Marketing 101 for Storm Chasers: Reframe What We Do

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike Smith
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Mike Smith

I suggest we switch from describing ourselves as "storm chasers" to "weather tourists and storm reporters." That emphasizes the positive.

I have more of my reasoning at my blog: http://meteorologicalmusings.blogspot.com/2012/04/weather-tourism-and-storm-reporting.html

I also suggest that when we fill up with gas and buy snacks at a convenience store in, say, Larned, Kansas, we let the people behind the counter know we are out watching the weather and are happy to visit their city.
 
Mike,

I highly respect your viewpoints, but I think as far as most people are concerned, perception truly is reality. I think actions speak louder than words, and we should make a better effort to seperate ourselves via better cooperation with EMS/LEO, and letting them know that they can depend on us, rather than have to worry about us.

Just thinking.....

Tim
 
I think the old guard will have a hard time giving up the title, but this certainly has merit to it. I think we've all experienced negative reactions to the title, and it doesn't mean what it did even 5 years ago. Popular culture has molded the title to a definition contrary to what most of us are comfortable with. I've personally been fond of "storm tracker" although this site has an unfair advantage there.

For those that immediately think this is a bad idea - do you care more about the weather, or the image? A title is just an easy for for us to explain to someone else what we do, and doesn't affect who we are and what we're passionate about.

This doesn't exclude taking a more active role in public safety - it's merely acknowledging that storm chasers can have a bad name at times, and that those that choose to label themselves differently have made a conscious and deliberate effort to to make things better.

Definitely an interesting thing to discuss in light of recent media exposure.
 
I think consideration of some sort of ethical behaviors to be cognizant of while chasing has merit, as you've suggested here Mike, since nefarious behavior makes everyone else look bad, even though that's not necessarily the most pious, non-myopic way to view group vs. individual behavior.

Human beings have an inherent tendency to classify, assign individuals into groups, and generalize in-group versus out-group behavior, even based on the actions of a select few individuals, and even when said actions are rarely indicative of a widespread pattern of social behavior. Consequently, that's where we get in to perception becoming congruous with reality, and the chase community is not exempt here.

While I think some of the basic nuances of your Marketing 101 strategy are chocked full of merit, I'm not so sure that ameliorating the terminology "storm chaser" is going to have a significant impact here; therewithal, the vernacular is well-entrenched in modern culture, partially due to media saturation, and, of course, as Romeo Montague would remind us, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
 
Re-think again, please.

Everywhere I go, the locals try to avoid the tourists (unless they are selling something).

I am not on a tour, I am on a mission, but I don't want to be called a missionary. (don't want to be in that "position", haha)

Most reporters are just paparazzi, IMO. I don't want to be that either.

I am an amateur scientist, dammit.

If I were simply a thrill-seeker I'd go jump out of an airplane. Its cheaper and, the free-fall lasts longer than most tornadoes do.
(but the plane ride is often more crowded than the chase routes).

Ok I admit it, I am a thrill seeker, and I do jump out of airplanes, but I do it scientifically (haha) ...

"Hacker" used to be a term for a top notch computer programmer. I used to be so proud when my bosses and professors called me a Hacker.

In the last 20 yrs or so, the media has distorted the term so that now, to most people, "hacker" means "criminal".

Lets hope that the same thing does not happen to the term "storm chaser".

In the mean time, we are storm chasers. That is what we do. No matter what I call myself, people still introduce me as "the tornado chaser". Like Tim Finn said, lets try to behave better, and avoid the congestion, and give advance warnings, and be one of the good guys.

When the reporters complain, maybe instead of bickering, (I am guilty, too), maybe someone could just write a positive "letter to the editor".

Maybe we need to start a PR campaign (??).

-T
 
Before Storm Chasers were people that chased after storms to document and report on them the term "Storm Chaser" was giving to people that would come in after a big storm would hit to hit people up to repair storm damage on the cheap. A lot of times these people were con artist and would take people of there insurance money. It is a name that was rooted in a negitive from the get go. Now that we have it, I think it is our jobs to help clean up the term.
on a side note, my sister and her husband live in Randolph, KS, it was reported that they had grapefruit sized hail, which seem to be a inaccurate report or a very isolated case, any way the next 2 days, they had no less that 10 paplets placed in there door handle from roofing contractors. LOL
 
While I admit I am not part of the old guard and am fairly new to the chasing world, I do have a couple of thoughts.
I think Mike has some very valid thoughts in his blog post but do not agree the term 'chaser' needs to be altered. I do think he does an excellent job at calling out the positives the storm chasing community offers. Focusing on these points when responding to these types of situations is important as I don't believe everyone realizes just how much knowledge/skills/added safety chasers bring to the table. The general public doesn't realize radar isn't a perfect science etc. if we continue to show our efforts have positive results perceptions could change. We may just need to be more vocal about it. Again just my .02
 
I believe that if we did not have reckless, ignorant, thrill seekers who just wanted to imitate what they see on TV, we would not be having this discussion. That being said, I do like the idea of calling ourselves 'nature photographers', because there aren't many chasers out there now without some kind of imaging device. One of my first 'chases' was in 1977, and the very few people I saw watching or photographing the storm, were off the road, quiet, and very focused on the tornado, and not causing any problems. I also like the idea someone had a year or 2 ago, to publicize the person(s) causing havoc. The people that are causing problems know who they are, and responsible chasers should be calling them out on this. I really don't want anything bad to happen to chasers, or the hobby/pastime/profession that we enjoy.
 
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