1 NC State Baseball Marketing Plan for the 2014 Season Created by: Tyler Younger 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………...3 Mission Statement ……………………………………………………………………………….4 Background………………………………………………………………………………………4 Situational Analysis……………………………………………………………………………...5 Marketing Goals………………………………………………………………………………..14 Marketing Strategy…………………………………………………………………………….15 Marketing Tactics……………………………………………………………………………...16 Implementation…………………………………………………………………………………24 Evaluation………………………………………………………………………………………29 Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………..30 3 Executive Summary The purpose of this marketing plan is to increase average attendance at NC State baseball games by 10% for the 2014 season. The baseball program has used the general public as a target market in the past and this is simply too large of a group. This particular marketing plan will focus its efforts on three target markets: NC State students, NC State faculty/staff, and the West Raleigh Baseball Association. The NC State baseball program believes, with the right marketing strategies and tactics, that these three target markets can help them reach their goal of increasing average attendance by 10%. This plan focuses its efforts on enhancing awareness of games, making the game day product more entertaining, and building personal relationships with the players, coaches, parents, and fans of the West Raleigh Baseball Association. Enhancing awareness of games on campus through flyers, emails, signs, and radio announcements will keep students and faculty/staff mindful of when games are being played. We will have promotional days and promotions during games that are aimed at our target markets and will make the game day product more entertaining. The NC State baseball coaches and players will make appearances and participate in instructional camps at the West Raleigh Baseball Association’s facility. This will allow the NC State players and coaches to build positive relationships with the players, coaches, parents, and fans of the youth baseball organization. We believe that these ideas are a great way to connect with our target markets and spark their interest to attend NC State baseball games. The team will begin the season nationally ranked in 2014 and it is our goal to fill the stands and produce an incredible atmosphere for the players and the fans so that all goals and expectations can be met. We believe that this marketing plan is very capable of meeting its goal of increasing average attendance during the upcoming season and could be a stepping stone to increasing attendance for years to come. 4 Mission Statement The mission of the NC State baseball program is to prepare student-athletes to compete at the highest level and to inspire them to be leaders now and for the future by providing the best environment to achieve their athletic, academic, and personal aspirations as well as providing support for the professional development of our coaches and staff, all within the role of the greater institutional relationships to the University. The team aims to bring enjoyment to all those in attendance by putting hard-working student-athletes, who take pride in their university, on the field. The NC State baseball program places excelling in the classroom and being actively engaged in the community as top priorities, along with excelling on the field. Background The NC State baseball program had a phenomenal year in 2013 on and off the field. The team broke numerous records on its way to a memorable season. The team won 50 games for the first time in school history and went to the College World Series for the first time since 1968. The program also shattered the attendance record by averaging 1,884 fans per home game. This includes maxing out ticket sales within just a few hours after tickets went on sale when the team took on Rice in the Super Regionals. All of these are remarkable feats, but the program looks to build off of last year’s success and have even more success this year. In the past, the baseball program’s target markets have been the youth in the Triangle and the general public. Both of these are very broad target markets. I think that targeting specific markets such as the NC State students, NC State faculty/staff, and the West Raleigh Baseball Association would help the program to bring in more fans than in previous years. The team has also used radio advertisements in the past to market the team. The radio advertisements did not pertain to a specific target market, it was intended for the general public to hear. Baseball is one of the seven ticketed sports at NC State. It is not considered a revenue sport like basketball and football, therefore, the revenue gained from ticket sales is an added bonus for the program. Since revenue from ticket sales is not for financial gain and will not make or break the baseball program, the focus of this project will be to increase attendance. The objective of this marketing plan will be to fill up the stands at Doak Field using well thought out marketing strategies and tactics. We want to pack the stands with fans every time the Wolfpack baseball team hits the field, whether it be with paying or non-paying spectators. The ticket prices for the 2014 season will be as followed: Adults- $10 Senior Citizens- $7 17 & under- $7 Students- Free Faculty/Staff- Free This marketing plan will be focusing on three target markets: NC State students, NC State faculty/staff, and the West Raleigh Baseball Association. Being able to market to these three groups and convince them to attend NC State baseball games would help the program achieve its 5 goal of increasing attendance. The philosophy of the NC State baseball program is to create a fun filled, family-friendly environment by providing entertainment for people of all ages and putting a fine tuned product on the field. Situational Analysis Internal Analysis 1. Strengths Facility- Doak Field at Dail Park is where the NC State baseball team calls home. Doak Field creates an electric atmosphere on game days as its maximum capacity allows for up to 3,051 screaming fans. Renovations were finished in 2004 that added a grandstand, field house, and indoor batting cages. When the renovations were all said and done, Doak Field featured approximately 2,200 chair back seats, modern and spacious restrooms, new concession stands, a ticket office, and a 1,200-square-foot press box, complete with radio and TV booths as well as an area for print media. The baseball field house includes a 1,300-square-foot player’s locker room with direct access to the first-base dugout, a coaches locker room, players’ lounge, training room, equipment room, umpires locker room, coaches offices and a reception area. Doak Field is in a convenient location on campus that makes it easily accessible. Performance- The 2013 NC State baseball team exceeded all expectations and made their first trip to the College World Series since 1968. The team’s performance gave them the opportunity to host a Regional and Super-Regional at Doak Field which sold out within a few hours of tickets going on sale. The Wolfpack finished the season with a 50-16 record and broke the school’s previous record of 49 wins in a season. The team finished the season ranked #6 in the nation. Attendance- 2013 was a memorable year for the Wolfpack baseball team. Several records were shattered throughout the season, with the attendance record being one of them. The previous record for average attendance in a season was 1,362 in 2012. They broke that record by averaging 1,884 fans in 37 games at Doak Field. The team hopes to once again break the average attendance record in 2014. Conference- The NC State baseball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is considered to be one of the toughest conferences in college baseball. The conference began the season with four teams ranked in the top 25. Two of those teams (UNC, NC State) were in the top 10. At seasons end, the conference had five teams in the top 25. Two of those teams (UNC, NC State) were ranked in the top six. Recruiting- The state of North Carolina is full of top level baseball talent. The Raleigh area has been known to produce good talent. Major League Baseball stars Josh Hamilton (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) and Chris Archer (Tampa Bay Rays) are both from the Raleigh area. Head Coach Elliot Avent has a good rapport with coaches and players around the state that allows him to convince 6 future players that NC State is the place for them. The 2014 NC State baseball team features 21 players from the state of North Carolina. Sport Popularity- Baseball is a popular sport in this part of the country. The sport itself is considered America’s pastime and it lives up to that in the Raleigh area. Baseball’s popularity in the Raleigh/Durham area has brought in two professional teams. The West Raleigh Baseball Association draws the attention of this area’s youth because it is considered to be one of the premier youth baseball programs in the state. 2. Weaknesses Funding- The marketing budget for the baseball program is limited because it is not considered a revenue sport like football and basketball. The team tries to market at little or no cost and only spends money when it is necessary. This causes the program to be able to have very few television or print advertisements. After a very successful season last year, the program is expected to be able to do more advertising through television and radio this season. Target Markets- The team limits itself by focusing their marketing toward the general public in the Raleigh area. There are around 24 high schools and 35 middle schools in Wake County and most of them have a baseball program.