Beach also plans to build upon the
PDRA’s impressive online TV following
to create a more substantial social
media presence, something that is
vital to any successful marketing
strategy today.
“In today’s world, it doesn’t matter
if you’re 10 years old or 50 something
years old, everything is run by social
media, by phones and tablets, the
whole deal. So we have to really look
at who we’re marketing to, the
demographics and age groups we’re
trying to appeal to. It goes back to
ramping up our social media presence.
We’re going to get on Instagram. We’re
going to get on Twitter. We already
have a Facebook page, but we’re going
to improve that. We’re doing really
good on Motor Mania TV, but that
doesn’t put people in the stands. Even
though it’s live and it’s really great
and we’ve set records, we’ve got to
have a bigger social media presence on
each and every market we go into.
Beach has been watching promoting and
marketing techniques since his Junior
Dragster days and, growing up in Ohio,
he’s had the opportunity to take notes
from one of the best: “From a promoter
and sports marketing standpoint, Bill
Bader up at Summit Motorsports Park
really, really has a good handle on
marketing any drag race. It doesn’t
matter what it is, from a bracket race
to a national event to his Night Under
Fire show, he really understands it.
They take the same approach I’m going
to take which is customer service is
number one. We’re there for each and
every racer. We’re there for each and
every spectator that walks through the
gate. We’re not going to sell
ourselves short of that. Customer
service is going to be number one at
PDRA.”
While building the overall PDRA brand
is important, Beach and the PDRA
recognize that building driver
awareness is also a large part of
creating a loyal fan following. The
organization prides itself on being
‘by racers, for racers’ and the entire
PDRA family, from owners, to staff to
racers and crew, are committed to
building the organization and ensuring
its staying power in the industry.
“The nitrous wars this year have been
really big,” Beach said, pointing to
the importance of driver branding.
“The match race at Maryland between
Stevie Fast and Travis Harvey was big.
I think people came to watch just that
run, because it was a rivalry. There
was a lot of smack talking, per se,
going on before the match race. We
really built it up on the internet. We
need more of that. We’re going to
start seeing more of those rivalries
played up. We’re going to build the
big match ups in qualifying or
eliminations, and hit on those stories
to build up the drivers. We’re also
going to look at introducing the
drivers a little bit differently and
create more driver interaction with
the crowd. Instead of PDRA employees
always going out and shooting
t-shirts, we let the drivers shoot
them. Or, we shoot driver t-shirts
into the crowd.
“There’s no doubt in my mind we are
going to grow,” he emphasized. “The
PDRA is going to be the premier drag
racing organization. I know there’s
been some pessimism going around with
a couple of the owners pulling out,
but that hasn’t stopped their game or
their plan for growing this
organization. Jason and Tommy are 110%
in. We’re here to stay.”
ABOUT THE PDRA
Based in Pittsboro, North Carolina,
the Professional Drag Racers
Association is the top sanctioning
body in the United States for the
sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The
PDRA’s professional categories include
Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Boost,
and Pro Extreme Motorcycle along with
Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr.
Dragster, and Top Jr. Dragster. The
2015 PDRA schedule consists of ten
national events. For more on the
world’s premier eighth mile drag
racing organization visit
www.pdra660.com.
Follow the PDRA:
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram,
YouTube.
PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Collier
Professional Drag Racers Association
lisa@pdra660.com
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