Increasing Recognition for Jr. Flyers Members and
Increasing Membership
Laura Shifflet
Table of Context
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
The Process
Research...................................................................................................................3
SWOT Analysis.......................................................................................................4
Brain Storming.........................................................................................................5
Execution.................................................................................................................5
Final Project
Goals............................................................................................................6
Ideas.............................................................................................................6
Jr. Flyers Website.............................................................................6
Increase overall recognition for Jr. Flyer members.........................8
Increase recognition specifically for Season Ticket Holder
members of the Jr. Flyers.................................................................9
Increase Season Ticket Holder membership in the Jr. Flyers..........9
Increase public membership in the Jr. Flyers.................................10
Additional Ideas to Improve the Jr. Flyers.....................................10
Appendix A................................................................................................12
Appendix B................................................................................................13
Appendix C................................................................................................14
Appendix D................................................................................................15
Appendix E................................................................................................16
Narrative............................................................................................................................16
Work Cited.........................................................................................................................17
2
Introduction
When deciding on what my special project for my work experience should be I
wanted it to be something that would allow me to gain exposure to different departments
within the Philadelphia Flyers other than the customer service department. The Jr. Flyers
is the Philadelphia Flyers’ kids club and is the responsibility of the marketing, customer
service, and the community relations department. My project is to find ways to increase
the recognition of Jr. Flyer members, specifically season ticket holders, without eating
into the Jr. Flyers’ limited budget.
The Jr. Flyers club is open to children who are 14 years old and younger, for
twenty-five dollar annually, except for the children and grandchildren of season ticket
holders where membership is included in their ticket package. Benefits of becoming a Jr.
Flyer include an opportunity to participate in the High Five Club, a Birthday card from
the Flyers, an invitation to the annual Jr. Flyers Jamboree, participation in the Annual
Kids Run the Show game, and an annual gift. Memberships expire on August 31st, with
the exception of season ticket holder members which expires when either the child
reaches the age fourteen or their season tickets are canceled.
The Process
Research
Prior to beginning this project I completed extensive research to gain a better
understanding of what the Jr. Flyers are and what benefits are included. I conducted this
research by talking with the Marketing Coordinator, Alicia DeFillipo, who is in charge of
the Jr. Flyers events. From her I gained a better understanding of the Jr. Flyers and how
potential members are targeted and reached. Alicia explained that on game days there is a
prize wheel present for individuals to spin upon joining, and that the largest benefits are
received towards the end of the season. Also come playoff time there is a reduction in
price for public members due to the limited timeframe.
Then I spoke with Tom Griendling, a Customer Service account representative
who handles the High Five Club and has the database for the members who are season
ticket holders. Tom helped in pointing out that there is a lack of consistency in
communication with Jr. Flyer members and that many season ticket holders are unaware
that if they sign up once their membership will last until their child/grandchild is fourteen
years old or until they are no long season ticket holders. He also pointed out that the High
Five Club is not filled with Jr. Flyer members first, instead first choice is given to tier 1
early birds, who choose it as a benefit.
After learning about what the Jr. Flyers are doing, I then began to research what
other teams are doing in regards to their kid’s clubs. After looking around the National
Hockey League, I found that the Edmonton Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes have a
very developed Kid’s Club website. This led me to the idea that the Jr. Flyers need a
website designed specifically for kids and would be linked to the Flyers main website.
There is already a link on the current website for the Jr. Flyers but it only leads to a copy
of the application. Also after looking at other sites, ways to recognize Jr. Flyer members
became apparent.
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SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The Jr. Flyers Club has numerous benefits to both the members themselves as
well as the Philadelphia Flyers organization. For members the strongest benefit is the
incentives that they receive for being a member. One incentive is a birthday card from the
Philadelphia Flyers, which are mailed at the beginning of each month. Another incentive
is Kid's Day which a game where Jr. Flyers members get the opportunity to shadow
different members of the Philadelphia Flyers staff and are allowed to "Run the Show" for
a game. Also Jr. Flyers’ members receive an invitation to the Annual Jr. Flyers Jamboree,
which takes place during the summer; last year's took place at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Another incentive that is mailed during the summer is the annual gift, last year the annual
gift was a Back-to-school kit, which included a lunch bag and player autographed cards.
