Marketing Plan for State Men’s Soccer

Josh Katz Cory Scott

12/08/2014 PRT 476

1 Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Introduction 4 Company Description/Mission Statement 4 Background 5

Situational Analysis 7 Internal Analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses) 7 External Analysis (Opportunities/Threats) 8 Examine Product Portfolio & Positioning 9

Competitive Analysis 10

Customer Analysis 12

Marketing Goals 14

Marketing Tactics 15

Implementation & Control 19

Appendix 21

2 Executive Summary

The N.C. State Men’s Soccer team is one of the many Division One Varsity sports that are offered at the University. Since its first season as a Varsity sport in 1949 the team has upheld the traditions of N.C. State and continues to excel at grooming quality men and a quality soccer team. Located in the heart of main campus the Men’s Soccer teams plays its home games at . With top notch training facilities and recent stadium renovations the men’s soccer team at N.C. State already competes well with other soccer events that are in the surrounding area. The primary goal of the Men’s Soccer team is to put the best product out on the field so the University can reach the success that it once had in the 1990’s such as winning the ACC title and competing in the NCAA tournament for soccer on a consistent basis.

Upon further examination of the product, the men’s soccer team has many strengths that distinguishes itself from direct competitors and indirect competitors. One strength is the quality of the training facility and stadium that are here at N.C. State. Many of the training fields are turf grass, which makes a huge difference because most colleges only have their game field as turf. This enables our players to have a competitive edge when competing because they are already accustomed to playing on this surface, they do not have to adjust when playing their games. Another strength that the team possesses is the rich historic tradition that N.C. State has as a whole and as a separate entity. Along with any sport that is offered here at N.C State the fans from Raleigh and the surrounding cities rally behind them and continue to support the efforts of our student athletics. As a separate team the men’s soccer team has shown it can win on the highest level in the past by winning the ACC title in the 1990 and continues to produce athletes that go on and have professional careers.

In an effort to enhance the N. C. States Men’s Soccer team we will focus on two major marketing strategies that we feel need to be addressed in order to make the product better in all facets. The first marketing strategy is to increase the attendance of N.C. State Men’s Soccer team home games by 15% for the 2015-2016 season. When the men’s team is playing an in state rival such as the UNC-Chapel Hill or Wake Forest there are high numbers of attendance. However, when the men’s team plays weaker opponents or teams from outside the ACC the attendance diminishes by a considerable margin. We will look to have a consistent steady increase in numbers of attendance each home game of the season. Another strategy that we want to address is to distinguish the product from the competitors both direct and indirect. By running promotions that promote community involvement and active participation of fans we hope to have a product that families will want to take their kids to as well as considerable participation from the N.C. State student body.

After making the necessary goals and strategies we will then display the tactics that we will use to achieve these strategies. Those tactics include a social media overhaul of all accounts that the team has now and also the creation of new accounts that we feel should be explored. Promotions that will get fans more involved such as Jersey Night and Show Your Pride Night. One tactic will be to run a Family Night Preseason Scrimmage that

3 will feature the men’s soccer team against the Carolina Railhawks, the NASL team in Cary North Carolina. Another tactic will be to run promotions through CASL’s ball boy team and ball girl teams of the night and give special prize packages to the best performing team. With planning and strategic implementation of the marketing tactics this marketing plan is sure to be successful in making the Men’s Soccer team one of the best family entertainment destinations in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.

4 Introduction

Company Description/Mission Statement

The N.C. State Men’s Soccer team is one of the many Division One Varsity sports that are offered at the University. Since its first season as a Varsity sport in 1949 the team has upheld the traditions of N.C. State and continues to excel at grooming quality men and a quality soccer team. “The mission of the NC State University Department of Athletics 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.” (gopack.com)

A Unique Branding statement that is echoed throughout NC State Athletics is the phrase, to Prepare, to Compete, to Inspire, to Achieve. In summary we would like the Men’s Soccer team to embody this phrase by being the best prepared and compete well, inspire fans and achieve the success that we know we can have.

Specific to the Men’s Soccer team, we would like to embody everything that N.C. State Athletics stand for as a unit as well as build their specific community. We want our men’s soccer team to be well revered within the community and our players and staff members to be role models that families want their kids to look up to. While playing in what could be argued as the best conference for Men’s Soccer, the ACC, the Wolfpack takes on the best competition and continues to compete against the best on the pitch.

