TLDR
News Corp's News Australia and the Victoria Racing Club have extended their media partnership beyond the four-day Melbourne Cup Carnival, which starts with Derby Day today, to New Year's Eve, the autumn carnival and the whole spring season. The aim is younger racegoers: the VRC says two-thirds of general admission tickets on last year's Champions Stakes Day went to people aged 35 and under.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Beyond the four days
News Australia, News Corp's Australian arm, and the Victoria Racing Club have taken their media partnership beyond the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The campaign now also covers Flemington's New Year's Eve Race Day, Super Saturday in the autumn carnival and the spring season, on top of Derby Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Oaks Day and TAB Champions Stakes Day. The aim is to drive trackside attendance and VRC membership, B&T reported.[1]
It runs across the Herald Sun, news.com.au and Vogue Australia, with digital countdowns, front-page print promotions, podcast sponsorships, a reimagined Form Guide, a Vogue "Get Ready With Me" style guide on social and a Herald Sun and VRC photo studio at Flemington across the four Carnival days. Neither side disclosed a term or value.[1]
"Our partnership with News Australia allows us to engage racegoers well before they step through the gates," said VRC chief marketing officer Nikki Clarkson. "We have built a media campaign that maintains momentum for Flemington throughout the year," said John Lehmann, News Australia's Victorian managing director.[1]
A Vogue page as the prize
The deal adds an Emerging Designer Award, co-presented with Vogue Australia and judged by three Vogue editors, with the winner named on the Fashions on the Field stage at Derby Day.[1] The winner gets a full page in Vogue's February 2027 issue, which the VRC values at $17,800, plus a $12,000 Visa gift card and other prizes.[3] The VRC bills Fashions on the Field, with a prize pool of more than $320,000 this year, as Australia's richest fashion competition.[4]
Why younger racegoers
The VRC says the audience is already getting younger. After last year's Carnival it reported that 66% of general admission tickets for TAB Champions Stakes Day were bought by people aged 35 and under, the highest share of any Carnival day and up 4% on the year before. "These numbers prove racing is resonating with the next generation," said VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers.[2]
Last year's version of the deal used News Australia's Customer Match targeting to reach high-intent audiences across its mastheads.[5]
SOURCES & CITATIONS
- News Australia & VRC extend partnership beyond Melbourne Cup, B&T
- Latest data reveals surge in younger audiences on TAB Champions Stakes Day, VRC
- Emerging Designer Award presented by Vogue, VRC
- Fashions on the Field returns this spring, VRC
- News Australia and VRC expand data-led Melbourne Cup Carnival campaign, Mediaweek
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What have News Corp and the VRC agreed?
Which News Corp titles are involved?
What does the Emerging Designer Award winner get?
James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.
