Attracting a diverse fanbase

Horseracing is the second most watched sport in the United Kingdom, with only football being more popular. It’s estimated that around 5-6 million people attend horse races annually in Britain, and the sport attracts a diverse audience with 40% of spectators, women.

From a marketing perspective the diversity of racegoers is a challenge. With so many people going racing or open to going, there’s a risk of trying to appeal to everyone, but not resonating with anyone in particular.

To help British Horseracing and individual racecourses sharpen their marketing we first identified the different types of racegoer that exist in the UK, bringing each one to life through pen portraits and data visualisation. Next, we overlaid the types of message that attracts each group to horseracing, as well as the types of race meeting they enjoy (big races, family events, mid-week, special occasions etc) – followed by the media channels they are most likely to use at a very granular level.

The end result was an interactive tool which enabled racecourses to select the event they’re looking to market and in turn see the target audience(s) and optimal ways to reach and encourage racegoers to attend.