mikebv

Waiting for the tide to go out?

Excellent post... I've said before that four years ago my son and I went to an indoor Supercross event in Mcr.. Last year they came back to Mcr and I found this out because they emailed me two months out with discount codes to be used, using the details they had from the last purchase I made.. They had also sent me ecard birthday wishes for my lad and Xmas ecards to me and my family in the interim.. Not difficult is it? If you want to make it work, you can, without breaking the bank..

Correct.. There should be some clear demarcation between every league. (If they want to keep three leagues going forward?) You improve and become the best at that level then you move up.. You go backwards and can't compete then you drop down a level.. A natural order of things.. If you look at the top fives in the PL then all are pretty similar standards wise, (and have been for donkeys years), therefore why not run with five man teams until enough riders are available to ride at that level and add another if it suits... The Premiership should be the aspirational level.. The Championship the one that holds those who still wish to climb to the top step, or are happy with their lot. And the NL the breeding ground for new talent, of any age.. Running with five men per team will hopefully lead to excess riders too which puts pressure on those holding the positions which can never be a bad thing. And it will also keep salaries in check as well as providing injury cover credibly.. Still let riders double or treble up as their ability allows until enough riders fill the teams. Ensure no clashes of fixtures but the higher league will have priority if it happens unavoidably.. The UK seems to have a much better pathway now for young riders to progress. Be a shame if they are just thrown in at the deep end before they are ready without any support if they struggle to swim..

There is an easy answer though Sydney.. Market the sport collectively.. Create a brand image collectively... Race on nights when you can get your best crowds not when your employees tell you they are available.. Do market research locally to focus on where to advertise more to increase your reach.. Review the price elasticity of your product to ascertain the right price v the margin/volume needed to meet profit that the customer will pay.. Then set a fixed wage budget % against your income budget, and never overspend it, if you take more than your sales budget then pay the riders more or use this cash to develop your business.. Be innovative, use professionals to support your ideas, and work together to share costs and increase overall impact.. For example. Use the NSS to help sell the sport to those watching around the country on TV. Any TV meeting there run it as a loss leader to create some interest, costs covered collectively. Give 50-100 tickets to the away club and pay for two coaches to get them there. Create the atmosphere so lacking sadly now of it being a 'tribal contest' that team sports should be... In fact give away free tickets to every away team at every match to distribute to their fans (maybe season ticket holders get first option as a reward for their loyalty), and pay their travel at every match. I guarantee that this will create atmosphere and more interest which can only create a more positive overall visiting experience for those in attendance.. And if you have a positive visiting experience anywhere you tend to want to go back. And as away fans are mainly not there now there is no loss of income, just the cost of the travel to pay. And to fund the travel, if you cannot get it sponsored, maybe pay the 14 riders collectively a grand less between them so there's no additional cost involved. Works out about £70 a rider but do it pro rata on a % basis so fair to all riders.. There are lots of things they could do if they worked together for the 'greater good'' rather than doing, for all the best intentions, something by themselves that has a tiny impact on their overall business.. As Kelvin said, one of the best three tracks in the world. So use it to advertise Speedway as a whole.. And do it in a full stadium, which is full of noise from both sets of fans, creating a great brand image of a successful, well followed sport to the watching TV audience.. Bottom line is that there is no point having a great race track and running in front of crowds below break even... As so many other tracks are doing too if you read comments from promoters.. Because there usually is only one outcome of that..

No... Because I haven't set myself up as a Speedway Promoter... If I did though, my marketing budget would be a considerable 'fixed cost' that I would plan for and invest in... And see it as a fundamental priority of my business plan... Not something done as an 'after thought' ran by well meaning amateurs... Because that simply doesn't work...

Speedway gets many, many hours of advertising out of the BT deal.. That they choose not to highlight themselves as a 'popular place to visit' isn't BT's fault... Last night they should have ran with cheap tickets, filled the Grandstand, and had huge banners advertising various sponsors and the club website, twitter, fb page etc covering the empty back straight.. Or at the very least move all the Grandstand people together and covered the vacant seating with advertising banners like champions league football does with the first few rows.. When the SWC was at BV a few years ago we got 'upgraded' free of charge to the seating erected on bends three/four Why? Because this was the area that was going to get most covered on TV as it was directly in line with the camera covering the starts.. Unpurchased, empty seating would have made the event look 'unpopular'.. So much of advertising and marketing is about hype.. If it looks successful many 'sheep' will follow it and grow it's success.. And vice versa, the same is also true.. It it looks unpopular, it will stay unpopular unless something changes.. And 'build it and they will come' simply doesn't cut it anymore... The Aces have a huge asset in that circuit. They now need to get a marketing plan that actually does it justice..

