New Poll, Marketing to New Fans
How does one go about creating new fans anyway? (E-BAD)
The rumor is true, I’m 42… oh, and I’m on the “newly created marketing task force” empaneled by Social Sphere and NTRA.
In addition to the folks mentioned by name and age in the press release, fellow TBA-ers Superfecta and Alan are involved as well as Alex Brown with an occasional guest appearance by Derek Simon. I’m not entirely sure if the other folks who don’t have web presences want their names out there so I will just say that there are few other bright and passionate folks on the team (and add their names if they mention it’s ok).
We’ve been asked to “Develop a plan to market the sport to a new generation of fans”.
Over the course of about six weeks, the group will be spending dozens of hours meeting, debating, and challenging each other’s assumptions — the results of which they will present to the industry at the NTRA Marketing Summit.
The emphasis is mine. Debating? Check. Challenging each other’s assumptions? Check. You can’t get a bunch of bloggers in a virtual room without there being some disagreement, although it seems by the press release that this is by design. The good news is (not that there’s any bad news) that there’s no shortage of ideas!
One would think it’s easy to answer that question the way we all hold forth on our blogs, taking about how the industry should do this and the industry should do that. Putting it all together in a cohesive plan (as a group) is another story.
So, dear readers, if the NTRA called you up and said “Hey, tell me how you would create new fans… and guess what, you can’t spend any money on it”, what would you recommend?
Should tracks focus on getting their customer service act together? Should there just generally be better communication with fans? Would the ability to watch and wager on all tracks woo new folks to the siren song of horse racing? Would better TV coverage do the trick? How about stopping early retirement or redesigning NTRA.com… or having more mainstream fantasy horse racing? Would having standing save us? Hey, there’s always marketing (but to who? We’ll try to answer that in our next poll!).
Feel free to pontificate, share, hold forth, share photos of burned muffins and/or spout off in the comments (you know, the usual).
In our last poll it was a dead heat, 15/15 for Music Note in Travers vs. The Alabama… ultimately I’m glad she ran in the Alabama but am bummed there will be no rematch with Proud Spell (should this sort of thing be in the poll too?).
As always, thanks for sharing!
Update: many thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts and ideas! Thanks to Equidaily and Paulick for the links as well!
I highly encourage you to go to Self Appointed Fan Committee and submit your ideas and rants there as well. We compile monthly reports and send them directly to the places most appropriate for the idea or rant (NTRA, various tracks, AGSC, TVG, Jockey Club, etc). Who knows what we’ll end up with as a presentation, but by submitting to SAFC you’re ideas are being sent directly to the folks who could do something about it!
Posted by dana on Aug 20 2008
Filed Under: Proud Spell, Poll, 2008, Industry, Standings, Becoming a Fan, Self Appointed Fan Committee, Internet, TBA, Marketing, Ads, Let Horses Race, TV, NTRA, Mainstream Media, You Can Help, Racing
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In theory, a fan is a supporter of something or someone. Nobody has anyone to follow anymore. It doesn’t matter how good the biscotti are at the track if nobody shows up.
We need horses to stick around and develop a following. Winning the Kentucky Derby and then going off to stud is just not going to get anyone excited. Start with the familiar; everyone knows the KY Derby. Have the winner stick around for more than 3 races and maybe get some momentum going.
Once there is a foundation of comfort and familiarity with one horse, one can begin to introduce the nuances of the game. Most of the ideas are capital and good for the long run but if we can’t stem the tide of apathy that is drowning this game then it doesn’t really matter what the hell we do.
Market the bloody horse…god luck finding one that sticks around.
*should be good luck…sloppy, sorry.
Well, when it comes to early retirement of our stars I think we need god luck too, and I’m not even religious!
Early retirement is my personal biggest issue and I agree that to sustain fans you HAVE to give them stars they can connect and hold on to (here’s one little post about this issue from last year).
While our charge is getting new fans in the door, there will definitely be discussion about retention and those bigger issues that help ensure a large attrition rate.
agree with Winston–Fans love stars-look at the other sports-we love (or love to root against) LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Brett Favre, Jeff Gordon etc. We need to create stars in this game-Standings will absolutely help (it works for NASCAR) as will creation of a “season” , give importance to the meets, put better emphasis on the graded stakes (outside of the Triple Crown). If you have that, and make the track a more fan friendly place I think you can grab some young eyes to the sport.
Just a thought from my end of the track
Vegas, TBA-by!
Exciting news! Bran muffins on me!