5 Background

The N.C. State Men’s Soccer team became a varsity sport in 1949 and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Division One of the NCAA. The Wolfpack captured their first ACC title in 1990. The head coach of the team is Kelly Findley. Kelly Findley became the eighth NC State men's soccer coach on December 22, 2010. After going to two straight NCAA Tournaments and being named the Horizon League Coach of the Year at Butler University, Findley came to Raleigh to take over a NC State soccer program rich in tradition. Upon new renovations done in 2008, for the first time in the teams history the Dail Soccer Stadium was able to have Wolfpack games at night.

The current marketing strategy for the Men’s Soccer team is to target current students and families. This is accurate to us because the stadium is right on campus so students are a great demographic to market to. This past season students were marketed to by having certain student groups such as the alumni association and the student Wolfpack club sponsor the games and having different promotions to push attendance for the home games that they would sponsor. For example the Student Wolfpack Club would hold minute events at men’s soccer games as an incentive for members to attend. This has been a pretty successful strategy because it does increase attendance for games. However, we feel like it can be constructed better which will be further discussed in sections below. For families, they are marketed by having local boys and girl’s soccer teams be the official ball boy/girls for the games. As an extra incentive the parents of the players are given free admission into the game so that they can enjoy seeing their kids on the sidelines.

To market every family at one time this past season there was a “Youth Soccer Night” where the parents accompanied by the child and or children of a youth soccer participant would receive discounted admission. This was added so that families that had kids but were not on a team that got to be a ball boy or girl could show off their jersey and be able to be recognized for participating in the sport of soccer as a youth.

To reach students and families at the same time social networking accounts have been created and are used to update and display important information regarding the team. The twitter page NC State Men’s Soccer created the hash tag #packfooty which has caught the interest of many fans. This tactic was created to track how many hits that this account received and to better understand what demographic was seeking out men’s soccer information. Along with Twitter the team also has a Facebook account and a YouTube account. One special thing that is run through the YouTube channel is a web series that chronicles different stages of preparation of the team. For example, one episode is about how the team prepares for an away game or what their practices look like. This video series gives fans an inside look at how division one athletes prepare for games and what the rigors are like being an NC State athlete.

6

Situational Analysis

Internal Analysis (Strengths and Weaknesses)

Strengths

One of the biggest strengths of the NC State Men’s Soccer team is the proximity of which their stadium is to main campus. The Dail Soccer Field is located beside historic , which makes attending home soccer games easy for current students living on campus. When looking for mid week or weekend entertainment a home soccer game at first might not be the first choice however because of the closeness of the stadium most students will choose to attend the game because of this reason. Another great strength that the men’s soccer team has is the excellent facilities that are here at N.C. State. This may not be what attracts fans to games however, this is how we get the recruits that we have and continue to get. The practice fields are top notch and the state strength and conditioning weight rooms are leaps and bounds above the competition. With the effort that is put in to have great facilities, great players have followed and chose to make their mark at N.C. State.

Another strength that the men’s soccer team has is the fact that they are in the Atlantic Coast Conference and they play in a region that has some of the best soccer players in the United States. UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke as well as Wake Forest have consistently been ranked in the top 25 nationally for men’s soccer. This statistic bodes well for N.C. State fans and players alike. The fans like that we get a chance to beat some of the best teams in the nation and the players like the competition that is offered within the ACC. The game staff and game day atmosphere is another aspect of the sport product that the NCSU men’s soccer team does a great job of. Every game day there are huge banners and signs put up that gives the Dail Soccer Stadium a professional feel when watching a home game.

Weaknesses

While there are many strengths of the soccer team there are a few weaknesses that are glaring and could be a factor that make people in the greater Raleigh area not choose us. The one thing that is the biggest weakness of the team is the amount or lack of parking that is by the Dail Soccer Stadium. Trying to find a parking spot for some games can be manageable by the amount of parking decks that we have close to the stadium. However, when there are big rivalry games, trying to find a close parking spot to the stadium is very difficult. Another weakness is the rise and fall of interest that the team has to the fans it caters to. Specifically speaking about the current students that are here at NC State. A few seasons ago the soccer team experienced a losing streak that lasted for a considerable amount of time and this caused many students to lose interest in the team. While understanding that winning and losing is a big part of what the team is trying to accomplish however, we want fans to still feel like they can have a good time when attending a game no matter the outcome that is on the field.

