British Speedway Promoters Meeting

[Tom Turner]

It's nice to see that some people are interested in what I have to say, and not my age.

 

It might surprise some of you to learn that the average employee age at Facebook is just 26. The average employee age at Google is just 29. To market a product that appeals to the young you must first understand how to appeal to the young, and who better to do that than the young.

 

The internet is one of those rare and funny things where the youth of today actually have far more experience with it than older generations and are much more valuable to big internet organisations.

 

A lot of the websites you use every single day were created and built from scratch by students.

 

Google, eBay, HP, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Yahoo!, Netflix, Paypal, TechCrunch, Electronic Arts, LinkedIn, YouTube and Mozilla Firefox, were all created by young students.

 

I don't have all the answers, but I'm sure I have some of them and I'm not forcing anybody to listen to them. I'm not saying that speedway is anything like these companies, I'm not saying invite a bunch of kids in to take over, I'm not saying spend a fortune on marketing, I'm just saying there is a market out there for speedway just waiting to be taken and spending a little now could reshape the entire future of British speedway.

 

I personally do not believe reducing the quality of the product and taking no measure to counter act the drop in attendances will stabilise it, but actually make it weaker and harder to market further down the line.

 

I think I've said more than enough now so I am going to call it a day with this thread and maybe make the odd post here and there.

[The Doctor...]

It's nice to see that some people are interested in what I have to say, and not my age.

 

It might surprise some of you to learn that the average employee age at Facebook is just 26. The average employee age at Google is just 29. To market a product that appeals to the young you must first understand how to appeal to the young, and who better to do that than the young.

 

The internet is one of those rare and funny things where the youth of today actually have far more experience with it than older generations and are much more valuable to big internet organisations.

I think I've said more than enough now so I am going to call it a day with this thread and maybe make the odd post here and there.

 

Yeh yeh...you already told us the average age of a facebook employee was 26.

 

By the way, did you join in the birmingham website debacle ? No probs if you didn't, just wanted to let you know your website has gone down tonight much like theirs..shame cos i fancied some american fizz in my life..

Edited December 2, 2013 by The Doctor...

[John Leslie]

I'd personally like to see an example of the young chaps' work to see if he can put the, ahem, "fizz" back into the sport...

 

Don't think he's going to give you any examples of his company's wonderful marketing work.

 

I guess he isn't the one to put the fizz back into the sport after all the bigging it up and bluster..... KKS syndrome

[The Doctor...]

 

Don't think he's going to give you any examples of his company's wonderful marketing work.

 

I guess he isn't the one to put the fizz back into the sport after all the bigging it up and bluster..... KKS syndrome

 

That's a shame..i quite fancied a Dr Pepper Vanilla... shame i can't order it.

[Nikko]

I agree but how on earth does having a brilliant website generate such publicity..?!Unless you look at the website you'd know nothing about it - and if you've never heard of the track or even, dare I say it, the sport, why on earth would you look at the website?We can argue the finer points 'til we're blue in the face and of course people will have their own opinions, but I don't think I've personally seen a more crazy suggestion ever on the BSF (and I'm astonished anyone can agree with it tbh!) that it would be cost effective for a Speedway club to pay £300 a week to someone to update a wesite, FB page and Twitter feed!

Derek, sorry but your showing exactly the attitude here, lack of understanding and dinosaur thinking of some of the promoters, another example of why you get on so well with some of them especially the completely out of date and touch co promoter at Kent.

 

In this day and age, a good website IS your best vehicle for publicity and is the essential tool for marketing your club.

 

Yes, no one needs to pay £300 a week to do this but I can tell you as a proven fact that without the website and the marketing campaign taking people to the website before we launched the Kent Kings it would have been a very different story.

 

Traditional, archaic promotion brought nothing to the launch of the Kings, and I mean nothing, new techniques, marketing, social media etc did.

 

Oh, and the website also brought in a very significant revenue in sponsorship, including companies who joined BECAUSE the website was so professional and the high number of hits we could prove.

 

Shame the same couldn't be said for the program.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Nikko

[Humphrey Appleby]

You can get 100,000 new people turn up but if you give them rubbish they wont be back next week.

In fact, you can do more damage by attracting new fans and then serving up rubbish. This is in fact speedway's problem - you get someone to turn up to stand around in a dingy stadium with all the indeterminable delays between heats, with presentation from the 1970s. How many ever come back, and what's more, what do they tell their friends?