I voted for stopping early retirement as well, but being able to watch/wager all tracks would be a close second. Having to wait until the video is posted somewhere and then trying to watch it without the outcome being spoiled is a constant battle. It’s great that so many races are posted on NTRA’s website, but trying to watch one of them without seeing who won in big bold text somewhere is close to impossible.
how about admitting that the wagering dollar is what drives the big truck, and take care of the customers like the casinos have been doing for years?
I couldn’t disagree more with the whole ’stars’ thing. I would imagine most folks here, myself included, got the ‘bug’ for the game by going to a track and seeing racing LIVE.
I think the emphasis should be on getting people to the track. This obviously means that tracks have to do a better job with customer service and make it a more inviting atmosphere (better food, free forms, 2 dollar vouchers for everyone!).
Attracting young people should be easy - YOU CAN BRING YOUR OWN BEER. One of the few places left in the northeast where public outdoor drinking is encouraged is at racetracks. Young people like to drink in groups and I have feeling they like to gamble too.
If you get people to the track they will create their own stars. Some of you beyond the northeast may not know who Joey P is but here at MTH he’s a HUGE star. Yes, this because he continues to race, but you will not see him on any BC sprint list but he’s got a following whenever he saddles up in NJ.
For me it’s a back to the basics sort of proposition….get people to the track, take care of them the way you’d be taken care of at AC or Vegas and they WILL COME BACK and create their own favorites. Once people come back and start to learn about the WHOLE picture of what horse racing encompasses they will stay. But it all starts with customer service - an area that is severally lacking.
get rid of the synthetic tracks. this year’s BC is going to suck because of them ( i hope i’m wrong). then again, maybe the steroid trainers will just use the track as an excuse as to why they are not coming out west.
you also can’t have a succesful industry when everyone is in eachother’s pockets. this industry is a huge mess. it’s so complex and out of control it’s discouraging.
disheartened racing fan.
Racing isn’t essentially a sport. It’s a gamble. If you keep trying to market it as a sport you’re doomed for continuing failure. So…lower takeout, reform IRS rules and promote the gamble. To reach the masses implement a Kentucky Derby lottery.
Agree with Kyle, Lower takeout,promote gambling
(Can’t do one without the other,can’t promote 25% takeout.)
Less big paydays for three yr old races and more for older horses.
Stop the Synthetic experiment.Quality dirt tracks with no emphasis on times.
You are missing something on the poll. Lower track takeouts or give bigger rebates, which will create the odd winner, which will in turn create a buzz that the game can be beaten, which will lead to new players.
This is a sport that you gamble on.
Just think where football would be if you could gamble on the NFL games or baseball outside of Las Vegas.
We are a very unique sport with a hugh advantage from other sports. Is it possible to advertise that?
i’m with o crunk and kyle.
don’t know how many times over the years i’ve floored people who wonder why i’d rather go to belmont than a ballgame with the bring your own beer point (not the only reason of course).
besides beer people like money. no fan ever left a ballpark with more cash than they came in with.
Great stuff people! What’s interesting is that that in our work group we’re basically having the same split - market it as a sport vs. market gambling.
My own personal belief, which may or not be reflected in the final presentation, is that there’s room for everyone… gamblers, kids who wanna drink beer outside (or adults for that matter), people who love horses but don’t care about wagering, regular old sports fans and people who just want to try something new for the afternoon. They’re all out there… we just need to figure out how to get them to get the to the track.
You’ll note in my comment about early retirement/stars that I said it’s needed to *sustain* fans, not so much to get them in the door. As a matter of fact, much of what’s in the poll is more about sustaining fans than luring new ones… except for maybe lowering take out and marketing to folks who do other types of gambling. I’m all for that, but I don’t think that industry should only market to one narrow group of folks, be they known gamblers, sports fans or college kids who need somewhere regular to drink beer outside.
So here’s a question… we’re talking creating NEW fans, HOW and where do you market that?
Also, at Cangamble’s request I added lower take out… sorry if some of you ‘lower the take out’ folks already voted on something else!
Marketing the horse doesn’t do anything. Because everyone wants to market the super horse. I want horses to run and not win every time. The triple crown was fun for 2 years in a row 6 different races and 6 different winners. it’s just like the olympics they hyped up michael phels and then he wins 8 gold medals, if he would have won 2, they would have went on the the next story, the losers have fans as well. People want to have competitive races like the travers and pacific classic. where the favorites are 4-1 and nobody is sure who is going to win.
Congrats on this Dana, and all the rest. It is well deserved and no doubt you will do some great work.
Well done,
Dean
Thanks Dean… fingers crossed!!
