How Do We Attract A New Young Audience?

[iris123]

Yes,very simplistic.Doesn't cost you anything but a bit of travel time to go to a pub.When it costs just to get in to a place you tend to be more choosy.If a pub is crap you just turn around and go to the next one

[steve roberts]

Yes,very simplistic.Doesn't cost you anything but a bit of travel time to go to a pub.When it costs just to get in to a place you tend to be more choosy.If a pub is crap you just turn around and go to the next one

Yes agreed...it is rather simplistic but the point being that he has visited some rather dubious establishments but that hasn't put him off...and he spends more in an evening than it would cost to attend a speedway meeting. Another parallel, if you like, is visiting a rather plush cinema with ultra modern seating, with all the latest sound equipment and fast food going but if the film is crap...? I've been to some real 'flea pits' in my time but was prepared to compromise because the film (not main stream) showing was worth the inconvenience. As I've tried to demonstrate with my clumsy examples "If the product isn't right" there's less likelihood people going which appears to be the case with speedway?

Edited December 26, 2015 by steve roberts

[iris123]

Yes agreed...it is rather simplistic but the point being that he has visited some rather dubious establishments but that hasn't put him off...and he spends more in an evening than it would cost to attend a speedway meeting. Another parallel, if you like, is visiting a rather plush cinema with ultra modern seating, with all the latest sound equipment and fast food going but if the film is crap...? I've been to some real 'flea pits' in my time but was prepared to compromise because the film (not main stream) showing was worth the inconvenience. As I've tried to demonstrate with my clumsy examples "If the product isn't right" there's less likelihood people going which appears to be the case with speedway?

I don't think this is getting any where at all tbh.

 

Your original point is more like a comparison to football in the 70s.It didn't matter how crap the stadiums were and that most people couldn't use the toilets at half time and had to pee against a wall somewhere and the food was crap and you didn't have a seat and often no cover,you were squeezed in and often had no choice about which direction you would move.It didn't matter at all back then,you were there to support your team.Nowadays it is totally different

 

The point about cinema is rather bizarre.Attendances are up or were from the big slump in the 70s(quite similar to football)probably because of the modern cinemas etc with better seating,food,sound and picture quality and of course more choice.But you are no more certain of seeing a good film now as you were back then....

 

In fact you are making a good case for the opposition.Pub attendace like speedway seems to have fallen dramatically as have the amount of pubs.Crazy the amount that have closed in the past 2 decades.On the other hand football and cinema attendances have risen and that must to a large extent be down to the chance in stadium/cinemas as the basic product hasn't changed all that much

Edited December 26, 2015 by iris123

[Robert Lee]

We can have all the bells and whistles we want but unless young people are exited by the racing there is nothing that be done to keep them coming

I think they'd be exiting by the gates, possibly because they are not excited by the racing....

[Vince]

Interesting parallel at a time when 'real' pubs are closing at a terrible rate while bars who have bought in sky and music often thrive!

Edited December 26, 2015 by Vince

[June01]

As a female supporter, the biggest turn off for me is delays.

 

Can't ever recall a time when speedway attracted a young crowd, it's always been a case of "my dad took me" whenever I've asked how anyone got into the sport. Clubs are keeping kids coming through the turnstiles with parents on free or cheap deals, so maybe it's the slightly older market they need to be targeting?

 

 

[iris123]

As a female supporter, the biggest turn off for me is delays.

 

Can't ever recall a time when speedway attracted a young crowd, it's always been a case of "my dad took me" whenever I've asked how anyone got into the sport. Clubs are keeping kids coming through the turnstiles with parents on free or cheap deals, so maybe it's the slightly older market they need to be targeting?

 

 

You still go to speedway then?My girlfriend doesn't like the sport that much,but the state of the toilets is a major turn off for her as well as the delays

 

Delays are an annoying problem for the older generation I think,but this year I travelled back from London to Hamburg by train.10 hours with two of my kids.A few years back and a ten minute wait for the bus would be too long and they'd kick off.Now 10 hours went by without incident because they have their mobile phones........

