How to promote the sport of Stock Mod & Pro racing

[HRTV]

From my first post.

"APBA needs a major sponsor, BUT we must have something better to offer first, or no major player will invest in APBA. That is our biggest stumbling block."

True but you cant get a major sponsor until you have something to sell "the show"

[HRTV]

Come on people this is so easy its funny its networking 101 and sports marketing 101, my God how hard can this be. The problem is APBA refuses to hire a full time PR firm to help do branding and to promote the sport so until this happens just forget it. Any professional PR person would look at these post and laugh, this is 2007 and we are still trying to figure out how to promote boat racing when skateboarding draws crowds by the thousands and has national TV coverage.

I will say this one more time! or maybe I need to attend the national meeting this year, stand up and scream at the top of my voice "hire a PR/Marketing firm" enough said! they know what to do!

The members of this web site are the drivers not PR or marketing people!

[Kristi Ellison]

Dan

I agree with you and I listen everytime you say it....maybe the next thread should be; why are we so PR phobic???
I am curious...has APBA ever used a PR firm is the past?

[Lights]

You are right on the money with we need a full time PR person or firm.

Mark

[14-H]

Inboard Seminar

Last year at the Annual Meeting, the Inboard Category gave up one afternoon of its commission meeting in favor of a Promotions Seminar. It was hosted by three individuals who chair very well-run inboard races with huge budgets during the year. This seminar might be something that the Regions consider making part of their program at the fall or spring region meetings. The best way to learn is to see how others who are successful are doing it. Ed.

[raceright]

My point is the money we need is not going to come to us while in the pits at Denton holding up boats and pulling ropes, we need to go where the money is! its out there we just need a PR person who can rub shoulders with these guys and blend in.

That is nice we want money for our shows but my point is we need to use some of the money we have to spur growth in our sport through advertizing and Promotion it is a line item on our financials that should start to see some value to it. Maybe even hire a promoter ad executive to find ways to help
our sport grow, not help us with prize money and expenses sure this would be nice but growth is more important so we will not have to one day all run together to pay expenses.
Pat

[Big Don]

The average consumer is bombarded with an average of 1 million marketing messages per year – how do you penetrate the clutter? Not just with traditional outbound marketing campaigns, that’s for sure.

[HRTV]

The average consumer is bombarded with an average of 1 million marketing messages per year – how do you penetrate the clutter? Not just with traditional outbound marketing campaigns, that’s for sure.

Hire a professional PR Marketing firm and let them worry about it, its what they do for living and they know how to do it. The members of this web site should have a voice but this is something they should not have to worry about this is what they pay dues for.

[Big Don]

How much are we willing to spend?

[raceright]

How much are we willing to spend?

50% of what we have in the accounts

Pat

[HRTV]

How much are we willing to spend?

What is it worth to you? if the majority of drivers are not interested in exposure then don’t worry about it its a mute issue take a poll and see where drivers stand.

[Big Don]

First...I believe in marketing.

It works or companies would not have spent over 1 trillion dollars on advertising last year in this country.

But with that said…A small marketing campaign would not benefit anything. We would be throwing our dollars away.

So what are we willing to spend? How much are we willing to have our due’s go up to fund this?

How much are we (the members) willing to spend?

[HRTV]

First...I believe in marketing.

It works or companies would not have spent over 1 trillion dollars on advertising last year in this country.

But with that said…A small marketing campaign would not benefit anything. We would be throwing our dollars away.

So what are we willing to spend? How much are we willing to have our due’s go up to fund this?

How much are we (the members) willing to spend?

First off why does it have to be a small campaign ? why does everyone assume that APBA is broke ? do you know how your current dues are being spent ? perhaps your current dues are enough to fund this but are not being spent wisely.

[Cameraboy]

What is it worth to you? if the majority of drivers are not interested in exposure then don’t worry about it its a mute issue take a poll and see where drivers stand.

What you may find is that they are in favor of it if it doesn't cost them anything and puts money back in their pocket.

There's a viscious circle of this thinking that you see in unlimiteds and the big tunnel boats:

"We need to do a better job running our series, let's hire professional people to run it". "Oh, we have to pay for it?" "Why does it cost so much?" "We don't want to pay any more, let's start a new club and do it cheaper - my second cousin does websites..." Return to beginning, repeat.

If you want to talk to a guy that knows a thing or two about marketing boat racing, talk to Steve Montgomery http://www.montgomerymarketing.com/index.html

[David Weaver]

Promotion

I have a little experience with marketing through my career and with the USTS. A lot of print advertising is a waste of money, but often it is the cheapest way to reach a lot of potential interested paties. Targeted print contacts (direct mailings for instance) are more effective and more expensive (but the "hit" ratio is still low). One-on-one meetings are the most effective, in my opinion, but this takes a lot of time and is more expensive (and the "hit" ratio is still fairly low).

Before running-off to the local advertsing agency or PR firm, you have to have a developed plan and a clear understading of what you are trying to achieve (sponsors, new drivers, crowd for races, etc.).

Kristi and I have spent hours trying to secure sponsors for the Title Series. We have learned a lot, but have had failry limited success relative to our efforts. With regards to corporate sponsorships, the calendar is an issue. We are very busy conducting races at the time that corporations are setting their marketing budgets for the following year. By the time we get our schedule set for the forthcoming year, the lion's share of marketing dollars have been commited elsewhere. We need to get ahead of this calendar issue somehow (for instance, if the USTS schedule were already set now we could aggressivley chase sponsorships at our races, the schedule likely will not be finalized for another month or later). This is a bit of criticism of our approach, but not of the individuals. What we need here are more willing volunteers!! The current ones cannot conduct races and work on the following year's schedule at the same time (plus race boats, work and raise families).

One area that we are having success is getting into magazines. This costs nothing, but time and effort from volunteers. I suggest that clubs and categories develope good articles that are concise, include information on the upcoming racing season and include a lot of photographs. Many of the powerboating magazines need content and would gladly print articles. A multi-part series of articles is also a good approach.

The most successful race promotion that I have ever experiences were the Raleigh, NC inboard races from 1970 through the mid 1990's. These events were hosted by the local Optmist Club. Until the end, the Optimist Club turned a profit before the first boat ever arrived in town. The race was well organized, well promoted and well attended by spectators. It took the efforts of a dedicated, local organization to make this event successful. Eventually, they began the burnout from the effort and the profitablity of the event dminished to the point that it no longer warranted the effort.

I think this is one of the best ways for us to approach promotion of local races. Hook-up with an interested local club or organization that can provide manpower before and during the event. The USTS is having success with this at handful of events and we continue to look for similar relationships.

Sorry if I rambled on.