As a long time racing fan and parent of 4 children between the ages of 20-30, it’s my observation that the generation of our children and the generations coming behind them won’t do anything without the use of a computer. They are not about to learn handicapping or play races by poring over racing forms like we did 30 years ago. In their minds, if the computer can’t be used for whatever the activity may be, from correspondence to bill paying or doing taxes, the activity is not “awesome” enough to warrant their interest or time.
Having missed the mass market transition to television, racing is now also missing the mass market trend to computers. Racing needs to emulate the recent poker success story by making it possible for the younger generation to use their PCs to 1) learn handicapping, 2) practice handicapping, and 3) compete with other players on-line in head to head mode for accumulation of real winnings in virtual on-line handicapping contests using real current or historical races.
Racing may think it has modernized by virtue of the many web sites that have repackaged the same old racing data in new wrappers or made it possible to place bets on-line. That’s not enough. Here’s a few other concrete suggestions:
1) conduct a handicapping software development contest with a substantial prize to the person who creates the best handicapping software as judged by their peers, sort of in a reality TV mode.
2) promote the usage of the good handicapping software already on the market and subsidize further development of that software.
3) establish a college level on-line distance learning handicapping curriculum that can result in various levels of certifications that entitle the players to special perks from the data providers or the tracks.
4) stop charging for past performance data that is used in handicapping software programs. The practice of racing data vendors giving away free software for usage with the data they charge for shows how the shoe is on the wrong foot. It should be the other way around. Let the software developers make a decent buck on their creativity, give the fans the data they need to use the software at no cost.
Some of what I am referring to can be seen at my site shown above.
Good luck.
Dave
Well, that’s a no-brainer. Free PP’s. There’s a John McCain like disconnect between the powers that be in horse racing and those who understand the possibilities of open-source development. The gate keepers aren’t going to like that. At my level of playing it would cost me more to acquire all that data than I could ever imagine playing on horses in a year. Sort of like buying a 60GB ipod and paying itunes .99 cents track by track to fill the whole ipod up. Do you know anyone who would do that?
Problem is there’s a lot more music lovers. Anybody want to start a p2p network for horse players? LOL
Okay…anyway to get people to the track…
The WHERE & HOW:
At baseball games and golf courses, on the back of lotto tickets.
You go to a baseball game and the back of the ticket stub has a buy one get one free sub from subway….make it a free admission, free program and mystery voucher to the track.
At golf courses, you buy a county card or a country club membership….you get free admission the whole year and 50 bones to kick around at the track.
I say baseball and golf because people who enjoy these two sports are the most likely to enjoy a day at the track. Slow paced, outside, arcane numbers & math. Lots of players / horses. Just the way each game unfolds is similar.
For the gambler…your local bodega or 7-11 has turned into a gambling station, ever notice that? All day people are in the shop scratching off losers. If they win, they go right back for more. How about on the back of those - free admission, free something.
That’s probably what no one here wants to hear, but that is how I would roll.
All this is meaningless without customer service though.
I hope this “newly created marketing task force” isn’t an empty suit like Barack Obama.
I am amazed that the lower takeout was not on your initial list.
(yes, I see the list up)
Do you think the New fan won’t be interested in the takeout?
>>>So here’s a question… we’re talking creating NEW fans, HOW and where do you market that?
While your at It you might ask, HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM?
Horse racing will need to make radical changes in how the sport is presented if it wants to flourish 30 years from now. How do you attract the 30 and under generations? The race track of the future will have to run three days per week. Fri, Sat and Sun. Card 15 races per day with races running 15 minutes apart so you offer 4 races per hour. Without this fundamental change, horse racing will not survive because who do we expect to handicap and bet on the races? The age group in question will not sit around for 1 hr for 3.5 minutes of action. The format is a good place to start.
Invision a grandstand with an Imax theater that allows the audience to view horse racing in a totally different dimension. Think fantasy football and it’s popularity, then think of the potential that horse racing has to offer. How about jockey cams that allow you to view the race from the back of the horse you bet on. Standing in line and exchanging paper money for a paper ticket must also change. Wagering and viewing the races must be offered through a cell phone. How about a 1.00 dollar bet and the possibilty of the big score like 1 million dollars to anyone who can pick the exact order of finish in a selected race of the day with a full field? No different than what Las Vegas has done with the Keno games all these years. No one has ever hit the jack pot but people still play the game. Eliminate the 300-1 gambling tax and let players keep their winnings. Place a .10 cent tax on each ticket sold since thier are far more losing tickets than winners. The tax revenue may actually end up being more. Why punish the few winners? I’m a long time horse player in my forties and love many traditions of the game but I also realize that big changes must occur if the greatest sport for fan participation is to survive. I have many more suggestions but will hold off for now.
Take some lessons from down under, HK, and Japan.
