Michael Varney - In no rush it seems

rob faux wrote:

keniza999 wrote: the man was hired and given a mandate.

So was Zuma!!!!!!

exactly my point.

Over the Air wrote: @pirates I dont know the big boys but a guy like Vee Moodley seems very passionate and very clued up. I also can not fault Larry Wainstein in this regard.

@bob Let me put this another way. If I was trying to get you to join a Skydiving club and I knew very little about it besides the fact my uncle was a Springbok who jumped 'somewhere in Natal', would that inspire you? Imvho a lot better qualified and suited individuals to do the job

hahaha...It's not where he jumped...but where he landed...

I agree OTA...

Over the Air wrote: @bob Let me put this another way. If I was trying to get you to join a Skydiving club and I knew very little about it besides the fact my uncle was a Springbok who jumped 'somewhere in Natal', would that inspire you? Imvho a lot better qualified and suited individuals to do the job

......CLASSIC..... :lol:.....best quote I've ever seen on this site.....

watch the interview here.
Then consider the following. Who, in racing, has a marketing and branding background?
Is there anyone out there that fits the mold completely? Has a collective endeavour ever been achieved?

The answer is no. Racing has to make do with what is available in order to put the pieces together, using best skills available - equality and diversity.

At this point in time this is what Michael Varney is bringing to the table - and he is humble enough to state this - the experience of someone NOT IN THE KNOW. This is valuable in terms of the '... ask not who is buying your product, but who is NOT buying your product and WHY' theory.

Having said that, at the same time it is important to woo back old customers and keep the interest of existing ones. Anyone with a magic wand? anyone?

Didn't think so. Any helpful, constructive suggestions that can make small meaningful changes are welcome. In the meantime, try to put up a brave and positive face and attitude because, yes, it helps. A positive attitude goes a long way farther than a negative one.

Don I have read and reread your post a number of times trying to make sense of it. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

Then consider the following. Who, in racing, has a marketing and branding background?
Is there anyone out there that fits the mold completely? Has a collective endeavour ever been achieved?

The answer is no. Racing has to make do with what is available in order to put the pieces together, using best skills available - equality and diversity.


How do you come to this conclusion Don? Did Phumelela ever advertise this position on the open market? I am told that the position was filled without the vacancy being advertised internally. Varney himself says he was approached by Basel. Jobs for pals I would say.

At this point in time this is what Michael Varney is bringing to the table - and he is humble enough to state this - the experience of someone NOT IN THE KNOW. This is valuable in terms of the '... ask not who is buying your product, but who is NOT buying your product and WHY' theory.


I say with respect, you are missing the point that I am trying to make. This guy is clearly not a racing man. He also does not show any interest in becoming one. He is not in the first month of his position and if he had the interest, should be well versed in the basics of racing by now. He does not even know the simple details of his families involvement in racing for Gods sake. How someone who may well be a proficient branding expert is expected to convert outsiders to a hobby he has no personal interest in, is difficult to understand.

I stand by what I have said before. This campaign will not work if it is being implemented by someone who does not eat, drink, sleep and breathe racing. I am sure Michael is a nice enough man. He is not the right one to take racing out of the doldrums that it is in, in my opinion

Again,I agree with OTA - Racing , IN A RUSH is another joke from Racing. Sorry, but it is , imho, a total waste of time and money. Time will tell....

To both LouisG and OTA. You are correct in what you say. But this will not change water under the bridge and where we find ourselves now. Remember, stronger individuals, with deeper passion and understandings than even yourselves, have tried to help racing make changes, for many decades. Fought hard battles, court cases and much money down the drain, failed.

Racing could've pulled its socks up 30 years ago, and all along the way up to 2013. But it didn't. Couldn't. Due to inside political forces, mindsets and the fractitious nature of the industry - no unity. No one goal, no vision.

