How do we move forward to attract crowds and Sponsors.

[Youhave2minutes]

As we seem to have hit a brick wall regarding a tv deal,what is the way forward now to gain bigger crowds and revenue. Hoping Harry Redknapp now on the scene can pull a few strings with some of his contacts, but it can’t be down to only him. Should we be hitting the social media platforms hard, as they seem to generate interests in those areas. How do you all feel about each club generating posters for their own individual club and distributing around the local area. Posters in Town centres and outskirts shopping centres and malls could be worth a try. 
 

What’s your ideas on this for raising awareness on our great sport?

Edited 4 hours ago by Youhave2minutes

[ouch]

This is what we’ve done to attract fans to Belle Vue over the last decade or so…..

Have an advert on local radio over an extended period of time. 

Have an advert in local newspapers over an extended period of time. 

Have an advertising board on some of the busiest roads in Manchester. 

Have posters in shops and businesses. 

Had out flyers in local shopping areas. 

Have a float or attend local fairs and carnivals. 

Attend local trade shows. 

Give out free tickets to schools and businesses. 

Take bikes and merchandise into schools to accompany the talk they deliver on the sport. 

Be featured on local tv news’s 4 or 5 times between March and October. 

Have a regular editorial in local papers. 

Have a 30 minute highlights programme on a local tv satellite station. 

Form a tie up with local groups and offer free entry and supporters club membership. 

Attend (and win) local sports team of the year awards. 

I’ve probably missed a few others.

 

[FAST GATER]

Speaking as a former sponsor rider's start off grateful end up demanding , maybe just my bad luck but  it happened almost everytime 

[singy13]

13 minutes ago, ouch said:

This is what we’ve done to attract fans to Belle Vue over the last decade or so…..

Have an advert on local radio over an extended period of time. 

Have an advert in local newspapers over an extended period of time. 

Have an advertising board on some of the busiest roads in Manchester. 

Have posters in shops and businesses. 

Had out flyers in local shopping areas. 

Have a float or attend local fairs and carnivals. 

Attend local trade shows. 

Give out free tickets to schools and businesses. 

Take bikes and merchandise into schools to accompany the talk they deliver on the sport. 

Be featured on local tv news’s 4 or 5 times between March and October. 

Have a regular editorial in local papers. 

Have a 30 minute highlights programme on a local tv satellite station. 

Form a tie up with local groups and offer free entry and supporters club membership. 

Attend (and win) local sports team of the year awards. 

I’ve probably missed a few others.

 

I dread to think what attendances would have been like at Belle Vue if none of the efforts listed above had taken place?

[Kieran22222]

Need to target the younger audience as the current fanbase is certainly not get any younger. I personally think a lot more can be done on social media to promote the sport. I think a highlights package for every meeting is a must and should be condensed as much as possible.

[YeOldPitGate]

48 minutes ago, ouch said:

This is what we’ve done to attract fans to Belle Vue over the last decade or so…..

Have an advert on local radio over an extended period of time. 

Have an advert in local newspapers over an extended period of time. 

Have an advertising board on some of the busiest roads in Manchester. 

Have posters in shops and businesses. 

Had out flyers in local shopping areas. 

Have a float or attend local fairs and carnivals. 

Attend local trade shows. 

Give out free tickets to schools and businesses. 

Take bikes and merchandise into schools to accompany the talk they deliver on the sport. 

Be featured on local tv news’s 4 or 5 times between March and October. 

Have a regular editorial in local papers. 

Have a 30 minute highlights programme on a local tv satellite station. 

Form a tie up with local groups and offer free entry and supporters club membership. 

Attend (and win) local sports team of the year awards. 

I’ve probably missed a few others.

 

Hi Ouch out of all of the above what did you find worked best ?

[mikebv]

48 minutes ago, singy13 said:

I dread to think what attendances would have been like at Belle Vue if none of the efforts listed above had taken place?

And, I must admit....

I was completely unaware of pretty much all of them...

The half hour on satellite TV was, I think, on M and Motors which was a US cable type local station, which I saw once...

I do live in Stockport though, not Manchester, but do drive through the city often and haven't been aware of any billboards other than SON and GP ones which appeared when their events were held in Manchester...

Good to see such initiatives are alive though, but there looks like there still isn't the output for the input...

And, once again, it is done at local and not national level, which is where the sport needs to be marketing itself using a professional marketing company...

 

 

[Youhave2minutes]

2 hours ago, ouch said:

This is what we’ve done to attract fans to Belle Vue over the last decade or so…..

Have an advert on local radio over an extended period of time. 

Have an advert in local newspapers over an extended period of time. 

Have an advertising board on some of the busiest roads in Manchester. 

Have posters in shops and businesses. 

Had out flyers in local shopping areas. 

Have a float or attend local fairs and carnivals. 

Attend local trade shows. 

Give out free tickets to schools and businesses. 

Take bikes and merchandise into schools to accompany the talk they deliver on the sport. 

