Let’s Look Deeper at Those TV Ratings

This is the Statt Mann Baby. Time to Scatt a little bit.

First of all, thanks for the big response to last week’s look at the Indy 500 TV ratings. They were the worst ever for a Memorial Day weekend race.

You were interested so let’s look a bit deeper.

Many in racing lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of Americans are NOT race fans. Even the Super Bowl draws less than half the available TV audience.

But why is the Super Bowl the largest TV audience every year? Because the NFL understands the fans cheer for brands and stars, not the game.

Let that sink in for a minute.

You cheer for or against the likes of Tom Brady or the L.A. Rams. You don’t cheer for football or, in IndyCar’s case, Sunday’s race at Road America.

The most successful racing promotions like NASCAR or Drifting aren’t selling the competition. They’re slinging the competitors. They’re pushing Joey Logano or Chris Forsberg.

Fans believe it matters who wins and loses a contest. Not the contest itself.

I bumped into a TikTok video this week that had great marketing rules: Have a message. Communicate it clearly and quickly. And remind people so they don’t easily forget.

In the case of IndyCar, the message should be the drivers, not the race.

In the words of former Dallas Cowboy running back Duane Thomas Super Bowl VI: If it’s so important, why are they having another one next year?

Peace.