VOG:
Coming up next, we have an interview with Griffin Johnson, influencer, creator, and new horse owner, moderated by Shannon Kelly, Director of Industry Relations for The Jockey Club.
Kelly:
Hello, welcome to The Story Behind Racing’s Most Influential Marketing Campaign: An Interview with Griffin Johnson. Griffin, welcome. Let’s jump right into it. To many in this room, you are known as “the influencer” and you’re hard to miss, but there may be some in the room who don’t know you yet. You’ve built a powerful personal brand across multiple platforms and industries. Walk us through your journey. How did Griffin Johnson become Griffin Johnson and what is an influencer?
Johnson:
It’s a great question, right? It’s funny because horse racing, it’s the first time I’ve been actually called “the influencer.” So that’s been fun. But when you break it down, what really is an influencer and what has made this so successful? And what it really breaks down to is authenticity. And you’ll hear me talk about it a lot. I love to talk about being authentic. And I think that with Sandman, whenever I came in, Terry and I actually got into it through his daughter-in-law, Allie, and they connected me with ABR and they’re like, we have this magnificent horse. Mind you, I grew up in the Midwest, I’d been around every livestock and every horse, anything you can think of, I had been around it. I actually worked on a hog farm for many years, not as luxurious as horses we’ll say. And whenever they brought Sandman to me, there was something about him that captivated me.
And I think everyone here has a story with a horse that they can relate to in the same way. And it all started, I actually got into his journey a few weeks after they had got him from the sale and it was just little touches here and there to Gen Z and just showing them that I had this magnificent, stunning gray horse running around the track. And obviously it progressed. And once we won the Arkansas Derby, it showed me that this is what I wanted to do. And I said this last night at the dinner, it was the first time in my life that I had felt like I had done something bigger than myself. So that led me to the Kentucky Derby. I said, look, I’m going to put my entire heart into this. This is what I want to do. And that’s why we’re here today. So.
Kelly:
Well, I think we should roll the tape so the audience can see all about that journey.
[VIDEO]
Kelly:
I felt the excitement in that. I know you were excited. Obviously, you’ve enjoyed this ride with Sandman. So, let’s talk about the numbers. Some of which we saw on the screen. There were residual effects of your involvement in racing leading up to the Kentucky Derby. We saw the highest TV ratings for the Derby since 1989, wagering was up, and America’s Best Racing, who we saw that produced this video and who you worked with, saw a 500% increase in video views year over year. So, can you tell us a little bit about what made this campaign so successful and really special? Why did your audience connect with this story?
Johnson:
Yeah, once again, it comes down to authenticity. And I think the biggest thing when you see all these numbers on the board, for someone that’s never looked into social media, what does it mean? Right? Everyone sitting here is probably thinking, well, that’s great, 212 million people is a lot, but what does that mean for horse racing? And aside from being global now, this is when you say 212 million, we’re talking about people all over the world. And really what it breaks down to, these numbers are a whole new audience and a whole new demographic that is being brought to a sport that has been seen as very traditional and almost like a club. It’s kind of like hard to get in unless you’ve been brought up with a family that’s in it or been introduced by another friend or a family member. And for me, in this journey, I grew up with nothing, right?
I’m a kid, I have nobody in horse racing, I’ve never been to a race growing up, and this is my first introduction. So, I think what people have really gravitated towards is they finally feel like they have someone that knows nothing about racing, which I’ll say it right now I have a lot to learn. I mess up a lot and I just take it with grace. And I think for the newcomers, a lot of them feel like, oh, well I can just go along with Griffin, and he doesn’t always know what he’s talking about either. And that is the beauty of what this campaign has been, is giving people the first insight to the backside. And I’m there every morning at 5:30 showing off the Cassie Barn and Sandman, and now we are working on next year. And just bringing it all together and really showing people what goes in and making them feel like they’re an owner.
Kelly:
That’s great. And I think it’s that behind-the-scenes view. We talk about the backside, and if you’re in horse racing, you know what that is. But to those who are new, they don’t know what that is. And you’re showing putting in the feed in the buckets and rolling bandages and have you been mucking stalls yet? I’m not too sure.
Johnson:
Lightly, lightly.
Kelly:
Lightly. So, you mentioned in the beginning that your audience is largely Gen Z, I assume you, before coming into racing, and many of them saw our sport as something of the past for an older generation. Now that we’ve gotten them interested, how do we transition these views, these clicks, these fans into long-term fans and participants.
