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MattK

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Everything posted by MattK

  1. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    That's another thing speedway desperately needs to do - a thorough demographic survey. When I look around the car park at Swindon it's all Audis, BMWs, etc. my old Passat looks decidedly poor. I'd love to know whether speedway's "working class" image is still representative of today's supporters.
  2. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    It's all relative. Yes of course those companies have multi-million pound marketing budgets in place for TV, print and other advertising. They also have little roadshow stands sat around perfect for a speedway event. I agree, offering them free space is a very long way from them paying for the privilege. Maybe I'm aiming a bit high and middleweight companies would be a better bet. For example, Morgan used to do a thing with Leigh Adams. I don't know if that was because he purchased one of their cars, but they are the kind of company which I think would be an ideal fit.
  3. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    This could be a blessing in disguise. Instead of being sponsored by the local builders merchant or industrial filter manufacturer, use this as an opportunity. Find eight companies who target the same market as speedway attracts, the over 50s. So Jaguar, Daily Telegraph, Fat Face, Saga and so on. Seven of the companies get assigned a team to sponsor and one sponsors the league. In turn, each sponsor brings a "roadshow" to every club twice in the season - which means 16 roadshows per club, per season. Speedway benefits from the credibility of recognisable brands and a small mention on each of the brand's websites/social media. In turn, the brands get to put themselves in front of their target audience. After one season if brands see value in this approach, they can be asked for a small contribution for sponsorship going forwards.
  4. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    Well, one of us can't count Speedway attendances are one of life's great mysteries. Like "Is there a God" and "Do we have free will?"
  5. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    I have no idea. As I said, I count the people I see and it comes to about 800-ish. If 200 of them are freeloaders, then that's even worse! I think we survive off the generosity of Terry and the other guys. No wonder Terry has been trying to sell his stake for as long as I can remember.
  6. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    How do you get to those numbers?
  7. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    It is pointless to clubs, as children do not like AD/DC, the calming tones of Richard Crowley (he's the announcer at Swindon) and filling our pieces of paper with pens. Bring children to speedway only once the presentation has been completely overhaul and dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. Or, promote to the people who currently make up the majority of speedway's paying customers, the over 50s.
  8. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    I go by my own completely unscientific method of counting people, but yes, I'd say 800-ish is about average.
  9. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    I think 2,000 would be at the top end for a regular league meeting. Definitely crowds of 2,000 for the play-offs though. I'd say the average crowd was around 1,500 before Adams retired and today it is around half that.
  10. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    Were they groups of children though? Schoolkids, Scouts etc.? As that falls into my pointless category.
  11. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    Why do you say that? If you put speedway in front of enough people, some will come back as paying customers. For me, the problem is getting them there. Speedway is quite a hard sell, four blokes on bikes going round in circles. Therefore you need to offer free admission to tempt people. I see no reason why an "ambassador" who works for a large local company couldn't rustle up 100 newbies for every home meeting. Give them a pre-meeting tour of the pits, watch a couple of heats from the centre green etc. and even if only 10% come back and pay the following week over the course of a season you've attracted 200 new fans and generated almost £40k in additional revenue for no outgoing expense. I think a lot has to do with why they stopped going. Crowds at Swindon fell noticeably when Leigh Adams retired. I'm not sure you could easily persuade people who used to watch Adams going wheel-to-wheel with the likes of Crump, Loram to come back to speedway and pay more for what they perceive as an inferior product. Of course, fans who simply got out of the habit might be easier to target.
  12. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    Marketing has to be done locally due to the geographical spread of the clubs. I used to think advertising league speedway during the televised meetings was a potential option, but viewing figures are now so insignificant I don't think that is worth the effort. If clubs are having local success, then that's great. Unfortunately, due to the lack of transparency around speedway we are completely reliant on anecdotes, rather than having hard evidence though.
  13. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    As I've said before, I don't believe tinkering with the format or structure will make one iota of difference when it comes to attracting new fans. You can stop pandering to other countries, but the number of riders impacted is much greater than the three you mentioned, as I shown here. Marketing to kids is fine, but it requires complete overhaul of how a speedway meeting is run. Everything from the music to the presentation to programmes needs to be thrown in the bin and re-designed to appeal to your target market. I think that is too much of a step change and risks alienating existing customers. A far more sensible approach is to market speedway to exactly the people who already make up the majority of your customer-base, which is the over 50s.
  14. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    It can, but it is extremely difficult and expensive. Most business focus on a particular target market for that every reason. Not only to know who to market towards, but also to tailor their product to suit their customers needs. I think it would be a very difficult balancing act for speedway to appeal to both its core supporters and whatever new group(s) it is trying to attract.
  15. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    What upfront outlay do clubs have and how much profit do they make per meeting? Are I've said, most clubs run at a loss during a "normal" season, so fewer meetings means fewer losses. Same for riders. All the equipment they've bought for this season can be used next year. What is perishable? Some will lose money on contracts they've signed to lease vans and maybe even rent houses, but they all have get out clauses.
  16. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    I don't have a notion to bring back the big stars. I think that is as bad a plan as watering down the standard to only include British riders. The key is marketing. Whichever approach you take speedway needs to choose its target market and laser focus on that group. At the moment the scattergun approach is clearly failing to attract any new fans and as a result clubs are dependent on a dwindling number of diehards and the occasional appearance of fair-weather fans when the team is doing well or there is an interesting rider in town.
  17. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    What value is there in clubs cobbling together teams just to run meetings? Rider still expect to be paid and putting on meetings which only attract a few hundred supporters is a guaranteed way to lose money.
  18. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    Do you think Wimbledon was cancelled as they think we will still be in lockdown at the end of June? I think it is because they are scared of poor ticket sales and attendances. I don't think people will go flooding out. People are realising that spunking money on coffee, lunches, down the shops, pubs, restaurants etc. isn't actually required to have a life. Maybe that's just me though. I've saved an absolute fortune this last month when I haven't left the house.
  19. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    Really? We are seeing event scheduled for late summer being cancelled. This isn't due to the likelihood of us still being in lockdown, it is for purely commercial reasons.
  20. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    I don't think people will be rushing out en masse to Sainsbury's either. I think people will be exceedingly caution for the first six months or so. Especially until a vaccine or other treatment is widely available.
  21. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    Do you think, even when the lockdown is lifted, that people are suddenly going to go out and congregate in large groups?
  22. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    I think Woffinden would pay for himself in additional gate reveue. However we all know the reason he won't ride in the UK is because he doesn't like multiple race nights and that, like most top riders, two leagues and the GPs are sufficient to generate income and sponsorship.
  23. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    What do you think is the difference in cost between the likes of Doyle, Crump, Pedersen, Iversen and Woffinden? Even if Woffinden is 30% more expensive, he'd more than pay for himself in additional bums on seats.
  24. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    There comes a point where the weather becomes prohibitive. Rain off, after rain off does nothing to enough fans out of the house.
  25. MattK

    Will British Speedway Survive ?

    You've got to think outside the box. Dana White securing private island for UFC fights... 'Fights every week' If only there was an island with a speedway track just off the coast of southern England.
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