by Kristin Swartzlander | Nov 27, 2015 | Thoughts and Rants
What ever turns out like we thought it would? Whether it’s the Thanksgiving turkey or your racing season, we all have expectations, we all face challenges and, often, we’re surprised by our results. Good or bad, what happens almost never matches what we envisioned in our minds. Isn’t that kind of magical? On this day where we gather together to give thanks, I want to specifically thank you for being here. For being a part of my journey and for allowing me to be a part of yours. For helping me and for allowing me to help you. For sharing my vision – our vision – for the future of our community. If you had described to me a few years ago the opportunities I’ve had, the people I’ve gotten to meet and the family that I’ve become a part of, I don’t know that I would have believed you. For all of those things, and many more, I’m so grateful. But the best part? I’m most grateful for the magic. Because who knows where it’ll take us next. xo. Kristin ...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Nov 13, 2015 | Media and Public Relations, Mindset, Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Racing Sponsorship, Thoughts and Rants
At the end of the race, at the end of the day, what are you left with? ‘Trophies,’ according to Kenny Wallace. This morning, I had the pleasure of listening to Kenny Wallace keynote the RPM Promoter’s Workshops in Las Vegas. He made quite a few interesting points, but one that jumped out to me for racers was this (and, forgive me, but I’m paraphrasing): “For racers, the money goes into the accounts, and the money goes out of the accounts. All we have left at the end of the day are the trophies.” Kenny talked a lot about where we are as a sport, both fiscally and emotionally.He made sure to emphasize that as racing businesses, we need to be profitable. But what I took away from it was this: if you’re only paying attention to the financial side of things, you’re forgetting about why we’re here. Because at the end of the day – and this is according to Kenny – we’re all trying to get to that same moment where we’re cracking open a Bud Light after the hauler’s closed up and the lights are shut off. The money that came in has already gone out, and all we have left are the trophies. Kenny was talking about actual, physical trophies because we’re at a race track conference, but I think it goes beyond that. Our trophies are not just trophies. In your relationships, whether that’s with a fan, sponsor, racer or track, I think we need to ask ourselves: what trophy are we leaving them with? Are we giving them the trophy that they can...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Sep 25, 2015 | Thoughts and Rants
A unique format. Over 50 cars packed into the pits. Grandstands so full that I couldn’t find a seat. A monster winner’s check for $20,000 and one of the most beautiful trophies I’ve ever seen. You would think it would be hard to top the first Dirt Classic Presented by Kasey Kahne. But that’s why I’m proud that my company, DirtyMouth Communications, is a part of the Dirt Classic team once again this year for the second annual event: the long-term growth vision. For us, it’s not just about ‘topping’ the first race. It’s not just about adjusting the format, upping the payout or finding teams that fans will be excited to watch duke it out. It’s about continuing to make the Dirt Classic more than just a race. To me, the Dirt Classic represents a new way of thinking. It could even be considered a movement, with the number of fantastic people that are hopping on board with our vision. And it’s gaining steam. The vision – approaching a race from an entertainment and business standpoint – is what I bought into when the Dirt Classic team approached me last year about creating a marketing and promotion plan for the inaugural event. And that’s why I’m so excited about being a part of it again. Through my work with DirtyMouth, I have challenged the racing industry to think outside the box. And not just on the track. Although Dirt Classic format is one of my favorite aspects of the event because of the level of excitement it produces all night long, it’s only a small part of what...
by Kristin Swartzlander | May 7, 2015 | Mindset, Thoughts and Rants
If you’ve been following DirtyMouth for long, you know that I’m passionate about making waves in the racing industry. My goal with everything I do, from coaching and seminars to promoting and consulting, is to help us all make the sport stronger with positive change, now and in the future. So I bet you think you know what this post is about: making waves. In this case, I think a lot of you will be happy to know that you’re wrong. Today I want to talk about making ripples. But who cares about ripples when other are making waves? Me, and I’ll tell you why. When you first start out in racing, or in anything else for that matter, you’re a beginner. From your first job to your first time playing a video game, you generally start out at zero. And when you work at something new, you start improving. In fact, the harder you work, the more you improve. You go from tiny steps to leaps and bounds. It’s easy to see this with rookie racers. Most struggle to make their first laps. But after some experience, they start to improve. Once they get the car under them, they quickly shave a large chunk of time off of their laps. Then they finish their first race and begin making passes. When you get a little bit of skill and confidence, you can quickly go from last to, well, not last. That’s making waves. But as you get better and better, those huge improvements taper off. You might only shave two seconds off your best lap on a good...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Apr 23, 2015 | Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Thoughts and Rants
When I worked in the NFL, one of my primary responsibilities was to create out-of-the-box opportunities for fans to connect with the team and players. Mostly, this was through media and community relations opportunities. For example, one of Vernon Davis’ interests is fashion. So I worked to secure pieces in high-end fashion magazines for Davis to show off his style. It might seem frivolous – does an NFL player really need more PR? Especially that of the fashion world? Maybe not. But, how many fashion magazine readers get exposed to the NFL every day? Probably not many. It was an opportunity to reach a potential new fan in a place they’re already putting their attention. Getting new fans for any sport or cause often requires thinking outside the box. But it doesn’t have to be hard. It does require some thought, research and ingenuity. Because you have to reach people where they’re already spending their time, attention and money. Getting to the point…last week I wrote an article that got a lot of (mostly) positive response. As excited as I am about the future of racing, there are some places in the country where tracks and drivers are struggling. In my opinion, it’s not the racing itself that needs fixed to solve that problem. We have a great product. It’s the marketing that’s not working. And I said I’d give you a few ways that you can help grow the sport through grassroots marketing. [Note: Grassroots marketing is a free or low-cost strategy that starts from the ground up. It often utilizes unconventional or nontraditional methods in order to get...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Apr 16, 2015 | Mindset, Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Thoughts and Rants
Me? I have never been more excited about the future of racing. And a lot of that has to do with people like you, who are working to improve the sport we love. But in many areas, the sport is suffering. Car counts are down. The purses are the lowest in the country. And ticket prices keep going up. And how many discussions have you overheard, or been a part of, in which someone suggests changes to the actual racing program in order to fix the problem? The stands would be more full each week if we: Add another division. Get rid of heat races. Change the number of laps. Do qualifying instead of pill draws. Make the racing more exciting in fill-in-the-blank way. People today – (P.S. I love that phrase. What else could we be? Time travel!) – want shiny and new. They can’t pay attention as long as they used to. We have to give them a reason to put their phones down. Etcetera. That’s the consensus, if you ask many. But here’s my opinion: the racing itself does not need to be fixed. It’s the marketing that hasn’t evolved as fast as the fans have. Every day, I talk to people who are involved in racing. Whether they are a group of fans at a mall show or clients on our regular conference calls, I’m exposed to a wide variety of people in racing. People are no less passionate about racing today than they were back in the good ol’ days of big purses and packed stands. There are just less of us than before....
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