With Melbourne Cup time almost upon us again, it got me thinking of how far the Cup Carnival has come. In 1994 a more than respectable 208,917 people attended the four days of the carnival
With Melbourne Cup time almost upon us again, it got me thinking of how far the Cup Carnival has come. In 1994 a more than respectable
208,917 people attended the four days of the carnival, almost 40 percent of that figure attending on Cup day. The Victoria Racing Club
felt that the other days of the Carnival were an untapped resource and set about selling a message through various media for each of the days.
Derby Day became synomonous as the day for racing purists. In 1994 just over 54,000 attended. In 2004 Flemington bulged with over 115,000 racegoers.
Oaks Day has always been Ladies’ day but clever marketing attracted a large number of male filly fanciers as well, seeing numbers climb from
just over 50,000 in 1994 to more than 110,000 in 2004. Incredibly, last year, both of these days’ crowds surpassed Melbourne Cup day.
The final day of the Carnival, Stakes’ Racing ahead in the marketing stakes Day, was marketed at families and once again the crowd has more than
doubled in the past 10 years. Overall, more than 370,000 patrons rushed through the turnstiles in 2004 of which only 26.5 percent attended on
Cup day. What does this all prove? Essentially, the four days of the Melbourne Cup carnival are products, and while the iconic nature of the first Tuesday in
November will always ensure large numbers of people purchasing that ‘product’, the VRC attention towards their other ‘lesser products’ saw them
grow to such an extent that they have now become their best sellers. While in small business we would love to have the resources of an organisation such as the VRC to help push our products or services (not to mention a public holiday to freely promote them annually), it is still instructional that we need to
constantly evaluate the way in which we project our message to the general public. Often, marketing is the last item allocated to the budget and the first
one cut if things aren’t going well. It is seen as an expense rather than an investment. Identifying who to target and thebest way to get that message across
is any business’ greatest challenge. Even if what you sell is part of a package so well known that it stops an entire country for a few minutes each year. Happy punting.
208,917 people attended the four days of the carnival, almost 40 percent of that figure attending on Cup day. The Victoria Racing Club
felt that the other days of the Carnival were an untapped resource and set about selling a message through various media for each of the days.
Derby Day became synomonous as the day for racing purists. In 1994 just over 54,000 attended. In 2004 Flemington bulged with over 115,000 racegoers.
Oaks Day has always been Ladies’ day but clever marketing attracted a large number of male filly fanciers as well, seeing numbers climb from
just over 50,000 in 1994 to more than 110,000 in 2004. Incredibly, last year, both of these days’ crowds surpassed Melbourne Cup day.
The final day of the Carnival, Stakes’ Racing ahead in the marketing stakes Day, was marketed at families and once again the crowd has more than
doubled in the past 10 years. Overall, more than 370,000 patrons rushed through the turnstiles in 2004 of which only 26.5 percent attended on
Cup day. What does this all prove? Essentially, the four days of the Melbourne Cup carnival are products, and while the iconic nature of the first Tuesday in
November will always ensure large numbers of people purchasing that ‘product’, the VRC attention towards their other ‘lesser products’ saw them
grow to such an extent that they have now become their best sellers. While in small business we would love to have the resources of an organisation such as the VRC to help push our products or services (not to mention a public holiday to freely promote them annually), it is still instructional that we need to
constantly evaluate the way in which we project our message to the general public. Often, marketing is the last item allocated to the budget and the first
one cut if things aren’t going well. It is seen as an expense rather than an investment. Identifying who to target and thebest way to get that message across
is any business’ greatest challenge. Even if what you sell is part of a package so well known that it stops an entire country for a few minutes each year. Happy punting.
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