How To Market Flat Track

[getta20m]

Many of you may know who Don Potter is. He was a flattrack racer in the 1960s and 1970s. He is originally from Nebraska, so I'm sure some of you raced with him. Don is very active on the flattrack forum posting under the user name "Outside the Oval". If memory serves me, he also wrote some articles for Flat Track Illustrated.

Knowing that he understands the culture of the Great Plains area and believing him to be an informed, discerning individual, I've asked him for some ideas to help market flat track in the area. He will be sending me Tor Kovac's, 100-page document "Selling Dirt - How to Market FlatTrack".

I'm going to post, with his permission, what I believe are his own ideas on the subject. I have read this opinion in the past and am sure that our Great Plains staff are aware of the concepts, but its not bad stuff for all of us to read and mull over.

"I'd like to give back to Nebraska motorcycling for what it has given me from my first event in 1959 (passenger on a road run) through out my racing "career." " Don Potter

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[getta20m]

Don Potter Quote:

"There are two fundamental ways to run a race. Every time you run a race, you've got to KNOW which kind you are running at each race meet.

1. Back-gate events, in which most of the revenue comes from the racers, tuners, friends, and family. Essentially, a back-gate event is an "amusement park for racers." where the racers bring their own "rides." Such back-gate events are usually run by clubs of enthusiasts and never make much money. However, you can run many classes, have delays for track maintenance, and keep it low-key and friendly.

2. Front-gate events, in which most of the revenue (if you're successful) comes from paying spectators, not directly associated with the racers. Front-gate events require major publicity efforts and require that (to a certain extent) the desires of the racers be subordinate to the need to ENTERTAIN THE SPECTATORS. Of course both kinds of events have a high priority on rider safety and spectator safety. However, the riders need to understand that they are there to entertain, not to BE entertained.

The two primary goals of a front gate events are:

A: Get first time spectators to come to your event.----You do this with publicity, marketing, advertising, etc.

B: Get spectators to come back to future events.----You do this by making your event so entertaining that spectators will want to come back.----You do not get a second chance to make a good first impression on spectators.------- For that reason, do NOT run an event as a Back-Gate event AND advertise to get spectators, If you do that, you will give a poor show and the spectators will NEVER come back.

Your club needs to discuss and AGREE on whether they are running Back-Gate or Front-Gate events.(You may choose to run some of each kind of events, but you need to be clear on what kind of event you are running on a particular day.) For example, Front-Gate events typically have a relatively small number of classes, with many riders in each class (never less than six riders), while Back-Gate events typically have a relatively large number of classes, some with a small number of entries."

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Don Potter Quote (cont):

"Regarding back-gate/ front-gate, I realize that often clubs don't want to turn riders away, just because they race in an unspectacular class or because there are a small number of entries. One way to deal with that is to run both a back-gate and a front-gate event on the same day.

Once signup is complete, it will be pretty obvious which classes have enough riders to put on a show and should be your "premier" classes. The classes with low entries or lack of competition (you know which they are) run early in the day, before the spectators show up. Run an exciting show with the premier classes (not more that two hours long) and run the best class at the end, so the spectators go home wanting to come back.

I realize that races don't always run on time. If you have a lot of non-premier racing to do at the announced "spectator time," simply stop the non-premier program, and do any needed track maintenance so you can start the "front-gate" portion on time. Then at the end of the front-gate program, the announcer can say something like, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our show. If you had a good time, tell your friends. If you didn't tell us what we can do better. Although we've finished the show you paid for, we still have the track available, so we're going to run some amateur and youth events for our stars of the future. Although the main show is over, you can stay and watch us play on the track as long as you want, and we'll still sell sodas and hot dogs. When you do go, please drive safely." Then run any of the non-premier classes that you didn't get finished early in the day.

This is a bit more work that running classes in simple displacement order from big to little, but it makes it possible to cater to your non-professional riders with the back-gate portion and to cater to your spectators with the front gate portion of your program." end quote Don Potter

[getta20m]

The Great Plains Series seems to do a good job trying to organize things so we put on a spectator friendly show. It worked out really well at I-70 Speedway when they ran the classes with fewer riders while the fans were watching the cars. We've talked on another forum about ways to help make the races entertaining without interfering with what the racers are primarily there to do, race.

I was really impressed with last year's NFTRA race at Beloit, KS. The winning racers had their photo taken on the start line with Randy holding the checkered flag above their head. This gave the fans a moment to see the racers as individuals, not just a mass of helmeted objects. It's also flattering acknowledgment to the rider for what he/she has accomplished.

Somebody had the bright idea of making little autograph books from construction paper for the kids. This was a very good idea, better than just announcing that the pits are open for autographs after the race. Anticipation built as the kids held on to their autograph books and watched the race. I signed a lot of autographs that night for happy kids and happy parents. Can't help but think this kind of thing is good for the sport.

Beloit was a small community and these ideas may not be practical at every race. What else can be done?

Jake just called and told me to get out and ride my dirt bike. I guess it's really nice outside, and I'm sitting here at my computer like a nerd. Later! ;D

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