'bumper Crowds'

[stratton 1,491]

 

 

Wrong.... You are proof that speedway fans do want to pick a fight with other speedway fans. You, sir, are a right grouch and will not rest until you feel you are proved right. Like last night's match, you are proving one hell of a bore I can do without, Hopefully you can find some female company sooner rather than later, taking away some of your frustration in the process of anything what you say about speedway is always right and more important than, well, life itself.

Orion he has a point you have said numerous times on this thread this is STUPID ( ect) you need to understand everybody is entitled to a opinion.It may differ from yours but do you respect Moxeys opinion? not that i imagine he cares less what you think.

[Grand Central 2,654]

I expect SKY, using the BARB statistics, do lots of research into the type of people who view different broadcasts. This information is vital when selling advertising. Speedway gets low numbers and they are "mainly" not all but mainly C2DE .

 

As you say, I would expect Sky to have done that research about their viewers.

But have you, or anyone else, any information on the results that it produced?

 

Similarly, I don't think we have by results of studies into the social class of people who do attend meetings.

Because, to my knowledge, no studies appear to have been done.

 

I know we many LOOK 'low rent' with our autistic-like obsessions and, for some, lamentable fashion sense.

But is there any true information out there or are we just repeating the perceived 'wisdom' without factual basis?

[oldace 1,678]

As you say, I would expect Sky to have done that research about their viewers.

But have you, or anyone else, any information on the results that it produced?

 

Similarly, I don't think we have by results of studies into the social class of people who do attend meetings.

Because, to my knowledge, no studies appear to have been done.

 

I know we many LOOK 'low rent' with our autistic-like obsessions and, for some, lamentable fashion sense.

But is there any true information out there or are we just repeating the perceived 'wisdom' without factual basis?

 

To be honest you are quite right. I am going back years with the assertion of C2DE types following speedway. That said though it is unlikely to have changed because the sport hasn't.

 

Back in the 60s and 70s football was mainly C2DE demograpgh supported but I expect that is now not the case because to a large extent football has changed to attract more ABC1s.

[SCB 0]

I fear that we may ALL just LOOK like the 'great unwashed' purely BECAUSE we attend Speedway.

But that's the point, if people act like they great unwashed going to speedway and enjoy that, they're less likely to enjoy going to the theatre, going on a caribean cruise and driving a Merc. It's not perfect but it's a huge industry, there must be something in it.

 

Well, I know what I am - E. Rolling in money though like all pensioners, according to SCB, so the only thing I've got to worry about is waking up safely every morning.

You and I both know that's no true! You have to remember to wash the blanket you take to speedway, remember to pack the deck chair and you have to worry about putting sugar in the tea in your flask

[Vince 9,458]

Genuine questions because I know jack about advertising.

 

Do Mercedes pay more for the same time slot than DHS?

 

Which sports attract that apparently preferable demographic? You say Football but I don't believe for one minute that percentage wise their demographic is hugely different to Speedway though clearly numbers of each group would be far higher. I am guessing Tennis, Rugby, equestrian sports but then am struggling. Something like F1 would undoubtedly be on the list live but I suspect armchair viewers are little different to Speedway.

 

Darts and Snooker must be the most obvious case of having the less desirable demographic yet both take up incredible amounts of prime time TV how does that fit in?

 

I am with Grand Central as well in that I am not entirely convinced you are right about the current demographic for Speedway.

[Grand Central 2,654]

To be honest you are quite right. I am going back years with the assertion of C2DE types following speedway. That said though it is unlikely to have changed because the sport hasn't.

Back in the 60s and 70s football was mainly C2DE demograpgh supported but I expect that is now not the case because to a large extent football has changed to attract more ABC1s.

 

Yes, I agree.

It is just that the whole population has changed at the same time.

All my friends, and me, are the sons and daughters of C1 or C2 parents.

Twenty five years later most of those parents are gone and we are dotted all over the country (and world) living completely different lives.

Most of us would be classified as B or A.

A few if us continue to attend Speedway and I figure our 'improved' status will never have been measured by any statistic connected to the sport.

