Will British Speedway Survive ?

[mikebv]

9 hours ago, cityrebel said:

Didn't king's Lynn recently run a similar two day event and no one turned up. 

Probably running it late winter with 'anyone who would ride' didnt help?

Running something similar over the August BH weekend, after loads of advertising to fans during the Speedway season, with some recognised riders riding, would get decent crowds I would think..

If space allows, then have camping facilities, music, bar, bbq etc... 

Like the old Grasstrack weekends for the big events..

Often wondered if letting track licences get bought for certain dates by 'anyone' would be a possible successful venture?

One off big events ran by people who truly know how to promote any event..

[arnieg]

Which Reading Racer testimonial was best attended (relative to normal crowds at that time)?

Not the stars like Jan Andersson, Dave Mullett, Armando Castagna or Jeremy Doncaster, but....

.... David Steen - who ran an event that containing mixed disciplines and promoted it heavily.

So it can work, but I fear UK  speedway lacks the promotional and commercial skills to make it work.

[Ben91]

Speedway isn’t a big enough concern that people with little to no knowledge of the sport will attend on “name value.” To the uninitiated it wouldn’t matter whether Bartosz Zmarzlik or Ben Woodhull were doing a few laps around their local track, if it isn’t promoted properly nobody will bat an eyelid (or attend). 

To my mind, there are four main groups of people that promoters should look at.

The die-hards - these people will attend week in, week out even if a steaming pile of turd is presented before them. The issue is that they are advancing in age of course and won’t be around forever.

The floating fan - they pick and choose their meetings. Perhaps their club has folded but they’ll still attend 10-15 meetings a season, not necessarily at the same track each time but where they deem a meeting to be worth travelling to, be it for entertainment or value for money reasons. A lot of these floaters will perhaps go to watch meetings specifically because a rider who used to represent their club is riding. Those links to the defunct club will eventually disappear as riders retire and those floaters will drop into the next category. These fans already like Speedway, they should be the easiest for their local track to turn into regular attendees.

The “oh they still do Speedway?” - Personally I attend 1-3 GP meetings a season now and that is it. I don’t attend domestic Speedway. I reckon there are a lot of people out there in the same boat as me. I would push such people into this group. Those who know about Speedway but haven’t been for a long time or attend very rarely. Harder to draw in than the floating fan but their interest could be piqued with the right promotion of the product because at the very least, they know what Speedway is. 

Finally, the uninitiated - anyone who doesn’t know what Speedway is. This is the group of which there is the largest number of people to target but also the hardest to draw in. Ironically they are probably the easiest to win over with the correct promotion strategy. We all love the product of Speedway, which is four riders going hell for leather round the track. That is a bug that bites hard and is later ruined by overcharging and politics among other things. It may be a cliche but they say if you throw enough s*** at the wall some of it will stick, if you throw enough people into a speedway meeting, some of them will stick. The key is to getting them into the meetings in the first place and this is where we currently struggle without a doubt. 

[fatface]

12 hours ago, cityrebel said:

The majority of fans want a swiftly run meeting. Standing around for hours doesent appeal to everyone. That's what i like about football, it runs like clockwork.

Exactly the problem. Speedway is trying to please a dwindling hardcore. Trying to please 70% of 400 people then next year trying to please 70% of 350 people is no way to run a sustainable business.

If speedway is to have any successful future, it needs to consult with and tailor its product for those people it is not attracting to the stadium, not the shrinking hardcore it is. 

Do you think cricket came up with Twenty20 by consulting with the few hundred who bother with county cricket? 

Not sure where the standing around comes from. Think of it as a festival, you pick the bands you want to see, those you don't and after you have seen what you want to see then go home. No one's forcing anyone to stand around?! 

The starting point has got to be the target market. Who does speedway want to appeal to? And then create the experience from there. That's why Twenty20 is a success. That's why UFC is a success. It's also why horse racing has thrived..it has become a much more family friendly experience. 

That's why I put forward the multi sport weekend festival model, to appeal to the young family market. It's far from a personal wishlist of activities, because its not about me and its not about you either. It's about getting the sport a new and bigger audience to give it a fighting chance of survival. 

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by falcace

[HGould]

9 minutes ago, Ben91 said:

Speedway isn’t a big enough concern that people with little to no knowledge of the sport will attend on “name value.” To the uninitiated it wouldn’t matter whether Bartosz Zmarzlik or Ben Woodhull were doing a few laps around their local track, if it isn’t promoted properly nobody will bat an eyelid (or attend). 

To my mind, there are four main groups of people that promoters should look at.

The die-hards - these people will attend week in, week out even if a steaming pile of turd is presented before them. The issue is that they are advancing in age of course and won’t be around forever.