Another strength of the Jr. Flyers is that the children and/or grandchildren of
season ticket holders can be members for free. Also once the children and/or
grandchildren of season ticket holder applies for membership they will remain members
until their 15th birthday. A strength that the Jr. Flyers provides for the Philadelphia Flyers
organization is that it helps to create a fan base from a very young age.
Weakness
The biggest weakness of the Jr. Flyers is their connection with members as well
as fans. Their marketing effort is limited to a simple link on the Flyers website and a table
setup on the main concourse during games. Also after a child registers to become a Jr.
Flyer member, there is very limited communication from the club to the child. A lot of
the time many families are unsure if their child is a member until the end of the season,
when the invitations for the Jr. Flyers Jamboree and annual gifts are mailed. The biggest
reason for the lack of marketing for the Jr. Flyers is due to the very limited budget that
allotted for the Jr. Flyers. This is the reason that my project was based around creating
cheap ideas to promote recognition of Jr. Flyers Members. The last weakness of the Jr.
Flyers is that the benefit to participate in the High Fives club is limited to after the all of
the individuals who choose that as their early bird benefit have been fulfilled. This is
advertised as a benefit but rarely takes place with Jr. Flyers’ members.
Opportunities
The best opportunity present for the Jr. Flyers to improve the club as a whole is to
attract a title sponsor. Having the Jr. Flyers be sponsored by a company would help
increase the overall budget and help increase the marketing for the club. The Jr. Flyers
also have the opportunity to attract more members through the creation of a Jr. Flyers
website. This could act as a benefit for current members and help attract future members.
The Jr. Flyers could also expand membership by increasing the types of membership
packages, to have higher priced ones versus the $25 standard public fee. Also having
membership that would last for more than one season my help make parents more likely
to sign up their children.
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Threats
The biggest threat present for the Jr. Flyers is the current economic situation. Due
to the economy, parents are less likely to want to spend money on something that is not
necessary for their children.
Brain Storming
After completing the research stage of this project I began to brainstorm different
ideas to help increase recognition for Jr. Flyer members, with a focus primarily on season
ticket holder members. During this process I literally sat down and stared to just list ideas
that I had for the Jr. Flyers out and see where they could be taken. Among the ideas that I
came up with were to idea to have a Jr. Flyers website where children can learn more
about Hockey and the Philadelphia Flyers, and have access to hockey and Flyer related
games and news. Going off this idea I thought of numerous ways to recognize members
through the use of the website. Among these ideas are a member of the month and
monthly birthday spotlights, as well as monthly emails that would help to remind
members about upcoming games and events.
Another tool to help recognize Jr. Flyer members would be to create membership
cards. My first idea would be to create a membership tag that would hang off a lanyard
very similar to a press pass. Unfortunately, this idea would be a bit costly, so I then
thought of a more simple membership card that would be slightly larger than a business
card. Having a different version for season ticket holder members would also be a way to
recognize them specifically.
During the brain storming process, I also came up with numerous ideas on how to
increase the number of members, primarily for season ticket holders. These ideas are
based around having separate forms that would be present for season ticket holders that
would not include the public price and the expiration date. Also including these forms in
renewal information would help to highlight this season ticket holder benefit.
Execution
In order to create my final project I went through the above stages than began to
work to create prototypes of the website and different forms. I used Microsoft Publisher
2010, to create a very basic version of the website and the forms.
In creating the website, I began by sitting down and planning what I wanted to
include in the website and how I wanted it to be formatted. I decided that the website
should consist of seven main sections. Among these sections there is the Meet the Team
section, the Hockey 101 section, the Activities section, the Community Relations section,
the Multimedia section, a News section and a Links section. After deciding on these
seven main sections I then sat down and decided what I wanted under each of these
sections. After planning out how I wanted the site to appear, I collected the necessary
information, images, and links. Then I created my prototype for the website using
Microsoft Publisher 2010. I also went through a similar process while creating the
different forms.
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Final Project
Goals
1. Increase overall recognition for Jr. Flyers members
Increase recognition specifically for Season Ticket Holder members of the Jr.