7

External Analysis (Opportunities and Threats)

Opportunities

Currently the Men’s Soccer team is marketed to current students and families within the area. We feel like that these marketing efforts can be more central and have a specific target with students and a specific family market then attendance would grow tremendously. First for the students, there are many opportunities that can be looked at that when marketed correctly, will result in more students showing up for home games. One aspect of this is for the student groups that sponsor some home games to have better promotions and to offer something better than pizza as an incentive for students to come to games. For example, the Student Wolfpack Club holds minute events at some soccer games as an incentive for its members to earn points. At soccer games, the Club would have free pizza to hand out to students. This is one promotion that we feel like works maybe once but when made a consistent promotion, attendance from a student standpoint drops. We can fix this by having student groups such as the Student Wolfpack Club and others alike promoting the team by creating more innovative promotions to help drive attendance up.

Specifically we would like for these student groups to have promotions that promote action within the community or promotions for a cause. Some promotions that have worked in the past is anything that has to do with breast cancer or that have an element for the youths to participate in. As mentioned in our presentation there have been Youth Soccer Nights where the parents receive reduced admission to the games and the kids were recognized for playing soccer as a youth. Other promotions such as cancer awareness have deep roots around the greater Raleigh area. With the Jimmy V Foundation and the Kay Yow Fund we feel like the men’s soccer team can partner with these organizations and others to pull in those people that have a connection with this cause.

Threats

Directly, there are a few threats that can be easily identified that are competition for the same market as NCSU Men’s Soccer. The Carolina Railhawks are a Professional Soccer team that is located in Cary, North Carolina. The Railhawks are a NASL team which is the second tier of United States soccer leagues. This team has the same market as the men’s soccer team here at state. The Railhawks have more home games than the State soccer team; this enables them to have different promotions and specific dates where they can look to attract a certain target market. Also one thing that the Carolina Railhawks has that is directly competing with the State soccer team is the facility comparisons. The Railhawks have Wake Med Soccer Park which hosts many more practice fields as well as bigger field houses and better locker rooms as well as a home stadium that houses more fans than does the team here at state. The Carolina Railhawks is the biggest direct competitor that State soccer has. It is up to the increased marketing efforts of the state

8 staff and volunteers to make our product just as if not more appealing to the target markets that we both have.

Looking at indirect competition there are plenty of things that families and students may want to do other than watch a college soccer match. We have to understand that some families and students are turned off immediately because they do not like soccer or their kids do not like soccer. We want our marketing efforts to bring in those people that may not be to interested on what happens on the field but may be more interested on the things that are going on and the promotions that are happening. We also have to take into account that there are other activities that families can do for entertainment with the money it takes to see a state soccer game. State Soccer has to compete with other activities like going to the movies or going to the zoo. We fee like once we have this marketing plan in place then families will want to go to State soccer games because of the promotional reach that we want to have in the near future.

Examine Product Portfolio and Positioning

The ACC is home to some of the best competition that is available for student athletes. For this reason the men’s soccer team here at State is able to compete for recruits and they are able to market this top-notch competition to their target markets. Another important aspect is the opportunity for growth, as aforementioned we have the opportunity to partner with organizations and student groups that we feel like we have yet to tap into. With the collective efforts of those organizations and the State Soccer team we hope to attract more people from our target markets. We will look to “Make a howling statement” over our competitors. Also we will live by the mantra “One Pitch One Pack” to help build the sense of community and have a better connection with our fans.

9 Competitive Analysis

As mentioned above, the Carolina Railhawks are one of the biggest competitors that the men’s soccer team has. The Carolina Railhawks are a Professional Soccer team that is located in Cary, North Carolina. The Railhawks are a NASL team which is the second tier of United States soccer leagues. Operated at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina the Railhawks offer the same entertainment opportunity as the men’s soccer team at N.C. State. One thing that is to be noted is that the Railhawks are a professional team, which means that they attract more fans and have the advantage of a larger budget to spend more on marketing efforts.

The Railhawks are able to have an array of partners because of the vast interest that a professional team has. The Railhawks have many corporate partners such as BB&T, Coca-Cola and Bud Light. With partnerships such as this the Railhawks are able to get funding which they use to run their business and become successful. The Railhawks also offer the opportunity to become a for sports businesses to become partners as well. Some of those include XL Soccer World and Capital Area Soccer League. These businesses are able to put their banners along side corporate partners that promote legitimacy for these sport businesses. The Railhawks welcomes new partners because the more partners that they have the more they can do with the additional revenue streams.