The floating fan - they pick and choose their meetings. Perhaps their club has folded but they’ll still attend 10-15 meetings a season, not necessarily at the same track each time but where they deem a meeting to be worth travelling to, be it for entertainment or value for money reasons. A lot of these floaters will perhaps go to watch meetings specifically because a rider who used to represent their club is riding. Those links to the defunct club will eventually disappear as riders retire and those floaters will drop into the next category. These fans already like Speedway, they should be the easiest for their local track to turn into regular attendees.

The “oh they still do Speedway?” - Personally I attend 1-3 GP meetings a season now and that is it. I don’t attend domestic Speedway. I reckon there are a lot of people out there in the same boat as me. I would push such people into this group. Those who know about Speedway but haven’t been for a long time or attend very rarely. Harder to draw in than the floating fan but their interest could be piqued with the right promotion of the product because at the very least, they know what Speedway is. 

Finally, the uninitiated - anyone who doesn’t know what Speedway is. This is the group of which there is the largest number of people to target but also the hardest to draw in. Ironically they are probably the easiest to win over with the correct promotion strategy. We all love the product of Speedway, which is four riders going hell for leather round the track. That is a bug that bites hard and is later ruined by overcharging and politics among other things. It may be a cliche but they say if you throw enough s*** at the wall some of it will stick, if you throw enough people into a speedway meeting, some of them will stick. The key is to getting them into the meetings in the first place and this is where we currently struggle without a doubt. 

Many of the Clubs in the Championship are attracting new young fans.

We certainly are at Birmingham and on Away Match trips to places like Somerset; Redcar; Eastbourne saw plenty of evidence that other Clubs are doing the same and not only getting them in but showing them around and making a bit of a fuss of them.

Yet when my Club do that what happens, some of the grumpy old men in the old guard moan about "too many kids", and a new family coming for the first time that may have "knicked my space" get abuse. Hardly welcoming is it?.

We have some of the best facilities in Speedway at PB and good to see the work done to try to encourage new blood. 

 

[mikebv]

2 hours ago, falcace said:

Exactly the problem. Speedway is trying to please a dwindling hardcore. Trying to please 70% of 400 people then next year trying to please 70% of 350 people is no way to run a sustainable business.

If speedway is to have any successful future, it needs to consult with and tailor its product for those people it is not attracting to the stadium, not the shrinking hardcore it is. 

Do you think cricket came up with Twenty20 by consulting with the few hundred who bother with county cricket? 

Not sure where the standing around comes from. Think of it as a festival, you pick the bands you want to see, those you don't and if you want to after you have seen what you want to see then go home. No one's forcing anyone to stand around?! 

The starting point has got to be the target market. Who does speedway want to appeal to? And then create the experience from there. That's why Twenty20 is a success. That's why UFC is a success. It's also why horse racing has thrived..it has become a much more family friendly experience. 

That's why I put forward the multi sport weekend festival model, to appeal to the young family market. It's far from a personal wishlist of activities, because its not about me and its not about you either. It's about getting the sport a new and bigger audience to give it a fighting chance of survival. 

 

"I wont be watching this pyjama cricket" was an often noted quote from 'the dinosaurs' who liked to watch the dying County 3 and 4 day game, with around 50 or so other die hards every day, in a 20000 seater stadium..  

And also 20/20 over here doesnt market itself or pay out the same cash against the mega league of the IPL, or even the Aussie Big Bash..

Instead it uses a "good standard" of player, (mainly UK lads), paying less, but getting healthy attendances.. 

The same way that British Superbikes use a lower level of rider (again, based on UK lads in the main) than the WSB, yet still get very healthy crowds.. 

Both know that when the "big boys" come knocking for their best talent they will lose them to the higher standard. However they have a pro active plan to bring in replacements as they know it will be inevitable.. 

What they dont do is let their business plan be impacted by other competitions in the same sport..

Needs a complete re think and refresh British Speedway..

Get a brand identity, get a clear business plan, and then build a fit for purpose operating model based on its affordability and resource capability.. 

And then market the s**t out of it!!!

Edited April 1, 2020 by mikebv

[iris123]

Actually there is a link between speedway and cricket. One of the pioneer speedway promoters A.J Hunting held the first one day cricket game in Australia. It was a success , but the authorities then warned any player getting involved in a further game would be banned. So that was the end of that for about 30 years or so

[MattK]

42 minutes ago, HGould said:

Many of the Clubs in the Championship are attracting new young fans.

We certainly are at Birmingham and on Away Match trips to places like Somerset; Redcar; Eastbourne saw plenty of evidence that other Clubs are doing the same and not only getting them in but showing them around and making a bit of a fuss of them.

