Iditarod paid study concludes few people think race is 'cruel'

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Study concludes few people think the race is 'cruel'

By CRAIG MEDRED
Anchorage Daily News

Published: June 2, 2007
Last Modified: June 2, 2007 at 12:31 AM

On the heels of the Ramy Brooks affair, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race got some good news on Friday.

Despite animal-rights activists who protest that the Anchorage to Nome race is cruel, apparently few Americans perceive it that way.

Only 4 percent of those polled in a national study done by the University of Oregon consider the race "cruel.''

The survey was conducted by a group of Oregon MBA candidates who last year approached the Iditarod about studying marketing possibilities for Alaska's largest sporting event.

Iditarod executive director Stan Hooley said his organization covered the students' cost to complete the project, but did not pay them any additional money. The results presented Friday at the Millenium Hotel appeared to surprise some members of the Iditarod Trail Committee.

The survey, completed after Brooks was disqualified from the race for beating his dogs, found that about 60 percent of the people in the country had heard of the race.

Among those people, 88 percent were unaware animal-rights activists considered the race cruel, and 86 percent had a somewhat or highly positive view of animal-related sports.

Even among the minority who thought the event cruel, the Iditarod was ranked more animal friendly than horse racing, greyhound racing, bull riding or the circus.

Oregon MBA candidate Brett Lentz said indications are that animal-rights activists are a small but noisy group. They can't be ignored, he said, but they shouldn't be overrated.

Lentz and colleagues suggested the Iditarod unite with other animal sports -- notably the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the national bull riders -- to push the idea that animals sports are good for both animals and people.

"Animal rights issues are a primary concern for national sponsors,'' the group noted in a written report to the board. "The results of the survey demonstrate that this concern is unwarranted.''

Overall, the group said, the Iditarod has a good national image and excellent name recognition. Both help make the race marketable.

Though the Iditarod already brings in about $2 million a year in sponsorships, that's chump change compared to the $8.84 billion spent on sport sponsorships in America last year.

Graduate degree candidate Ryan Maloney said it is time to recognize "the Iditarod as a sports property'' that isn't just selling a sled dog race, but the entire Alaska mystique.

Of the people attracted to the Iditarod in the Lower 48, the students reported, only about 25 percent have a keen interest in competitive aspects of the race. More are interested in dogs in general (42 percent) or Alaska (40 percent).


The students recommended the Iditarod:

• Broaden its sponsorship base by finding a travel or tourism partner interested in cross marketing;

• Ensure that businesses using the Iditarod as a marketing tool pay to do so.

• Find energy drink and energy bar sponsors. Both spend heavily on marketing to promote the idea they can help people through grueling challenges. The Iditarod is a perfect fit.

• Partner with a consumer electronics company. The Iditarod offers an opportunity for a manufacturer to highlight GPS-tracking capabilities, the students noted. Iditarod dog sleds could be outfitted with GPS units that would enable people to follow the progress of teams north on an interactive Web site. The Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile race does this for its race.

• Contract with a name sponsor as Iron Dog did with Tesoro..

The board adjourned into a closed-door executive session to further consider the report, noting that marketing ideas could have a direct affect on the organization's business.

Iditarod executive director Stan Hooley said later the board found so many good ideas the biggest problem might be prioritizing them.

There are some indications from the Oregon study that the Iditarod might be underselling itself on the national stage.

"The Iditarod Public Perception Survey revealed that 42 percent of those who have heard of the Iditarod rank stories about sled dogs a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale of interest.

That may represent a pool of millions of untapped Iditarod fans. The Iditarod Insider -- a Web site fans must pay to access-- attracted more than 100,000 fans this year, but that's just the tip of what could be a very big iceberg.

The Insider is aiming for a quarter million subscribers next year.