Racing News  

HKJC unveils new customer initiatives for the 2015/16 season

01/09/2015

Hong Kong racing’s 2015/16 season gets underway on Sunday, 6 September.  To mark the new season, Mr. Richard Cheung, Executive Director of Customer and Marketing, hosted a press conference at Sha Tin today (1 September) to announce the latest customer and marketing initiatives that will enhance the customer experience for racing fans.

“In recent years, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has led other major racing jurisdictions with our innovative customer-centric strategies.  This season, our customers can expect to benefit from 10 key initiatives in four strategic areas: digital experience, wagering information, eventful marketing and alternate betting innovations.  Among the new initiatives, the launch of Composite Win in October is particularly exciting,” said Mr Cheung.

List of initiatives

Enrich Digital Experience (Appendix 1)

  • HKJC TV App new release
  • Mobile betting apps enhancement – Racing Touch new version, Windows Phone
  • Cooperation with mobile payment system (WeChat) for racecourse venues booking and admission tickets
  • Rolling out of Virtual Reality gear to enrich our customer experience programs

Enhance Wagering Information (Appendix 2)

  • Club TV programs/ new program hosts
  • Improved SpeedPower system – SpeedPRO

Continue Core Eventful Marketing Initiatives

  • Continue with successful race day events
  • More cooperation on racing sports marketing with external partners

Innovative betting arrangements

  • Jackpot offering ($75M at season opening week)
  •  Alternative innovative way to pick a winner - Composite Win

A. Enrich digital experience

Given the growth in mobile applications, the Club launched the HKJC TV App last season.  The current version of the HKJC TV App, with more than 300,000 downloads and logins, has football information and live games only.  In January 2016, a new version will be launched with an extension to include live racing and all pre-recorded programmes, as well as the live Mark Six draw.  The App will have a new and enhanced user interface, which customers will be able to personalize.  The App will provide a one stop shop for all HKJC video programmes.

As mobile betting accounts are occupying a larger share of total customer transactions, the Club will release a new version of Racing Touch in September on both the iPad and Android platforms. This enhanced version will improve Racing Touch in a variety of ways, including offering a complete set of racing bet types, quick-key functions to allow easier entry for all-up betting, and racing trivia games sure to interest fans of all types.

In addition to the Racing Touch upgrades to existing platforms, the Club is also launching a Windows Phone version of the betting app.

Mr. Cheung believes that Hong Kong needs to catch up on one of the most important digital trends - mobile payment.  “As one of the very early adopters in Hong Kong, the Club will leverage the payment capability on the WeChat platform to launch Racecourse admission tickets booking service.  We expect more exciting innovations between the Club and WeChat to come.”

“The Club has been renovating the racecourses to provide a better customer experience.  Other than hardware, we are also improving our software to cultivate fans’ racing interests.  Thanks to the successful pilot at Digital Night last season with Samsung, the Club will roll out more Virtual Reality (VR) so that fans can use technology to experience locations around the racecourse like the paddock, at the jump from the starting gates, and inside the stables,” said Mr. Cheung.

B. Enhance Wagering Information

As announced at the end of last season, the Club’s live racing program will be aired on TVB’s J2 Channel.  The line-up of racing programmes will cover live and pre-/post-race shows.  There will be several new English broadcasters on board in the new season, including John Blance.

Providing racing fans with consistently improved and enhanced comprehensive race form and wagering information, the Club is introducing an enhancement to a long-standing product. Used by more than 200,000 fans per year, the speed power and speed map functions have been incredibly popular reference tools.  This year the Club is introducing a new partner, called SpeedPRO.  Serving as an improved version of the popular functions of the past, SpeedPro offers enhanced functionality, accounting for weight carried, the overall strength of a race, and finishing times.

C. Continue Core Eventful Marketing Initiatives

The Club’s Racing Marketing team will continue to organize eventful Sha Tin race days focusing on sporting excitement as well as the Happy Wednesday entertainment brand.  Riding on the success of Ladies Purse Day, one of the new innovations this season is for the Club to partner with Oriental Watch for a Gentleman’s bow-tie race day.

Apart from on-course events, the Club’s Racing Marketing team has also been working with different sponsors to further promote the sport of horse racing.  “Our partners believe that the sport of horse racing is part of popular culture in Hong Kong,” said Sandra Chan, Executive Manager, Racing Marketing and Sponsorship.   At the season launch the Club will leverage the support of its long term sponsor SKOL for a special season-opening-themed beer can packaging campaign, which will be sold in various retail outlets.

