Key west worlds this year
05-24-2019, 01:18 PM
#32
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. However, it doesn't not square with the facts as presented to me through Miss GEICO team partners Scott Colton, Gary Stray and Marc Granet, Gary Goodell and Scott Begovich.
As you'd expect, GEICO's in-house marketing team tracks the referral business derived from all of its marketing efforts, including those from each venue/event in which the Miss GEICO offshore racing team competes. Races, air shows, boat shows—you name the event and GEICO's marketing people know exactly how much business was written out of it. Those numbers coming out of Key West, for whatever reason (endless distractions of Key West, etc.) have never produced an adequate return on the considerable investment required to have a team there for a week. (For the record, every racer I've ever asked about Key West cites it as the most expensive venue in the sport.)
Long before Steve Curtis began throttling for the team two years ago I heard this from the partners in the ownership group. While GEICO's revenue might be endless, its sponsorship support for the offshore racing team it backs is not. According to those partners, GEICO writes far more insurance out of far less expensive venues such as Englewood Beach than it does in Key West. So while there well may be hard feelings and resentments and biases and all the rest, it's a business decision—at least according to those people actually involved in making it. And it's something I've been hearing from them for years.
Of course there could be other factors within the decision. Like any team, Miss GEICO wants to be where it feels appreciated and valued and my understanding is that wasn't how they felt the last time they competed in Key West. But at the end of the day, it's a business decision.
You don't think skipping Key West serves GEICO—the company—as a sponsor. The team feels differently.
For the record, I love Key West as an offshore racing venue and speedonthewater.com has every intention of covering Race World Offshore's event there this year.
As you'd expect, GEICO's in-house marketing team tracks the referral business derived from all of its marketing efforts, including those from each venue/event in which the Miss GEICO offshore racing team competes. Races, air shows, boat shows—you name the event and GEICO's marketing people know exactly how much business was written out of it. Those numbers coming out of Key West, for whatever reason (endless distractions of Key West, etc.) have never produced an adequate return on the considerable investment required to have a team there for a week. (For the record, every racer I've ever asked about Key West cites it as the most expensive venue in the sport.)
Long before Steve Curtis began throttling for the team two years ago I heard this from the partners in the ownership group. While GEICO's revenue might be endless, its sponsorship support for the offshore racing team it backs is not. According to those partners, GEICO writes far more insurance out of far less expensive venues such as Englewood Beach than it does in Key West. So while there well may be hard feelings and resentments and biases and all the rest, it's a business decision—at least according to those people actually involved in making it. And it's something I've been hearing from them for years.
Of course there could be other factors within the decision. Like any team, Miss GEICO wants to be where it feels appreciated and valued and my understanding is that wasn't how they felt the last time they competed in Key West. But at the end of the day, it's a business decision.
You don't think skipping Key West serves GEICO—the company—as a sponsor. The team feels differently.
For the record, I love Key West as an offshore racing venue and speedonthewater.com has every intention of covering Race World Offshore's event there this year.
If OPA /P1/ ABPA had won the contract for Key West it would be interesting to see if Geico would have shown up.....using this logic they would still have been a no show
05-24-2019, 06:07 PM
#33
Registered
when allweis and miklos were rebuilding offshore it was an awesome time.
we all loved it .
the end started with a simple keywest boycott.
and here we are 15 years later still in a steady decline.
Thanx Mike ,thanx Steve for some pretty awesome years of offshore racing .
Key West worlds now is just a party destination.
The city , the Navy , the locals ,are over it.
and the boycotters OSS they did this a long tim e ago .
we all loved it .
the end started with a simple keywest boycott.
and here we are 15 years later still in a steady decline.
Thanx Mike ,thanx Steve for some pretty awesome years of offshore racing .
Key West worlds now is just a party destination.
The city , the Navy , the locals ,are over it.
and the boycotters OSS they did this a long tim e ago .
05-24-2019, 06:29 PM
#34
Correspondent
Correspondent
"Of course there could be other factors within the decision. Like any team, Miss GEICO wants to be where it feels appreciated and valued and my understanding is that wasn't how they felt the last time they competed in Key West. But at the end of the day, it's a business decision."
All still valid. Had OPA/P1 won the five-year contract, the Miss GEICO team likely would have made a different decision. Clearly, they're are on the record supporting the APBA series being produced by those two organizations. But none of that changes that Key West does not, in the eyes of the team and is sponsor, provide the direct or indirect marketing ROI they are looking for. So if you know that going, what is going to the "X factor," if you will, that changes your mind?
I think the answer to your question, Mark, is answered in the paragraph quoted above. (Sorry I called you Dan earlier.
)
Last edited by Matt Trulio; 05-25-2019 at 10:40 AM.
05-24-2019, 07:01 PM
#35
Registered
I attended the OPA P1 event in Cocoa Beach last weekend and it had the look and feel of the old days. I believe great things are ahead for them and the teams who follow their circuit. I’m a fan for sure.
05-24-2019, 07:13 PM
#36
Registered
iTrader: (1)
I was at cocoa beach. It was a great time with a lot of teams. No race felt empty though a couple classes were short. Wazzup was missing. The lily 40 fountain broke. So strictly business and instigator ran alone in their class though plenty of racers on the field at the same time. If the racers all commit to OPA you’ll continually have larger classes and fields. This seems to be the end goal of the people I’ve talked to. Stop chasing a new organization and unite under one.
05-25-2019, 08:39 AM
#38
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I have read in the different threads people saying key west doesn’t want racing anymore. If that was the case all they had to do was refuse to give anyone the contract. I don’t think I buy that analogy
05-25-2019, 11:26 AM
#39
Registered
I can't see any community exec. with any business sence that would prefer not to have the opportunity for loads of "Tourists" arrive like clockwork with their $$$...hell there is a reason why rates are what they are for the worlds - money is coming in to town.
05-25-2019, 12:44 PM
#40
Correspondent
Correspondent
There are certainly factions within the Key West community that would just as soon see the powerboat races disappear. But the business community embraces them. The Monroe County Tourism Development Council has identified that week as the busiest week of the year, even surpassing Fantasy Fest, for local businesses. Key West survives on tourism, as we all know. If the community dropped the races it would a a serious self-inflicted economic wound.