This is the first time ever that forces in the industry are pulling together, with a kind of 'one goal', and a medium term plan - it is not perfect and will need some panel beating, but so be it. It is still fractitious but not as bad as before. There are egos. There are stakeholder needs. There is desperation to make it turn around for the better. There is limited budget. But at least there is a budget.

Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise the brand has a racing virgin, young, enthusiastic, who is not too aware of how polluted that water is that went under the bridge, and who the egos were on the battle boats. What he does understand is that we need more people to be interested, understand, and want to be part of racing. I for one, wouldn't want his job. There is much criticism, and little support.

Everybody needs to put the past behind themselves and look to the future. To what can be achieved. Not everything can be remedied and achieved in a short time. It has to happen in phases. The brand team is very aware they don't have all the solutions, but are collecting suggestions and guidelines from those who offer as they go along. Some things are enjoying priority first though on the 'mandate of 2013' for roll-out, - and some things are going to take quite a while to get right, it will have to be a process.

It is not the customer and the would-be customer that is the challenge to be honest, it is the fraternity, those ON THE INSIDE OF THE CIRCLE that are the challenge, they have the worst mindset! Negativeness and an unwillingness to change or go along with change.

The campaign does not need someone who eats, sleeps and drinks racing in order to roll out the coordinated management of practicalities and goals. It needs someone who understands service, buyer behaviour, customer satisfaction, quality and process control. The passion part will be delivered by the fraternity themselves - the trainers, jocks, journalists, handicappers, NHA, operations teams, TAB window staff etc etc, each in their own profession.

Michael's delivery, right now, is to ensure a coordinated effort for newcomers to experience racing, and for the experience on a social level to be of value in line with competitors in the market. He is also tasked with making sure brand partnerships are forged which will maximize the visibility of racing. So, good value, visible, with the right PR.

Then there will be a phase for implementing deeper learning and engagement, and a phase for fixing what is fundamentally wrong - which will include the way racing conducts itself in terms of transparency, integrity and dissemination of reliable information. This is going to be a hard learning curve - aligning ourselves with the rest of the world on quality - presentation, conduct, delivery, at all levels, all the way from the top through to the very bottom.

On the front page of www.itsarush.co.za is the phase roll-out plan. Read it. Then watch the interview again. Then think how you can make a positive contribution. We need everyone to pull together please. If there is something about the roll-out you don't understand or agree with, speak up. Either your concern can be explained, or can be considered for a better solution, or may just be down the line for implementation already.

I hope my explanation sheds some light. If you still think it is a waste of time, plse explain why.

Don thank you for the response, this is clearly something close to your heart.

I have been a punter for a long time and I must admit to not understanding who you are talking about in terms of these forces that oppose themselves in racing. Is it Phumelela vs Gold Circle? Is it the Jockey Club vs others? Is it TBA vs CTS? I am not being difficult, I truly do not know who you are talking about. Imagine a new entrant to the sport reading the post, it is not far off the pages of a Dick Francis Novel!

As a regular, small player in this game I have had my say. Again let me make it clear that my thoughts are not an attack on Michael Varney as an individual. I have had a look at the MEISTERPLAN on your website and to be quite honest with you have to ask myself how this will attract and keep new players into the game.

Roll-out phase 1 = 4 months = Sept to Dec 2014 (really actually too little time..but hey, here we go!)

RACING. IT'S A RUSH – WHAT'S NEXT

"The Golden Age of Horse-Racing is coming". So says Michael Varney, Marketing Manager for "Racing. Its A Rush" when he was interviewed recently by Neil Andrews on Tellytrack, channel 239 on DStv. Here is what he had to say about the brand going forward.

Six weeks in from the official launch of this new horse racing brand and plans are well underway towards meeting the brand's two main objectives, namely to project and promote a positive image and reputation for the sport of horseracing and to discover, engage and attract new fans.

As with the launch of any new brand, promotions, publicity and a sound communication plan is vital.

