Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball

Marketing Plan

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Product/Service 4

Market 5

Current distribution 7

Current Promotional Strategies 7

Reviewing public relations activities 8

Goals 8 Benchmarks and strategies 9

Tactical plan for goal #1 9

Tactical plan for goal #2 9

Tactical plan for goal #3 10

Appendix A 11 Appendix B 13

Appendix C 15

Appendix D 18

1. Introduction

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1a. Executive Summary.

Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball is one of the numerous athletic teams affiliated with the non-profit organization Brock University’s Department of Athletics. The team provides female students with the opportunity to take part in women’s volleyball and compete on an elite level of competition. Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball is open to all female students enrolled at Brock University and helps female athletes who are interested in the pursuit of excellence grow as volleyball players. As a member of the Ontario Universities League (OUA), each year, Brock Badgers Women’s Volleyball, recruits approximately 15-20 student-athletes who represent the team and compete in the OUA tournament. Great leadership, daily training, and weekly competition provide the female student-athletes some of the best opportunities in Ontario and throughout Canada.

1b. Mission statement for the marketing plan.

The mission at Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball is to enrich the overall female student life experience by providing a quality women’s volleyball program and the opportunity for its female athletes to develop their skills in their pursuit of athletic excellence.

1c. The purpose of the marketing plan.

The purpose of this marketing plan is to develop and implement clear marketing strategies with which a marketing professional can then develop marketing strategies for, in order to execute the plan. The focus of this marketing plan will be an evaluation of the current market climate at Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball, and the plans the team should pursue moving forward.

1d. The current state of Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball.

The current state of Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball is at the mid-point of the potential peak of where the business can reach. Attendance rates are above average, however, there are hardly any ‘new fans’ or local fans apart from Brock University students and family members of the girls who play for the team. Furthermore, marketing the team has been poor thus far and there have been no efforts to add to the entertainment of the game or push merchandise sales onto fans of the team. Also, complicating issues are the fact that the teams current record is one of the worst out of all the OUA teams, therefore, potential newer fans have no interest in supporting a team struggling for wins.

2. Product/Service.

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2a. Identifying the service.

Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball provides female students enrolled at Brock University, the opportunity to develop their volleyball skills by competing at an elite level against other Ontario-based university teams that are also members of the OUA.

One of the many other services which Brock Women’s Volleyball provides is the important aspect of entertainment for fans of the team. Whether tickets are purchased at the game for 5$ or not (depending if the fan is a student or on the guest list), Brock Badgers Women’s Volleyball has an obligation to provide entertainment for their fans during games.

The products which are associated with the team are the merchandise for which fans can purchase at the Brock Athletics Store. This includes items such as; T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, accessories etc. However, the team does not retain these profits, Brock University’s Department of Athletics does.

2c. Competitive advantage.

The competitive advantage which Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball has over the competition is that it is a mostly student-run service. The staff on game day are not paid directly by the team but by Brock University’s Department of Athletics. The team essentially has no game day costs since it is all covered by Brock University’s Department of Athletics. Another competitive advantage which Brock has is that it has recently acquired a sponsorship with Nike to design and create all Badger Athletics apparel.

2d. Strengths.

The strengths which Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball have are: • An avid fan base • Multiple sponsorships deals • Great community presence • Connections with other volleyball clubs in the Niagara region • A newly renovated and modern court and playing facility • Opportunities to recruit unpaid student volunteers

2e. Weaknesses.

The weaknesses which Brock University Women’s volleyball have are:• Poor advertising approaches • No active social media accounts• No fan engagement tactics • Poor attendance rates for non-students/parents of athletes • Only a few “true fans”• No merchandise specific to the team2f. The cost of service.

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The price of a ticket to attend a Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball game for non-students and for parents is $5. Student tickets are free.

2g. The cost of the product.

Brock Badgers Women’s Volleyball does not sell merchandise specific to women’s volleyball however, Brock Athletics sells their own merchandise made by Nike which varies in price ranges.

*Refer to appendix A for pictures and prices of the merchandise sold by Brock Athletics.

3. Market.

3a. Identifying your customers.

The customers of Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball are the university students who attend games, the clubs which the team invites on game days and the parents and family of team members who come out to watch (for both Brock and the visiting team).

The team's primary target market are students who attend Brock University. These students roughly age from 18 to 22 years old and the gender difference is surprisingly even. These students are presumably on a low-income salary since they are probably full-time students. And the crowd tends to be diverse, however, mainly dominated by Caucasian students. These students are conservative with their money and have an interest in sports. The potential people influencing the students to attend game days are their friends.

