"Let yourself goooo." That famous line was inimitably delivered by Hector in those famous TV adverts is about to be replaced. Horseracing Ireland will roll out a new marketing campaign starting next Monday.
The Horseracing Ireland 'Let yourself go' campaign will be a tough act to follow. But the industry in Ireland is showing some strong signs of recovery, despite Brexit threats. Now it could be the ideal time to hammer home that message, with Longines Irish Champions weekend imminent on the 14th and 15th of September.
Paul Dermody, HRI commercial and marketing director, believes the project has a hard act to follow after the Let Yourself Go advert. That campaign featured TV celebrity Hector Ó hEochagáin, back in 2012. This time around it's a different angle, 'Every Racing Moment' will be the message.
Drive Interest
Dermody said: “The key things we want to drive are interest levels and the profile of Irish racing and we want to enhance the experience of our consumers as well. We also want to drive attendance at the racecourse. We have 26 racecourses which are all committed to marketing and celebrating their own fixtures and festivals but we need to drive this sport as a whole.
Dermody continued: “We felt it was the right time to update the visual identity and logo of HRI. We've come up with a very fresh new logo for HRI and that's what we're launching on Friday. From Monday, we'll be rolling out our television campaign across all major channels.”
Horseracing in Ireland has enjoyed a good opening six months to the year. This campaign will capitalise on those good figures. Attendances at racecourses in Ireland have increased 9% year on year. That has led to positive growth in betting ring figures, crucial for the future funding of the sport.
HRI Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh has been impressed with 2019 so far. "It is very encouraging that figures for the first six months demonstrate increased participation rates across the ownership spectrum, more horses-in-training, and people coming to the races in bigger numbers and enjoying the wonderful product we have."
The Every Racing Moment campaign will look to enhance these already positive numbers for Horseracing Ireland.
