Bernard must shift gears to grow IndyCar

Before I head to Indianapolis for my 33rd consecutive Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, I want to discuss the challenges that face new IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard.

Curt Cavin's in-depth discussion of Bernard in Friday's Indianapolis Star reignited my interest in this topic. As one might expect, the portrayal of Bernard is glowing. Bernard's past success with Professional Bull Riders has earned him the benefit of the doubt, not to mention a significant Honeymoon Period.

I do not take issue with that in any way. The man deserves credit for the good work that he has done. Furthermore, I am encouraged by his work ethic and his results.

PBR vs. IndyCar: a different brew

That said, with Professional Bull Riders, Bernard essentially created a business enterprise where there had not been one. Building something out of nothing is difficult, to be sure. However, working from a clean sheet of paper does provide some advantages.

1. Low cost basis
2. Little or no direct competition
3. Low expectations
   

Unfortunately, Bernard can look forward to enjoying exactly none of those advantages as he attempts to revive IndyCar, where...

• The cost basis is exponentially greater than the value of the end product.
• Direct competition abounds both nationally and internationally.
• Perceptions of past success and the existence of successful firms in the motorsports space make for unreasonably high expectations among buyers and suppliers.

To summarize, Mr. Bernard is sure to discover - if he hasn't already - that Professional Bull Riders and IndyCar are very different animals.

PBR - NASCAR with Horns?

The good news is that Professional Bull Riders succeeded because Bernard effectively sold it to a quasi-mass market. This conclusion is supported by the types of sponsors - Wrangler, Jack Daniel's - that signed on. Thus, PBR would seem to be positioned similarly to NASCAR. Apparently, those folks still have time to watch something on TV in addition to Cup and Grand National. PBR's 2.4 rating with its NBC time buy further supports this conclusion.

One wonders, then, why Bernard would embrace a very different approach to marketing IndyCar.

Yes, the product is different. Then again, Bernard would seem to have authority to change the product in order to attract a large audience. Instead, it seems that he is attempting to create an entirely new breed of U.S. racing fan.

That - the Clamor for Glamour - shall be the topic of an upcoming post.

My next post, however, shall be one of longing.

Wish You Were Here - the 2010 Indianapolis 500 Edition - is forthcoming!

Roggespierre

Now THIS is Creative Promotion!!!

Congratulations to Mark Dill, a personal acquaintance who happens to be the new marketing guru at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Mark has a track record of success.

Check out this video and you'll see why!

Great job, Mark!

Fans Reject Izod IndyCar at Kansas

I'm sorry. The headline is harsh but true.

What's more, today's horrid turnout at Kansas was entirely predictable.

The market is naturally segmented. Oval racing enthusiasts have rejected this product yet again. Is there any reason to believe that Chicagoland will be better?

IndyCar has been transformed into an international road racing product, one that has no business staging races at large oval facilities.

Good luck, Randy Bernard. Sadly, it seems that you're going to need a huge dose of it.

Bring on the (subsidized) Streets of Baltimore!

Roggespierre

Two IRL Advisory Board Reps Revealed

This might be old news to some, but at least half of it is good news in my opinion.

The Republic has learned that the IRL Chassis Advisory Board - we shall avoid calling it the Looney Board - has at least two members signed, sealed and delivered.

The first is Eddie Gossage, President of Bruton Smith's Texas Motor Speedway. This makes perfect sense, not just because I suggested that either Smith or his emissary should be offered the race promoter's seat on the board, but also because TMS pays by far the steepest sanction fee of any race track or temporary circuit in the IndyCar Series.

That Gossage accepted IRL President Randy Bernard's offer is seen as nothing but good news in these quarters. Gossage sells tickets and corporate sponsorships more ably than any race promoter in North America. The IRL event at Texas continues to draw more race fans than any other IndyCar event, including those that enjoy millions in public subsidies.

