An ambitious consumer research project involving four Ontario racetracks is seeking input from harness racing patrons.
Dubbed the Alliance of Standardbred Racetracks of Southwestern Ontario (ASR-SWO), the group is comprised of four not-for-profit racetracks: Clinton, Hanover, Western Fair and Grand River.
Following an RFP process earlier this year, 365° Integrated Inc. was retained to conduct the two-year research project, which is being administered by Grand River Raceway and funded by the Ontario Ministry Of Agriculture and Food.
The group’s objective is to leverage meaningful research to more deeply understand customer segments and what the ASR-SWO team can do to (re)develop strategies to capture and grow its audience.
The goal is to identify the motivations and behaviour of satisfied customers, to begin to understand the benefit they are seeking in order to enable the marketing plan to create more of those opportunities and to deliver against those benefits.
The research focuses on determining what the ASR-SWO partners currently successfully deliver to its customers. The research will provide direction on what key drivers will attract, engage and retain the right target audiences. The overall goal is to leverage this research to increase profits from the harness racing product.
Leading the initiative is 365° Integrated Inc. a consumer insight and strategy firm. The company has been meeting with guests at Grand River, Clinton, and Hanover Raceway over the past few months, and will be onsite at The Raceway at Western Fair District in October.
President and Co-Founder of 365° Integrated, Margo Jay, leads a team that believes finding exceptionally articulate, creative-minded people willing to share their passion is the key to unlocking insights and actionable ideas for their clients.
“You can uncover new raw insights through engaged individuals who share a passion for your brand," she said. "Through a storytelling process, they naturally inspire new thinking and ideas that can be leveraged from raw insights into strategies and tangible action steps.”
365° Integrated Inc. has over 35 forward-thinking clients including: SickKids Foundation, Corby Distillers, BDO, The Source, National Art Gallery of Canada, and clients in many sectors, including: online slots, broadcasting, NHL teams, food & beverage, consumer packaged goods, retail, loyalty, financial, property and insurance, to name a few.
The first phase of the research involved one-on-one interviews with stakeholders from Ontario’s Standardbred racing industry as well as influential leaders from various market segments, and most importantly, patrons of the racetracks.
“In these tough times, we can’t have enough people to help facilitate a positive change to our industry,” said research interview participant, driver Anthony MacDonald. “With open ears and some forward thinking, this effort is a breath of fresh air in rough times.”
In mid-October the next phase of the project will launch and provide all fans, horse-lovers, and horse racing enthusiasts an opportunity to participate.
If you are interested in having your voice heard, and making a difference for the Ontario harness racing industry, please visit www.asrswo.365integrated.com to introduce yourself and become a part of the Insight Leadership Team.
Those who sign-up and provide an email address will receive an invitation to participate once the survey is live, currently scheduled for the second week of October.
(With files from Grand River Raceway)