The Club has also worked with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on a contest to nurture young Hong Kong designers in the creation of racing-themed merchandise, which will be sold in Gift at Races Outlets.  Happy Wednesday partner Godiva will design a series of racing-themed chocolate drinks, available exclusively at the racecourse and Beer Garden in the new season. 

D. Betting arrangements and a new innovative way to pick a winner

There will be HK$75 million of mega prizes in the opening week of racing across the Triple Trio, Quartet & First 4 Merged Pool, Double Trio and the Six Up.

We will continue our monthly Quartet & First 4 Merged Pool jackpot allocation this season but the designated races will be moved to the 1st leg of the Triple Trio (usually Race 4 on the card) and the last race. Last season, the merged pool jackpot allocation was on the 2nd leg of the Triple Trio and the last race.

“Perhaps the biggest innovation is the alternative way of betting -- called ‘Composite Win’ which will allow racing fans to have a new and simplified way to pick the winner of the race” said Mr. Cheung.   

Under Composite Win, Horses are grouped into 3-4 groups with racing-specific and objective logics such as

  • 3 Pick 1 - Top 2 Overnight Favourites vs. 3 Overnight Mid-Pricers vs. all Other Outsiders horses
  • Winning Trainer -  e.g. John Moore horses vs. Tony Cruz horses vs. Richard Gibson horses vs. Others
  • Winning Region – e.g. Hong Kong vs. Europe vs. Japan vs. Others 

 

A particular group will win as long as any horse in the group wins. The dividend will be the same regardless of which horse in the grouping wins.  “This is made possible by the Longitude technology where the bets are ‘merged’ into the existing Win pool, so there will be no liquidity issues,” Mr. Cheung continued.

“This new alternative way of betting offers many new customer propositions ranging from simplification for the leisure customers and risk-hedging for the serious customers, as well as cheering a particular trainer or region (e.g. in the international races) for the sports fans.  More information will be released in early October before the launch and we look forward to working with all racing media on this innovative way of betting which is a global first,” said Mr. Cheung.

Besides all the exciting new arrangements, each racing fan will also receive a 2015/16 Racing Calendar as a free door gift upon entry to Sha Tin Racecourse on 6 September.  The season opening day is not to be missed.

Mr. Richard Cheung, Executive Director of Customer and Marketing, hosts a press conference at Sha Tin today to announce the latest customer and marketing initiatives that will enhance the customer experience for racing fans in the new 2015/16 season.
Photo 1:
Mr. Richard Cheung, Executive Director of Customer and Marketing, hosts a press conference at Sha Tin today to announce the latest customer and marketing initiatives that will enhance the customer experience for racing fans in the new 2015/16 season.

Richard Cheung (third from right) is joined by Broadcasting Services Manager (Production) Ken Chan (left); PMU Bet Type Development Manager Amy Wong (second from left); Executive Manager, Betting Systems and Control Raymond Tse (third from left); Executive Manager, Racing Marketing and Sponsorship Sandra Chan (second from right); and  Executive Manager, Customer Digital Experience Development Birgitta Tam (right), at today��s press briefing.
Photo 2:
Richard Cheung (third from right) is joined by Broadcasting Services Manager (Production) Ken Chan (left); PMU Bet Type Development Manager Amy Wong (second from left); Executive Manager, Betting Systems and Control Raymond Tse (third from left); Executive Manager, Racing Marketing and Sponsorship Sandra Chan (second from right); and Executive Manager, Customer Digital Experience Development Birgitta Tam (right), at today��s press briefing.

Torry Hong, Senior Product Director of Tencent (left) joins today��s press briefing.
Photo 3:
Torry Hong, Senior Product Director of Tencent (left) joins today��s press briefing.

At the season launch the Club will leverage the support of its long term sponsor SKOL for a special season-opening-themed beer can packaging campaign, which will be sold in various retail outlets.
Photo 4:
At the season launch the Club will leverage the support of its long term sponsor SKOL for a special season-opening-themed beer can packaging campaign, which will be sold in various retail outlets.

 

Close

Copyright © 2000-2024 The Hong Kong Jockey Club. All rights reserved.