Yet when my Club do that what happens, some of the grumpy old men in the old guard moan about "too many kids", and a new family coming for the first time that may have "knicked my space" get abuse. Hardly welcoming is it?.

We have some of the best facilities in Speedway at PB and good to see the work done to try to encourage new blood. 

 

Again, proof that speedway doesn't understand its target market. Why promote speedway to kids? It makes no sense.

[A ORLOV]

26 minutes ago, MattK said:

Again, proof that speedway doesn't understand its target market. Why promote speedway to kids? It makes no sense.

Especially when clubs run on a school night and many do not have public transport that runs past the track, so unless their parents take them they cannot get to and from a meeting.

[Chris116]

28 minutes ago, MattK said:

Again, proof that speedway doesn't understand its target market. Why promote speedway to kids? It makes no sense.

Promoting to young families is a very good idea in my opinion. The young adults will hopefully become lifelong fans and their kids become the next generation to take their kids and so a production line of new fans is created. My grand father took my father who then introduced his girlfriend to the sport. He married that girlfriend and they introduced me to the racing at a very young age. 

If you can introduce under 16's some of them will become lifelong fans some will drop out but possibly return later in life and some will not like racing and will find thing they enjoy. The important thing is to maximise the number in the first two groups and to do that you need to attract the 25 to 40 year old with their families and friends. 

[therefused]

1 minute ago, Chris116 said:

Promoting to young families is a very good idea in my opinion. The young adults will hopefully become lifelong fans and their kids become the next generation to take their kids and so a production line of new fans is created. My grand father took my father who then introduced his girlfriend to the sport. He married that girlfriend and they introduced me to the racing at a very young age. 

If you can introduce under 16's some of them will become lifelong fans some will drop out but possibly return later in life and some will not like racing and will find thing they enjoy. The important thing is to maximise the number in the first two groups and to do that you need to attract the 25 to 40 year old with their families and friends. 

I would say though, that a lot of things under 16's like are probably not actually aimed at them, being aimed at 18+. The youngsters then think its probably a bit cooler and would want to go, especially over something that is promoted as 'funsy'. 

[MattK]

Just now, Chris116 said:

Promoting to young families is a very good idea in my opinion. The young adults will hopefully become lifelong fans and their kids become the next generation to take their kids and so a production line of new fans is created. My grand father took my father who then introduced his girlfriend to the sport. He married that girlfriend and they introduced me to the racing at a very young age. 

If you can introduce under 16's some of them will become lifelong fans some will drop out but possibly return later in life and some will not like racing and will find thing they enjoy. The important thing is to maximise the number in the first two groups and to do that you need to attract the 25 to 40 year old with their families and friends. 

No. It makes absolutely no sense.

What do kids like? Just Bieber, Fortnite and Supreme. What do you get when you go to speedway? AC/DC, scores written with pen and paper and Wulfsport.

The presentation of speedway is like something from the 1970s, the music is from the 1970s and the fashion is from the 1970s - therefore promote speedway to people who liked the 1970s - i.e. the over 50s.

This isn't a pop at old people. This is a valid marketing technique. How many new Ferrari's do you think Ferrari sell to the under 16s? I'd suggest zero. Yet last year they sold over 10,000 cars and had revenues of over 3.7 billion euros. How? Because they know their customer.

[Chris116]

2 minutes ago, A ORLOV said:

Especially when clubs run on a school night and many do not have public transport that runs past the track, so unless their parents take them they cannot get to and from a meeting.

Don't promote it to kids, promote it to the parents as something to take the kids to. I never understand this thing about not running on an evening when there is school the next day. When I was at school my parents took me every week to Wimbledon which ran on a Monday evening and there were lots of other school age kids there. Why are today's families unable to do what families happily did in the 50's and 60's?

[HGould]

9 minutes ago, MattK said:

No. It makes absolutely no sense.

What do kids like? Just Bieber, Fortnite and Supreme. What do you get when you go to speedway? AC/DC, scores written with pen and paper and Wulfsport.

The presentation of speedway is like something from the 1970s, the music is from the 1970s and the fashion is from the 1970s - therefore promote speedway to people who liked the 1970s - i.e. the over 50s.

This isn't a pop at old people. This is a valid marketing technique. How many new Ferrari's do you think Ferrari sell to the under 16s? I'd suggest zero. Yet last year they sold over 10,000 cars and had revenues of over 3.7 billion euros. How? Because they know their customer.

I don't think ANY of the Clubs I referred to are promoting to kids. They are looking to attract kids who then ask their parents to take them again. 

Can't blame them for trying but some will blame them for trying! 

[DC2]

10 minutes ago, MattK said:

No. It makes absolutely no sense.

