The Jockey Club announced it will continue the America's Best Racing mobile marketing tour with a team of six brand ambassadors embedded in key racing markets throughout 2014 and 2015. The major racing events of the tour will be supported by the 2014 edition of the "ABRV," a bus that will focus on hospitality and direct fan education.
The two-year fan development campaign will focus on Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, with two ambassadors based in Los Angeles and New York and one each in Chicago and Miami. In addition to efforts in their "home" markets, the ambassadors will also work within the region to reach other racing fans and racing facilities.
America's Best Racing, a multi-media marketing platform that is funded by The Jockey Club, is designed to increase the profile and visibility of America's best Thoroughbred racing events, with a primary focus on the lifestyle and competition of the sport. It was launched in early 2012 with the debut of followhorseracing.com, and with ongoing promotional assistance from NTRA Communications, it has expanded since then.
"One of the most successful components of the 2013 ABRV tour was the intimate one-on-one interaction with new fans, bringing them individually along to a level of comfort at the racetrack throughout a day at the races," said Jason Wilson, vice president of business development for The Jockey Club, in a release. "In 2014 we will continue to recruit individuals and groups to experience Thoroughbred racing at the track and through television and digital media."
Two ambassadors—Jose Contreras and Victoria Garofalo—return from the 2013 crew. Conteras will be based in Los Angeles and Garofalo will be based in New York. Joining them will be Ciara Austin (Los Angeles), Dan Tordjman (New York), Michael Johnson (Chicago), and Vince Mathews (Miami).
In addition, 2013 ambassador Chip McGaughey will be working directly with ABR's agency of record, Cornett-IMS, to direct and coordinate local and national marketing fan development efforts.
Visit the America's Best Racing website, followhorseracing.com, in the coming weeks for introductory blogs from each of the 2014-2015 ambassadors.