 

I actually got into speedway because there was very good coverage in the local paper that I read as I was doing a paper round, so by the time I actually went to a meeting I already knew a fair bit about the sport. I think that's the sort of approach that's needed, although updated for the 21st century using social media and the like.

[500cc]

I actually got into speedway because there was very good coverage in the local paper that I read

100% the reason I became interested in speedway. It was the excellent local newspaper coverage.

 

The modern day equivalent is, as you rightly state, social media.

[The White Knight]

It's nice to see that some people are interested in what I have to say, and not my age.

 

It might surprise some of you to learn that the average employee age at Facebook is just 26. The average employee age at Google is just 29. To market a product that appeals to the young you must first understand how to appeal to the young, and who better to do that than the young.

 

The internet is one of those rare and funny things where the youth of today actually have far more experience with it than older generations and are much more valuable to big internet organisations.

 

A lot of the websites you use every single day were created and built from scratch by students.

 

Google, eBay, HP, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Yahoo!, Netflix, Paypal, TechCrunch, Electronic Arts, LinkedIn, YouTube and Mozilla Firefox, were all created by young students.

 

I don't have all the answers, but I'm sure I have some of them and I'm not forcing anybody to listen to them. I'm not saying that speedway is anything like these companies, I'm not saying invite a bunch of kids in to take over, I'm not saying spend a fortune on marketing, I'm just saying there is a market out there for speedway just waiting to be taken and spending a little now could reshape the entire future of British speedway.

 

I personally do not believe reducing the quality of the product and taking no measure to counter act the drop in attendances will stabilise it, but actually make it weaker and harder to market further down the line.

 

I think I've said more than enough now so I am going to call it a day with this thread and maybe make the odd post here and there.

 

 

I am one of these 'Old Codgers'. I know absolutely nothing about Twitter or Facebook - I have a Facebook Account and I don't know how to work it. I don't really want changes to my Sport - but - I am sensible enough to realise that without some changes Speedway, as we know it will die. I have had over forty years of watching Speedway so some could say I have had my time - and they would be right. It is now time for the younger brigade to bring in their new ideas with New Technology and everything - I honestly believe (albeit reluctantly) that it is the only way that the Sport will survive.

 

Hopefully the youngsters might even decide to get rid of Double Points.

 

Thank you for your contribution Synikalle, you have some good ideas, it a great shame that nobody seems to be listening.

Edited December 2, 2013 by The White Knight

[macinter]

It's nice to see that some people are interested in what I have to say, and not my age.

 

It might surprise some of you to learn that the average employee age at Facebook is just 26. The average employee age at Google is just 29. To market a product that appeals to the young you must first understand how to appeal to the young, and who better to do that than the young.

 

The internet is one of those rare and funny things where the youth of today actually have far more experience with it than older generations and are much more valuable to big internet organisations.

 

A lot of the websites you use every single day were created and built from scratch by students.

 

Google, eBay, HP, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Yahoo!, Netflix, Paypal, TechCrunch, Electronic Arts, LinkedIn, YouTube and Mozilla Firefox, were all created by young students.

 

I don't have all the answers, but I'm sure I have some of them and I'm not forcing anybody to listen to them. I'm not saying that speedway is anything like these companies, I'm not saying invite a bunch of kids in to take over, I'm not saying spend a fortune on marketing, I'm just saying there is a market out there for speedway just waiting to be taken and spending a little now could reshape the entire future of British speedway.

 

I personally do not believe reducing the quality of the product and taking no measure to counter act the drop in attendances will stabilise it, but actually make it weaker and harder to market further down the line.

 

I chose to copy and paste as I like reading your posts apart from the last sentence in this one. Speedway and this forum needs people with radical views.

Just to make it clear I deleted the sentence I didn't like.

[StormMarketing]

a promoter can be successful by signing one exciting crowd pleasing rider from ANYWHERE, and then filling the team with local talent within an acceptable radius of the stadium. I promote events, and apart from die-hard fans of my sport, people only flock in numbers if there is a personal touch to the event i.e. their mates are racing.... I#m not saying the team would be successful but its more than likely that the gates will be more successful.
have an in-house PR guru who has access to all riders facebook and create events to all meetings and invite, 7 riders 1000 friends each, 7000 notifications about the event, hire a photographer, take photos with club promo babes on arrival, upload to the clubs facebook after each meeting, allowing people to tag each other - they then appear on their facebook accounts and their friends see and say "wheres this, i'll give it a try" and so on.... it works

[blueherb777]

Derek, sorry but your showing exactly the attitude here, lack of understanding and dinosaur thinking of some of the promoters, another example of why you get on so well with some of them especially the completely out of date and touch co promoter at Kent.