"Firstly we want to excite bloggers right across the lifestyle spectrum. There are so many lifestyle elements that we can target from fashion to foodies to travel to name just a few. We have started to produce content that is being shared on numerous media platforms including social media. Initially ours is a public relations/communication type approach. We have initiated a series of communication campaigns that are designed to attract attention to horse racing," says Varney.

There are so many incredible stories about this sport in South Africa that need to be told. From the young talent amongst breeders, trainers, race organisers and owners to the heroes of the industry who have been involved in horseracing for generations. And of course, every race horse has their own unique story. There is also a need to educate these new audiences about racing. Racing. It's A Rush will also be running a campaign built entirely around all the lifestyle options associated with the sport of horse racing.

First and foremost, Racing. It's a Rush want new audiences to experience the rush of meeting of new friends, socializing, networking, gaming and having fun .If they have fun they will share it with other people-that's what this brand is all about. Word of mouth in the age of social media is going to play a huge part in getting the sport of horseracing to the forefront of lifestyle and entertainment choices.

"Besides the visible branding collateral which all race-goers are already able to see, we are also in the process of developing a world class interactive website which will be up and running by the end of November that will provide all the content that our target market requires. We want to provide information about a multitude of lifestyle subjects. We will also be running exciting competitions that will drive people to our website."

To further heighten the profile of horseracing, Racing. It's a Rush has chosen certain brand influencers who can themselves experience the brand and share it with their followers.

"We are hoping racing will become a social phenomenon again .It really is an opportunity to dress-up, be seen and meet a wonderful selection of people from all walks of life. We want to attract a whole new generation of race-goers who want to share their experiences on the social media," explains Varney.

These are the communication plans currently underway with even bigger and better initiatives planned for 2015. Watch this space...

really, this topic's post should've read: James Goodman - no clue it seems.

Basics to keep in mind:

1. General public that are already aware of racing think (worse still, know) it is crooked.
2. General public that are not aware of racing (the majority!!), do not know how to connect as there are no visible connection points other than actually going to a track.
3. Tellytrack has a viewership of a few hundred and is a subscription service - not main stream public TV.
4. There is only a fields page in most tabloids - you cannot expect beginners to be excited about seeing a wad of numbers on a page (in the BACK of the paper) that they don't understand.
5. Not everyone who is potentially interested will want to come to the track.

What phase 1 of It's A Rush hopes to deliver:
these may sound simple, but believe me, they are quite complex

1. Awareness - social pages of tabloids, social media spread and virals.
2. positive experience - yes, going to the track, learning, seeing the horses, good food, good service, value (no dry boerewors rolls). If not at the track, external reach should have the same value service (think of your local TAB? big oops)
3. some reliable reference one-stops - website, tabloids, call in to the track customer service (not someone on the phone who can't answer the questions, or sounds stressed).

Here's how anyone on the inside circle can help this process move forward:

1. get on to social media - tweet and Facebook, get your friends and family to share. Little things like pics of foals, pics of horses training, anything! updates about what you are doing - this helps us help the public understand how many facets there are in racing and how people who work in the industry do etc. The more it spreads, the more it reaches the general public. Try to keep with positive posts.
2. Make time for newcomers/beginners at the track/bring one new friend to racing a week if you can, if they are from 'outside' of racing, even better. No need to centre the visit around betting.

Phase 2 and 3 will work on education, building a fan base, enhancing the product and integrity, streamlining the marketing mix, conversion to punters.

Don do you see any TT's or Phum staff tweeting etc and using the hashtags ?

Can't say I have

Bob Brogan wrote: Don do you see any TT's or Phum staff tweeting etc and using the hashtags ?

Can't say I have

Gill Simpkins from GC is very active on facebook, and genuinely seems to love racing as she interacts on non GC topics

Neil Andrews knows how social media works at does do his bit tbf, but stops when there is no big events on and goes back to talking sports etc

I'm sure some guys will be scared of negative comments, if they start using social media( personal profiles) but there are block buttons