Be featured on local tv news’s 4 or 5 times between March and October. 

Have a regular editorial in local papers. 

Have a 30 minute highlights programme on a local tv satellite station. 

Form a tie up with local groups and offer free entry and supporters club membership. 

Attend (and win) local sports team of the year awards. 

I’ve probably missed a few others.

 

Well they have certainly done their fare share of work trying.

Edited 4 hours ago by Youhave2minutes

[Youhave2minutes]

53 minutes ago, singy13 said:

I dread to think what attendances would have been like at Belle Vue if none of the efforts listed above had taken place?

Must have surely increased crowd levels with that hard work. Just social media now which was not around then

[1 valve]

58 minutes ago, Kieran22222 said:

Need to target the younger audience as the current fanbase is certainly not get any younger. I personally think a lot more can be done on social media to promote the sport. I think a highlights package for every meeting is a must and should be condensed as much as possible.

A very good idea. Now for the devil of the detail. 
Who would record and edit the content to a high quality standard together with suitable commentary/voiceover using good English and clear pronunciation? Mindful of copyright issues relating to stream companies such as BSN. 
Who would cover the cost.
Which streaming channels would be best to utilise and how is their commitment obtained to guarantee regular coverage and reasonable priority in their programming? 

 

[Kieran22222]

That is for the people with the knowledge to decide, but we can't just keep blocking changes to the sport just because they cost money. People aren't just going to become fans of the sport for no reason. You need to make it easy to follow, easy to engage with, make it easier to see results and rider data so they can learn more and gain an interest in the sport.

I would suggest making it free on YouTube and subsidising the cost via sponsoring of the videos. The main issue would be getting the footage itself, to edit and voice over a 25 minute YouTube video shouldn't be too difficult. Also having it on YouTube should make it accessible to a wide range of audiences and hopefully should recommend the content to fans of similar motorsports and grow an audience that way. 

In my opinion we are at the stage where things just need to be tried as otherwise the sport is going to slowly die.

[1 valve]

14 minutes ago, Kieran22222 said:

That is for the people with the knowledge to decide, but we can't just keep blocking changes to the sport just because they cost money. People aren't just going to become fans of the sport for no reason. You need to make it easy to follow, easy to engage with, make it easier to see results and rider data so they can learn more and gain an interest in the sport.

I would suggest making it free on YouTube and subsidising the cost via sponsoring of the videos. The main issue would be getting the footage itself, to edit and voice over a 25 minute YouTube video shouldn't be too difficult. Also having it on YouTube should make it accessible to a wide range of audiences and hopefully should recommend the content to fans of similar motorsports and grow an audience that way. 

In my opinion we are at the stage where things just need to be tried as otherwise the sport is going to slowly die.

As I said, Good idea, but to create such a thing is far, far easier said than done and frankly it’s hard to believe the BSPA have the knowledge or the capacity to actually create such content on a weekly basis covering the activities of 14/15 clubs. Maybe they could consider farming out the whole production and marketing to a third party and maybe that’s where speedway futures comes in having found a suitable sponsor to cover suitable production & marketing costs?
 

Edited 4 hours ago by 1 valve

[Kieran22222]

Yeah agreed 14/15 clubs is a lot, so maybe starting with the premiership would be a good start. I wonder if some sort of mobile app would help as it would make it easier to track fixtures and results and keep everything contained in one place

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, 1 valve said:

A very good idea. Now for the devil of the detail. 
Who would record and edit the content to a high quality standard together with suitable commentary/voiceover using good English and clear pronunciation? Mindful of copyright issues relating to stream companies such as BSN. 
Who would cover the cost.
Which streaming channels would be best to utilise and how is their commitment obtained to guarantee regular coverage and reasonable priority in their programming? 

 

Many amateur and semi pro sports teams on YouTube do it themselves...

A 4k Go pro camera being the usual camera of choice...

Some have over 250,000 followers and subscribers...

20 mins the maximum needed to maintain the interest of the "younger generation"..

Making the riders the stars being just as important, (maybe even more so),  than even the action on show...

Pre meeting arrival of the riders, track walk snippets, a bit of action interspersed with pits conversations, post match celebrations and sound bites from the managers and riders.. 

Speedway clubs should have done this, at least, five years ago...

However, middle aged (and older), white males generally wouldn't see the huge opportunities that such "programmes" can open up given the algorithm used will take you from one to another...

Another opportunity missed by only using those within the "speedway bubble echo chamber"....

Edited 4 hours ago by mikebv

[Kieran22222]

6 minutes ago, mikebv said:

Many amateur and semi pro sports teams on YouTube do it themselves...

A 4k Go pro camera being the usual camera of choice...

Some have over 250,000 followers and subscribers...

20 mins the maximum needed to maintain the interest of the "younger generation"..

Making the riders the stars being just as important, (maybe even more so),  than even the action on show...

