RACE Planning

The RACE Planning Framework is a Model that suggests 4 Steps to follow when developing Marketing Campaigns.

 

The main purpose of this tool is to highlight the most important Stages in the Relationship between a Company and its Customers.

 

Its name is an acronym for the 4 Steps proposed:

• Reach.
• Act.
• Convert.
• Engage.

1. Reach: In this Stage, the Company must Approach the Customer.

• To do it successfully, the Company must target the right Customers, in the Right Way.

 

2. Act: In this Stage, the Company must Take Actions.

• Try different approaches, show different things, etc. And study what works best.

 

3. Convert:  In this Stage, the Company must Obtain Profit.

• Once the Company has found what works best, it’s time to Monetize.

 

4. Engage: In this Stage, the Company must Build Customer Loyalty.

• Establishing a long-term Relationship with its Customers, and Tracking it.

RACE Framework

 

Let’s see the first example:

 

Netflix is a good example of a RACE Marketing Strategy.

• So are HBO, Disney Plus, etc.

 

How?

Let’s analyze How they promote their platform:

 

Reach

Netflix Approaches its potential Customers with a very attractive offer:

• 1 Month for free.

 

Act

Then, Netflix studies what each user likes the most and shows them different Suggestions:

• Highlighting the Series, Movies or Documentaries that suit them best.

 

Convert

After that month, if Netflix has hit the right “key”, the user will sign up for a full account.

 

Engage

Netflix engages its users by developing its own original productions.

• People don’t get hooked on Netflix, People get hooked on its Series.
  • Remember HBO and Game of Thrones.

 

No matter who you are: Netflix has a Series for you; Stranger Things, Black Mirror, Vikings, etc.

• Netflix has a Series to hook each User Profile.

As we often say, it seems that these marketing tools can only be used by large corporations.

• But that is far from true.

 

Now, we’ll give you some Tips on how you can develop a successful RACE Marketing Strategy:

Take your time targeting the right Customers before Approaching them.

• Don’t target everybody. Select Profiles and Markets carefully.

 

For each Action you Take, you must establish a Metric to track the results.

• Without Metrics, you wouldn’t be able to evaluate your actions.

 

Monetization should be as diversified as possible.

• Sometimes customers want just a piece of cake instead of a full cake.

 

Create a fluid communication channel to Engage with your Customers.

• Talk to your Customers about their experience and use their feedback to Improve.

Now, let’s look at some examples:

We have chosen 3 examples of Companies that have successfully used the RACE Framework to develop their Marketing Campaigns.

 

Let’s begin:

 

Spotify, uses the same strategy as Netflix to develop its Marketing Campaigns.

• Based on the RACE Planning Framework.

 

Let’s see what they do:

 

Reach

Spotify is free by default.

• But, there are annoying ads, limitations, etc.

By doing this, they can reach millions of users.

 

Act

However, they offer 2 months free on Spotify Premium (now, we think it’s 3 months).

• Which has no Ads, removes all limitations, and adds more features .

 

They surely know who to target with their ads on the Internet.

• “Google Home” is also a platform where they promote Spotify Premium.

 

Convert

Spotify doesn’t just make money with their Premium accounts.

• All those ads are Monetized.

They have a relatively diversified Income Model.

 

Engage

How they engage their Users?

With one of its tools most valued by all: Their Suggestions.

• They have an algorithm that suggest you music you might like… And it works pretty good.

 

What kind of terrible person you must be if you don’t like Kinder products.

• Kinder surprise is one of the most iconic products of our childhood.
  • We’re not sponsored, we just love Kinder.

 

How they succeeded so much?

Let’s take a look at how they became such an iconic brand by looking at the RACE model:

 

Reach

Initially they only targeted young children.

• Kinder products have always been packaged in small portions that can be suitable for a snack.

 

However, if you see their Kinder Bueno Ads (for example) they usually target older customers.

• That is why they created Kinder chocolate Maxi, and many other products.

 

Act

Kinder is always “innovating”; a new Ice-cream, a new Chocolate product, etc.

• They surely study which of them is more successful and in which Market Segment.

 

Convert

They have so many products and Special-Packs that, they can Monetize each product in many different ways.

• They can sell a Kinder Surprise in a Supermarket, or inside a special Pack with more products.

 

Engage

They have not only hooked young children with their little gifts.

• They have dozens of Christmas Packs (and Advent Calendars) that make their customers create a “special bond” with them.

 

Babybel is to cheese what Kinder is to chocolate.

• It is small, mainly for children, and almost everybody loves it.

 

How can a product be so successful when everyone can cut a piece of cheese as an alternative to it?

Let’s analyze it from a RACE perspective:

 

Reach

Babybel reached lot of people in Supermarkets.

• At least here, where I live, there was often a Babybel Stand in the Supermarket.

There you could try their products for free.

 

Act

Babybel has tried different types of cheeses and new formats.

• Depending on their success, they produce and distribute them to the corresponding Market.

 

Convert

They have 2 types of customers (mainly):

• Regular customers that buy frequently.
• Occasional customers: People that buy it because they tried it in a Stand, or simply have a craving.

 

Their Goal is to turn these Occasional Clients into Regular Customers.

• To do so, they Diversified their cheeses.

 

Although they have different products, their main Sales come from their little traditional cheeses.

• Kinder, as we saw before, has a much more diversified Product Mix.

 

Engage

To engage their customers (mainly children) they:

• Use Storytelling in their ads.
• Use characters of Movies (for Kids) on their packaging.
• Give Gifts (Toys, generally).

And, although it is not a toy, we all have played with the red wax of their cheeses.

The RACE Framework is a Model that suggests 4 Steps to follow when developing Marketing Campaigns.

 

Its name is an acronym for the 4 Steps proposed:

• Reach: In this Stage, the Company must Approach the Customer.
• Act: In this Stage, the Company must Take Actions.
• Convert:  In this Stage, the Company must Obtain Profit.
• Engage: In this Stage, the Company must Build Customer Loyalty.

 

Tips on how you can develop a successful RACE Marketing Strategy:

• Take your time targeting the right Customers before Approaching them.
• For each Action you Take, you must establish a Metric to track the results.
• Monetization should be as diversified as possible.
• Create a fluid communication channel to Engage with your Customers.