Johnson:
Just being here today. Thank you all for coming. This is exactly the things that are going to bring people two generations, we’ll call it, and collide them in the middle, right? Because I think for Gen Z, they see me as a spokesperson because I’ve been able to get in these rooms and talk to these people. And we don’t always get that sort of respect in most industries. And I think that the beautiful thing about what’s going on here today with The Jockey Club and having everyone kind of mesh in the middle is that this is the first time that we’ve ever been heard, really. I mean, there’s no other industry I’ve ever been in where there’s so many powerful people in one room that are willing to listen to a bunch of kids. And I think that that is very authentic to who this audience is and who we are today as horsemen.
I’ve heard a million stories from how people are getting in and how people have a passion for this game. And it’s just taking that and showing it to the kids now. It’s how do we show them that they can get in? How do we show the path of entry to get into this sport for someone that maybe hasn’t ever grown up with anything or has no previous knowledge? And more than ever now, I think that horse racing, everyone’s listening to what the audience wants, whether it’s aftercare, whether it’s safety, whether it’s just showing up to the tracks and showing the officials and showing off the personality of the people that are spending their life, making this happen every single day. So that really, when you break it down is I’ve asked everyone what gets you into horse racing? And I could ask anyone in the crowd what got you here? And when you break it down, it’s all about experience. Showing people the experience, taking people to the track and showing them what it’s all about. And all boats rise as we continue to work on all of the issues moving forward. I can’t even say how excited I am, but it really is, I think, turning of a new leaf.
Kelly:
And I think it’s like you’re mentioning, it’s telling a story. It’s not just a sport that you’re watching those two minutes, you’re promoting an entire experience, the lifestyle, the different points of entry. So, it’s not just wagering, it’s buying a ticket, getting dressed up. A lot of that is seen on social media every day with these, get ready with me’s. Let me show you about my day. It’s a peek into your world and now you’re bringing horse racing into that world.
Johnson:
Yeah, exactly. And for everyone in the crowd today, look, I understand if I had done something and social media came into my life or there was something new, aside from social media, I built my entire life, my entire business, everything that I know is on social media. And I understand if you’ve already been doing something successful for 20, 30, 40, 50 years, more, generational for a lot of the people here today, it’s very hard to adopt something new whenever you’ve already created such a great life for yourself. But I just want everyone to know that when you think of social media, it’s just a tool. It’s a marketing tool. It’s the new generation and how they’re absorbing content. The same thing when TV came on and you got radio. Now radio is podcasting, and now TV is just YouTube, Instagram, Facebook. It’s really just the same thing in a new form. And it’s a little bit faster, it’s a little bit fresher, and it’s just the way that the world is always adapting. So How do you take that? Once again, how do you take all of these numbers and bring into your life and whatever it is, whether it’s West Point, whether it’s ABR, whether it’s a feed company, whether it’s no matter what it is, right, when you break it down, you’re going to give people an experience of what you’re doing, no matter what it is.
And as long as we’re able to leverage that, the beauty of it is I’m just a kid with an iPhone and somehow I landed myself here. And that is the perfect example of why it’s so great because I pull out my phone, whatever an iPhone costs, I press the red button to record, and when I’m finished, that’s it. There’s no production. I don’t have to answer it to anyone when I can post it, I just put it together and boom, 15 million people can access my content at the tap of my finger at any point, and we can do that for the entire sport. That’s where we’re moving.
Kelly:
Yeah. Well, I think you touched on it a little bit, but I think it’s important to touch upon what the industry as a collective has already done. Credit where credit is due. We’re heavily focused on horse and rider safety, aftercare, and finding second careers for our horses after they’ve finished racing. We’ve committed to fairness and structure with the implementation of HISA. Between Fox Sports, NBC and FanDuel, we’ve expanded TV coverage and promoted our big days. And horse racing has had influencers and celebrities involved in the past. So, what makes what you do different and how can influencer marketing support live racing?
Johnson:
Yeah, it’s a great question. So, throughout time, I’ve always been fighting. As an influencer, you’re always fighting credibility, right? Because once again, the people that control a lot of the business and the powerful people in the world didn’t understand what it was or how to use it or how to leverage it. So, I’ve always been going through my life trying to get that mainstream media coverage. And the reason why is because with celebrities, if you’re talking about athletes, if you’re talking about musicians or movie stars, whatever it may be, it’s almost like they’re on a pedestal in a way. You can’t access them. And if you can access them, you’re one of very few. And I think that what we’ve seen in the past is Tom Brady’s the Goat. It’s awesome that he’s at the Kentucky Derby, but for a viewer, what does that mean?
