Are we targeting an 18 to 30 demographic Rick? And why if we are? Isn't the colour of everyone's money that they can invest in the industry the same? And which demographic has the greatest discretionary spending power? I doubt it's the 18 to 30 group. We promote the equality of women in harness racing, ( having been involved in horse sports all my life I actually take the equality of women in equestrian sport for granted) but why are we not promoting that unlike a lot of other sports age is not a barrier to becoming involved in harness racing.
Certainly the involvement of 18 to 30 year olds is welcome but maybe we would have more success in attracting them if we reconnect with and rekindle the passion of an earlier generation that have become disconnected from the trots and they then share their rekindled passion with the next generation rather then going in "cold" with the younger generation.
We probably need to be targeting (both each with its own campaign)
As Dot says - some over 50's have more disposable income than they did earlier in their life
However how many people adopt a new sport as an interest late in life? More likely they rekindle an old interest I think
So many of us were introduced to the sport of harness racing as teenagers
OOPS I put it in the wrong thread
Last edited by Messenger; 08-23-2018 at 01:37 AM.
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Hi Rick, it's great that you've heard the advertising. We'll take that as a positive, given we're just at the start of the campaign. We will be utilising a range of channels and forms of media to promote this event.
Hi Dot, we've conducted market research and have developed key themes for the target audience. Re-engaging with people who used to love the trots is definitely part of that. The ID is the pinnacle of our sport and we want people to be a part of it.
The Skybox will soon be sold out, if it's not already, so people should think about buying their tickets for the Toolern Room, etc., as the interest is only going to increase from here!
Cheers, David
Dot ,for the long term survival of our sport I think we need young people to get involved and stay involved all their lives. I'm not just looking at short term turnover boosts, I'm looking at getting new owners , trainers, breeders and drivers. Of course I would welcome people of any age. The campaign in my opinion seems concentrated on getting people to bet, not get involved. Most of the people that I know in the industry got involved as children, usually through family or friends involvement. I think our horses are our biggest attraction and asset , betting is just a bye product that provides the money to keep it going. I think we should be pushing the sport to young people. They should be pushing the pony trots in schools and trying to show children how good working with horses can be. I'm not suggesting encouraging kids to gambol, I'm suggesting getting them acquainted with horses and horsemanship .
About 20 years ago administration turned their focus almost solely to turnover, they didn't care if nobody turned up at the track to watch the races. The result was increased turnover but decreased attendances. The latter resulted in very few new people getting involved with owning, breeding, training etc.
Our main metro track is built to host about 1500 people, so if new people turn up as a result of the advertising and good exciting fields we will end up with 5000+ at Melton this Saturday night. The new people will struggle to see the races properly, struggle to get a bet on, struggle to get food and drinks and if it rains they will get drenched. They are hardly going to want to come back next week.
I would love to go myself this week but I wont because it will be overcrowded and uncomfortable. I will watch from home and bet via the mobile app, just as the administrators want people to do.
I know David will say I'm so negative. Don't get me wrong, I love this sport, I have had many of the best times of my life through this sport and have met so many great people and characters through my involvement in harness racing. I spend around half my income on owning, training and breeding horses. Most of the current administrators were not around during the good years and are not horse people so it's hard to believe they can fix the issues facing the industry.
Don't die wondering !
With a few scratchings the average field size at Bendigo on a Friday night was 6.2
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Hi Kevin,
We agree 100% the kids are our future.
With that in mind our ID18 night has a huge focus on trying to attract families that may not ever had a reason to step foot on a trotting track before. The Inter gives us that platform thanks to Government Support.
The Club has also been working on an Art Activation Project with the City of Ballarat, Visit Ballarat, Delacombe Town Centre (DTC), representatives from local primary schools featuring Ballarat’s world renown street artist Travis Price (to give you an idea of Travis's reach he is currently designing a tour t-shirt for Pearl Jam)
The art activation named “Harnessing Creativity” includes an Art Competition, a month-long art display at DTC and artwork reincarnated into a Pop Art Horse display on heat night.
At this stage we have over 2,500 students participating and we hope the number keeps growing. Every child who enters the competition will receive a free family pass and a voucher to utilise in our Plate Up Ballarat Food Truck Area. The first 250 kids will also receive a free mini plaster horse painting kit for free.
Good stuff Paul and all the Ballarat team
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Terang tonight, Swan Hill tomorrow night and Cranbourne on Thursday night
ALL only have 6 races and mostly small fields
Greg Sugars was a Champion harness racing person
Point in red is very interesting. Can we begin an after school program where kids learn to drive the ponies?Originally Posted by gutwagon
Point in blue is too - a guy sitting on his couch at home watching on a screen is a far harder to sell to buy into a horse than the one at the track.
the idea is fine but why does EVERYTHING always have to have a harness play on words??
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