HORSE RACING AND ITS NEED FOR A NEW AND MAGICAL FIELD OF DREAMS.

I know some extremely good and multi talented creatives in leading multinational advertising agencies- award winning Creative Directors- who have tried and failed to go the distance when trying to make horse racing something more than what it has been for decades and decades with a cherry on top and before the wheels coming off.

Showing horse racing in its best possible light and in an ONGOING way seems to be mission: impossible and one probably knows why, but let’s not dwell on the negative.

There’s always a group of us creatives who have strong backgrounds in marketing and advertising and share ideas and look at problems and opportunities and things like brand personalities and brand recall, customer engagement etc. 

Those who really know me are baffled and somewhat bemused how I spent twelve years working on and creating the Happy Wednesday brand for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. 

As someone on the Client said, “How could someone as cranky as you are and such a music guy, stay so long in such a one dimensional industry?”

It wasn’t easy, and to be honest, though initially enjoying the challenge, I wanted to leave after less than three years feeling that I was on the same merry go round ride with the same old players and producing filler fodder that was creatively unfulfilling.

Marketing and advertising horse racing is more often than not formulaic “creative”, which means that it’s often a cliché. It’s something seen almost every time one scroll through the algorithms of social media and comes across the photography of a pastime for some and a sport for others.

Yes,there are a few extremely good photographers who know what makes a photograph of horse racing good and says something to people- Chase Liebenberg from South Africa, and Alex Evers are two with brilliant portfolios.

As very much customer centric from the world of advertising and having worked alongside an excellent media team for a very diverse group of clients, perhaps what those in leadership roles when it comes to promoting and marketing horse racing need to understand is this: How to break the pattern and work with those who know how to take horse racing in these changing times to new and magical fields of dreams created by storytellers. 

This work needs to be promoted and marketed by those who understand the importance of marrying “the mothership” and tactical advertising with effective communications.

Think of it like this: If film director Chloe Zhao was asked to show horse racing and given a free hand to do so, what might she do? Or what might Steven Spielberg have done when a young director and at the height of his powers?

The hardcore horse racing enthusiast will always be happy to continue with the way things are and move with the usual cocktail of wagering, and working out the odds of winning by weighing out the chances of the human and equine talent involved.

However, what about that younger and more aspirational driven mainstream audience who might be looking for new challenges?

What about business partners and popular brands who are important to any business and still don’t look twice at what horse racing might be able to add to their product personality?

Why is this? Could it be because they have never seen the sport and pastime as anything more than gambling and attracting those who enjoy gambling might not be part of their business strategy ?

Is this disinterest also because of perhaps casually seeing the marketing of a product with the lack of an emotional attachment or interactive connection or maybe even the wrong mediums used for horse racing’s different messages?

Yes, many might think they know everything about horse racing, and even if they do, then what?

Where’s the sizzle of that Wow factor? When found, how is this being used and sold to the different customer groups?

If there’s someone whispering, “Build it and they will come”, how many know what “it” could be?

For myself and knowing pretty well what has been produced to market horse racing globally, I start thinking about these lines from the song “Mr Tambourine Man” that says “Take me on a trip on your magic swirling ship…”

Today’s audiences want to be transported to fantasy worlds, and it’s here where, for what it’s worth, I believe, horse racing should travel. 

Keep the tried and true and meat and potatoes dish for that captive audience though horse racing cannot only keep talking to the Fockers.

For myself, I can easily see Champion Hong Kong Jockey Zac Purton being an animated character called Zacman with special superpowers and with most of his adventures taking place with Hong Kong as the backdrop.

Create a nemesis and give Zacman a positive and unique brand personality and with his ally being a flying horse and, maybe, able to change shape and discover new worlds of inspiration and positivity.

Make racetracks like the perfectly named Happy Valley- magical fields of dreams that attract families and children and give business partners and brands a reason for wanting to back this new image of the new world of horse racing.

Turn this into a daily short form video series- and please don’t think I am talking about the TikTok world.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Jockey Club initiative of The Racing Club to grow horse ownership via syndicates is something needed, and talked about for some time, but would something like a press release on this have pulses racing?

Let’s stop here before one person’s ideas become part of Creative Commons. It’s happened before through selective memory recall and creative shrinkage.

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ABOUT HANS EBERT

When he arrived by ship from what was then known as Ceylon to the British colony of Hong Kong, the Dutch Burgher- it’s a long story-thought he had arrived in Melbourne because that’s what his parents had told him- it’s an even longer story- until he saw all the rickshaws, women wearing cheongsams with slits up to their arse, and was given a pair of chopsticks during his first lunch in the city.

He had never eaten dim sum, but then again, no one told him that as a fledgling journalist, he would meet and interview everyone from Peter Sellers, Roman Polanski and George Harrison to Billy Joel, Norah Jones, Gorillaz, David Bowie and Quincy Jones, create the Happy Wednesday brand for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, win the Gold Award at the London Advertising Awards for his “Right Of Abode campaign, coin the term “Canto Pop” when writing for the American trade publication Billboard, and when in advertising not only helped launch McDonald’s in Hong Kong and work on the business as Director of Creative Services for over two decades, and was very much involved in the launch of STARTV, MTV Asia and PCCW.

He has written hits for some of the biggest names in Chinese popular music and wooed and married the model who was the Wrangler Girl. 

These days, he is rewriting his journography and working on introducing the world to his imaginary friend Muzi and their search for everything that leads to positivity by leaving the dullards behind to pursue nutworking.