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Hi guys, I’m Mitch and I reside in Australia and have been following rally in a spectator/media capacity (youtube.com/user/supersideways) for nearly a decade. I was wondering how you guys in USA and Canada market your rallies to both competitors and to the general public. In my state, rallying is becoming very quiet with very few drivers committing to the state series and little to almost no spectators outside the ‘rallying family’ and I was looking to change this. In 2011, the series is moving back to five rounds.
Here are some statistics from the past few years for the series in question.
2008: 5 ran the full series (5 rounds)
2009: 8 ran the full series (4 rounds)
2010: 11 ran the full series (4 rounds)
Average Entries (excluding interstate competitors):
2008: 12.4
2009: 19
2010: 20
In reality, there are 40 cars in the state which are ‘ready to rally’ and estimated to be another 40 cars hiding in sheds which haven’t moved in a while! The rallies are run as one day events on Saturdays using roadbook (we don’t have Jemba in Australia).
Another issue is the fact that we have Targa Tasmania and another two tarmac rallies which seems to have taken a few competitors away from the series (the series is totally gravel to save costs of bigger brakes, tarmac suspension etc.). Although it costs $6000 to $8000 (AUD) to do Targa Tasmania and only $350 to do a gravel rally in the series, there still is a struggle for numbers.
I had a good look in the forums and there wasn’t much on marketing of rallies, so to pose the question to the organisers… “How do you market your rally to potential competitors and make them really excited to come out and drive?” and “How do you advertise the rally in the region you’re in to gain the interest of the public on a budget?”
Your comments and ideas are most welcome as they can be used for other rallies up your way!
Cheers, Mitch
Here are some statistics from the past few years for the series in question.
2008: 5 ran the full series (5 rounds)
2009: 8 ran the full series (4 rounds)
2010: 11 ran the full series (4 rounds)
Average Entries (excluding interstate competitors):
2008: 12.4
2009: 19
2010: 20
In reality, there are 40 cars in the state which are ‘ready to rally’ and estimated to be another 40 cars hiding in sheds which haven’t moved in a while! The rallies are run as one day events on Saturdays using roadbook (we don’t have Jemba in Australia).
Another issue is the fact that we have Targa Tasmania and another two tarmac rallies which seems to have taken a few competitors away from the series (the series is totally gravel to save costs of bigger brakes, tarmac suspension etc.). Although it costs $6000 to $8000 (AUD) to do Targa Tasmania and only $350 to do a gravel rally in the series, there still is a struggle for numbers.
I had a good look in the forums and there wasn’t much on marketing of rallies, so to pose the question to the organisers… “How do you market your rally to potential competitors and make them really excited to come out and drive?” and “How do you advertise the rally in the region you’re in to gain the interest of the public on a budget?”
Your comments and ideas are most welcome as they can be used for other rallies up your way!
Cheers, Mitch