I know, sadly.. Would be great to watch around the NSS... So many on good money in Poland that dissuades them coming over.. Cannot blame them to be fair given the standing of the sport over there, the crowds, the atmosphere and the racetrack standards that are maintained.. Britain has none of the first three with maybe only the NSS meeting the racetrack standards..

Pawel Miesiac... Seen him ride lots so far this year.. 34 years old but flying in Polands top division.. Four point average too I would think. (?).. A proper entertainer too... Would love the NSS.. I'd stand well back at Wolves though...

Great racing... Makes it doubly disappointing so little effort is made to promote it... No point having a great product and no semblance of capability in the marketing of it.. A full Grandstand with plenty of Ippo fans in attendance and it would be one of those meetings lasting long in the memory of all who were there.. When will the penny drop do you think? In fact. Maybe every meeting should have 50 tickets given away to the away team? They are not there now so won't cost much in real terms.. Who knows, maybe the clubs could pay for the coach? As if...

Promoters know best...

Been watching a lot of Polish Speedway this season.. The racing tonight has been more than resonable so far.. If this was Poland there would be a great atmosphere given some of the close racing... Sadly, even good close racing hardly raises more than a polite round of applause when your sat on your own.. If 1700 Aces fans had been in the Grandstand having been charged a tenner to get in.. And Ippo had brought a coach load who had either been let in for free or charged a fiver to sit in their own part of the stand.. You would have atmosphere and 'proper celebrations'... And a great advert for the sport.. And who knows maybe some watching might think it worth visiting?

Fair play to the camera man... Keeps zooming in far enough to show 20 fans together... Edit: He's just done it again. .. Maybe they will all swap seats for the next time to make it look like it's a different section?

A couple of hours of 'advertising' your business on live TV? Great news... Obviously, do exactly jack rubbish to make yourself look successful though... That would be a daft idea wouldn't it?

Promoters know best...

What time can you get there?

No wonder the Swedes are not bringing through the numbers of riders they used to.. Not many riding in their own top league... Following the old GB model it would appear... And we know how well that went.. National Success in any sport helps the domestic side of it, through reflected glory and interest... Could be a bumpy ride if they don't start to bring on more talent..

Now I am sure you don't really mean that.... Come late October you will be wishing you still had 10 or so matches to shoe horn in, in a similar number of days before November starts... What could be better than running several Finals on dank, freezing cold nights....? And expecting fans to turn out paying top dollar three times in a week?

Oh you cynic.....

It is a phenomenal operating model they use isn't it? All trying to win competitions that because of the way they operate them, via a ridiculous set of rules, are rendered virtually worthless... All expecting riders to have the best kit they can get, and paying out sums far in excess of the sports true standing to assist them to purchase it... Fortunes being paid out by riders and promoters resulting in admission costs that are set at the level they are to try and cover that outlay rather than reflect what is actually on offer.. And all ultimately to win competitions hardly anyone gives a monkeys about...? It is truly a race to the bottom isn't it?

Traditional common sense in business suggests you 'open your doors' when your customers want you to... That way they can buy what you sell.. British Speedway has a 'better' idea... They don't 'open their doors' when their customers want them to.. But instead when their employees tell them they can... And as we all accept.. Promoters know best...

Polsat Sports Extra... Massive crowd... Some great racing too.. Heat five was the old cliche of 'throwing a blanket over all four' as they crossed the line.. And heat six another cracker.... Woryna catching Gapinski on the line by half a wheel, coming from last on the first lap.. Don't take prisoners in Poland do they? Some of the moves are 'robust' to say the least.. Even 2nd Div Speedway is great in Poland..

There's a Special Offer for this one.. You get to travel for over 400 miles to get there and back from Ipswich Spending lots on fuel and lots of hours on the road.. And then get an opportunity to pay full price upon entry.. "ROLL UP! ROLL UP! FORM AN ORDERLY QUEUE PLEASE"! Maybe offering away fans a discount would be worthwhile, even if not the home fans? Could have flogged £10 tickets at all the Ippo home matches this season, or from when it was announced.. (ex BV meeting in case any Aces fans in attendance that night take up the offer)... In fact Speedway should do a reduced ticket for all away fans, sold from their own circuit.. Maybe more would go? And the current 'morgue like' atmosphere at tracks would improve..

Never seems to be a lap of honour in Polish Speedway.. Must have been worth a celebratory lap that by 'The Holders'?

Wow.. Taxi for Doyle! No where near....

Or 'Fans of Poole Pirates' as we call 'fans' like that in England...