One of the biggest things that make the Carolina Railhawks different than the soccer team at State is their two luxury suites that are used during their home games. The two luxury boxes are used during the day for operations meetings and for other administrative meetings that are necessary. For home games the Railhawks will usually rent out the suits for corporate sponsors and have them enjoy the game while having food and drinks while they watch. The two box suites are decorated with many soccer themed fan fare and has outside seating areas on both sides so that the sponsors or whoever buys out the suite for that game can sit outside and be involved with the game.

The Carolina Railhawks offer many attractions and promotions that look to satisfy the wants and needs of their target markets. Their target markets are families who have children that play soccer or have a strong interest in soccer. Another target market is the Latino Population, mainly the Latino families that are around the Raleigh and Cary area. With a kids zone that has a bounce house and other inflatable attractions the Railhawks offer many activities for kids to do while at the games. To cater to their Latino demographic the Railhawks offer their website to be translated into Spanish as well as partnering with many Hispanic media that include radio print media and television.

“The Carolina Railhawks summer camps are instructional evening soccer camp conducted by current professional Railhawks players and coaches. The camps are designed to improve a player’s technical and tactical understanding of the game in a fun, positive and encouraging environment that stretches each player’s current capabilities and fosters creativity in their play. The camps are open to boys and girls ages 7-15 of all skill levels. Kids will be divided into groups based on age and skill level. In the summer of 2014, the Railhawks are also offering two special evening camps for 3-6 year olds

10 through its partnership with Soccer Shots.” (carolinarailhawks.com)

The Railhawks look to make their target markets happy and look to grow their target market. By the promotions mentioned above and with others the Railhawks continue to grow in popularity. The Carolina Railhawks also have an excellent presence on social media outlets that make them more receptive and build upon the community and the brand that the team has with their fans.

Taking a look at indirect competition there are a lot of activities for families in the Raleigh area and the surrounding area. They can go to the movies, the zoo, and museums downtown. We want to position our product in such a way so that these families will choose our product and spend their money with us rather than these other opportunities. These businesses have the same target markets that we are actively seeking. For example the Carolina Zoo uses ad campaigns such as radio spots and commercials that air on television to promote their attraction. These other opportunities for families are indirect competitors because they are fighting for the same discretionary income that the men’s soccer team is seeking.

11 Customer Analysis Section 1

Demographics According to SBRnet, soccer participation is highest among household incomes that make $75,000 or more with 21.4% of the US population participating in soccer. State’s Men’s Soccer team will look to market specifically to families that fit this statistic and look to grow their efforts within this demographic. Another specific demographic is families that have kids that participate in youth soccer. Currently, the Capital Area Soccer League will have teams be ball girls and ball boys for home games however we would like to involve more leagues and have more teams attend our home games as a group. The second demographic that we are looking to specifically market to is current N.C. State students. With the proximity of the stadium as close as it is to main campus we feel like there is potential for growing this demographic greatly.

Product Usage The fans that come to our games watch our product that is on the field. This is the main way that our fans use our product. Our target markets are either watching our games or watching our games from their computer if they are available on some media outlet or through television.

Product Needs and Benefits Our fans are given a chance to watch top competition because the Wolfpack competes in the ACC. The fans deserve to have a clean facility and to feel safe when watching a home game at Dail Soccer Field. Having staff that makes sure the stadium is clean is important for maintaining the market share and vital to grow the market share that we want. Also having security guards all around the facility for our home games gives families and students the assurance that they can enjoy their time at Dail Soccer Field and not have to worry about anything happening.

Some of the benefits of consuming our product are entertainment and the opportunity to watch your child be a ball boy or ball girl. Although entertainment is not the main goal of having student athletes at colleges and universities we want the people that choose our product to be entertained as though they are watching a movie. By having boys and girls youth teams be the official team of the game the parents are able to have an enhanced experience while watching the game. For the boys and girls that actually get to participate they are able to get an up close and personal view of what collegiate athletics is like and it gives them individuals to model after and look up to.

