Durham Bulls Summer Baseball Camp (Ages 15 - 18)
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Durham Bulls Summer Baseball Camp (Ages 15 - 18) Running Head: Durham Bulls Summer Baseball Camp (Ages 15 - 18) Durham Bulls Summer Baseball Camp (Ages 15 - 18) Justin Jordan Seth Reavis Tyler Russell North Carolina State University 1 Durham Bulls Summer Baseball Camp (Ages 15 - 18) Executive Summary The Durham Bulls are the Minor League (Triple-A) affiliate of the Major League Baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays. The Durham Bulls play their home games in the Downtown area of Durham, North Carolina at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which is often referred to as “D-BAP” or “DBAP”. The Durham Bulls have established their place as a minor league powerhouse having won 13 League titles with the most recent championship coming last year. As a result, the Bulls have become a well-known baseball franchise not only locally, but throughout the region and this has helped bring in a variety of resources and players to the Durham area. The Durham Bulls offer many promotions and opportunities for the public to be involved with the baseball team ranging from birthday parties to baseball camps. The summer baseball camps that are offered are the most popular among these promotions, however they have only been offered for children ages 7-14. For the first time ever, the Durham Bulls will be offering a much more exclusive summer camp for baseball players ages 15-18. The two main goals of the summer baseball camp is to have the most professional and rewarding camp that can be offered to high school aged players and to provide the campers with a high level of exposure to college coaches and other scouts. In order to make this camp a success, a variety of marketing tactics will be implemented to help attain the goals of the summer camp. In order to attain these goals, we must come up with strategies for doing so. The first strategy is to distinguish The Durham Bulls program from other local programs in the Carolinas. One of the tactics that will be used for this to happen is The Durham Bulls inviting coaches from ACC and SEC Schools to attend the camp to instruct, scout, and interact with the players in the camp. The Bulls will also be hosting a mini-tournament of four teams from the Coastal Plain League and the Minor League All Star game for the campers to enjoy watching during their time in the camp. Both of these events will allow the campers to watch professional baseball players compete at a high level and will allow them to interact with professional coaches and players. In addition to receiving guidance from the respective coaches and players, the campers will be offered the opportunity to attend the Minor League All-Star Baseball Game at the end of the camp which is being hosted at DBAP. This will give the campers additional exposure to high level competition and they will receive top quality advice from professional baseball players. The final tactic that will be implemented in this marketing plan is the pro day showcase that will be held on the last day of the camp after all camp festivities and it will be invite-only. The coaches associated with the camp will select players from the camp that they believe have potential to play collegiate, or even pro, ball and these players will be invited to further show off their skills in front of college coaches and scouts. This is the most differentiating strategy that separates this camp from all others in the region as no other camp offers a pro-day showcase. The remaining tactics will be used to gain publicity for the summer camp itself. Flyers will be distributed to local athletic stores in the Triangle area as well as the summer camp being highlighted on the homepage of the official Durham Bulls website. A twitter account will also be established for all Durham Bulls events to help publicize for this event as well as others, and the Bulls will also contact ESPN’s radio station 99.9 “The Fan” to create a summer contract to air commercials for the summer camp. These are the tactics that will be used to help attain the goals of the camp and with proper implementation of these tactics; this market plan is assured to be successful. 2 Durham Bulls Summer Baseball Camp (Ages 15 - 18) Table of Contents INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction 4 Background 4 - 5 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS....................................................................................................................................... 6 Internal Analysis 6 External Environmental Analysis 6 - 7 Product Portfolio and Positioning 7 - 8 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Competitors 9 - 10 CUSTOMER ANALYSIS ….................................................................................................................................... 11 Section One 11 Section Two 11 - 12 MARKETING GOALS ........................................................................................................................................... 13 MARKETING STRATEGIES AND TACTICS ................................................................................................... 14-19 IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL ................................................................................................................... 20 Camp Daily Schedule 20 (Appendix V Timeline) Budget 21-22 Evaluation 22 APPENDIX ....................................................................................................................................................... 23-29 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................................... 30 3 Durham Bulls Summer Baseball Camp (Ages 15 - 18) Introduction The Durham Bulls have enjoyed a long history of success in Durham, North Carolina, and have become internationally known thanks to the 1988 Kevin Costner film, “Bull Durham” which was based on the film director’s experience playing minor league baseball for the Durham Bulls. The film's name is based on the nickname for Durham, North Carolina, which has been called "Bull Durham" since the 1800s, when the Blackwell Tobacco Company named its product "Bull" Durham tobacco, which soon became a well-known trademark. This film, as well as past accomplishments of the organization, helped the Durham Bulls to become the most recognized name in minor league baseball. The mission of the Durham Bulls is, “To present baseball, The Great American Pastime, as affordable family entertainment with a commitment to customer and community service, ethical business practices and the professional growth of our employees.” The Bulls have played a key role in the development of the Triangle community since 1902. The team plays a 144-game schedule as a member of the International League and the Triple-A Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Capitol Broadcasting Company purchased the team in 1990 and built what is currently called Durham Bulls Ballpark, in 1995. For well over a century the Bulls organization has offered affordable family entertainment to fans in the Triangle area and beyond with a strong brand of baseball, great food, children’s’ areas, mascots and special events throughout the summers. The Bulls have set several records for attendance and are widely known for being an affordable family- friendly venue. Mascot Wool E. Bull not only entertains the crowd but works hard to support education, along with the Bulls’ many other community projects. These community projects have contributed in a significant way to the development of the community in the Triangle, which consists of the cities of Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill. The team won its first championship close to 100 years ago when they were a member of the North Carolina State League in 1917 and has won 12 more championships since then. These titles include four League Championships including back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003 winning it again in 2009 and most recently in 2013. The Bulls also won a National Title in 2009 becoming the Triple-A National Champions for the first time since the team made the jump to Triple-A in 1998. In 2013 the Bulls also won an award as PETA’s Most Vegetarian-Friendly Minor League Ballpark as well as setting the state record for attendance at a baseball game when 11,391 people were in attendance for the UNC vs. NC State ACC tournament game. Many past and present star baseball players have donned the Bulls jersey, including Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, Bob Boone, Greg Luzinski, Ron Gant, David Justice, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, David Price, Chris Archer and Wil Myers. The Durham Bulls Ballpark was recently named the second best Triple-A ballpark in the nation by Stadium Journey Magazine, which makes it easy to see why so many people enjoy coming to the ballpark whether it be for a Bulls game or another event. Background The Durham Bulls were founded on March 18, 1902 and the original name of the franchise was the Durham Tobacconists. The Tobacconists disbanded multiple times over the next few years before establishing the “Bulls” as the name of the franchise in December of 1912 as a member of the North Carolina State League. Their first game as the Bulls was on April 24, 1913 against the Raleigh Capitals in which the bulls were victorious by a score of 7-4. The game was played at Hanes Field on the campus