 

In this day and age, a good website IS your best vehicle for publicity and is the essential tool for marketing your club.

 

Yes, no one needs to pay £300 a week to do this but I can tell you as a proven fact that without the website and the marketing campaign taking people to the website before we launched the Kent Kings it would have been a very different story.

 

Traditional, archaic promotion brought nothing to the launch of the Kings, and I mean nothing, new techniques, marketing, social media etc did.

 

Oh, and the website also brought in a very significant revenue in sponsorship, including companies who joined BECAUSE the website was so professional and the high number of hits we could prove.

 

Shame the same couldn't be said for the program.

 

This is exactly what is wrong with Kent Speedway and needs changing.

Dinosaurs running the Club instead of new ideas that attract younger new support.

I will say again - over to you Roger.

[Trees]

Why don't the BSPA as a whole get merchandise made and sold on a BSPA website? Look at what the football clubs produce for some ideas on what is popular . . .

[pandorum]

a promoter can be successful by signing one exciting crowd pleasing rider from ANYWHERE, and then filling the team with local talent within an acceptable radius of the stadium. I promote events, and apart from die-hard fans of my sport, people only flock in numbers if there is a personal touch to the event i.e. their mates are racing.... I#m not saying the team would be successful but its more than likely that the gates will be more successful.

have an in-house PR guru who has access to all riders facebook and create events to all meetings and invite, 7 riders 1000 friends each, 7000 notifications about the event, hire a photographer, take photos with club promo babes on arrival, upload to the clubs facebook after each meeting, allowing people to tag each other - they then appear on their facebook accounts and their friends see and say "wheres this, i'll give it a try" and so on.... it works

Great idea but of those 7000 invites you may get a couple of dozen people actually turn up as these riders 1000 'friends' are not likely to actually BE the riders friends simply the inevitable bunch of hangers on one picks up on FaceBook that never exchange a word with you after becoming your 'friend'. One would presume the riders friends already go to see him.

So these 24 newcomers arrive at Belle Vue or Lakeside or wherever and find the place is a rubbish tip with a track in the middle.

The presentation is zero, the atmosphere is worse than most funerals and the entertainment again on a par with most funerals but drags on for hours.

 

Those 24 people return to FB and report 'what a bunch of crap that was' and you simply do more damage than good.

If you don't have something at the end to keep those '7000' interested it's a waste of time and effort.

The sport needs investment in track surfaces to create good racing and at the same time investment in riders to create this 'local talent' for these babes to drape themselves about, that may well promote an atmosphere that may well keep newcomers interested. A bit of work on facilities would not go amiss either.

 

The power of the Internet is mind boggling and much of what has been said here about websites and building up data bases makes a lot of sense.

I am an old man but I understand and use new technology every day to plan my affairs and keep in touch with people. I would be lost without it.

 

But if you are going to sell something it helps if you have something to SELL!

 

Speedway in the UK falls very short in that department sadly.

Edited December 2, 2013 by pandorum

[Mike.Butler]

20 years ago I had Navy 'National League' (now PL) Fleece which I wore a lot. It wasn't a garish 'in-your-face' club jacket one sees around; but instead had a smallish union flag and an understated speedway monikor on one side of the front (and nothing on the back). It's exactly the kind of thing I would buy again. either EL or PL. (The original eventually got nicked when my car it was in was stolen). there are many of us wh don't have a particular affiliation for a club but would love to advertise the sport as a whole in this manner to friends and others who see me whilst I'm out and about..

Edited December 2, 2013 by Mike.Butler

[Parsloes 1928 nearly]

This is exactly what is wrong with Kent Speedway and needs changing.

Dinosaurs running the Club instead of new ideas that attract younger new support.

I will say again - over to you Roger.

Hmm, reading has never been Nikko's strongest skill and seemingly not yours either.

 

I haven't said there's anything wrong with a good website (and I most certainly haven't criticised Kent's) - what I was saying was (1) it's an utter nonsense to even remotely suggest any Speedway club would pay someone £300 a week to run one; and (2) that Speedway needs good publicity and a good product and a website alone does not do that. As someone said, good local press attracts people who then may give it a go - far more people stumble on an article in their local paper than are likely to mysteriously 'surf' their way onto a website of a sport they've never heard of.

So, for example, failing to have any kind of reception or presentation for the journalists and photographers of the local press at a P&P Day would probably be an error..

