There is some discussion in the Gulf Coast League's discussion about the importance of influence in your campaign. I beg to differ, and here is my take:

There are a number of different strategies for this game but the biggest question is your campaign - do I choose fundraising or do I choose influence?

Think of it this way: Influence gets you some instant gratification while fundraising sets you up for long term season-after-season success.

Influence gets you first in line for filling up your schedule and league invites. It also gives you an initial play boost when you set up your captions. But you are also helping your competitors make a hefty profit when they sign you onto their show.

Fundraising, on the other hand, takes a much longer time to see the benefits. You have to be working your schedule multiple times a day for a week to get into shows because your influence is only building a show at a time. But it also gets you permanent staff with a built-in score base that you never lose!

I spent 6 seasons at 60% fundraising while hosting 30 ensemble events and have nearly maxed my staff for all ensembles. My staff is fully purchased and levels are around 15-16 for corps, 16-17 for band, 20-21 for guard and 17-18 for drums.

I now start each season season with a score near 70 for Corps, Band and Drums, and near 80 for guard. At this point I will never have a season when I am not in the running for the championship because my staff is built!

Now look at Arachnophobia. Influence levels of 65,000-66,000. Always a pleasure to have in my shows. I would never deny this guy, but competitively he doesn't stand a chance with influence alone. You still need to play the game, and with that much influence he still only starts with a score around 52 points. That's not a championship caliber starting score.

So my advice to new players? Maybe spend a few seasons getting your influence up to around 7,000-8,000 to help you get into shows, but then put the effort into fundraising. Its better for you in the long term.

And no matter what, you still need to play this game hard if you want to (eventually) compete. But at least now I can say, for the most part, that spending a year on the leg work was worth it.

You make some excellent points and for the most part I agree with your views if I were playing alone and not in league play.

If the league as a whole is pushing it's influence points to higher leverls and you can generate between 20,000 and 35,000 for hosting a show ( because everyone is generating large fans who will pay the higher money for tickets) you kill 2 birds with one stone.

However, show dates are a concern. Our group reports many shows in the $20,000 + profit range while one division 1 player for some reason only made 6,000 on their show.

Whats the most money you can generate per season working your fundraising campaign ? I'm guessing ( I suck at math ) in the range of 6,000 to 8,000. That 6 to 8 thousand influence points helps your league members make more money at their shows and they help you make more money plus you get the higher audition ranks

Raising money and avoiding influence gains only helps you, raising influence points helps everyone in your league.

But, thats just MY opinion as well as many members of our league. Only time will tell.

Great discussion. THIS is what I love about games. We can all look at the same options and approach from several different directions.

Thanks for your views !

I originally spent my games as Chris (which we actually briefly talked about after a season where all of our ensembles were in close contention with each other.) I then switched to 15 energy fundraising when I had a smartphone from which I could spend energy when I remembered.

I start significantly lower than Chris now since most of my staff is around 13-17 plus I rarely update my techs (except guard where they're all 20). I did spend 5 skill points towards prominence or whatever it's called and I regret that choice.

But most importantly. Know that you can't win while you're at drum corps. Set that fundraising to 60 and let the summer handle the rest. I am also a proponent of the money method but I needed the earlier successes that having it set to 15 gave me.

A 12-year-old perspective on campaigns from a much younger me. This time around, with a fresh slate, I'm not campaigning at all and I'm curious to see where it takes me.

I agree with fundraising idea and get that staff maxed!!