losing traction
In 2007 I attended the Australian F1 GP and enjoyed premium hospitality in the GP Traction precinct. Traction was first offered in 2006, was judged a success, and so was offered again in 2007. I wrote a generally positive review of it. Now, in December 2007, the Australian GP Corporation still has not decided whether to run it again in 2008. The race is on 16 March 2008. Grandstand tickets have been on sale for months. When I rang the GP Corporation to ask about Traction for 2008 the woman who took my call sounded vague and evasive. She either knew nothing or had nothing she was able to confirm to the public.
This is no way to run a marketing campaign for a major event. Everyone who registered interest for Traction, or attended in the past, should have received emails about what is happening. If it is not being offered again, they should have tried to sell other tickets to the thousands of people on the Traction mailing list. I have not received a single email from Traction since attending the race in 2007. This is pathetic customer relations.
The GP Corporation wonders why spectator numbers are declining, and why the events continues to lose more and more money. One of the reasons for declining spectator numbers is due to a wider trend about audience expectations and the rise of quality as a key indicator of an experience.
I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars for a cramped grandstand seat exposed to the wind and rain with nowhere else to go and a crowded compound where the food is terrible and expensive, the toilets overcrowded and horrible, and the whole experience is a trial of endurance. I think the general admission tickets are great value and given their low cost (compared to attending Grands Prix in Europe) I willingly tolerate the poor food and amenities. However, I would prefer comfort and quality and I am prepared to pay for it. This is what Traction appeared to offer.
For between $210 and $250 per day (depending on your sex – women were able to get discounted tickets via en exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act – and whether you booked early) you got an exclusive area of the track, which was one of the best areas on the circuit, all you could eat food (which was actually quite good) and basic drinks (Carlton draught, Cascade light, bubbly, and write and red wines), cafe tables and chairs with umbrellas for shade, and toilets that were not used by thousands of people and hence not totally disgusting.
This should have been successful. Perhaps the quality was underpriced, and so it was not sufficiently profitable. However, I also think it was marketed to the wrong audience. It was sold as a 20something party area when it should have been marketed to a broader audience looking for quality – people with high discretionary spending who want to attend the GP but who decide not to because of the poor quality of the overall experience. The people in Traction were of a broader age range and demographic than the target market – a sure sign that many had, like me, seen what was on offer, interpreted it as a good deal and bought tickets. Without trying to meet the needs of the audience, the GP Corporation will continue to look stupid and the GP will most likely not continue in Melbourne after 2010.
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Other posts you may find relevant and interesting
- losing traction and getting sidetracked, 17 January 2008
- lost all traction – sidetracked and stuck in the mud, 31 January 2008
- Futile 1, 10 November 2006
- getting traction, 22 March 2007
- lunch at Gold an Fork, Elizabeth St, 22 July 2010
December 17th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Looks like they will sell Traction tickets soon according to the Ticketek site.
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