Richmond International Raceway was in need of an advocate. Paul Heyman happens to make a living being such an individual.
The sharp-witted and bombastic advocate for the current WWE Universal champion Brock Lesner, Heyman also runs a viral marketing agency, Looking 4 Larry, alongside business partner Mitchell Stuart. The two were the perfect answer to Richmond’s idea of breaking the mold with its promotional work in hopes of making its September race weekend a must-attend event.
The track plays an important role in setting the lineup for the NASCAR playoffs, but all involved admit attendance has been less than stellar. A confessed NASCAR fan, Heyman thrives on challenges and was excited to hear Richmond wanted to discuss radical, disruptive ways to garner attention for its event.
“The goal is always to provide the client satisfaction on all the items they want addressed,” Heyman (pictured) told RACER of what he wants to accomplish. “Number one, attendance is a crucial issue. Public image, in and around the event, is another issue. Branding the event to the racetrack, again, to an outsider what is the difference between Richmond and Bristol? What is the difference between Bristol and Daytona? What’s the difference between Daytona and Richmond?”
It will take a three-pronged approach to conquering those issues.
“A, it’s a matter of branding and marketing the actual event itself,” Heyman said. “B, it’s incorporating the fact that even if you don’t come to this particular event the weekend of September 8th and 9th, hey, if you’re ever in town, this is a great place to come by. And C, here’s why the event needs to be in Richmond; here’s what you can do in Richmond; here’s how we get the entire community behind the event and lure people into joining the community, as the community gets involved with more participation.
“I think as you go down a few miles from (the track) to the University, there’s a whole campus culture that is unaware of the fact there is a huge race in town. There is a loss of communication to that demographic and identifying that loss and repairing that loss and building the bridge to that audience, as far as I can see, is a major component of luring in new fans. Because I don’t know if you’re going to convince fans who have moved on to other pursuits to come back. It’s a revolving turnstile of life.”
Casual fans experiencing an event is also key. For this, Heyman points to the WWE as having mastered that better than any company or sport. Every year the week leading up to its biggest occasion, WrestleMania, there is “WrestleMania Axxess,” an interactive fan experience taking place over the course of a few days. Fans can meet WWE superstars, take in memorabilia exhibits, experience interactive displays and more.
“You don’t have to be a WWE fan to enjoy WrestleMania week,” said Heyman. “There’s so much to do; there’s so much interactive participation. There’s so much to please their fan base – but also an audience outside of their fan base that it’s not just a spectacle, it’s not just a mega-event, it’s a happening. And if you miss it, then you missed out on something. I think that’s one of the keys to our campaign for September; we need to create awareness for the community of Richmond, Virginia. It’s almost as if we’re acting as a de-facto Chamber of Commerce, and it’s about driving people to come here, to where the race is actually secondary to those who are not fans. And maybe some of those people will be hooked by the excitement and exhilaration and the thrill of it all, but even if they’re not inclined to become race fans, is a fan of the event.”
For the Richmond race weekend, the agency will hit its task from all angles. There have been talks about non-conventional billboards, television advertising, and a radio presence. Of course, there will also be a heavy push on social media.
Stuart started pre-production work by visiting Richmond a few times before NASCAR rolled into town last weekend. Both he and Heyman were then attendance for the Toyota Owners 400, taking in the environment as they began their work for the fall race. Heyman spent time doing interviews, including one with Dale Earnhardt Jr. More importantly, he was able to get a feel for the culture.
With his schedule in the WWE of going from city to city, hotel to hotel, and arena to arena, Heyman has often joked Paris, France, is the same as Detroit, Michigan. If it a point of interest isn’t within eyesight, he doesn’t experience it. In Richmond, Heyman had the chance to embed in the community.
“It’s fascinating to me because I get a chance to talk to everybody in the community and find out, ‘Are you excited about this race and if so, why?’” Heyman said. “We’ll know what works, and, ‘Oh, you haven’t heard about it, I wonder why not?, and identifying the root cause of the break in communication or the lack of communication to me will be a major component in addressing how we can help the racetrack reach out further and deeper into the community, since the cultural habits of this community have changed dramatically in the past couple of years, as with many other major southern cities.”
So, what can Heyman do for Richmond? There is one client Heyman points to as an indication of the Looking 4 Larry agency’s success.
“I think our turnover at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas exceeded even our expectations, which are usually pretty lofty,” Heyman admitted. “When we walked in it was no secret their pool parties were dead … By the second event we went to they were already selling out the pool party, by the third event they were selling out the pool party, the cabanas and they bungalows. By the fourth party – and we only did four – we sold out the pool party, the cabanas, and the bungalows. The bottle service got sold out, we sold out the VIP party on the Friday night before, and we filled the steakhouse and the restaurants in the club for Thursday and Friday night. It demonstrated we had collaborated on a turnaround for the casino even we couldn’t have anticipated.”
As Heyman settled in high above Richmond for the start of Sunday’s race, there was a simple analogy that came to mind about the job ahead.
“There is an election coming up in Richmond the weekend of September 8th and 9th,” Heyman said, “and if the people don’t come to the polls, we lose the election.”