You could use a little smoke and some misty mirrors, or in corporate speak - modelling, to explain the need for another race to fill a Saturday that will (hopefully) fill a (hopefully) short-term hole in the funding budget - but just remember you have never had it so good in the meantime.
And it’s only a trial so don’t be scared about it, our forecasters are in the back room crunching the numbers to tell us where this could all “land” but yes, and not so loudly, they didn’t see it coming in the first place.
So, I’ll let that play itself out and many opinions have already been well shared, though the supporting numbers from the outlying booths look a little shabby.
We are in Victoria of course and the massaged messages of good news are on the platter.
But what is without agreeable argument is the need to grow the “base” – fans, customers, consumers, whatever you punters like to be called and the message is you current ones come first – even if you don’t know it or feel it. Base = the pie (not sure the ingredients) though.
So rather than go down a path of storytelling and heroes I have long presented here again, I want to take a dive further into the mantra of “laser focus” on you and what’s good for you, and if it’s good for you, we might even be able to attract that next generation, Gen Z to replacing our aging demographic. Get ready to learn about “Bored Apes.”
Of course, there is no simple panacea, no genie out of the bottle with three magic wishes in this discussion but starting one from a totally different perspective other than babbling lip service and tired talking points, should certainly open the batting.
Racing Victoria’s CEO Andrew Jones was quoted here on Racenet: “We want to drive growth by focussing on fans and punters, and scheduling and organising our sport around their needs, rather than necessarily around the needs of stakeholders.”
Ok put aside the obvious out of context perception of the serious concerns for the welfare of our trainers, jockeys, strappers and industry staff in that statement - for me now there is never a last race, there are no grand finals in racing, so just putting on another makes it merely fodder to gouge more out the already well gouged punter – who of course is that very fan the industry is supposedly focussed on.
Jones was absolutely right when he spoke at the Asian Racing Conference earlier in the year: “All sports are run by insiders and all sports are run by people who like the sport and that is normal and natural because you need people who are passionate about their job.”
Jones is unashamedly not a racing person but recognises the “insider bubble” and its inherent consequences.
As an “outsider”, he correctly identified a key problem the sport faces is - well using his words paraphrased, it’s complexity, from bet types to colours to language to his over quoted (and I’m guilty here) dress code comments.
He identified 300,000 potential punters turning 18 every year, who needed to be encouraged with reasons to watch, bet and engage with racing.
To that end, RV has appointed the highly credentialled Ben Amarfio, former CEO of North Melbourne footy club as the latest in an impressive CV as insert fancy title, Executive General Manager – Customer – “responsible for coordinating, developing and driving an aligned industry customer strategy aimed at growing the fan base of Victorian thoroughbred racing.”.
I would have liked to have shared his thoughts on progress, programs, consultancy on such laser focussed matters but you, like me, will have to respect that he doesn’t wish to make any public comments to either me or you the customers just yet.
So let me take you back to that ARC and Gary Lui, Gen Z and Bored Apes.
And Lui, (a non-racing person) but Co-founder and CEO of Terminal 3 and Founder and Director of Artifact Labs, fancy title too, who spoke about Web 3 (stay with us) and the appetite and machinations of that elusive next Generation or Gen Z that racing wants to engage with or at least should.
Gen Z – ok simply put that is if you were born between 1995 and 2010 – but as Liu presented, the ocean of evidence of behaviour between them and every generation before them: “the basic summary is that the gap is astronomical.”
And remember racing is trying to (or at least burbling on about) engaging with this potential customer.
So, in point form summarising Liu understanding the disruption of traditional views but noting at the same time the “extraordinary opportunities”:
Learn about them and serve them.
They are true digital natives spending 10 hours a day on the internet.
1/5th of the world’s population. Largest consumer base by consumption power.
40% have replaced Google search with TikTok – where they find new information, and where their viewpoint of the world might be shaped.
Facebook, Twitter What’s App, are last generation to Gen Z, so imagine what they think of old school like newspapers etc.
They sent 60b messages a day on Roblox (you will have to research that if you don’t know), it’s a kid’s gaming platform, WhatsApp shares 100m a day, online communities tell Gen Z how to engage.
50% are content creators. Their motivations are non-monetary.
But Content creators can make a lot of money – among Gen Z the #1 career goal is to become influencer. 65% have spent money on digital assets. And they haven’t’ graduated from university.
Got the idea? And there is so much more, so the Bored Ape Club and Web 3 (next generation of the internet), how should racing engage and learn from what Gen Z drives? And more importantly fo the possible benefit of racing.
Simply, Gen Z will (obviously) be the largest consumption class ahead, digital identities are important to them, digital communities are important to them, it is how they are involved and see the world.
Liu questions the possible irrelevance of the brand of racing to this next generation and identifies possible (or real) clients.
John is a 22-year-old content creator who owns one of 10,000 only NFT (non-fungible token), if your head is around that as well, Bored Ape characters, a floor price of $125k, a single value of $3.4m with only 5400 in the exclusive club. Digital identity. So, racing?
Go to www.boredape yachtclub.com to see their impact blockchain relationship with their customer (and Snoop Dogg and Eminem are in) and their mutant apes, and of sale value.
Ape Coin, is now new currency, are you seeing where we are heading into new communities here. It’s just a start.
This is where Gen Z is involved. This is where racing is said to be chasing the next generation.
The respected Winfried Englebrect-Bresges from Hong Kong endorsed the old school discussion, suggesting the ageing fan base, with those aged 55 and over accounting for 43 per cent of total racing customers and 52 per cent of total racing turnover.
"We have to think from a customer perspective not a product perspective … if we don't combine this with entertainment, we will not be relevant going forward,’ he said,
"New races are good to create competition, but from a sporting point of view we want the horses’ becoming idols and heroes of our racing fans.”
Back to Liu, outside the bubble. No-one disagrees.
But back to Liu for that disparate view: (out of the insider bubble): Mentioning Zed Run and Silks – as examples of community driven cottage industry.
“A Racing platform making money off these tips and virtual trainers. People who own horses can rent them out, a smart contract via an NFT community driven action with a racing platform, what an incredible experiment.”
Head spinning?
Perhaps yes
But keep the mind open and stop the nonsense about just talking Gen Z - here is a step on that path.
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