 

But that's the point, if people act like they great unwashed going to speedway and enjoy that, they're less likely to enjoy going to the theatre, going on a caribean cruise and driving a Merc. It's not perfect but it's a huge industry, there must be something in it.

 

But that's just it some of us ARE doing those things.

This year like the last few I have been to Royal Ascot, Henley Regatta, Buckingham Palace Coronation Event, Lords T20 match, several visits to the theatre in London and one Black Tie Open Air Opera..

In addition Cardiff for the GP and several trips to domestic Speedway at 4 venues.

 

I am not 'blowing my own Trumpet' here.

Just trying to show that this IS what the world is like.

And I don't think I am alone.

 

 

 

PS.

Iam now skint..

Edited August 23, 2013 by Grand Central

[topaz325 1,859]

I watch Speedway, go to the theatre, museums,into photography, have travelled the world....so cannot make sweeping generalisations (word?)...

 

Plenty of new/ish cars in the Worky car park too.

[Gemini 4,894]

 

You and I both know that's no true! You have to remember to wash the blanket you take to speedway, remember to pack the deck chair and you have to worry about putting sugar in the tea in your flask

 

Two blankets washed and drying on the line ready for tonight at Peterborough, although to be fair they are for the dogs. I do have standards and wouldn't let them lie down on anything that is not in pristine condition. I'm so lucky as well because no chair needed at the Showground. Oh.....and I don't take sugar thanks.

Hope the racing is good and Coventry put up some sort of fight.

[The White Knight 9,039]

I am not 'blowing my own Trumpet' here.

Just trying to show that this IS what the world is like.

And I don't think I am alone.

 

 

 

PS.

Iam now skint..

 

Don't worry - you are NOT. :)

[arthur cross 492]

Genuine questions because I know jack about advertising.

 

Do Mercedes pay more for the same time slot than DHS?

 

Which sports attract that apparently preferable demographic? You say Football but I don't believe for one minute that percentage wise their demographic is hugely different to Speedway though clearly numbers of each group would be far higher. I am guessing Tennis, Rugby, equestrian sports but then am struggling. Something like F1 would undoubtedly be on the list live but I suspect armchair viewers are little different to Speedway.

 

Darts and Snooker must be the most obvious case of having the less desirable demographic yet both take up incredible amounts of prime time TV how does that fit in?

 

I am with Grand Central as well in that I am not entirely convinced you are right about the current demographic for Speedway.

 

Very fair questions Vince so here are a few answers ...

 

For a spot in the same advert-break Mercedes and DHS would probably pay the same amount of money for the same length of time in that ad-break ... where the big difference occurs is that Mercedes's advertising manager and DHS's advertising manager would be wide apart from each other on which advert-breaks they want to use to promote their cars or furniture ... maybe the only thing that's the same for them is they both want to attract more profit from their adverts than they're spending to show them.

 

Mercedes would be looking for the type of programmes that are perceived to attract richer viewers which probably means their adverts don't appear so often but cost them much more money per time-slot when they do appear ... they accept their adverts will be more expensive to show because they don't expect to generate any sales from the types of audiences attached to cheaper time-slots so there's no profit for them by buying any of those cheaper slots.

 

DHS's advert manager would place more importance on their furniture being seen by as many viewers as possible on as many channels as possible with the aim of drumming their products repeatedly into the minds of their target customers, hence buying a load of cheaper slots should be more effective for their adverts ... if they splash out on any expensive time-slots, they have to be confident that's going to generate a big enough amount of extra sales to justify that extra expense.

 

Onto your demographics question about how speedway fits in with other sports ... yes, the bulk of football's crowd probably comes from the same social groups as speedway but top-level football has also invested far more in facilities that appeal to the higher social groups (eg, executive boxes, "restaurant & match" packages) while its players clearly have the spending-power and glamour associated with those higher groups ... hence, luxury advertisers want to be associated with football as well as F1, golf or tennis and also reckon they can drum up enough business from advertisiing around football.