Flyers
2. Increase Season Ticket Holder Membership in the Jr. Flyers
3. Increase public membership in the Jr. Flyers
Ideas
Jr. Flyers Website
The most effective way to achieve the goals set forth above is to utilize the current traffic
generated on Flyers.nhl.com and establish a website dedicated to the Jr. Flyers and
designed to be kid friendly. Having the Jr. Flyers link under the Fan Zone section of the
Flyers site go to this site would captivate children. A prototype for the website can be
found on the included disk.
The Homepage
The Homepage I designed to be a front page that can easily navigated by the Jr.
Flyers age demographic. It would be used to market upcoming Flyers games and
special Jr. Flyers’ events. Also it would contain a section devoted entirely to the
Birthdays of the current Flyers, Flyers’ Alumni, and members of the Jr. Flyers.
Also it would also have a sidebar to highlight the Jr. Flyers of the Month. The Jr.
Flyer of the Month spotlight would include a picture of the chosen member, along
with their name, age, hometown, favorite color, favorite food, favorite class,
favorite player and dream job. One key feature that will be on every page is the
Join Now button that will lead potential members to the Jr. Flyers Application.
The Meet the Team
The Meet the Team section would consist of three different pages. The first is just
a Meet the Team homepage that would showcase a team photo and have a sidebar
with links to the pages with the Players, Coaches and a link to the Adirondack
Phantoms homepage. The team page consists of headshots of all the players along
with their numbers, and by clicking on the player’s photo you will be taken to the
page for each player on the Flyers’ website. The coaches pages with be setup in
the same manor but instead of numbers their title will be located under their
photo. The reason that I choose to use headshots opposed to the listing method
used on the Flyers website, is because having simply a photo will be less
6
confusing for children, and will allow them to develop an association with the
players face to his number and name.
Hockey 101
The Hockey 101 section is four different pages, the front page of Hockey 101
consists of an image of the rink that has all positions marked on it. By clicking on
each position you will be taken to a page that gives a kid friendly description of
the position. The next page on the Jr. Flyers Website is the Hockey Lingo section.
This section will consist of various hockey terms defined in a kid friendly manner.
The next section is Hockey Facts where Jr. Flyers can find interesting facts about
hockey, the NHL, and the Flyers. Finally there is the Flyer’s History section
which gives kids a brief history of the Flyers.
Activities
The Activities Sections includes online games for Jr. Flyers to play as well as
printable activities and coloring pages that parents can printout and use to
entertain their children. The coloring pages consist of current and past Flyers as
well as the Spectrum and the Wells Fargo Center. The printable activities are the
ones that are currently on the Flyers website under the Fun and Games tab.
Finally the online activities are also from the Flyers Site under the Fun and Games
tab (which do not work). Also an interactive game could be created based around
the styling Scott Hartnell's hair into different styles and colors. Also there could
be games like dress-up a player, that are geared towards girls. The Red Robin
build a burger could be under this area.
Community
The homepage for the community section would look very similar to the one on
the Flyer's site. It contains the mission statement of Community Relations as well
as information about the Teammate program and Faceoff for Fitness. The
community page will also have links to the Flyers SkateZone website, Snider
Youth Hockey website, Flyers Ice Hockey School, Flyers Roller Hockey School
and the Wives Carnival website.
Multimedia
The multimedia page consists of various links to different versions of Flyers
Media. There are links to the Flyers Web browser, the Flyers' picture gallery, and
FlyersTV. Also there is a link to a page that displays different Flyers desktop
wallpapers.
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News
The News page will display different news stories that are written with children in
mind. This means that the writing will be geared towards the reading level of
fourteen years old and under and have explanations of different hockey terms that
children may not know.
Links
The Links page will act as a guide for children to find more kid-friendly hockey
related fun. The links included in this section include links to the NHL.com,
NHLkids, Rinksters, and the individual player sites. These player sites include
The Briere Bunch, Hartnell Down, Claude Giroux's site, Max Talbot's site, and
Chris Pronger's site.
