imagine handouts showing all the channels that are up there.
I imagine TVs in every direction playing a variety of representative shows (live if possible, recorded otherwise).
I imagine equipment shamelessly marked up to double their online retail price, or higher. (Probably best to use an obscure brand that would be difficult to price match.)
I imagine lucrative installation contracts, upsells to motorized systems, and lots of profit. Enough to pay the mall's rent?

Dealers, and everybody else, think it would work?

 

[PSB]

What an imagination, I predicted some months ago that it will only be a matter of time until Radio Shack and the like will be selling FTA systems and I have had similar thoughts and Ideas. The local Menards hardware store has a small booth that over the last few years has had both DirecTV and Dish dealerships that have both since pulled out and the booth is now vacant, I was thinking much the same as your idea, I could mount a motorized dish on the roof and market the systems to the captive audience, I am sure it would work and at least keep me busy in sales and installs. Some nice idea's Carload : )

 

[carload]

Hardware store? I'd think that crowd would be do-it-yourselfers.

That's why I'd try the upscale mall. Lots of shoppers with more cash than, uh, lowest-price shopping skills. More opportunity for (cough) appropriately compensated installs.

I'd guess that folks who visit the mall to buy $500 jackets are more likely to buy the $500 FTA system than the folks pricing furnace filters at the hardware store. But I'm just guessing.

And why did I start this in What's Up There? I meant it for the general FTA section.

 

[TopRamen]

GENIUS! PURE GENIUS!

that'd totally work in the big malls in the sacramento metro area... especially would work well on the guys who are all into having all their friends over on sundays, bragging about their home theatre... whose got the bigger one (TV I mean) etc etc etc.

it'd make a ton of dough on the pissing contest crowd alone...

or, what about at football game tailgate parties... just show up, set up, and wow your audience, but don't outright sell that, just go for the "hey, where can i get that" effect.

i dunno.

 

[Wholeshoe]

I have thought about a marketing strategy for FTA.

Not to be the devil's advocate but you can't guarantee that the programming will always be there or won't change transponders. Blind seach helps witht he transponder issue. My grandma with a FTA system would be a disaster. You need to be they type of person who likes it as a hobby not as an all the time tv source for a family. You need the ham radio operators and the cheap engineers who like getting things for nothing and won't be dissapointed if they can't get a certain channel on a certain night. That would be a good target crowd.

I guess it stems from most people not being able to program the time on their vcr. It's not that they aren't smart enough or can't do it, it's that they don't care to figure it out. The instant satfastication state of mind.

I hope I am wrong on this and you guys prove me wrong. We need to take lessons learned from C-Band marketing guys in the 80's.

Wholeshoe