The teams secondary target market are the parents or family members of the girls who are part of the team. These parent’s/family members range in age from 35 to 50 years old. The gender difference is female dominant (presumably mothers of the daughters playing for the team). These individuals could also potentially be Brock alumni themselves. They are more-often-than-not married with one or two children. These individuals are mostly of Caucasian descent. They are middle-class people who live a trendy lifestyle. These individuals seem to share an understanding of volleyball and can follow along with the action. The people influencing their decision to purchase tickets are the girls who play on the team.

The tertiary target market of the team are the Niagara Rapids and Niagara Fury Volleyball clubs. When invited these teams tend to show up in numbers. The age group of these volleyball club teams range from 12 to 17 years old. And more often than not, parents of the kids associated with the club also attend the games.

Overall the customer for both target markets are satisfied with their purchases and tend to enjoy the experience delivered on game-days.

3c. The customer’s needs.

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The customer’s need is to be entertained. They come to the games to cheer on the team and to interact with other supporters of the team. The customer (especially Brock students) also need the team to win in order to keep interested and engaged.

Brock students and other fans who come to the games enjoy themselves. However, there is a lot more which could be done. There should be some sort of entertainment or incentive for people to come to games. This could mean giveaways or contests, or simply a marching band or cheerleaders to add to the atmosphere of competition.

3e. Current resistance to buying service.

I think what resists local people from purchasing tickets is the price of parking at Brock University. Parking at Brock can be pricey even for the short amount of time it takes for a game to take place. When you couple that with tickets being $5.00 a ticket, this could mean a potential $20.00 investment in what could be an hour to a two-hour long game. Another reason why people might not feel inclined to purchase is the lack of atmosphere/entertainment provided for the price they are paying. There are no added incentives to come out to a game.

3f. The current location of customers.

The location of customers who attend Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball games vary. Brock University students are mainly locals to St. Catharines or Thorold and thus it is a close distance for them to get transportation to come out to a game. Family members of the girls who come out to support come from all over Ontario. The location of the customer and their willingness to come out to a game is dependent on whether or not the transportation to the game is worth their while.

3g. Current factors which affect purchasing.

There are a variety of factors which affect purchasing. Brock Women’s Volleyball is seasonal. The regular season runs from the start of OUA which is right around mid-October to the end of OUA which is around mid-February (unless the team makes a playoff run). There are only 9 home games in a regular season, with the latter of the home fixtures coming after December. This makes it difficult to keep fans engrossed throughout the season with dates for home games fluctuating.

Price is an alternative factor which affects purchasing. As stated before parking at Brock is costly and tickets for $5.00 on top of parking costs is extortionate for locals to pay.

The performance of the team is an added factor which affects purchasing. If the team is in a poor run of form the fans are going to retaliate and be reluctant to show up to the games, however if the team makes a run at the playoffs, fans will be intrigued and will come out and show their support.

4. Current Distribution

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4a. Identifying effective methods for getting service to customers

Customers currently come to the team. There are no specific plans in place to reach out to the customer. The only outlet which advertises upcoming games are the Brock Athletics website and social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter. This makes it difficult for potential local fans to get more information about the team.

5. Current Promotional strategies

5a. Customers perception of the service It is evident that customers are satisfied with their experience during games.

5b. Type of customer targeted with marketing efforts

The majority of the type of customers the team targets with current marketing efforts are the students of Brock University.

5d. Business approaches

To get repeated business the team uses its social media platforms (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) and the Brock Athletics website to attract fans to games.

5e. The source of the teams most productive referrals

The source which provides the team the most productive referrals are currently the Brock Athletics website and social media outlets.

5f. Promotional activities currently used for advertising

To advertise upcoming games, the team uses the Brock Athletics website and social media sites.

5i. Publicity and public relations

The team is involved with the local community, especially with the local Niagara Rapids volleyball club.

6. Reviewing public relations activities

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6a. Advertising

Moving forward, more time and effort should be invested into the public relations activities of the team. The focus should be advertising on social media. Social media is the driving force for many successful sports teams because it is free for anyone to use and it is certainly a key aspect of engaging with fans. The social media site Facebook could be used to advertise upcoming games, merchandise, and to promote the team. Other social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram could be used to keep the fans immersed in the team. These platforms could also be used to advertise upcoming games and various promotions. And finally, the social media platform Twitter could be used to promote upcoming games, merchandise, and update the fans on scores, player performances, etc.

The team could also pursue advertising in newspapers such as the St. Catharines Standard in order to attract local fans to the game and make them aware of the team and their upcoming fixtures.