 

So, a website is a very important part of promoting and publicising a new Speedway track but it couldn't possibly standalone or be regarded as the most important thing.

 

As for the comment about the "program" (sic) - I assume Nikko doesn't mean that; that in fact he means the programme..?

Well, he's entitled to his opinion but I'd respectfully suggest that the Kent Kings programme can hold its head up high alongside the best in any of the sport's divisions. All new and original material every issue (no 'cut and paste' profiles common in the past and still prevalent in some clubs' meeting progs).

And in the context of NL programmes, funny you should use the term 'dinosaur', AJ, because if you look at third tier programmes they are divided into two distinct eras: pre-2002 and post 2002 and it was the Wimbledon Dons programme which I put together and wrote for from 2002 to '05 which marked that change; that upped the stakes in terms of how professional in look and in content a third tier prog should be. This has carried on with the Kent Kings programme - just one element (along with, yes of course, the website) that embelished such a successful first year.

 

Because, despite AJ's doom and gloom comments about what's "wrong" at Kent Speedway and Nikko's totally inaccurate comments on another thread about alarmingly low crowds, we had an amazing first season with great crowds and finished on a high with huge optimism for the future. And the main reason was that once people came through the gate they got a great product and they kept coming back for more and they brought family and friends - a combination of new fans and people returning to watch the sport in the county.

[StormMarketing]

worked in my old mans days in the 80's local team local riders with one aussie

[CMV06]

I've always thought that a good way of getting younger people in would be to showcase a band from a local university/college. Give their followers (or anyone with a student card) a discount on tickets and have a different band every week or so. This could build a good relationship with the local Uni/College and some of the music followers might actually get the speedway bug.

 

Would also dish out free tickets to local primary/secondary schools every couple of months and it might get a few regulars that way too.

 

Andy Povey always ran a good site for Reading, not sure if was paid for it though.

[blueherb777]

Hmm, reading has never been Nikko's strongest skill and seemingly not yours either.

 

I haven't said there's anything wrong with a good website (and I most certainly haven't criticised Kent's) - what I was saying was (1) it's an utter nonsense to even remotely suggest any Speedway club would pay someone £300 a week to run one; and (2) that Speedway needs good publicity and a good product and a website alone does not do that. As someone said, good local press attracts people who then may give it a go - far more people stumble on an article in their local paper than are likely to mysteriously 'surf' their way onto a website of a sport they've never heard of.

So, for example, failing to have any kind of reception or presentation for the journalists and photographers of the local press at a P&P Day would probably be an error..

 

So, a website is a very important part of promoting and publicising a new Speedway track but it couldn't possibly standalone or be regarded as the most important thing.

 

As for the comment about the "program" (sic) - I assume Nikko doesn't mean that; that in fact he means the programme..?

Well, he's entitled to his opinion but I'd respectfully suggest that the Kent Kings programme can hold its head up high alongside the best in any of the sport's divisions. All new and original material every issue (no 'cut and paste' profiles common in the past and still prevalent in some clubs' meeting progs).

And in the context of NL programmes, funny you should use the term 'dinosaur', AJ, because if you look at third tier programmes they are divided into two distinct eras: pre-2002 and post 2002 and it was the Wimbledon Dons programme which I put together and wrote for from 2002 to '05 which marked that change; that upped the stakes in terms of how professional in look and in content a third tier prog should be. This has carried on with the Kent Kings programme - just one element (along with, yes of course, the website) that embelished such a successful first year.

 

Because, despite AJ's doom and gloom comments about what's "wrong" at Kent Speedway and Nikko's totally inaccurate comments on another thread about alarmingly low crowds, we had an amazing first season with great crowds and finished on a high with huge optimism for the future. And the main reason was that once people came through the gate they got a great product and they kept coming back for more and they brought family and friends - a combination of new fans and people returning to watch the sport in the county.

 

I used the term Dinosaur to describe the return of certain people,not the Kent programme.And yes agree the Wimbledon programme was excellent.With the rumours on the Rye House site about the return of the `Raiders`perhaps we will see a change of personnel at the `Kings`?

[Parsloes 1928 nearly]

I've always thought that a good way of getting younger people in would be to showcase a band from a local university/college. Give their followers (or anyone with a student card) a discount on tickets and have a different band every week or so. This could build a good relationship with the local Uni/College and some of the music followers might actually get the speedway bug.

A really top idea. I would love to see some tracks experiment this way - have long thought bands and Speedway would be a great mix!

[Badge]

worked in my old mans days in the 80's local team local riders with one aussie

And the 70's