Section 2

Currently, the Men’s Soccer team is marketed to current students and families within the greater Raleigh area and the surrounding communities. First for the students, there are many opportunities that can be looked at that when marketed correctly, will result in more students showing up for home games. One aspect of this is for the student groups

12 that sponsor some home games to have better promotions and to offer something better than pizza as an incentive for students to come to games. We are choosing to market to these students because our students here at N.C. State are the bulk of the fans that attend our athletic events excluding football and basketball. One thing that will work for this group is the fact that attendance to the games have no cost for students so there should be no hesitations for students when choosing whether or not they want to attend our home games.

Our other demographic is families that are in the Research Triangle and that have kids that participate or have a high interest in soccer. We are looking for these families because we feel like they are the ones that are going to be interested in what we have to offer. They are the families that are going to have the kids that are going to be on the sidelines as the ball boys and girls. Also, we want to offer family friendly entertainment so that these families will have a great experience and will want to come back. These families have a different sense of time and will look for entertainment opportunities that will be sufficient in upholding their perceptions and the value of their time. We do not want to undermine this demographic because it is our core product user group and we aim to please all of our consumers. Our product is family friendly already however, we think there is still room for improvement.

Marketing Goals

13

The goals of our organization are to deliver our product, the highest level of collegiate men’s soccer competition, to our target market of NC State students, families and children living in Raleigh and the surrounding communities as well as providing an exciting, safe, and family friendly environment for spectators. We take pride in being one of the top programs in North Carolina and we value each and every one of our attendees and want to keep them coming back. Our main goal is to gain the highest attendance of any soccer program in the state of North Carolina.

Our marketing plan is designed to help us meet our goals through two specific and well- planned strategies. We will use a number of different marketing tactics to execute our strategies to ultimately increase fan attendance by 15% by the end of the 2015-2016 season as well as differentiate our product from the alternatives that present themselves to our markets.

With other top soccer programs in the state of North Carolina like UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, and Wake Forest University, we understand that some people might not initially consider NC State as a primary competitor, especially since the Carolina Railhawks are also right down the road. The fact is that North Carolina State Men’s soccer is on the rise and we show that through our competitive match-ups against some of the top-ranked programs in the country. Being in one of the premier soccer conferences in the country, the ACC, allows our players to be showcased in front of the best players, coaches, and scouts and this, in addition to our high quality facilities allows us to recruit some of the premier players in the country. NC State has three of the top 100 ranked freshman players in the country and we want the public to recognize our level of play and understand that our services are valuable and more affordable than that of the competition.

Marketing Strategies

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Strategy #1 The first marketing strategy we will discuss is to increase attendance by 15% by the end of the 2015-2016 soccer season. We know that there are certain games over the course of the season that attract more fans such as rivalry games, games with certain tournament implications, promotional games, etc. This strategy is designed to increase the number of average fans for every game, throughout the entire season. With our target market(s) being NC State students and local families with children living in the Raleigh area, our goal is to get them to want to attend an NC State men’s soccer game and continue returning to Dail Soccer Field. Our main goal here is to get students and families to be aware of the product we are offering. Using a specific set of tactics, we believe we can increase the interest and awareness of the community regarding our product, which will have a direct impact on overall attendance.

Strategy #2 The second strategy that we plan to implement will focus on product differentiation between NC State Men’s Soccer events and other local alternatives. We know that students are always looking for opportunities to get out and meet new people, especially if you are living on campus. Even if you enjoy living on campus, nobody likes being cooped up in a dorm room all the time. Students are always trying to take advantage of the opportunities to get out and be social whether it’s on or off campus. This strategy is geared towards showing students that they have an affordable (free) and convenient option to get out with their friends to enjoy the level of soccer that NC State athletics has to offer. The fact that soccer games are free for current students and that the stadium is located on main campus leaves no reason for students to not attend these games. If Carter-Finley Stadium and PNC Arena are packed with students and NC State fans every home game, why should Dail Soccer Field be any different? While this strategy focuses on reaching NC State students, local families with children who play and/or who are interested in the game of soccer make up a large percent of our market as well. It is important that we also reach out to this demographic in order to show them that we provide an affordable alternative that surpasses other entertainment and leisure activities. Tactics used to execute this strategy will allow us to reach our targets in the community and steer them away from alternatives they would normally choose.

