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Originally Posted by jonesy112
Lets face it, todays youth are used to instant stimulation. If you force them to sit through a 10 minute break everytime a race starts or there is a red flag becuase there are 3 push trucks shoving off 22 cars, they will lose interest in the racing and look for another form of entertainment. And if we dont have that 8-15 yr old crowd getting hooked on racing now, how bad of shape is everything going to be in 15 years down the road.
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I will add that you have no idea how right you are in your statement. Echo Boomers are the key. "These "echo boomers" are about 70 million strong, and they are projected to outnumber their parents between 2010 and 2015, according to American Demographics magazine.
Generation Y ranges in age from 10 to 30 currently, and it is the first generation raised in the "brand era." They are extremely loyal to brands that they latch onto in their teen years, and they have funds behind them. Making up slightly more than a quarter of the population, Gen Y (born 1979-1999) has a buying power of $170-$200 billion annually."
Toyota is a client of mine and I recently attended a marketing conference given by the North American President of Marketing. He spoke to how they specifically marketed to this generation, because they will have more buying power than the Baby Boomers and Gen Y two times over. Keep in mind this generation does not know crank windows or manual locks in cars, fast food always had a drive thru and everything is instant gratification. They are the computer generation and the internet generation. Everything can be customized from your cell phone to your music (thank you IPOD) to your vehicle. Thus Toyota introduced the Scion brand and marketed it to this group. Scion was developed with only about 5 models, a certain number of colors, certain number of interior combinations...and there are limited options. Power locks, windows, etc are standard....they then developed a tremendous after-market parts company allowing the Scions to be customized relatively inexpensively.....So you can get a new steering wheel for 50 bucks, new shift, new door handles, etc....all customized...which is what this generation is all about.
Toyota's thinking? Tap into this massive buying power, give them what they are accustomed too, then you will move them from a Scion, right into a Toyota and right into a Lexus as they mature. The marketing, branding, product development were all geared specifically to this generation. And the first advertising??? Geared toward 5th grade boys when it was launched. Even though those boys couldn't drive, Toyota knew if they marketed the brand to them by the time they were able to choose a vehicle they would have them. And they were correct, Scion has been a very successful brand for Toyota and it is a huge hit with that age range.
The key thing he said, if they wanted Toyota to continue to be successful they had to secure a position with this generation because they will be the key to the companies future success, and you don't stick your head in the sand with a $200 billion buying power group and hope they will come find you one day.
So you are 100% correct, if you don't capture this group now you will lose them and it will ultimately be the demise of the sport. They have a million things to pick from and there are many, many more sporting options available now than there were 20-30 years ago. You have to tap into that age group and find a way to market yourself to them in a way they are familiar with.