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Brandon Evans
Sports Marketing
Mrs.Niespodziany
4/14/2014
Marketing Plan
Step 1:
Grand Rapids Sluggers (Minor League baseball team)
Step 2:
Internal resources will come from the majority and minority team owner as they will help with
expenses not necessarily directly associated with the slugger. External resources will come from
sponsorships and partnerships we develop throughout our community.
Step 3:
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Twitter- Twitter has begun to sway the sports market with its quick and simple layout.
Super fan contest- The super fan contest is becoming very popular in that a sports
organization can get fan to show how loyal they are by showing off their team spirit.
Web apps- Web apps such as the Bleacher Report and Sports Center makes live game
stats easier to access.
Step 4:
Product [Minor League baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team is a
development team for the Major league team Detroit Tigers which resides in Detroit,
Michigan.]
Step 5:
Mission Statement:
Grand Rapids slugger’s mission is to develop, skill, quality, and character; while promoting
sportsmanship, discipline, teamwork, honesty, respect, and winning. We pledge to produce the
best baseball team year in and year out to put in front of our loyal fans.
Step 6:
STRENGTHS
Strong sports town
WEAKNESSES
Doping Scandals
OPURTUNITYS
Innovate new ideas
to keep fans
entertained
THREATS
Other in city sports
teams
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Historic Pastime
Smaller Stadium
Competitive League
Not as big of a sport
internationally
World Tour
Local team Grand
Rapids Whitecaps
Major League sports
teams
Step 7:
Objectives
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Develop fan loyalty
Win Division
Increase fan population
Create a team image
Step 8:
As a minor league baseball team we plan to create a special loyalty with fans between the ages
of 10-60, more specifically we want to develop this loyalty with men. We came upon this
decision by conducting research and finding out the sport is most popular with this segment of
fans. The factors that will influence our consumers is the fact that baseball is America’s favorite
pastime and is one of our nation’s most popular sports. We plan to keep ticket prices relatively
low because 1) Baseball is very popular 2) The sluggers are only a minor league baseball team.
Step 9:
Survey #1
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Rate your overall experience at the slugger stadium ( 1 being horrible/5 being fantastic)
Rate the quality of food provided by our vendors ( 1 being horrible/5 being fantastic)
Rate your view from the stands ( 1 being horrible/5 being fantastic)
Rate the entertainment during the game and between innings ( 1 being horrible/5 being
fantastic)
5. Rate the stadiums cleanliness ( 1 being horrible/5 being fantastic)
(This survey is to observe our fans overall experience at the slugger stadium. It is very
important that our fans actually want to be at our stadium.)
Survey #2
1. What is your overall impression of the Minor league baseball team?
2. Would you like to see more expansion teams throughout the nation?
3. Should instant replay be allowed in the Minor League Baseball Association?
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4. How often should players be testing for performance enhancement drugs?
5. How long should the suspension be if a player is accurately accused and found guilty of
taking performance enhancing drugs?
(This survey is to get an overall view on how fans feel about issues that reside in the
Minor League Baseball Association.)
Step 10:
Benefits:
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Local Community growth- Community growth of appreciation of baseball will grow
because the new addiction of the sluggers along with the whitecaps will create a cross
town rivalry that’s good for Minor League Baseball.
Economic stability throughout Grand Rapids- An addiction of another baseball team will
help surround companies around the stadium location.
Added sports entertainment- Grand Rapids is a growing entertainment hotspot an
addiction to that will just help the buzz even more.
Affiliated with Major League Baseball-The affiliation with the Detroit Tigers will help
our fan base as well as theirs.
Specialized target market- Our specific target market will make it easier to market to
that segment as Demographics show that the number of 10-60 is relatively high in
Grand Rapids.
Step 11:
Minor League Baseball
Local Fan base
Community support
Smaller League
College Baseball
Loyal school fans
Booster Support
Shorter season
Major League Baseball
National Fan base
Longer season
Popular post season
Minor League baseball will come in second to major league baseball but not last to college
baseball because of the affiliation to the bigger Detroit Tigers.