Increase overall recognition for Jr. Flyer members
Membership Card
The first and perhaps easiest idea to recognize the members of the Jr. Flyers is to
create a membership card. This card would be slightly larger than a business card
and simply states the child's name and age (see appendix A). This card would be
something that printed by 3601 on simple card stock. This would be a more
economical approach to member cards than the traditional ideas of printing them
with the child's picture on them. They would be included in the Welcome package
that will be described below.
Welcome Package
The welcome package would be mailed to the new members after they have
signed up for the Jr. Flyers. Included in this welcome package would be a letter
welcoming them to the Jr. Flyers, their membership card, and a certificate for a
welcome spin on the prize wheel at the next game they attend (see appendix E).
This would also be a great opportunity to give out some of the leftover
promotional items, and make sure that every new Jr. Flyer Member gets their
chance to spin the prize wheel.
Email Newsletter
An email newsletter could be sent out monthly to the emails that are provided on
the Jr. Flyers application. Included in this email would be a list of upcoming
Flyers games and Jr. Flyers’ events, the latest news stories from the Jr. Flyers
Website, and links to the Flyers website, the Jr. Flyers website, and for ticket
information.
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Name Scroll on Jumbotron during game
Having the names of Jr. Flyer members scroll on the Jumbotron during each game
would an excellent way to recognize the member as well as promote the Jr.
Flyers. This is something that could simply be worked into the game schedule
and could list names alphabetically throughout the season, and new members
could be added toward the end of the season.
Birthday Spotlight on Website
As a feature on the Homepage of the website there is an area that lists the
birthdays of the Jr. Flyers members as well as the Birthdays of the current and
past Flyers. This is a simple way to recognize Jr. Flyer Members and to allow
them to see if they share a birthday with their favorite Flyer.
Increase recognition specifically for Season Ticket Holder members of
the Jr. Flyers
Special Membership Card
Like the membership card that was listed above for the general members of the Jr.
Flyers, there should be one specifically designed for the members who are season
ticket holders. Like the other form of membership card it would include the
child's name and age, as well as their season ticket holder account name. To make
them last for the duration of the child's Jr. Flyers membership there is a line that
states that it is valid until _______Season (the season when the child is fifteen
years old). Finally in order to make them last and unique they would be laminated
after the information has been filled out (see appendix B).
Kid Interviewer
Another special way to recognize Season Ticket Holder Members of the Jr. Flyers
would be create a position of Kid Interviewer. This would be something that
would have to be scheduled prior to the beginning of the season, and children
would be selected randomly (but only if they are a season ticket holder member of
the Jr. Flyers). The Jr. Flyer members would be the opportunity to conduct an
interview with player at a prescheduled time, perhaps during practices, with a
prewritten list of questions. The prewritten list of question would not be entirely
based around hockey, but instead about topics like the players’ favorite things and
their hobbies. These interviews could then be used as entertainment during
television timeouts during games.
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Increase Season Ticket Holder membership in the Jr. Flyers
Membership Form in Renewal Packet
One way to increase the number of season ticket holder members is to include an
application for the Jr. Flyers in the packet that is sent to season ticket holders with
their renewal information for the upcoming season. This form would not include
the $25 dollar fee that is required of non-season ticket holder Jr. Flyers members
(see appendix C).
Membership Form at Customer Service Table
The forms that are sent out in the season ticket packets should also be present at
the Customer Service table behind section 101. So that if a season ticket holder
wants to sign-up at the games they will have the opportunities to do so on the
spot.
Membership Page in the Season Ticket Holder Playbook
The last way to increase the number of Jr. Flyer season ticket holder members
would be to create a page for the season ticket holder playbook that can act as a
membership form. This would help to remind season ticket holders that having
their children and grandchildren be part of the Jr. Flyers is part of their benefits.
It would be returned to the Customer Service table behind section 101 at any
home games similar to the forms for Faceoff for Fitness. (See appendix D)
Increase public membership in the Jr. Flyers
Membership Forms at the Flyers Skate Zone
Membership forms should be present at all times at the Flyers Skate Zone so that
when children are attending Flyers' Practices or their own practices have the
opportunity to join the Jr. Flyers.
Additional Ideas
Jr. Flyers Gift Idea
Money Matters
 Coin Bank
o Mechanical Hockey Bank
o Chalkboard Piggy Bank in Black with Jr.
