Hong Kong racing fans will be offered a full range of enhanced racing information and exciting on-course entertainment in the new racing season which starts on Saturday, 3 September at Sha Tin Racecourse.
“Horse racing is the most popular sporting entertainment in Hong Kong,” said Mr. Richard Cheung, Executive Director, Customer and Marketing, while announcing the latest initiatives for the new season.
“This season, racing fans can look forward to a series of new initiatives in four major strategic areas, including an enriched digital experience, enhancements to simulcast race and broadcast distribution arrangements, extensions of event marketing initiatives and enhancements to HKJC loyalty programs.”
Enriched Digital Experience
Users of Racing Touch, the one-stop racing and betting information app developed by the Club, will enjoy full screen or floating screen formats for live racing video for everyone, which was only available to Priority Card customers previously. The app’s Horse Picker enhancement will also enable users to identify the criteria important to them for an upcoming race and the horses meeting those criteria will be displayed. The Racing Touch updates will be launched in January 2017. Mobile apps continue to grow in popularity and the Club’s HKJC TV app, available on both iOS and Android platforms, will be enhanced to provide race day radio to all HKJC betting account holders. Latest racing news will be provided, including pre-and post-race news, race meeting information and trainer and jockey interviews from the parade ring that are not available on TV.
The Club’s relationship with cross-platform messaging service WeChat will grow in the new season. In addition to purchasing racecourse admission tickets, race goers can soon enjoy seasonal food and beverage discount coupons and complete table reservations for most of the public sit-down venues via the Club’s official account on WeChat.
Further Simulcast Arrangements
Hong Kong has made remarkable gains to solidify its standing as a world-leading racing jurisdiction. Simulcasting of overseas races into Hong Kong is expanded in the new season, increasing from 15 meetings to 23 meetings, while the number of individual simulcast races offered on a Hong Kong race day remains at 10. Hong Kong customers will enjoy additional racing information for consideration in their simulcast race preparation, including leading sire statistics in the country or region of the race, more analysis of the lead-up races in advance of those simulcasts, betting trend analysis on feature races and barrier draw statistics. More Winning Region bets and Quarter/First 4 merged pool jackpots will be offered for these events as well.
Additionally, the Club has entered into an agreement with American-based Daily Racing Form to promote Hong Kong racing, which includes past performance data for all 88 race meetings. The Club will soon announce updates to its international broadcast distribution which will impact Cantonese-speaking customers worldwide.
Extension of Marketing Initiatives
Riding on the successful major race day events, the Club’s Racing Marketing team has launched a new strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Samsung to promote its Happy Wednesday events (photo 1). Samsung products will be popular prizes in various themed games throughout the season while Happy Wednesday will be featured in a new Hong Kong Tourism Board television advertising campaign.
Night racing at Hong Kong’s city track has become a major international tourist attraction and a Tourist Corner will be launched via the Club’s website by the end of October to cater to this growing segment. A pro-active approach with popular travel platform TripAdvisor is underway, furthering tourist engagement.
At both Sha Tin and Happy Valley, major race days will take on a ‘pinker’ shade, as more tailor-made events have been designed to engage female customers. Special menus, enhanced ambience in various sit-down venues and Racing 101 seminars specifically for female will be part of the new campaign.
HKJC Priority Card new initiative
The Club’s loyalty card program – HKJC Priority Card – launched in 2011 for account customers and has been extremely well received since then. “The Priority programme offers superior and unique service to our valuable customers, such as priority access for facilities, exclusive experiences, gift rewards and superior status,” said Mr. Cheung. Extending this, the Club is launching the Priority Box Office which will include tickets for world-class sporting and entertainment events, premium VIP seats and more. Early highlights of the exclusive opportunities include the 2016 FIA Formula E Hong Kong ePrix, the Hong Kong Tennis Open, a unique Melbourne Cup experience and an overseas football tour with Manchester United.
Attachment:
- Factsheet - Enriched Digital Experience
- Factsheet - Priority Box Office
Please refer to terms and conditions for event details. For enquiries, please call the HKJC's Customer Hotline 1817 or visit www.hkjc.com. All racegoers must be aged 18 or above.
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Photo 1
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Photo 2:
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 2016/17 season.
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Photo 3:
Richard Cheung (third from left) is joined by Executive Manager, Racing Marketing and Sponsorship Sandra Chan (left); Manager, Broadcasting Services Ken Chan (second from left); Executive Manager, Customer Management (Public Segment) Joice Lam (third from right); Executive Manager, Customer Digital Experience Development Birgitta Tam (second from right); and Executive Manager, Business Planning Betty Yee (right); at today��s press briefing.
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Photo 4:
Birgitta Tam, Executive Manager, Customer Digital Experience Development, introduces the enhanced Racing Touch.
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Photo 5:
Ian Chan, International Business Group Business Development Director of Tencent joins today��s press briefing and poses a photo with Richard Cheung.
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