On May 27 the New York Racing Association−which oversees Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga thoroughbred racetracks−named Lynn LaRocca as its Chief Experience Officer, a newly created position.
As SVP, Chief Experience Officer, LaRocca is in a unique position to spark customer engagement, customer loyalty, and help create new experiences at the three tracks for racegoers. NYRA is coming off a thrilling Belmont Stakes in June when California Chrome attempted to become the sport’s first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
NYRA held its first-ever Stars and Stripes Festival on July 5 at Belmont, which featured $3.25 million in purses spread among two Grade 1 races, a Grade 2, and two Grade 3s.
LaRocca participated in a compelling Q&A with Loyalty360 to discuss NYRA’s plans to create new and exciting experiences for loyal racing fans.
As Chief Experience Officer for NYRA, what are your main goals as you embark on this unique position?
As Chief Experience Officer, I will be working with colleagues throughout the organization to instill a customer-centric philosophy to everything we do. The “experience” ecosystem within a company is about PEOPLE and the PLATFORMS, and the POLICIES and PROCESSES which support them. We’ll be focusing on enhancing these internal areas in order to bring the best experience to all our customers at every point of contact, no matter what level of engagement they have with our organization. Every area needs to understand that the customer experience is a fundamental business driver.
Racing attendance today, in general, isn’t what it used to be before the days of simulcasting and online betting. How do you plan to spark customer engagement around New York thoroughbred racing?
The New York Racing Association is considered the leading thoroughbred racing circuit in North America, and one of the most important racing organizations in the world. NYRA is the only circuit that races year-round in the U.S. and commands the largest share (20%) of the $10B wagered on racing. We have the best product and the best opportunities to meet the needs of the racing customer both on-track and on-line. We can and will do a better job of delivering this message to customers in the way they want to be reached with the information and incentives that will trigger more engagement through all channels.
Part of our strategy is to create several significant racing days that are or become “must see” or “must bet” events. We’ll do this, in part, by placing multiple graded stakes races on one day. Our recent Belmont Stakes Day was an example. In addition to the highly-anticipated third leg of the Triple Crown, we featured a total of 10 graded stake races, six of which were Grade 1, and a total of $8M in purses. Our strategy was rewarded by an all-source handle record $150+M, beating both the previous track record by 18% (Breeders’ Cup 2005) and the 2004 Belmont Stakes by 36% ($111M).
We will continue to use this strategy to build out days previously under-utilized, like our Stars & Stripes day on the July 4th holiday, which featured international horses, giveaways, a food truck festival, and family entertainment. On track, we will continue to offer an enhanced guest experience that encompasses all facets of a live-racing day from parking to food, beverage and appropriate entertainment between races. If we can ignite more passion within our existing customer base (both serious and casual fans), they will act as a halo for others, bringing more participation all around.
What technologies are you looking to implement that can impact the customer experience?
We’re going to launch an improved nyra.com this fall that will feature the ability to watch live racing and wager on-line. Following that, we will be instituting an enhanced loyalty program–one that will continue to focus on our best customers (those that wager regularly) while also targeting other, more casual fans (those that wager little or not at all). Incentives will be pari-mutuelly based as well as on-track and/or experientially-oriented. Implementing a robust CRM system that allows us more insight to our customer will help us connect with them on an individual basis. I’m also looking at implementing more of an overall digital/mobile strategy that will assist us in communicating more efficiently with our customers and, conversely, allow customers more of a seamless way to interact with our brand.
How will the outcomes of new technologies be measured?
Our measuring metrics, whether for new or existing technology are fairly standard and will consist of attendance at the track and online traffic; on-track and all-source handle; non-race spend (food and beverages); online/social engagement; share of racing wallet; advance ticket sales, etc. We’ll also be looking at whether our efforts have helped reactivate, stem attrition, or assisted in migrating customers to different levels.
What new technologies have been recently implemented?
As for on-track, we’ve installed hundreds of high-definition television sets throughout all our three tracks (Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga). A new sound system was installed in Saratoga to replace an out-of-date one. At Aqueduct, we opened Longshots, our new state-of-the-art simulcast facility. This is an incredible spot, with over 400 television sets and monitors of various sizes. It is an outstanding place to watch horse racing, as well as a variety of other sporting events. One portion of the facility is devoted to a bar and restaurant area.
We also have designated areas for people who enjoy simulcasting, with particular attention paid to our most interested and active bettors. In addition, we've also taken aggressive steps to provide high-definition television programming to our fans across the country. To that end, we have installed high-definition cameras at all three of our racetracks. We have a contract with Roku, so our fans can enjoy all of our races in high-definition on their television at home if they subscribe to that service.
How has the strategy and focus of customer experience/customer engagement changed recently?
This is the core of every business decision we make, no matter how big or small. Getting consistent buy-in across the entire organization is critical so we’re working hard on delivering that education and message. How customers experience their every interaction with your brand is a crucial business driver. As a business, we need to focus on building a sustainable model, and in order to do that, we need to make decisions with the customer at the heart of it all.
How do you define customer loyalty and what does it mean to NYRA?
To me, customer loyalty is the Nirvana all brands strive for. To be loyal to a brand means you are top of mind to the customer; they think of you before your competitor. To NYRA, this means our customers know we have the best racing at the most famed tracks in the country, along with a strong rewards program and prefer us over the competition. Customers vote with their wallets so attendance, online visits, and wagering are crucial, but we also need to understand brand satisfaction and loyalty metrics, which will be strong if the experience meets or exceeds expectations.
As NYRA gets set to open Saratoga on July 18, what lessons do you hope to take from the Saratoga experience that can be applied to Belmont and Aqueduct?
I feel so incredibly lucky to be working at the premier racing facility in this country. There is such a rich, vibrant history in Saratoga and it is positively magical to be here during the thoroughbred racing season every summer. The great pageantry of this sport comes to life and the energy is intoxicating! NYRA is always looking for ways to bottle that magic and bring the intimacy and local heritage to life at our other tracks. We’ve definitely made strides at both Belmont and Aqueduct this year and will continue to do so; each track has a distinct and unique identity that can be spotlighted.