Step 12:
Partnerships:
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Nike- We choose to partner with Nike because their brand is one of the most noticeable
sports brand around the world. 3 strengths of this partnership is brand identity, fan loyalty
to Nike, and the brand is nationally and internationally recognizable. 3 weaknesses of this
partnership is that Nike other sports appeal outlets will still try an out due our image, Russell
athletics is the number one baseball appeal retailer, and Nike stock has been dropping due
to our economy struggles as of lately.
Gatorade- We choose to partner with Gatorade because they are the leading sports drink
supplier in the United States. 3 strengths of having Gatorade as a partners is that a
potentially successful sports team will create a great brand identity for them, our players
will get the benefits of drinking a scientifically tested sports drink, and Gatorade offers more
performance supplements. 3 weaknesses are that Gatorade is in very close competition with
PowerAde, PowerAde is proven to be more effective then Gatorade, and potential sports
lock outs will prevent Gatorades image from being seen.
Step 13:
Positive associations
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Dicks sporting goods
Double Bubble (Bubble Gum)
{These two businesses/associations are closely related to the base as bubble gum is a
substitute for chewing tobacco. We as a team refuse to promote anything that can
potentially kill you. Dicks sporting goods is one of the top sport apparel retailers this
business is closely related to baseball because it has a big supply of Russell athletic apparel.}
Negative associations
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Tobacco Companies
Alcohol Companies
{As a product we will choose not promote any tobacco campaigns even though chewing
tobacco is very popular when it comes to baseball. We will only promote alcohol sales on
Thursday which is our dollar beer nights.}
Step 14:
Opening day promotions- The target market for this promotion campaign would be any loyal
slugger fan. We plan to promote this even by flooding the city with flyers everywhere. Since
downtown Grand Rapids is always full of action the word around town that opening day is fast
approaching will spread quickly. Success will be measure by fan attendance on opening day.
Dollar Beer day- The target market for this promotion is any fan that is of age to consume
alcohol. Every Thursday at the slugger stadium the slugger promotion team will sell dollar
beers. Alcohol sells itself, but we plan on putting a billboard outside our stadium facing the
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busiest street. The effect of our promotion will be measured by the amount calculating beer sell
on Thursday and comparing them with any other home game beer sells.
Women night- The target market for the promotion campaign is women ages 15-60. Since our
main target market are men and boys between 10-60 we thought it would be a good idea to
put something together so women will feel appreciated. We will pass out pink baseballs at
every game to promote this night. We will measure the success of this campaign by tallying the
number of women in the stands compared to any other home game.
Step 15:
Helen DeVos Children Hospital: We choose Helen DeVos Children Hospital because we think it is
very vital that the sport of baseball should be taught at a young age. Teaming up with this
hospital gives u the opportunity to work with terminal ill children while keeping the community
image we are pushing toward.
Step 16:
Commercial: “Come out and support your local Grand Rapids Sluggers. You will be sure to
have a family fun filled night with our sluggers. The sluggers are Grand Rapids new main
attraction. Come and see the new state of the art stadium while you enjoy some baseball
along with 1 of our 5 in stadium restaurants. Don’t forget to stay after as there will be a
fireworks display after every game win or lose. Don’t miss the most talked about sports team.
For schedules and times please visit www.grsluggers.com or contact our box-office at 1-800tickets. We hope to see you there gooooooo sluggers!!!!” { As this is being said Take Me Out
To The Ball Game will be playing in the background)
Step 17:
We will take 6 steps to evaluate our marketing plan that we think will give us an accurate
measure on how we are perform as a franchise.
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Look at sale numbers
Ask clients personally
Did we get an direct response from our marketing plan
Did we form new partnerships and create new opportunities
Is our product easier to sell?
Does are product have a good return on investment?
Taking these 6 steps into consideration we can see if our marketing plan is effective or not.
They implement the 5 P’s of the marketing mix while taking into the factors that we would so
much look at.
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References
Mullin, Bernard James., Stephen Hardy, and William Anthony Sutton. Sport Marketing. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics, 2007. Print.