You can like his tactics or not, but you must admit that Gossage is good at his job. Let's hope that those who want to turn IndyCar into the kind of series that has failed repeatedly in the U.S. marketplace will be willing to listen to someone who forgets more about marketing every day than they'll ever know.


The second appointment is more curious. I am a fan of Gentleman Gil de Ferran. He was an outstanding technical racing driver and a magnanimous Indianapolis 500 Champion.

The oddity is not that de Ferran was selected for a leadership role. He is a business-minded, intelligent man whose cool temperament will be appreciated by other members of the Advisory Board.

No, the strange thing is that de Ferran, the newly named president and managing partner of Luczo Dragon Racing, was chosen to represent the car owners. Because he is a "partner" in his racing team, we can assume that de Ferran is in fact a car owner. But we're left to wonder why his contemporaries selected one of the IRL's least experienced owners to represent them.

To that end, I have a theory, as you might have imagined.

Several IRL car owners are aligned with the various would-be chassis suppliers. Gil likely has no such conflict of interest. Perhaps even more important, he was not perceived to have had a conflict. In cases such as these, appearances are often at least as important as facts.

As a fan, I appreciate that de Ferran does not carry the baggage that some of his more seasoned IndyCar team owners must carry around. Is that sufficient to make up for inexperience?

My guess is that, given de Ferran's understated, cosmopolitan demeanor, yes, it probably is.

Best of luck to both men. The future of a once-great sport depends on them.

Roggespierre

IRL Advisory Board: Who and Why

Let's assess the composition of the advisory committee that will recommend a new IndyCar chassis to IRL CEO Randy Bernard.

Thanks to this article in the Indianapolis Star, we know that the board will include the following.

1. Retired Air Force General William Looney (Chairman)
2. An undetermined league representative to be chosen by Bernard
3. An IRL team owner to be selected by his peers
4. A marketer/promoter to be picked by Bernard
5. A race engineer

The list has the makings of a good start for the following reasons.

• Looney's job is to ensure that all factions are heard.
• Team owners are rightly included because new equipment will require significant capital investment on their part.
• We shall assume that "marketer/promoter" means "race promoter", one who assumes the financial risk associated with operating an IndyCar event. Certainly this is a constituency that must be given ample consideration.
• Engineering consultation is essential because the car must be safe, fast and functionally efficient. We should also hope that this particular engineer is adept at cost analysis.

What's Missing?

In my opinion, the committee still lacks the comprehensive expertise that will be required to fulfill the formidable business objectives that the IRL needs to achieve with its new car project.

First, why are the broadcast partners not represented? Increasing television ratings is by far the fastest way to increase revenue to the league and its promoters, teams and vendors. The new car should be ideally suited to accommodate slick production in High Definition. To not include a representative of either Versus or ESPN/ABC would seem to be a rather significant oversight.

Second, a marketing consultant should be added to the committee. The league should be able to find plenty of them at Indiana University's nationally ranked Kelley School of Business. Happily, that particular institution just so happens to specialize in sports media and marketing!

At Kelley, the IRL will find plenty of highly qualified, experienced marketing experts who might offer analysis such as that which is found here, here, here, here and here. One need not be a pseudonymous blogger to know this stuff.

Third, I believe that including the right kind of "marketer/promoter" is crucial. I would not include one who benefits from financial backstops provided by municipal and state governments. That would mean, for example, that the Edmonton and Barber promoters are out.

My pick would be Bruton Smith, or at least an emissary of Bruton Smith. Speedway Motorsports has been a loyal customer of the IRL for more than a decade. It promotes events at multiple locations, including ovals and a road course. More important, it is a for-profit corporation that does not benefit from direct government subsidies. In other words, Bruton and his firm require a genuinely profitable product, one that attracts lots of fans and corporate advertising dollars. His inclusion in this process is essential.

Finally, I am curious to learn who the "league representative" shall be. I can only hope that it is someone who can anticipate being held accountable for successfully marketing the end product.

Roggespierre