I note that there is an article on the Sporting Post website pertaining to the launch of Super Six racing.
Stewart Ramsay writes in the Sporting Post Mailbag that he also notes from the comments on our website that the idea has not been voted concept of the year.
I will respectfully refrain from commenting on the merits of the concept, but assume it is being launched as an attempt to market horseracing to new markets.
It raises a number of age old questions.
- How do you raise the profile of the horseracing brand?
- How to do you get new people to participate in horseracing?
They are questions that have been asked over and over again for decades.
To date no one has found the answer.
There have been many ideas and concepts attempted, but all have failed. .
To answer the questions one has to understand the reason why the base of those participating in horseracing has not, and does not, grow.
The answer is simple – betting on horseracing is complicated – too complicated for a novice.
You have to understand what horseracing is.
You have to know how to look up and asses form.
You have to know how to bet and understand the different bets available.
So the point of entry into horseracing is prohibitive.
On the other hand, to play Lotto you don’t have to know anything.
Just ask the teller for a Quick Pick.
Same with the one arm bandits in a casino – just pull the lever.
To overcome horseracing’s barriers to point of entry one needs a concept that provides anyone and everyone the opportunity to participate in horseracing without having an in depth knowledge of form studying and betting.
There is such a concept.
Social media is killing us
Here is the overview:
OWN A RACEHORSE
The latest statistics show that 80 percentage of the 57 million population in South Africa utilise cell phones.
Cell phones therefore provide the most powerful medium of communication with the general public.
This provides a major marketing opportunity.
Offer everyone in South Africa with a cell phone the chance to own a racehorse for one race.
To enter they simply send an SMS..
Before each race an ‘owner’ is drawn for each horse from the list of people that entered by SMS.
If their horse wins, or is placed, they get a payout.
The list of SMS owners per race is announced exclusively on Tellytrack before each race .
What will the concept achieve?
People will be able to participate in horseracing without studying form or knowing how to bet.
People who have never previously been exposed to horseracing will now be watching Tellytrack all day to see if they have drawn a horse in any of the eight or nine races.
They will then watch the race to see if they have won.
They will be totally exposed to horse racing.
In addition, during the day Tellytrack can screen educational programmes on horseracing.
The fact that the concept will not directly generate revenue may be seen as a negative.
It should be noted that it is a contravention of the Lottery Act to charge more than the standard SMS rate for a cell phone competition.
The objective however is to build and market the brand of horseracing.
The objective is to expose horseracing to a broader market.
The only way you can predict the future is to plan it yourself.