6b. Corporate philanthropy

In future games the team should have specific days dedicated to assisting with charities. The team could promote free tickets for fans who donate to a charitable organization or to fans who bring in non-perishable food items. There are countless opportunities to give back to the community and with such a close knit community like St. Catharines it should prove easy to do so.

6c. Development

The team should pursue a variety of fundraising activities. One way in which they can embark on a fundraising opportunity is by auctioning off team memorabilia as well as items donated by sponsors affiliated with the team. Another way in which the team can pursue fundraising is by holding a raffle during games. An alternative could be to hold contests during game breaks between sets. These are just a few of the approaches to increase development.

7. Goals

7a. Marketing goals:

1. Continue building awareness of the team.2. Improve merchandise sales by 20%. 3. Increase fan attendance by 20%.

8. Benchmarks and strategies

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8a. Benchmarks

• Increase the number of likes and followers on all social media platforms by 50%. • Put an advertisement in the newspaper for the first game and monitor the feedback received• Launch a merchandise brand specific to Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball• Connect with high schools, marching bands, dance clubs, and other outlets willing to provide entertainment for the fans

8b. Strategies

• Media and print advertising • Public relations• Networking

9. Tactical plan for goal #1

In order to continue building awareness of the team, the social media sites need to be more active and appealing to the fans. In order to achieve this goal, there needs to be a volunteer who is in charge of managing all the social media accounts. This position can be offered to a Brock University student. This opportunity would award the student with valuable experience and a great deal of students will jump at the opportunity for the position. Once selected (on a first come first serve basis) the student will work with the team to promote upcoming games, promote merchandise, keep the fans engaged, and continue to accumulate likes/follows on the various platforms. To ensure the student does not post anything which might be detrimental to the university, it is recommended that a contract is drawn out which makes clear the penalty of such actions.

Print advertising in the local Niagara/St. Catharines newspaper can also be an advertising option. In order to test the effectiveness of this option, it is suggested that the advertisement is displayed the week before game days for the first three games. Depending on the success of the advertisement it will determine whether or not it will be worthwhile to continue investing in this or not.

*Refer to Appendix B for sample social media profiles.

10. Tactical plan for goal #2

The best approach for increasing merchandise sales for the team is to create a separate entity under the Brock Athletics brand. A separate brand of Brock University Women’s Volleyball merchandise would appeal more to the fan instead of a brand specific to Brock Athletics. A separate merchandise platform for the team would allow a multitude of entertaining approaches such as prints like “Brock Women’s Volleyball Mom/Dad” or “My daughter plays for Brock Women’s Volleyball.” These are one of many suggestions which may be used as potential slogans.

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In order to promote the new line of merchandise to be displayed to the fans, a merchandise booth should be set up and ran by volunteers prior and during games. Volunteers can easily be recruited to run the booth, as Brock students will be eager to gain experience.

Also, merchandise giveaways and promotions could be beneficial tactics to increase merchandise sales. Contests can be held during game breaks where fans will be able to win free merchandise. Promotions could include approaches such as the first 100 people to purchase tickets to attend the opening game get a free Brock University Badgers Women’s Volleyball koozie.

*Refer to appendix C for samples of merchandise

11. Tactical Plan for goal #3

The team should continue to invite Niagara Rapids volleyball clubs and should also invite high school volleyball teams.

In order to increase fan attendance there needs to be added incentive for the fan to attend a game. The starting point for added incentives can be as simple as cheerleaders or a marching band. High school marching bands would be elated for the opportunity to show their talents. Brock has a cheerleading squad who will be able to attend games once their competing schedule does not conflict with game days as well.

*Refer to Appendix D for sample recruitment flyers to attract high school volleyball teams, marching bands and volleyball clubs.

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Appendix A

Men’s and Women’s Badgers ½ Zip (available in red and navy) - $74.99

Men’s and Women’s Badger T’s (available in red, black, and grey) - $34.99

Men’s and Women’s Badgers Hoodies (available in red, navy, and grey) - $74.99

Men’s and Women’s Badgers Polo Shirts (available in red and white) - $54.99

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Men’s Badger shorts red - $39.99

Men’s Dugout Jacket (available in red and navy) – $149.99

Men’s Sweatpants (available in grey and navy)

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Appendix B

Facebook Page and samples of creating an event for each match

Twitter page

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Twitter page

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Appendix C

Potential T-Shirts

Potential Hoodies

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Potential Keychains

Potential Koozies

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Potential Travel Mugs

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Appendix D

Sample Volleyball Clubs Recruitment Flyer

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Sample Marching Band Recruitment Poster

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Sample High School Volleyball Recruitment Flyer

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