Situation Analysis

Taylor Cole 10/31/2018 JAMS 347: Principles of PR Final Project: Campaign Plan Situation Analysis Client Overview The Hillsboro Hops are a minor league baseball affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks provide players and coaches to the team, as well as a stadium for the baseball prospects to play their games. The team is considered a Short Season Single A baseball club that features predominately first year players (About the Hillsboro Hops, n.d.). The team was previously based in Yakima, Washington and just recently relocated to Hillsboro, Oregon in 2013. Upon moving to Hillsboro, the team acquired new ownership, new facilities and a new name. The previously named Yakima Bears became the Hillsboro Hops. Ron Tonkin Field, which has the ability to host 4,500 people at capacity, was built for the Hops and is used for youth soccer and lacrosse in the off-season (Gordon Faber Recreation Complex, n.d.). The Hops are a part of the Northwest Conference, in which it plays other short season teams in the Pacific Northwest. Although supported by the Diamondbacks, the Hops are a privately and locally owned business. Short Season LLC owns the Hillsboro Hops Professional Baseball team. There are 30 investors that are a part of the ownership group. President Mike McMurray and his wife, Vice President and CFO, Laura McMurray, live in Hillsboro. The McMurray’s are highly involved in the daily operations of the team (About the Hillsboro Hops, n.d.). The organization’s mission statement is “to provide a memorable first-class experience so that we can enrich the lives of our fans, staff, players and community” (About the Hillsboro Hops, n.d.). People of the surrounding Hillsboro area attend Hops games. The business is committed to taking a leadership role within the community, operating a fiscal and sustainable business, maintaining reasonable prices and providing unique and memorable experiences (About the Hillsboro Hops, n.d.). External Environment Professional baseball is organized in a way that players have to work their way up the system in hopes of someday making it to the Major League. Players start down in Single A, then move into Double A ball and again up to Triple A ball. After working their way up the ladder and improving their skills, the players then earn to opportunity to play in the Major League. Not all players make it up through the leagues and others may start at Double A and potentially skip Single A- it all depends on where a players’ abilities are at. As noted previously, the Hillsboro Hops are a short-season Single A team that is affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is one of the lowest divisions of minor league baseball that most often host first year players. Short-season leagues exist to help young baseball players transition from high school or college ball to professional ball. Often, high school players are not ready to play against people that are two or three years older than them. The short-season leagues begin after the draft in early June, which is perfect timing for high schoolers who just recently graduated to prove their skills to the Major League affiliate. For some players, it only takes a few weeks to move up in the league, while others may spend a full year or two in the short-season Single A ball before moving up. “Not all short-season and rookie leagues are the same, however. For instance leagues like the New York-Penn, Northwest or Pioneer involve travel, minor league stadiums, and all of the rigors that come with the lifestyle of professional baseball. These are the more advanced short-season leagues” (Moore, J., 2012). The Hillsboro Hops are one of those teams that helps young players adjust to the rigors of professional baseball. Something that could either help or hinder the success of the Hillsboro Hops is the popularity of baseball in the surrounding Hillsboro area. The Hops are currently the only baseball team in the Portland area. If the market for baseball continues to grow in the area, the Hops could either see an increase in attendance, which would benefit the them, or the Major League might recognize this and bring a bigger team to Portland, which could hinder the financial success of the organization. This may not necessarily affect the overall success of the organization, but it may draw baseball fans who can afford a more expensive option to a higher quality baseball game that would be provided by the Major League. The Hops will still retain loyal fans who appreciate a cheaper option, but could potentially lose some fans to a higher quality alternative. The economy could also affect ownership of the Hillsboro Hops. Currently, the Hops are owned by Short Season LLC, which has 30 shareholders. In a limited liability company, each shareholder pays self-employment taxes on their shares of the company. If the economy takes a downward turn, shareholders may back out. This requires the company to either quickly find a replacement shareholder, or all shareholders will have to back out, ultimately leaving the business to fail (Nixon, D., n.d.). Many limited liability corporations have a limited lifespan due to lack of consistency in the economy. SWOT Analysis Strengths One of the Hillsboro Hops’ strengths is its connection to community members through social media. It has a Twitter account that tweets and retweets relevant information daily and an Instagram and Facebook profile that posts several times a week- even in the off-season. This generates interest of community members and other stakeholders. Along with consistent posts on social media, the Hops often provide links to their merchandise. Although the post is dedicated to an upcoming event or relevant news story, the organization uses it as a marketing platform to sell its products. Not only do the Hops use social media effectively, it also has a strong website that further proves its excellent internet presence. Part of the reason for a clear and informational website is because it is a part of the official Minor League Baseball website. The organization is monitored and maintained with the help of the Minor League. Although privately owned, the Hops still represent the Minor League and the league should ensure that its reputation is being maintained. Another strength of the Hillsboro Hops is that it is new. People in the community see it as a fresh and exciting thing to do in their community, so it draws in a lot of people out of curiosity. Once people attend games, the Hops must give fans a reason to return. An example of a public relations initiative that the Hop’s conducted last year was called “Los Lupolos de Hillsboro” which is Spanish for Hillsboro Hops. In this campaign, the team played five games as “Los Lupolos de Hillsboro” in recognition of Latinos in the surrounding area. According General Manager, K.L. Wombacher, “The fact that the Hispanic demographic in our area is nearly 25%, combined with the substantial number of Latino players we have on our roster each year, we wanted to celebrate our connection with the Latino community over more than just one night” (Hillsboro Hops Newsroom, 2018). Overall, the Hops recognize that a large percentage of their publics is Latinos and they used a public relations plan to bring awareness and show appreciation to that specific public. The organization should continue these public relations initiatives with other relevant publics. Lastly, the organization has a strong connection with its interns and employees. A lot of top management positions are held by people who have been with the organization for several years and started as interns for the organization (About the Hillsboro Hops, n.d.). Those people would not have stayed with the organization if they did not believe in it or its goals as an organization. This shows that the organization values employees and the employees value the organization in return, which is an example of two-way communication within an organization. The staff is also fairly small, which makes it easier for two-way communication to exist. Weaknesses A weakness of the Hillsboro Hops is its fast and constant turnover of athletes. The structure of the minor league makes it difficult to become a dedicated fan to a team that is always changing. A large aspect of being a fan is creating a connection with the players on the roster, but unfortunately, the Minor League makes it difficult to establish that connection. The Hops are also a newer organization that does not have a history or legacy to lean back on. Unlike Linfield College football, the Hops do not have a legacy that they can use to brand their organization or receive donations from alumni. Opportunities An opportunity for the Hillsboro Hops is to capitalize on its Hillsboro Hops Fund. The Fund was established by owners Mike and Laura MacMurray in 2013. According to the website, “The fund aims to re-instill a love of baseball within the youth of Washington County and the entire Portland-metro area through the funding of projects like refurbishing baseball fields, supplying baseball equipment for low-income families, covering entrance fees into tournaments for local youth baseball teams, and many many more” (Hillsboro Hops Fund, n.d.). This Fund does a lot of good things in the community and it should be recognized more during to increase awareness of its initiatives. By drawing more attention to philanthropic initiatives, it gives the organization an overall better image in the community. Threats A threat to the Hillsboro Hops organization are the other professional sports teams in the area.

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