Racing to the Marketing Finish Line, Will Churchill Downs Fall Behind?

Like most in the racing industry Churchill Downs has really stepped up their social media marketing game, in the past few years.  They can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  While the company has a moderate following on all three social media platforms they are lacking in one major area, direct marketing.  Even after signing up for their emails I have not received a single email from Churchill Downs.  One would think that if you sign up for a company’s emails that they would utilize that to send you information about upcoming events, especially a big one like the Kentucky Derby.  When it comes to their website, Churchill Downs has done a great job with making it very user friendly and easy to navigate.  As soon as their website pops up they show you exactly what they want you to do, buy tickets to Derby Week.  They make it easy with a scroll through schedule of what Derby Week will entail and they give an option to purchase tickets for one day or all the days.  While they have done a great job with their website, Churchill Downs is starting to fall behind and could really benefit from a direct marketing campaign.  Luckily, they already have most of the elements they need right at their fingertips.  The five critical strategy elements are: The Offer, The List, The Media Used, The Creative Execution, and The Service and Support.  The Offer is the product, its price, and the proposition presented to the customer.  Churchill Downs has this working for them by the way they are marketing the purchase of the Kentucky Derby tickets and Derby week tickets.  They also have The List, from the people who subscribe to their emails, and The Creative Execution, which can be seen in their website and social media platforms in the form of page set up, pictures used, and how the text is presented.  The two elements the company needs to work on are The Media Used and The Service and Support, both are big issues. The Service and Support is very lacking in the types of media the company has chosen to use.  While they do not push down low ratings and comment, they do not respond to the comments or work to make the situation better.  The Media Used is good to an extent, they use good social media platforms to get general information out to their followers but they really need to work on a direct marketing campaign.  With the emails they have collected, they could use them to draw people in to their website, which in turn could increase their ticket sales.  While they do not have any trouble selling tickets for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby, most other race days see significantly lower attendance.  This could be helped if they worked to generate more information with the emails they have currently.  Using a direct marketing campaign, the company could get people interested in other races, get them to click through to Churchill Downs’ website, and get them to purchase more tickets.  This would not only help increase revenue and attendance at the races but it would also increase the betting pool.  I believe if Churchill Downs made these two changes they would see a very positive impact in the number attending the races outside of the Derby and the Oaks and they would also see a more satisfied customer.  Both impacts would then increase their revenue and ability to continue with the direct marketing campaigns.  If Churchill Downs can make these changes they will be able to stay in the marketing race and make it to the finish line.

Account, C. D. (2018, January 19). Churchill Downs (@ChurchillDowns). Retrieved January 20, 2018, from https://twitter.com/ChurchillDowns?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Churchill Downs. (2018). Retrieved January 20, 2018, from https://www.facebook.com/ChurchillDowns/

Churchill Downs (@churchilldowns) • Instagram photos and videos. (2018). Retrieved January 20, 2018, from https://www.instagram.com/churchilldowns/?hl=en

Churchill Downs Racetrack | Home of the Kentucky Derby | Thoroughbred horse racing in Louisville, Kentucky | | Churchill Downs Racetrack | Home of the Kentucky Derby. (2018). Retrieved January 20, 2018, from https://www.churchilldowns.com/

Roberts, M. L., & Zahay, D. (n.d.). Internet Marketing Integrating Online & Offline Strategies (Third ed.).