Pre meeting arrival of the riders, track walk snippets, a bit of action interspersed with pits conversations, post match celebrations and sound bites from the managers and riders.. 

Speedway clubs should have done this, at least, five years ago...

However, middle aged (and older), white males generally wouldn't see the huge opportunities that such "programmes" can open up given the algorithm used will take you from one to another...

Another opportunity missed by only using those within the "speedway bubble echo chamber"....

This is exactly what I am getting at. You need to make it easy to stumble across as well as keeping it short enough to keep viewers engaged (not too much nothingness between heats).

[SPEEDY69]

3 hours ago, ouch said:

This is what we’ve done to attract fans to Belle Vue over the last decade or so…..

Have an advert on local radio over an extended period of time. 

Have an advert in local newspapers over an extended period of time. 

Have an advertising board on some of the busiest roads in Manchester. 

Have posters in shops and businesses. 

Had out flyers in local shopping areas. 

Have a float or attend local fairs and carnivals. 

Attend local trade shows. 

Give out free tickets to schools and businesses. 

Take bikes and merchandise into schools to accompany the talk they deliver on the sport. 

Be featured on local tv news’s 4 or 5 times between March and October. 

Have a regular editorial in local papers. 

Have a 30 minute highlights programme on a local tv satellite station. 

Form a tie up with local groups and offer free entry and supporters club membership. 

Attend (and win) local sports team of the year awards. 

I’ve probably missed a few others.

 

All those things are great and may have got a lot of people through the door but when they attend and stand out in the cold/wind being 'entertained' by someone on a mic talking drivel or just music for what seems like an eternity balanced against the 15 minutes of actual races, of which two were interesting then most won't come back.  It's the entertainment at the track on the night which has to improve - and I don't mean just more races.  More interaction, more involvement of fans in the night, interactive social media, rider interaction, play areas/side shows and many other ideas that people have mentioned before.

[mikebv]

7 minutes ago, Kieran22222 said:

This is exactly what I am getting at. You need to make it easy to stumble across as well as keeping it short enough to keep viewers engaged (not too much nothingness between heats).

The current streamers could do this really well...

Instead we seem to have "the best race" from a meeting on YT...

Any non Speedway fan who the algorithm suggests this to them, will have zero idea about context. eg what does this race mean? what is Speedway? Etc...

They would be far better putting together 15-20 mins of "before and after" background and action and get it sent out to those who follow bike and other motorsports through the algorithm...

They could even earn money off the viewers and subscribers...

[SPEEDY69]

12 minutes ago, mikebv said:

The current streamers could do this really well...

Instead we seem to have "the best race" from a meeting on YT...

Any non Speedway fan who the algorithm suggests this to them, will have zero idea about context. eg what does this race mean? what is Speedway? Etc...

They would be far better putting together 15-20 mins of "before and after" background and action and get it sent out to those who follow bike and other motorsports through the algorithm...

They could even earn money off the viewers and subscribers...

Which raises the expectation that all the races are like that and when they go and find out they're not, will they return? Agree with other points.

[mikebv]

4 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said:

All those things are great and may have got a lot of people through the door but when they attend and stand out in the cold/wind being 'entertained' by someone on a mic talking drivel or just music for what seems like an eternity balanced against the 15 minutes of actual races, of which two were interesting then most won't come back.  It's the entertainment at the track on the night which has to improve - and I don't mean just more races.  More interaction, more involvement of fans in the night, interactive social media, rider interaction, play areas/side shows and many other ideas that people have mentioned before.

It's because there is no coordinated follow up plan...

It is just "Build it and they will come"....

The reality is you need to get people attending at least three times to get engaged and (hopefully), see at least one decent meeting...

To make a fundamental change to your life you need to do something consistently for 28 days...

Speedway need to get people attending regularly and it starts with those vital 28 days...

Email and Mobile details, free family tickets, constant communication, feedback from their first visit requested,  etc etc etc...

Expecting them to return after one visit, even if free/discounted, and pay full price next time, is asking a lot...

But, that often appears to be "the plan" at many tracks...

Glasgow, and Plymouth, showing what can be done...

[Daniel Smith]

24 minutes ago, Kieran22222 said:

This is exactly what I am getting at. You need to make it easy to stumble across as well as keeping it short enough to keep viewers engaged (not too much nothingness between heats).

This is were Speedway will (and always has done) fall down. How to maintain that engagement at live meetings?

You're trying to attract the next generation which have the attention spans of a fish. 

For a newbie, going to a live meeting today, 2½ hours for about 40mins of entertainment, if you're in to practice starts & laps of honour. Otherwise, it's 15mins of entertainment. For that privilege, it cost £25. 

Also, the quality of the Stadia in the UK, for any middle/upper class citizen its horrific.

The truth is, British Speedway is lower class trying to sell itself to the affluent. This is were it's not working. 

100%, the attendances would be far higher if it was £10/15 with an Offy, a Vape Shop & a Turkish barbers selling class A's. The sport would be as big as football then 🤣