Edited December 26, 2015 by iris123

[steve roberts]

Interesting parallel at a time when 'real' pubs are closing at a terrible rate while bars who have bought in sky and music often thrive!

Vince,

 

I think it was my clumsy analogy! What I was trying to imply with my obscure observation was that my brother would frequent pubs that specialised in real ale. He wasn't interested in the ambience of the surroundings but in the product...real ale. With respect I wasn't implying that all was rosy within the pub industry as I am aware of the difficulties that particular industry is experiencing (although there are signs, in my region especially, that some people are re-inventing the pub experience and opening small concerns without the need of SKY etc and apparently they are proving quite popular) My observation (as my previous post implied) was that speedway needs to get the product right so as to attract those missing fans. Window dressing is all well and good but the product needs to be attractive to entice people to part with their money. Football stadia have improved considerably over the years due to Government intervention and grants but unfortunately speedway and/or greyhound stadiums were left behind. It's a sad fact that many speedway venues fall below acceptable modern standards but there's no getting around that fact due to lack of investment and many promoters not owning the stadiums.

 

I can only draw on my experience working within the tourism industry that the general public expect more for their money to what was once the conceived view some ten to twenty years ago. What is important is to carry out the relevant market research and come up with a plan so as to hopefully entice people to an attraction whether it a museum, gallery, theme park, sporting event etc etc How speedway can sell itself is well beyond my remit as I am out of touch with the sport on a day to day basis so I'll leave that to others to decide the best formula.

Edited December 26, 2015 by steve roberts

[iris123]

So what you are saying is your brother is a die hard who still goes to the pub when people in large numbers have deserted them.He is like a lot of us who still go to speedway when people in large numbers don't!!!! That doesn't really help us.Think you need a better example.Like Vince said pubs couldn't rely on the die hards,just like football and the cinema couldn't.They had to reinvent themselves to attract a new audience.That is the point of the thread

[steve roberts]

So what you are saying is your brother is a die hard who still goes to the pub when people in large numbers have deserted them.He is like a lot of us who still go to speedway when people in large numbers don't!!!! That doesn't really help us.Think you need a better example.Like Vince said pubs couldn't rely on the die hards,just like football and the cinema couldn't.They had to reinvent themselves to attract a new audience.That is the point of the thread

I understand the point of the thread as my far earlier comment initiated to which Rob replied. I don't know the answers as many of us don't unfortunately. It's a complex issue and I'll leave it to others in a better position than myself to put forward suggestions that may improve the present scenario.

[Humphrey Appleby]

So what you are saying is your brother is a die hard who still goes to the pub when people in large numbers have deserted them.He is like a lot of us who still go to speedway when people in large numbers don't!!!! That doesn't really help us.Think you need a better example.Like Vince said pubs couldn't rely on the die hards,just like football and the cinema couldn't.They had to reinvent themselves to attract a new audience.That is the point of the thread

There's a market for both traditional and other types of pub. The problem is that the market is no longer big enough to sustain them in the same numbers because people are simply drinking out less. The smoking ban was the final nail in the coffin for most pubs that relied heavily on a few hardcore drinkers.

[iris123]

There's a market for both traditional and other types of pub. The problem is that the market is no longer big enough to sustain them in the same numbers because people are simply drinking out less. The smoking ban was the final nail in the coffin for most pubs that relied heavily on a few hardcore drinkers.

Thanks for that.Luckily for Steve I am not Bwitcher and won't go banging on about what a strange example he used for days or weeks to come

[berniev123]

Stop selling Speedway as a 'Family Sport'. It never has been in the Cradley area (on par with Villa, Blues, Baggies, Wolves Walsall football clubs), in fact a Religion is probably more to the point OR 4 maniacs riding 500cc bikes as if their lives depended on it. With the crowd responding accordingly. Once a Heathen , always a Heathen!