 

You've noted how darts and snooker attract loads of tv-time, arguably despite their demographics ... those sports benefit from being indoors (therefore no rain-offs so there's guaranteed to be something going on !!) and often being staged at times that help to fill-up the quieter parts of tv-schedules (snooker takes care of daytime slabs of BBC-2 or Eurosport, the PDC world darts at Alexandra Palace solves the problem of what to show over the Xmas/New Year period) ... they also attract much more betting from viewers which in turn generates adverts and event-sponsorships from bookmakers.

 

Speedway's attempt to be bookie-attractive was to introduce the green helmet-colour (instead of white) a few years ago so that viewers could bet on its races via their Sky handset because the helmet colours then matched all the coloured buttons on those handsets ... the only problem was "betting via handset & TV-screen" stood no chance of competing against "betting via internet" because punters didn't want to reduce the size of their TV-picture while placing their bets on the same screen ... in fact, right now I'm watching York racing on Channel-4 on my tv while using a laptop to flick between writing this post and placing my bets online and that's much more convenient than betting via my tv.

 

The popularity of the raucous, alcoholic atmosphere at the darts also proves a long-held view within marketing that many more ABC1 folk don't mind "slumming it" to enjoy what might be perceived as C2DE products compared to the number of C2DE customers who'd feel comfortable "becoming posh" within the ABC1 world ... another good example of this is the number of ABC1 people who read the Sun or the Mirror compared to the number of C2DE readers of the Times or Telegraph.

 

My personal view is that speedway makes it very easy for outsiders, including advertisers, to regard it as C2DE (too often it's a mucky sport taking place in out-of-date facilities with what looks like a mostly C2DE cross-section of fans) even if it's actually attracting a reasonable number of ABC1 folk.

 

Hopefully all the above info helps Vince and plenty more of you.

Edited August 23, 2013 by arthur cross

[oldace 1,678]

 

Hopefully all the above info helps Vince and plenty more of you.

 

Superb explanation Arthur

[The White Knight 9,039]

Question Arthur - are you REALLY Cross?

[Grand Central 2,654]

Yes great explanation of lots of points from Arthur Cross.

 

The last couple of paragraphs are particularly resonant to me.

 

I agree entirely that 'us AB' people are very much at home with activities and venues that actually are 'quite C2DE'.

Much more than the other way round.

It feels like quite a generational thing to me.

 

And there is no doubt Speedway does LOOK 'quite C2DE' in many ways.

Lots of which are actually fairly unchangeable.

Frankly at our best, with all our bib-and-tucker at the Millennium Stadium we still don't come across as the Ascot-set.

And i don't think the sport ever could.

 

But in this world perceptions are often much more powerful than facts.

[Vince 9,458]

Thanks for the explanation, cleared some things up for me.

 

For sure Speedway looks like (and mainly is) a blue collar sport and I can't see that changing.

 

Presumably C2DE people outnumber ABC1 by quite a margin so is that necessarily a bad thing?

 

Clearly I am no expert but as ever when I read about demographics and advertising I can't help but think that media and advertising types use the 'bulls**t baffles brains' approach to make themselves good money out of common sense

[arthur cross 492]

Thanks for the explanation, cleared some things up for me.

 

For sure Speedway looks like (and mainly is) a blue collar sport and I can't see that changing.

 

Presumably C2DE people outnumber ABC1 by quite a margin so is that necessarily a bad thing?

 

Clearly I am no expert but as ever when I read about demographics and advertising I can't help but think that media and advertising types use the 'bulls**t baffles brains' approach to make themselves good money out of common sense

 

It all depends whether you're looking for "strength in numbers" from the C2DE sector or "financial clout" from the ABC1 sector.

 

Meanwhile, I'll thoroughly agree with you about marketing's ability to make money by offering not much more than common sense ... never forget that the marketing folk do their work for you (and can therefore demand getting paid by you) before you've actually found out whether their work has yielded the extra sales which will cover what you're paying them !! ... everyone's happy providing those extra sales emerge but if they don't, you've still got to pay the marketing bill without any extra revenue !!

 

And as for marketing waffle, you'll go a long way to beat the AEG tumble drier that was recently featured on BBC-1's Watchdog because it featured both a "silent" and an "extra silent" option ... when asked to explain the difference, AEG proudly said the extra silent feature was "quieter than the silent feature" :lol: