Sport Marketing Plan & PR Plan

Contents                                                                                                                                

A. Sports Marketing Plan

• Executive Summary
• Mission Statement
• Market audit & situational analysis
• Justified 1yr and 3yr marketing objectives
• Viable marketing strategies
• Implementation and control systems for the 1^st year.

 

B. PR plan

• Introduction
• Body of the report
  • General objectives for your campaign
  • Target market definition
  • Specific objectives for the separate target markets
  • Identify type of media to be used
  • Budget
  • Implementation plan
  • Evaluation plan
• Conclusion

 

 

 

 

A. Sports marketing plan

Executive summary

Sports organizations may also have some unique characteristics that separate them from other voluntary sector organizations in terms of their very clearly determined role, the disciplinary control over participants and officials, and their need to link and liaise with other organizations such as district leagues, national bodies or even international bodies. Such differences mean that it is often difficult for any sports voluntary group to remain totally autonomous and independent except for solely recreational organizations. As soon as a higher level of competition or performance is involved, the body must become very complex (2003).

 

It is essential for a sports organization to have a clearly identified structure probably hierarchical, where each individual has a clearly identified role to play in achieving progress for the organization. This type of structure is perhaps a little dated because it relies on clearly defined levels of management, but it gets things done and means that people are quite clear as to what they are in the organization to do. It can be especially useful in spare-time amateur organizations. In essence a highly structured organization can be quite helpful in that it helps clarify and delineate individual roles, and allows people to achieve their tasks within the clear structure. It is vitally important that sports organizations have an open approach to involving everyone who has something to offer to the sport and its participants. An attitude which excludes individuals is most inefficient, ineffective, divisive and damaging, and can create strife within the organization (2003).

 

The ethos of any sports organization is a key in the sense that the morals, attitudes and standards it portrays will be carried right into the games hall or sports field, through its organizational structures. The absolutely vital necessity for anyone working in a sports organization or a sports setting is to have a fundamental interest and an empathy with all the other people involved. It is not necessary to be a fanatic, and sometimes it is a distinct disadvantage because fanatics can become blinkered to new ideas and different ways of doing things. It is, however, quite important that people understand the fanaticism and the love that people have for a sport so that they can relate to them on a meaningful level. There are many examples of people trying to come into the leisure scene, including sport, and telling others how to operate, while clearly not understanding where the sports volunteer organization or agency is coming from in terms of interest and commitment. This is a recipe for disaster, and has proved extremely unsuccessful in a number of situations and caused a good deal of antagonism and upset within organizations ( 2003).   

 

The paper will create a sports marketing plan. This sports marketing plan will include a Mission Statement, A market audit & situational analysis, a Justified 1yr and 3yr marketing objectives , a Viable marketing strategies and implementation and control systems for the 1^st year. After which the other part of the paper will focus on making a PR plan that intends to include General objectives for the campaign, Target market definition, specific objectives for the separate target markets, Identify types of media to be used, Budget formulation, Implementation plan, including examples of promotional literature and lastly an Evaluation plan. The information gathered from such will be used to make a proper conclusion.

 

Background of the public sector sports organization

Federation International de Football Association (FIFA)

The Football Association that gave the rules to what became known as Association Football was founded in London in October 1863. Two years later the International Board was established to standardize the rules of the game among the four nations of the United Kingdom and to set up the Home International Tournament to be played on an annual basis-the games between Scotland and England, begun in 1872, would last until 1988. At the turn of the century, football in Great Britain, particularly in England and Scotland, was so far ahead of the rest of the world that the authorities in these countries did not take seriously the growth of the game elsewhere. This supremacy was recognized everywhere the game was played at the turn of the century. It was perfectly natural, then, that when some ambitious individuals on the Continent had the idea of setting up a body to oversee the progress of the game on the international stage, they should look to the homeland of the game for advice. This attention was not welcomed and the advice was not forthcoming, but the enthusiasts from the other side of the Channel went ahead with their plans anyway. The main force behind what was to become the controlling body of world football, however, was the French engineer and newspaper man,  and they hosted the inaugural meeting of what became the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA), in Paris on 21 May 1904 (1999).  

 

FIFA, the controlling body for football throughout the globe, has an influence in the sports world that can be matched only by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). When it was founded in Paris in 1904, it had seven members; today that number is close to 200, more than the member nations of the United Nations. The IOC presides over what once were amateur sport and its Olympic Games acts every four years in tandem with FIFA's showpiece, the World Cup. Much of the IOC's time is spent gearing up for its quadrennial feast of sport, and it is only in the bidding for the host city for the games, and the four weeks or so of the actual games, that it occupies centre stage. FIFA, on the other hand, presiding over the world's most popular game, has no off-season: the World Cup may be the climax, but hardly has it been played than other competitions in each of the six confederations under its control take over; throughout the world at any one time a league or a cup championship is being played with all the fury and devotion that see Association Football dominating the sporting pages and television screens of the media throughout the world. Countries within each of the confederations controlling specific areas of the globe have their own autonomy in certain matters, as have the confederations within FIFA, but it is FIFA that is the ultimate arbiter in all matters concerning the world game (1999).

 

Mission Statement

The company wants to make sure that the rules, laws, and ethical values are maintained in games as well as when there is no game. The company makes sure that the laws and the rules are well implemented and followed by the member teams. Through the organization there is order in the every league that is part of the organization. Through the organization leagues can be given guidance on what to do on certain situations and events. FIFA intends to make football a sport that can be played by all with lesser problems encountered, with enough entertainment gained, and with appropriate health benefits achieved thus making football world renowned and more popular.

 

Market Audit and Situational Analysis

Market is any established operating means or exchange for business dealings between buyers and sellers. As opposed to simple selling, a market implies trade that is transacted with some regularity and regulation, and in which a certain amount of competition is involved. The earliest markets in history conducted bartering. After the introduction of money, commercial codes were developed that ultimately led to modern national and international enterprise. As production expanded and became less practical, communications and so-called middlemen came to play an ever growing role in markets. Types of markets include retail, wholesale or distributors', producers', raw material, and stock (1998).

 

 A competitive market system creates incentives for firms to vie for large market shares. Sometimes one firm is so successful in this fight, it acquires a dominant position in a market. From the firm's point of view, a large market share is good. After all, dominance implies power and control. It creates a real potential to increase profits. From society's point of view, however, dominance may not be quite so desirable. For the power that goes with dominance can be acquired and used in a number of ways. While some of these ways may promote economic welfare, others might reduce it. If the reductions are large and long-lived, people may want to reconsider whether dominance should be affirmed in all cases (1998). FIFA is one of the most influential and known sports organization in the world. The said organization has reach over most football organizations in the world thus it can reach more people; the market it has is wider in size and different kinds of people can be reached. The said organization is established and has a fan base.

 

Marketing objectives

Marketing management covers the application of management techniques in the utilization of marketing resources. It is concerned with the responsibility for planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling marketing activities. It achieves its aims by establishing marketing objectives, policies, plans, programs, and standards, allocating marketing resources, and evaluating the effectiveness of marketing activities (1971).

 

For 1 year

To make sure that everything goes well and there is a specific direction for the company a marketing objective can be used. These marketing objectives will be divided in two categories one is for 1 year and another is for 3 years.  For 1 year the marketing objectives include the following.

1. Introduce football to people/ countries not knowing it.
2. Give the benefits of playing such sport
3. Compare football with other sports to entice more people to engage in it.
4.  Relate football to other activities in life, to some situations in life and its relevance in everyday living.
5. Make football popular not only in one country but in most countries all over the world.

 

For 3 years

The marketing objectives can be obtained in one year if plans are executed properly but its effectivity can last longer through following it up with a three year marketing objective. For three years the marketing objectives include.

1. Increase the knowledge of football
2. Improve the different rules and laws in the said sport so that people will find it interesting to play.
3. Increase the profitability of the organization so that its services can be improved thus it can improve the sport.
4.  Make a study on how people would like the sport to improve and what the people thinks about the sport.
5. Maintain and then improve the popularity of the sport.

 

Viable marketing strategies

Marketing is the process by which a product or service originates and is then priced, promoted, and distributed to consumers. In large corporations the principal marketing functions precede the manufacture of a product. They involve market research and product development, design, and testing. Marketing concentrates primarily on the buyers, or consumers. After determining the customers’ needs and desires, marketers develop strategies that are designed to educate customers about a product’s most important features, persuade them to buy it, and then to enhance their satisfaction with the purchase. Where marketing once stopped with the sale, today businesses believe that it is more profitable to sell to existing customers than to new ones. As a result, marketing now also involves finding ways to turn one-time purchasers into lifelong customers. Marketing includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the decision-making regarding product lines, pricing, promotion, and servicing. In most of these areas marketing has overall authority; in others, as in product-line development, its function is primarily advisory. In addition, the marketing department of a business firm is responsible for the physical distribution of the products, determining the channels of distribution that will be used, and supervising the profitable flow of goods from the factory or warehouse (1967).

 

Marketing is about satisfying customer wants and needs and in the course of doing so facilitating the achievement of an organization’s objectives. By paying attention to customer wants and needs, organizations are more likely to achieve their objectives in the marketplace. Of course, organizations have to compete with each other and so also have to satisfy customers’ wants and needs at least as well as their competitors. Fortunately, organizations can do this in different ways (2000). Competition involves finding a different way to satisfy customers from other organizations in the market place. In the pursuit of this end, products and services need to be seen as more than physical entities. It is the benefits they offer customers that are being purchased. Competition involves positioning products and services in the minds of customers in such a way that the products and services are perceived to be different from one another. Marketing is about the competitive positioning of products and services in the minds of the customers. It is also about the communication of messages and images and the means which are used to convey these messages and images to the customers (2000).

 

The corporate strategy of an organization reflects its objectives and goals, and produces the principal policies and plans for achieving those goals. The corporate strategy normally defines the nature of the business the organization is to pursue which in turn has a great bearing on the kind of economic and human organization it needs to possess. Goals and objectives are usually set within a time framework. Strategy entails matching the company’s activities to its resource capability. There is little point in trying to take advantage of some new opportunity if the resources needed are not available or cannot be made available. An organization must formulate strategy within the boundaries of the resources that are likely to be made available. This is a fundamental consideration that must be addressed when formulating corporate strategy. Strategy is also to do with the matching of the activities of a company to the environment in which it operates. Since the environment is continually changing, strategic decisions necessarily involve coping with change. The extent and speed of environmental change will vary and the pace at which strategy must change will necessarily vary too (2000).

 

Since the company intends to achieve their objectives they have to make use of strategies to achieve these goals. One strategy they can make use is to know the people first. By studying the people, their qualities, likes, dislikes, and characteristics ways to entice them to play football can be formulated. Another strategy is put the organization and football as the main focus of marketing advertisements. In this strategy different methods can be used like Television, newspaper, magazines, internet advertisements and others. Through such strategy more people will be informed about the company and the sport. The marketing strategies can help the company achieve its goal. The marketing strategies will only be effective if it is being used and done properly. The advertisements will encourage people to know more about the company and the sport if such advertisements will be attractive and eye catching.

 

Implementation and control systems for the 1^st year

Implementation has received increasing attention as an important determinant of marketing strategy performance. The implementation of marketing planning, interaction of marketing personnel with other functional areas, and marketing strategy implementation as a make or buy choice are exemplars of work in this area. Yet, both conceptual and empirical work provides little insight into the potential moderating effect of firm stage of development on implementation (1994). Results from entrepreneurship research indicate implementation issues are strongly influenced by organizational characteristics. The reported dominant problems of firms were a function of the firm's life cycle stage. Marketing problems occurred most in the firm's growth stage. Marketing is also a commonly reported problem in the firm's initial development and product/market problems are cited as major reason for new venture failure. The perception of problems is an important indicator of implementation issues. Control of marketing systems and strategies is an important element of implementation. Empirical evidence that control systems evolve over time within the firm has been reported. A metamorphosis of marketing control systems was found as firms grew in age and size (1994).

Strategy choice and implementation are the primary determinants of strategy success. The analysis of strategy performance over time provides important diagnostic inputs into the development of strategy choice concepts. The early discussion highlights the importance of matching the strategy choice with the conditions of the environment and the organization's skills and resources. The long-term importance of selecting a sound initial strategy has research support. Several strategy choice guidelines that offer success potential depending on the type of firm and the stage of market maturity. It is suggested that small-scale pioneers are the best performers in embryonic markets, whereas early followers with established businesses in related markets are the most successful organizational forms in developing and maturing markets. Small-scale late entrants may also be successful by occupying narrow market segments in mature markets. Several research findings and case studies provide support for the strategic framework (1994).

 

 The marketing strategy should be slowly initialized and put into action. Rushing its implementation can bring problems to the company.  The marketing strategy could be given some test run to see what problems come out of it. The test run see what difficulties may arise, the test run also helps in knowing if the strategy can be effective.  After the test run it should be slowly implemented at the same time caution on the effects should be made. In implementing the strategy problems may exist. These problems may be due to different things, with proper perseverance and quick resolutions made these problems may not be a big thing for the company. If things go out of hand there should be contingency measures. These contingency measures are prepared together with the strategy.  The first year of implementation can be the difficult one because it is the adjustment period, as time goes by things can change for the better.

 

B. PR plan

Introduction

The PR plan is done to develop a publicity campaign for FIFA that centers around a special event that must be developed. The aims of the event include an increased awareness for the organization on both a local and a regional scale and an increase in long-term customer revenue and retention for the organization. This can be done through creating general objectives for the campaign, making a target market definition, having specific objectives for the separate target markets, identifying types of media to be used, making budget adjustments, having an implementation plan, and creating an evaluation plan.

 

Main Body of the report

General Objectives for the campaign

For the whole campaign different objectives are needed to achieve for it to be properly guided. These objectives includes

1. The campaign should make the company and the sport popular than ever
2. The campaign should bring a renewed interest in the company through such effect the sport can then attract interest as well.
3. The publicity campaign should make the company be always remembered by the people.

 

Target market definition

The target market is divided into two categories. The first target market is the citizens in a country. These groups of people are the ones that need to undergo sports activities.  The benefits the sport gives to them can be one that has lasting effect. Another target market is the students. These students need such sport programs so that when they grow up they won’t grow up and encounter big problems. The students would gain better advantage when they engage in such activity not only in terms of health but in terms of social life and mental being.

 

Specific objectives for the separate target markets

For the separate target market of citizens in a country there are different objectives. These include. 

1. The campaign should introduce health consciousness to the citizens of a country.
2. The campaign should bring a renewed interest for sports in the people
3. Through the campaign people can determine the benefits of sports to their health.
4. The campaign should give them renewed ideas on proper characteristics and attitudes they should have.

For the separate target market of students in a country there are different objectives. These include. 

1.      The campaign should create a better habits and lifestyles for the students that they can use until they grow up.

2.       The campaign should lead the students away from vices like gambling, smoking, drinking, drugs and others.

3.      The campaign should give the students proper values that these students can use when they grow up.

4.      Through the campaign the students will grow up to be responsible citizens of their respective country.

 

Type of media to use

 The scope of direct marketing media is wide. It uses traditional mass media channels, such as television and print, but also specific techniques such as direct mail, telemarketing, tele-shopping and mail order selling. Direct mail is material distributed through the postal system to the customer at his or her home or business address to promote a product. In telemarketing a direct and verbal interaction with the individuals of the target group is effectuated. It can be inbound or outbound (2004). In outbound calling, the marketer takes the initiative to contact the potential customer. Inbound calls are initiated by someone who wants to make a complaint, ask for inquiries, participate in a contest or any other form of sales promotion, or buy a product. Mail order involves the purchase of a product featured in a catalogue. Direct response advertising is a message in a traditional mass medium that asks the reader, viewer, or listener to respond directly to the sender to ask for further information or to buy a product (2004). The best media to use for such campaign is television. Since the campaign is a mini league featuring different teams, using television can help in making sure that people will see the campaign and through such more people can be interested in playing the game at the same time they will come to know of the company. 

 

Budget

              For the campaign the budget would not be too big. The things that will be spent upon include the hotel accommodation of the players, officials and media; the food of these people, the equipments used; the venue used; the commercials to advertise the event; and other expenditures. This budget could be not a big waste for the company in the future when the goals and objectives are reached.

 

Implementation plan

              In organizing the campaign the first thing done is the inviting the teams and players to play in the mini league. After the teams are complete the next thing that should be given attention is the officials for the games. Afterwards the venue, the equipments used, the food and lodging is then being put into consideration. If everything is already in place the next thing done is the starting the campaign wherein a simple opening and closing ceremony is prepared. During the games its impact to the observers and the television viewers is observed.

 

Evaluation plan

             Evaluation of what was implemented is important, it checks if the objectives were reached. After the campaign has finished the effects can be seen towards the people. If people talks about the games, wears some of the teams uniforms, imitates the players moves the campaign is successful. If there is no conversation about the campaign then the campaign is not effective. Another way to evaluate the campaign is the increase in the interest in the company and the sport. If there is increase in the search for information about the game and the company the campaign is successful.

 

Conclusion

            Sports organizations may also have some unique characteristics that separate them from other voluntary sector organizations in terms of their very clearly determined role. The role sports organizations play towards people depends and its effect to people depend on how well people accept sports programs. One sport organization is FIFA. This organization intends to make football known to some countries in the world.  Through an effective marketing plan and an effective PR plan people can have a better understanding of FIFA and its goals as well as the sport. Through these plans the people can have a better idea on how to beneficial sports is to them.

Comments

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