[g13webb]

The problems with this sport are deep rooted and will never go away. Some promoters try real hard to make it attractive while other go through the motions. I go meetings for many reason, I like talking with friends about the sport, I like the friendly environment, the smell. the competition between supporters, besides the racing on the track. I frequently take our grandson, he likes being with the men folk. A keen sportsperson who follows many sports. He like the racing, but not as much as the connection with the riders. When able to be photographed with riders, that's more important than any races he watched. When we get home, Mum will ask did you enjoy it and the first thing he says is that he had his picture taken with so-in-so. ............ So we need more interaction with the riders, we want more involvement for the kids to make them interested.

 

Personally, I hate slow meetings;, I hate bad refereeing decisions; I hate reruns that go back to the pits; But most of all I hate the admission costs. The sport is far too expensive and does not represent VFM. In this day and age, paying £1.00 to watch a 1 minute race is far too much. especially as many tracks are badly prepared and racing is more like follow the leader. Years ago, going to a meeting was of similar costs to a meal of Fish and Chips. Now it is 3 times the cost of a meal, and that should be appreciated when considering why the attendances are poor.......

 

Me, Even though there are many things I dislike about the sport, my love stays as strong as ever and I go every week. Each year that passes, people like me are getting less all the time......... I would love to see a up-chance in the way the sport is run. No more stupid rules and secret lists. Let all the promoter fight for the same cause and lets all sing from the same hymn sheet..... For the sport to survive we have to have more common sense about every aspect, and for those decision makers to forget the past and comply with the present. ..... It's our only chance..........

[steve roberts]

Thanks for that.Luckily for Steve I am not Bwitcher and won't go banging on about what a strange example he used for days or weeks to come

Thank heavens for small mercies!!

[speedibee]

You still go to speedway then?My girlfriend doesn't like the sport that much,but the state of the toilets is a major turn off for her as well as the delays

 

Delays are an annoying problem for the older generation I think,but this year I travelled back from London to Hamburg by train.10 hours with two of my kids.A few years back and a ten minute wait for the bus would be too long and they'd kick off.Now 10 hours went by without incident because they have their mobile phones........

Odd How Women all complain about the state of toilets wherever they go . yet I know several people who work in establishments who provide toilets . and each and every one of them say how disgusting the womens toilets are at the end of the evening compared to the mens , maybe if the women weren't such dirty creatures their facilities would be a bit cleaner

[steve roberts]

Odd How Women all complain about the state of toilets wherever they go . yet I know several people who work in establishments who provide toilets . and each and every one of them say how disgusting the womens toilets are at the end of the evening compared to the mens , maybe if the women weren't such dirty creatures their facilities would be a bit cleaner

In a previous life I used to clean the toilets of the local Community Centre and, yes, I can vouch for that! One day I'm going to write a thesis on Public Toilets and usage of same!!

[Shale Searcher]

At the end of the day, even if the racing is brilliant, only the people there will know.... How do we get that it was brilliant to all the rest of the world that don't go, or won't go because "first out the gate always wins" syndrome..

It's the people that don't go that need targeting..

[speedibee]

At the end of the day, even if the racing is brilliant, only the people there will know.... How do we get that it was brilliant to all the rest of the world that don't go, or won't go because "first out the gate always wins" syndrome..

It's the people that don't go that need targeting..

The people who know will take the those who have never been , but the tracks have to provide consistently good racing , because you only get 1 chance with a newbie , and once they have had their preconceptions reinforced you dont get a second , I would never take a newbie to Leicester for example because theres zero chance of them ever wanting more . and most other tracks are so hit and miss that it's virtually impossible to take a guest without winding up with egg on your face .. theres not enough Hype and bluster to substitute for poor content , although it is possible to hype complete crap and fool the masses , just look at wwf, thats proof it can be done .

[bruno]

The thing with wwe is that it knows what it is and does it well,by comparison speedway is a mess on many levels.unfortunately