Right? They can’t talk to Tom Brady. They’re not going to get to shake his hand or take a picture or just even really get close to him, right? He is going to have a special line. He is going to walk through the back and he’s just going to be in his own bubble. And I think that for me, I show up to Saratoga, we show up, we will be there this weekend for the Whitney, and you’ll see, I’ll be taking pictures with people. I’m introducing myself. I’m asking, did you bet today? How was it? Oh, you lost money, me too. But that’s cool. And that’s really what it breaks down to is the reason that an influencer is so powerful is because it’s accessible. And that’s what gets people to show up. If you feel like you can come say hey, and maybe you get to see Sandman or you get to see me or whatever, it’s an experience. And once again, you always hear me break it down to that.
Kelly:
And I think it means that we’ve created a new type of celebrity. An influencer has become a type of celebrity to that audience, but one that is way more approachable than your traditional celebrity. So, it gets people involved at a lower level.
Johnson:
Yeah, 1000%. It all comes down to, once again, they feel like you’re more likely to come to something if you feel like you can get an experience and get to actually meet someone.
Kelly:
Right. So, what’s next, Griffin? People in the industry might assume that people your age only care about instant gratification, but I’m pretty sure you’re here to stay. In the video we saw earlier we saw a sequence where we saw the logos of NYRA, Breeders’ Cup, Keeneland, and we know that within partnership with these organizations, and with the support of The Jockey Club, you’ve started a new campaign. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Johnson:
Yeah, I’m actually really excited about that. And look, maybe it has happened, but I’m just going to keep it in my head. For my own ego, this is one of the first time that we’ve had a lot of tracks come together and do something. So, thank you to The Jockey Club, thank you to Keeneland, thank you to the Breeders’ Cup, and thank you to NYRA for putting that together. But really what that means is, is we’re all working together for the same goal. How do we get a younger audience and how do we create longevity for this amazing sport? I know that horse racing’s already done an excellent job of that, but we really need to captivate these kids. So, what we’re really breaking down is from a betting side, how do you educate people enough to where they feel like they bet? The biggest reason why Gen Z hasn’t bet, and the reason that Sandman has been able to get them to bet is not about money.
When you break it down and you ask them, none of them say it’s to make money what it is, they finally feel like they know a horse. They’ve been educated about this entire process from the day I got ‘em, you can look it up from the day I got ‘em to now you can see all of his training. You can see every race, you can see a breakdown and just get really an insight of who he is as an animal with his personality and everything that goes into it. So really what we’re going to do is, and what I hope to do is through this content over this campaign over the next four months, is really educate them about what else there is to offer. So, in October, I’m going to go to the Keeneland sale and show them what goes into it. I’m going to go to the back stretch once again at another track, show them what goes on at Del Mar, and you just keep doing that over and over and over.
It’s not a one-year plan, it’s not a two-year plan. In my head, this is a 10- to 20-year plan at least. And to the second part of that, I think a lot of people worry about investing in me because they don’t know if I’m going to stick around. And so I thought about that a lot, and I talked to Terry Finley at West Point and I’m like, look, it might cost you a little money, but look, we really need to get a couple, we need to make this a two, three, four, five-year plan. So, it hasn’t really been announced, but we’re coming in we got a horse running this weekend, Ewing, in the Saratoga Special that I just came on board of. So that’s going to be really exciting. I think a lot of people around here already know him. He had a really nice debut and we’ve had fun with that.
And we’re also looking at not only doing one but doubling down for another. We have Curtain Call who also just ran a really nice race here. He just broke his maiden. So, for me, my vision of this sport is how do we make horse racing one of the most watched sports in America? And that’s going to be my relentless goal for the foreseeable future. I think that it’s going to be a five-year thing. I think that in five years we’re going to see a huge shift of Gen Z watching horse racing, but this is what I plan on doing for as long, as long as I can do it.
Kelly:
So, I think it’s safe to say that “the influencer” is in it for the long haul, and maybe in five years you will just be introduced as Griffin Johnson, not “the influencer”.
Johnson:
I love that. Yes. That is the goal. And thank you guys all so much for coming here. Really. I mean, I was saying this before, if you put this entire room together, I think that we could just about accomplish or buy anything we want. And just as you walk away from this, just know that the biggest thing about social media is that if we came together, we could buy whatever. But what you can’t get is time. And with social media, it is a time saver. And if you utilize it correctly, people will not only gravitate to it, but they will respect you and they will feel like they’re a part of whatever you’re building. And I think that’s a really special thing.
Kelly:
Thank you so much, Griffin. We really appreciate it.
Johnson:
Thank you, guys.
VOG:
Thank you, Griffin and Shannon. Now a discussion with Dr. Allen Hershkowitz of the New York Yankees and Glen Kozak of the New York Racing Association, moderated by president and COO of The Jockey Club, James Gagliano.
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