Marketing Tactics

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Tactic 1 We recognized that there is a huge opportunity to reach our target market using the ever- growing social media market. Just about every person who owns a smartphone uses some kind of social media, and if they are on one like Facebook, then there is a good chance they also have an account on Twitter, Instagram, etc. With that said, this tactic features a complete social media overhaul across all NC State Men’s Soccer accounts. The twitter account, @PackMensSoccer, has 4,156 followers and the Facebook page only has 1,484 likes. With over 25,000 undergraduate students, we believe that with a few changes to these social media platforms we can reach a lot more students as well as others interested in NC State soccer in the community. This tactic links directly to our first strategy of increasing fan attendance by 15% by the end of the 2015-2016 season. Revamping the Twitter account and increasing our presence on Facebook will help us reach and interact with our fans in a more modern way. One thing we will promote through this social media overhaul is the opportunity to win free stuff for following us on Twitter and Facebook as well as attending games. The more games you attend, the more opportunities you have to win. Simply using the “check in” feature while at a game and posting on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag, #PackFooty, enters you into a raffle to win anything from tickets to future games to NC State Men’s Soccer apparel/gear. There will also be weekly trivia questions that will be posted on both platforms that the public will have the opportunity to respond to in hopes of winning team gear. This is an effort to reach more consumers easily and to provide a way for fans to interact with Pack Soccer. In addition to these new features, the Facebook and Twitter accounts will continue to be used to inform followers of upcoming games and events, keep fans up to date on team news, and inform followers about other promotions that we will talk about in later tactics. This is where this tactic also ties into our second marketing strategy of differentiating our product to those other opportunities for leisure and entertainment. Our social media campaign will allow for free advertising and promotion of all team updates and events.

Tactic 2 This next tactic helps us meet both of our strategies of increasing fan attendance as well as differentiating our product. We have found that increased fan participation leads to higher enjoyment and a better experience. This tactic aims to promote more participation from spectators both from the community as well as current NC State students. We plan to implement a “Jersey Night” where we ask all of our fans to wear their favorite soccer jersey to the game. If an attendee wears a jersey to the game they will be awarded with discounted entry for that game and potentially another game later in the season. We will use our social media accounts to promote “Jersey Night” so that everyone can be made aware of the event. In addition to using social media, the game announcer will make an announcement at the prior game informing everyone about “Jersey Night.” We will also be asking fans to use Twitter and Facebook to post pictures of themselves, friends, and family members in attendance wearing their jerseys during this event. We will then enter everybody that posts a picture into a raffle drawing to win team gear. In an effort to attract more students to come more regularly, we propose that we increase the number of Wolfpack Club Minute events. With that said, instead of some students only coming to certain games to earn Wolfpack Club Minutes, they could receive additional minutes for

16 attending promotional games such as “Jersey Night.” This involves more fans through multiple promotions throughout the season. “Jersey Night” and other spectator participation efforts also shows some level of legitimacy to the consumer. When they think about how professional teams like the Durham Bulls and the Carolina Railhawks offer similar promotions, they will see attending an NC State Men’s soccer game as a similar tier product/experience.

Tactic 3 Our third tactic features a promotion for our Family Night. This will be a pre-season scrimmage between the NC State Men’s soccer team and the Carolina Railhawks. This event gives fans of both NC State and the Railhawks an opportunity to watch both teams before their respective seasons begin. With Dail Soccer Field hosting the event and projecting maximum attendance, this event gives both the fans and the Wolfpack players the opportunity to experience a game like they never have before. With the crowd noise and energy of the game keeping the stadium rocking, it will give off the feeling of a professional soccer game. Not only will this attract more fans, but a college/professional matchup would attract other local coaches, and scouts giving the players more exposure and an incredible experience for attendees. This tactic obviously aims to attract higher attendance by grabbing the attention of all student fans and fans throughout the community. They will see that NC State is hosting the Carolina Railhawks and may think the best is yet to come further in the season, leading to repeat attendees and higher average attendance. In addition to the excitement of this pre-season matchup on the field, fans can look forward to staying after the match to meet the two teams during the post- game signature/photo opportunity with players. We are also offering fans that attend this game to use the ticket stub for a reduced entry to another home game during the season. We believe that partnering with the Carolina Railhawks, offering a meet and greet after the game, as well as a discount to a future game will help us meet our goals of increasing attendance (strategy #1).

