Applicant: Scottish Racing
Location: Ayr, Hamilton, Kelso, Musselburgh & Perth
Total Funding Awarded:  £59,000

"I'd advise anyone seeking funding to contact their Advisor at an early stage, maintain contact and seek feedback throughout the process"
Jonathan Garrett, Scottish Racing

Scottish Racing comprises five racecourses throughout Scotland. Already an established industry body, Scottish Racing has created three consecutive and successful marketing initiatives with the help of Challenge Funding. Jonathan Garrett, Scottish Racing’s Marketing Manager, talks about his Challenge Fund experience.

THE CREATIVE SPARK

“I first learned about Challenge Funding when I attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting in Lanarkshire, where a representative of VisitScotland gave a talk on it.

Scottish Racing has been set up as a company for several years and has proved very successful, achieving more as an industry body than on an individual racecourse basis. The five racecourses have worked on a number of projects before the Challenge Fund applications.  

Our existing fixture list had no call to action or to book. There was a need for a leaflet with a booking form for all five racecourses alongside the list of fixtures and Challenge Funding seemed a good way to achieve this.  

We decided early on in the first application to apply for other projects and envisaged two further steps to the process. The second and third project ideas were all agreed at the same time as the first. Each project has built upon the previous one by targeting new markets and by using information gathered from the monitoring and evaluation stage to direct future marketing activities.

The Tartan Turf Guide was born out of an idea to provide more detailed information to prospective racegoers to extend their stay, attend additional races and further explore the local areas. The Tartan Turf Tours take things another step further as a new project.  

FROM INSPIRATION TO REALITY

Before we submitted the application form, our Challenge Fund Advisor went through the submission with me line by line and was very helpful. You don’t need to make your ideas fit all the questions, your Advisor will help you through that bit.   

We had a clear idea of what we wanted and how each separate project could be achieved, by building on each previous one. Our first project was about providing information to encourage group bookings. From this, the next step was to provide wider assistance for planning a racing trip in Scotland: accommodation, travel, where to eat and other attractions near each course.  

We produced 16,000 Tartan Turf guidebooks, a 64-page book packed with useful information. We sourced new business contacts in each racing course area via searches on visitscotland.com, ending up with over 500 businesses. This was stocked throughout Scotland and the North of England and achieved via direct mail. This proved most productive.  

We discovered from research that 20% of racegoers were staying over so saw the need for more comprehensive information. Tartan Turf Tours make things even easier by creating a race-based package. The additional information for our second and third applications came out of the monitoring process which we were doing anyway. After the first round, we knew much more, so the process was easier.

Scottish Racing had to invest time and energy into monitoring the success of each funded project. The Guide required a lot of work and time to research all the inclusions. Staff time for this was part-funded by the Challenge Fund. The Challenge Fund monitoring process was not trouble-free but worth it for its own sake. If you budget at the beginning and think how you are going to carry it out it should make things much easier. The data we obtained has also proved useful for our own marketing, so we will continue with the surveys.

I’d advise anyone seeking Challenge Funding to contact their Challenge Fund Advisor at an early stage, maintain contact and seek feedback throughout the process. Some of the application details were difficult to apply to our circumstances and project but talking them over with our Advisor was key. It was also a good opportunity to help the Advisor understand our business.

One interesting change to Challenge Funding is that a small proportion of qualifying funding can now be assigned to administration as part of the cost of the project. I’d recommend any group thinking of coming together to apply for funding should identify one person to co-ordinate the application. Also make sure you liaise closely with the Challenge Fund Advisor throughout to avoid pitfalls.

THE REAL BOOST

When compiling the Tartan Turf Guide, we contacted over 500 businesses, most of whom we had not previously dealt with. This project has not only generated returns for the 5 racecourses but also demonstrated real returns for other local tourism businesses.  

Accommodation providers, who have bought into the Racing project, have seen a rise in bed nights thanks to the weekend packages offered in the Tartan Turf Guide. The restaurants have also reported being busier during fixture evening because by advertising in the guide, visitors now know where to go for a good meal in the local area.  

It’s helped forge new working relationships. The popularity of the Guide means it is something we will repeat even without the contribution of Challenge Funding. Another benefit is a closer working relationship with VisitScotland. I hope that I can increase understanding and raise awareness of Scottish racing within public bodies.

We are really pleased with results so far. Attendance is up 5% year on year for fixtures. 100% of Guide recipients surveyed said they found the guidebook useful. 79% said this was an increase on what they’d done in previous years and that the Guide had been the stimulus.