As many of us know, the equine world is full of some very big swinging dicks, and not all of them hang beneath four legs. Horseracing, to quote a cliché, is ‘the sport of kings’. The really major horse racing events, like the Kentucky Derby, Royal Ascot and the Melbourne Cup, attract princes, politicians and sheiks. These leading players star, alongside their million dollar horses, and make a song and dance of an ancient recreation and past time. So, it is a serious coup for any PR or ad agency who scores the gig to promote these mega events on the sporting and social calendars.
Horse Racing Promoters Score Big
How do these agencies reach their target audiences in the twenty first century? Digitally, of course, just like everything else in the modern age. Online marketing via web and social media is their main avenue of attack. These events have the cache to be possess both exclusive and mass appeal. Horse racing is a bit like that really. Despite being played by the rich and famous, those that can afford the millions of dollars in horse flesh and the cost of training, the gambling side of horseracing reaches hundreds of thousands of mug punters and aspiring dreamers.
Horse racing promoters score big, because of this dual target audience. They can attract the Rolexes and the Krugs for sponsorship opportunities, and they can, also, get the big beer brewers and other low brow businesses who want the attention of the mass audience of the great unwashed. The fact that just about every adult western human being owns a mobile phone, means that these agencies can promote their event to a ginormous audience. Technology has made this possible, the Apples, Googles and Microsofts have put this power into their hands.
The online gambling world continues to invest in apps and global reach. Horse racing promoters and the agencies that represent them can work hand in glove with these corporate bookmakers. The presence of these online betting agencies on TV screens, advertising their products and services at every major sporting event, is increasing the reach of these big horse racing events. The corporate bookmakers dangle the carrot to punters and say that they can improve your horse racing betting ROI. Gambling is being normalised by this high rotation exposure, children are watching it as they watch sporting events on TV. Having a bet is no longer seen as a sin in many households around the western world. Big horse races are becoming ever more popular and, perhaps, soon, the Melbourne Cup may no longer be the only horse race that stops a nation.