What do kids like? Just Bieber, Fortnite and Supreme. What do you get when you go to speedway? AC/DC, scores written with pen and paper and Wulfsport.

The presentation of speedway is like something from the 1970s, the music is from the 1970s and the fashion is from the 1970s - therefore promote speedway to people who liked the 1970s - i.e. the over 50s.

This isn't a pop at old people. This is a valid marketing technique. How many new Ferrari's do you think Ferrari sell to the under 16s? I'd suggest zero. Yet last year they sold over 10,000 cars and had revenues of over 3.7 billion euros. How? Because they know their customer.

 

Yes, but young fans are needed to perpetuate the sport.

In the seventies as a 13 year old I was more interested in Pele, football, girls, flairs and cowboy boots, but I loved speedway as soon as I went and the interest has remained with me for 45 years.

[mikebv]

49 minutes ago, MattK said:

Again, proof that speedway doesn't understand its target market. Why promote speedway to kids? It makes no sense.

It does if you get the kids hooked on it..

McDonalds do a 'reasonable job' of targeting kids so I presume it works!! 

The issue UK Speedway has is that kids up to say 11 will  go along maybe under suffererence, or maybe they do like it so put some pressure on parents to take them..

However post 11, and on into the teens, why would you want to go somewhere your Dad and Granddad goes for a night out?

Dominoes and Crib in the interval maybe? 

Since I would say 2000, there are now more people living who 'used to go to Speedway' than currently do attend..

Therefore targeting their return has to be easier than getting someone who hasn't a clue about the sport surely?

 

[cityrebel]

1 hour ago, falcace said:

Exactly the problem. Speedway is trying to please a dwindling hardcore. Trying to please 70% of 400 people then next year trying to please 70% of 350 people is no way to run a sustainable business.

If speedway is to have any successful future, it needs to consult with and tailor its product for those people it is not attracting to the stadium, not the shrinking hardcore it is. 

Do you think cricket came up with Twenty20 by consulting with the few hundred who bother with county cricket? 

Not sure where the standing around comes from. Think of it as a festival, you pick the bands you want to see, those you don't and after you have seen what you want to see then go home. No one's forcing anyone to stand around?! 

The starting point has got to be the target market. Who does speedway want to appeal to? And then create the experience from there. That's why Twenty20 is a success. That's why UFC is a success. It's also why horse racing has thrived..it has become a much more family friendly experience. 

That's why I put forward the multi sport weekend festival model, to appeal to the young family market. It's far from a personal wishlist of activities, because its not about me and its not about you either. It's about getting the sport a new and bigger audience to give it a fighting chance of survival. 

 

You certainly won't find many of the current promoters implementing the changes that you want. New blood is needed on both sides of the fence. Maybe the sport can rise from the ashes at the end of this crisis, but I'm not holding my breath.

[cityrebel]

22 minutes ago, Chris116 said:

Don't promote it to kids, promote it to the parents as something to take the kids to. I never understand this thing about not running on an evening when there is school the next day. When I was at school my parents took me every week to Wimbledon which ran on a Monday evening and there were lots of other school age kids there. Why are today's families unable to do what families happily did in the 50's and 60's?

Because the roads are gridlocked and most tracks are in out of town locations.

[fatface]

10 minutes ago, Chris116 said:

 I never understand this thing about not running on an evening when there is school the next day. When I was at school my parents took me every week to Wimbledon which ran on a Monday evening and there were lots of other school age kids there. Why are today's families unable to do what families happily did in the 50's and 60's?

Lots of reasons why.

The cost of living has meant a sharp rise in households of two working parents rather than the typical stay-at-home mums of the 50s/60s. It's up by 50% even on the 70s. People also have to commute further for work then ever before, lengthening the working day. The image of a typical family gathering round for 5pm teatime is a quaint one, but less common.

Also, the bulk of 1950s/60s speedway venues operated in heavily populated city centre locations with regular public transport links. There are no Wimbledons, Southamptons, New Cross, Norwich and the like any more. How many families can walk to their local speedway these days compared to the 50s and 60s?

Instead of grumbling why families don't come anymore. Make it more appealing and easier for them.

[MattK]

1 minute ago, DC2 said:

 

Yes, but young fans are needed to perpetuate the sport.

In the seventies as a 13 year old I was more interested in Pele, football, girls, flairs and cowboy boots, but I loved speedway as soon as I went and the interest has remained with me for 45 years.

How's that panned out this last decade or so for speedway though?

If you to appeal to young fans, which in and of itself isn't a bad approach, the whole way speedway is presented needs to be overhauled. Then in turn, you risk alienating your current customer base (who are largely over 50) because they don't like the style of music, presentation etc.

For me, it is obvious that speedway should be promoting itself to the over 50s.