Its A Rush

I think we should have a sticky so that we can follow the activity of this initiative and track any achievements,if of course they are measurable!

I have looked at the interviews held by Jeremy Maggs with Michael Varney and ,as Mr Varney has been the Marketing manager of "P" anyway(previously Joshua Doore-surprise!!!) I have been trying to identify the NEW in this campaign!
All the hype is about Lifestyle,people,including family, to the course .................racing has been there,tried that.We have been having parties, fashion shows, music ,drum majorettes,parachute jumpers,car shows etc etc etc......................FAIL.

Try a change ..................the young people ,nationally (temporarily thwarted by the ban on interactive gambling,giving racing an opportunity) and internationaly is Poker ,live and on-line.
I suggest somebody investigates the "lifestyle" of the poker players............exactly the opposite to what this campaign is all about!

Racing is first and foremost a gamble ,and people who convert will probably extend to attending the odd raceday for the experience (ie a result not the motivation)

When I played a few poker tournaments ,I asked the predominantly young crowd if they also punted horses ,and most responded that they believed it couldn't be trusted.

I would love to know just one thing about this "Its a Rush" campaign..................has anybody asked the target market what would make backing horses ,their gamble of choice, or do we have just another campaign telling them what they should want?.................having spoken to a fair amount of young gamblers ,I fear I know the answer.

So far,the activity I see,is races named "its a rush" and covers of computaforms advertising it............."preaching to the converted" springs to mind.

Anyway lets hope it works,but lets keep track!

Rob I'm not sure if I understand this one little bit, they are basically admitting that racing is dying and attracting the black middle class money as was said in a recent article is our only hope.

When you consider that the game has never attracted the middle classes in numbers I'm not sure how it will attract them now ?

It's a game for the poor and the wealthy always has been always will be, the middle ground have more sense

Del Mar are having a rave

Free if you turn up early, expensive if you dont

I watched the advert and as a young aspiring race goer it did not entice me one bit to attend are race meeting at the track.

I read the preceding comments and have to say that they are all spot on in analysing the prospects of the recently launched initiative.

The comment of the rich and less affluent dominating the current customer base as well as historically and also the middle class not really having an interest is a very accurate assessment of racings challenge.

The middle class is the most sustainable group as far as potential growth is concerned with the right balance between numerical significance and disposable income. Any program that fails to reach out to this group will have very little success from a pool and turnover growth perspective.

There is ample evidence that the MC can be effectively targeted with social wagering initiatives using the most cost effective platform, online and mobile. When you are told that we have to look after our bricks and mortar investment and online does not have enough traction to justify adding to the expense the depth of the problem is immediately apparent.

Also little wonder why the online sites of the operator is constantly experiencing technical issues.

I find that if you have an interest in a horse it gives you the drive to get to the track

I feel the same way Dave.

There is a direct correlation between participation and spectator value. The operator needs to promote participation, not merely exposure which has been tried for years with no success outside of the event itself.

How do you debate the obvious with people not willing to hear or see?

Personally, I think that getting people to the track is the least of racings problems, and yet they continue to be obsessed with it.
99% of the millions that are being raked in by Poker,is coming from people sitting at home at a PC!!
Why keep trying to swim upstream-if people want to gamble from home , accommodate them for goodness sake!

Agree 100% rob

Well said Rob

You have to be blind not to see the advantage of a decent online and mobile offering.

Or is it that you are actually begrudgingly involved in racing with obligations that you are regretting?

The only rush I get, is when I move to the toilet. I would like a rush when I win something at betting, that is too sporadic to even mention. It is true to say, the betting game is for the poor who who need to create some sort of recognition for their miserable lives except if you have a connection somewhere who provide some good information.

What I can't understand is that so many participate in giving their views of possible runners each day, which are 90% of the time incorrect. My logic tells me if you know who is going to win, why share it, or is it to misinform People.

Lead me to a source of information that I can get dignified again and not feel like a poor loser all the time. (Like a donkey).

The answer to this problem may be a lot simpler than we think :

There are supposedly 54 million South Africans living here. Let's inflate that to 58/60 million to accomodate the 'illegals'.

There are 13,7 million registered taxpayers.

Of that 13,7 million 3,3 million of them pay 99% of all income tax collected.

It takes no genius, therefore, to work out that pretty much 56 million people are probably living in varying degrees of financial stress. Certainly the recent African Bank fiasco would confirm this.

Smell the coffee (or droppings if you prefer) - a LOT of people have more pressing priorities than funding betting activities. An increasing number do not have the desire or ability to spend approximately R10,000 pm all in to sustain a race horse.