Get rid of dirt/synthetic and make it a global game. Short meets all on turf.
Allow bookmakers in.
Other pro sports have one thing in common, a legitimate ruling body. Now some would say the casual/new fan couldn’t care less. However, I fell that if the NTRA could become horse racing’s MLB/NBA and with a commissioner the sport would now have a legitimate organization. The sport has the appearance of a bunch of different track/trainers/owners/states doing whatever they want. One ruling organization that drives the future of the sport, not an association which tries to promote. Horse racing needs organization and needs help moving forward. The current structure does not facilitate that. We spend as much time debating what is wrong with the sport as we do talking about horses or even the thought of bringing new fans to the game. Fix the sport before we try to attract new fans. If we draw them in new fans may become disenchanted with the problems of the sport that long time fans endure due to their love for the sport. We need to create a legitimate sport to create a legitimate fan base. Public perception of our sport needs to be fixed before we can seriously attract fans.
Easy fixes:
- live racing needs to be more accessible, if you have dish you can watch this, cable maybe nothing and direct tv this. We cannot lose ESPN coverage, they are the ultimate self promoter of their programming and we gain a lot by being on their channel.
- at the end of the day this is a gambling sport, who want to go to the track to gamble while being taken to the cleaners for a few beers and a hot dog.
Wow, again… great stuff everyone!
Steve - I agree that Obama is an empty suit but since our task force is a group effort, made up of people who share different opinions on how to approach this topic, I can make no guarantees that our efforts won’t strike some people as such. And, even if we do put together the world’s best presentation, there’s no guarantee that the NTRA will act on any of it + you can bet that there will be folks who say “what idiots, they should have [fill in the blank]”.
I never said new fans wouldn’t be interested in take out, it was an honest mistake to leave it out, one I corrected. I think potential new fans who already understand the concept of take out could be marketed to with lower take out, but that’s not everyone.
And, you’ll be happy to know that I share your opinion on keeping fans. I’ve said it from day one over there… it doesn’t matter how many people you get in the door if you can’t keep them.
I don’t think there are any shortage of ideas on how to keep them once you get them, which is why I didn’t ask (and you’ll notice most of the comments are more about retention than acquisition). I personally would like to see the focus of the task force be on fan retention and think starting with trying to get folks in the door is backwards, but I’m not calling the shots.
Dana
One more thing before I head to the Spa today, did you see that MLB and ESPN signed a new digital rights agreement that allows the sports network to put baseball content on video game consoles, I Pods, etc, XBox, ESPN360.com, and ESPN Mobile TV, streaming of the Home Run derby, etc……Horse racing needs to do this.
Dana,
Congrats! The working model is already out there…Vegas. The casinos place their customers first. Even though the average person is being fleeced, they walk out knowing they had a good experience… The “comp” is the answer to the retention of the everyday player. What is so hard about providing the customer with a hot dog and a fountain soda after spending a $100 dollars at the track? The total wholesale expense is $1.25 (if that). People like to feel that they are receiving something for free. Take woman for example. When Estee Lauder gives a “free gift” with $200 or more in purchases….woman usually spend $200 to get the $10 dollar gift. It’s all an illusion but it works. As it is now, the New York Racing Association has a rewards program, however to reap the rewards it is almost unattainable by the average fan. Thousands of $$$$ must be spent to receive any “comp” which alienates and ignores 98% of their constituents who are dollar bettors. Who in turn are actually the back bone of the industry. The casinos took care of granny at the slots…it’s time for the tracks to do the same.
Robert - excellent, thanks and have a great weekend at the Spa!
Jason - thanks! I agree… as I agree with much of what’s been posted here.
Great comments all! I agree with much of what I read, thank you all.
Keeping horses in the game for more than a few months would be cool. Once the steroids are out, it becomes likelier they can stay healthy. Can you imagine if even half of last year’s amazing 3 year olds were still racing, smarter and better, like Curlin?
We have some great older horses, but sometimes they stand in their stalls counting peppermints while the tracks card 2 - 3 year old races.
The eternal-fan-favorite Evening Attire stands in his stall at Saratoga this morning, eating and enjoying the day. His connections approach NYRA to card a race, all they ask is a mile and a quarter on the dirt. The 10 year old champion is fit, happy and ready to run. He waits … for the most prestigious meet in the US to schedule a race for horses who are old enough to remember Britney Spears!
It’s so counter-intuitive to not listen to the fans when the handle and the admissions are down. How ’bout this - an ‘over and under’ day when an older star runs - AARP members bring in an under 21 year old for free, Grandparent and grandchild. Having fun by marketing the geezer idea!