Flyers Logo include white and orange chalk
Or Chalkboard Piggy Bank in Orange with
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Jr. Flyers Logo include Black and White Chalk
 Philadelphia Flyer Player Coins (Highland Mint)
o Top Line six in total (Bryzgalov, Grioux, Briere, Hartnell, Pronger,
Timonen)
Rainy Day Kit
 Flyers Guess Who Board Game-with players, alumni, and staff
 Jr. Flyers Puzzle
 Z is for Zamboni (or similar Hockey children’s book)
Bath Time Fun Kit
 Flyers Rubber Ducky
 Jr. Flyers Inflatable Hockey Puck and Foam hockey sticks
Road-trip Kit
 Jr. Flyers Duffle Bag
 Orange Hockey Lace Bracelet
 Jr. Flyers Neck Pillow
 Luggage Tags
Jr. Flyers Mascot
A large number of the Kid's Clubs around the NHL are based
around the team's mascot. Since their Flyers do not have a
mascot, the Flyer, from the NHL's Guardian project could be
adapted into the clubs mascot. It's transformer like persona
would appeal to the target demographic of the Jr. Flyers, in
particularly boys.
Jr. Flyers Title Sponsor
Another trend that is present around the NHL with other Kid's Clubs is that many
of them have title sponsors. This could help increase the budget for the Jr. Flyers
as well as creating another area that advertisement space could be sold. Perhaps
Red Robin could be a sponsor so that their "Build a Burger" game could be
integrated into the Jr. Flyers’ website.
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Appendix A
General Membership Card
12
Appendix B
Season Ticket Holder Membership Card
13
Appendix C
Jr. Flyers Membership Form for Customer Service Table
14
Appendix D
Season Ticket Holder Playbook Page
15
Appendix E
Welcome Certificate
Narrative
While working on my special project, I was able to use numerous skills and
information that I learned while completing my Sport Management classes at York
College of Pennsylvania. The first skill that I utilized was one that I developed during my
Sport Marketing class, the execution of a SWOT analysis. While writing the numerous
marketing plans that were assigned I learned how a SWOT analysis can be used to
analyze the current state of a situation and find ways in which they can be improved.
Conducting a SWOT analysis was one of the first steps that I completed while working
on my special project.
The next skill that I utilized from my Sport Management classes at York College
of Pennsylvania was various public relation skills. These skills were learned and
developed during Sport Public Relations, and were very helpful in working on this
project. I used this skill while creating a website for the Jr. Flyers, which was very similar
to the website that I helped to create for my fictitious organization, Adventure Cruise
Lines. Also I used the writing skills I learned while working on my Public Relations
project in creating my final product which I presented to my coworkers.
The last skill that I utilized my Sport Management classes at York College of
Pennsylvania was an understanding of how children perceive sport. This understanding
came from various units that we studied during Sport Psychology class. Understanding
how children understand and perceive sports was important when designing Jr. Flyers’
website, because the information needed to be geared towards children. Also
understanding how children learn and understand information was a key part of designing
the overall site.
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Overall, I am very pleased with the final product that I created for my special
project. I believe that I have some very achievable ideas about how to improve
recognition for Jr. Flyer’s members and ways to increase membership. I know that the
prototypes that I created are not the highest quality, but they are the best possible
examples that I could create with the tools that I have access too. I do believe that the
general layout for the Jr. Flyers website is one that could be used for a real website, but
just improve the graphics and visuals.
Works Cited
Carolina Hurricanes. (2010). Hurricanes Hockey Kids Club. Retrieved Feburary 8, 2012,
from Carolina Hurricanes: http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=45197
Edmonton Oilers. (2010). Oilers Kids Club. Retrieved Feburary 8, 2012, from Edmonton
Oilers: http://oilers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=64764
Pittsburgh Penguins. (2010). T.G.I. Friday's Penguins Kids Club. Retrieved Feburary 8,
2012, from Pittsburgh Penguins:
http://penguins.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=64049
Vancouver Canunks. (2011). Canunks Kids Club. Retrieved Feburary 8, 2012, from
Vancouver Canucks: http://kids.nucksnation.com/
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