Tactic 4 This tactic is another effort to draw more spectators to soccer games to reach our goal of a 15% increase in attendance by the end of the 2015-2016 men’s soccer season (strategy #1). This tactic in particular is focused on targeting families with children who currently play soccer in Raleigh and/or in surrounding communities. With this tactic, we offer an incentive for children to come to games all season long. Through this program, local recreational soccer players have the opportunity to earn the right to call their recreational team the Most Dedicated Team. The way this program will work is that the NC State Men’s soccer team will partner with teams through CASL and other recreational soccer leagues. Your team will sign up for the Most Dedicated Team contest through NC State athletics and every member of the team will receive a punch card. That card will then be punched at every game the player attends. At the end of the season, every participating team will collect their players’ cards and turn them in to NC State athletics where the number of “punches” will be totaled. The team with the greatest number of punches, or games attended, will win the grand prize. The winning team will be awarded with the chance to have a current NC State player act as a guest coach during their final game of the recreational season. Another part of this partnership between NC State Men’s soccer

17 and the Raleigh recreational leagues is the creation of the Sportsmanship Award. This award will be given out by the league to the team that demonstrates outstanding character and sportsmanship throughout the season. The recipient of this award will also have the opportunity to have a current player act as a guest coach during their final game.

Tactic 5 From our SWOT analysis we determined that there is a significant opportunity through community outreach and promotions for a cause. This tactic, which will also be used to get people to fill the seats, is centered on Breast Cancer Awareness month. Throughout the entire month of October, we will be donating a portion of ticket sales to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. To get the word out we will promote this month long event using social media, in-game and radio announcements, the , etc. Cancer affects everybody in some form or fashion, so throughout the month of October we will ask everyone who attends a home game to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness. In addition to donating a percentage of ticket sales from that month, we will also be accepting donations at the box office for those that choose to do so. Through this effort we hope to rally the community to come together to come support not just the men’s soccer team, but to support the ongoing fight against cancer. We hope that with the help of our fans and the community, we can raise awareness and benefit the fight against cancer.

Tactic 6 Because philanthropic promotions are so well received and they generate a lot of participation from the community, this tactic will be charity related as well. The amount of homeless people in Raleigh is staggering. It is not uncommon to see multiple homeless people around NC State’s campus each day. There are roughly 1,170 homeless people in Wake County on any given night and most of them will not eat. With that being said, the NC State Men’s soccer team will have a canned food drive at their final home game of the season. People will be asked to donate canned foods to be donated to local homeless shelters and soup kitchens to allow those who normally would go on without a meal, a chance to eat. Attendees will drop off their donations at the box office and however many canned items you bring will determine the amount of raffle tickets you receive. Therefore, the more you donate the more tickets you will receive. There will then be a raffle contest during halftime where three winners will be chosen to each receive team apparel. In addition, the donations will be counted and there will be an announcement of how much food was collected.

18 Implementation and Control

A. Action Plan:

7/29/11 8/18/11 9/7/11 9/27/11 10/17/11 11/6/11 11/26/11

Social Media Overhaul

Jersey Night

Family Night Start Date Duration Most Dedicated Team Contest

Breast Cancer Awareness

Canned Food Night

B. Budget:

Money is always a cause for concern when considering any changes to an organization. We believe our marketing plan to be very cost efficient, as most of our tactics require hardly any costs to carry out. We believe a budget of $25,000 will be necessary to execute all strategies and tactics laid out in our marketing plan. With minimal costs coming from our social media overhaul, promotional/themed nights, and the breast cancer awareness month campaign, we estimate this figure to mainly account for radio and print advertising, raffle and trivia giveaways, and the partnership agreements with the Carolina Railhawks, CASL, as well as other recreational soccer leagues.

C. Evaluation:

We believe this plan is realistic and attainable as long as our tactics are executed correctly to meet our goals and strategies. With our main goal being to increase attendance by 15% by the end of the 2015-2016 season, we plan to implement the measurable tactics discussed earlier and will refer to the attendance records at the conclusion of the season to see if we were successful. Keeping track of the number of new Twitter followers, hashtags, Facebook likes, and other web traffic will help us gain an idea on how successful our social media campaign was. Recording the attendance on special event nights as well as the number of times discounted tickets were redeemed will help us with our overall evaluation. We will evaluate strategy #2 based off of feedback

19 from the community. Surveys and questionnaires will also be used to evaluate where the public views our product in comparison to the alternative opportunities they have for leisure and entertainment.

Appendix

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