1

Brandon Evans
Sports Marketing
Mrs.Niespodziany
4/14/2014
Marketing Plan
Step 1:
Grand Rapids Sluggers (Minor League baseball team)
Step 2:
Internal resources will come from the majority and minority team owner as
they will help with expenses not necessarily directly associated with the
slugger. External resources will come from sponsorships and partnerships we
develop throughout our community.
Step 3:

Twitter- Twitter has begun to sway the sports market with its quick
and simple layout.
Super fan contest- The super fan contest is becoming very popular
in that a sports organization can get fan to show how loyal they are by
showing off their team spirit.
Web apps- Web apps such as the Bleacher Report and Sports Center
makes live game stats easier to access.

Step 4:
Product [Minor League baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The
team is a development team for the Major league team Detroit Tigers which
resides in Detroit, Michigan.]
Step 5:
Mission Statement:
Grand Rapids sluggers mission is to develop, skill, quality, and character;
while promoting sportsmanship, discipline, teamwork, honesty, respect, and
winning. We pledge to produce the best baseball team year in and year out
to put in front of our loyal fans.
Step 6:
STRENGTHS
Strong sports

WEAKNESSES
Doping Scandals

OPURTUNITYS
Innovate new

THREATS
Other in city

town
Historic Pastime

Smaller Stadium

Competitive
League

Not as big of a
sport
internationally

ideas to keep
fans entertained
World Tour

sports teams
Local team
Grand Rapids
Whitecaps
Major League
sports teams

Step 7:
Objectives

Develop fan loyalty

Win Division
Increase fan population
Create a team image

Step 8:
As a minor league baseball team we plan to create a special loyalty with fans
between the ages of 10-60, more specifically we want to develop this loyalty
with men. We came upon this decision by conducting research and finding
out the sport is most popular with this segment of fans. The factors that will
influence our consumers is the fact that baseball is Americas favorite
pastime and is one of our nations most popular sports. We plan to keep
ticket prices relatively low because 1) Baseball is very popular 2) The
sluggers are only a minor league baseball team.
Step 9:
Survey #1
1. Rate your overall experience at the slugger stadium ( 1 being
horrible/5 being fantastic)
2. Rate the quality of food provided by our vendors ( 1 being horrible/5
being fantastic)
3. Rate your view from the stands ( 1 being horrible/5 being fantastic)
4. Rate the entertainment during the game and between innings ( 1 being
horrible/5 being fantastic)
5. Rate the stadiums cleanliness ( 1 being horrible/5 being fantastic)

(This survey is to observe our fans overall experience at the slugger

stadium. It is very important that our fans actually want to be at our
stadium.)
Survey #2
1. What is your overall impression of the Minor league baseball team?
2. Would you like to see more expansion teams throughout the nation?
3. Should instant replay be allowed in the Minor League Baseball
Association?
4. How often should players be testing for performance enhancement
drugs?
5. How long should the suspension be if a player is accurately accused
and found guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs?
(This survey is to get an overall view on how fans feel about issues that
reside in the Minor League Baseball Association.)

Step 10:
Benefits:

Local Community growth- Community growth of appreciation of

baseball will grow because the new addiction of the sluggers along
with the whitecaps will create a cross town rivalry thats good for Minor
League Baseball.
Economic stability throughout Grand Rapids- An addiction of another
baseball team will help surround companies around the stadium
location.
Added sports entertainment- Grand Rapids is a growing entertainment
hotspot an addiction to that will just help the buzz even more.
Affiliated with Major League Baseball-The affiliation with the Detroit
Tigers will help our fan base as well as theirs.
Specialized target market- Our specific target market will make it
easier to market to that segment as Demographics show that the
number of 10-60 is relatively high in Grand Rapids.

Step 11:

Minor League
Baseball
Local Fan base

College Baseball
Loyal school fans

Major League
Baseball
National Fan base

Community support
Smaller League

Booster Support
Shorter season

Longer season
Popular post season

Minor League baseball will come in second to major league baseball but
not last to college baseball because of the affiliation to the bigger Detroit
Tigers.
Step 12:
Partnerships:
Nike- We choose to partner with Nike because their brand is one of the
most noticeable sports brand around the world. 3 strengths of this
partnership is brand identity, fan loyalty to Nike, and the brand is
nationally and internationally recognizable. 3 weaknesses of this
partnership is that Nike other sports appeal outlets will still try an out due
our image, Russell athletics is the number one baseball appeal retailer,
and Nike stock has been dropping due to our economy struggles as of
lately.
Gatorade- We choose to partner with Gatorade because they are the
leading sports drink supplier in the United States. 3 strengths of having
Gatorade as a partners is that a potentially successful sports team will
create a great brand identity for them, our players will get the benefits of
drinking a scientifically tested sports drink, and Gatorade offers more
performance supplements. 3 weaknesses are that Gatorade is in very
close competition with PowerAde, PowerAde is proven to be more
effective then Gatorade, and potential sports lock outs will prevent
Gatorades image from being seen.
Step 13:
Positive associations

Dicks sporting goods

Double Bubble (Bubble Gum)

{These two businesses/associations are closely related to the base as

bubble gum is a substitute for chewing tobacco. We as a team refuse to
promote anything that can potentially kill you. Dicks sporting goods is one
of the top sport apparel retailers this business is closely related to
baseball because it has a big supply of Russell athletic apparel.}
Negative associations

Tobacco Companies
Alcohol Companies

{As a product we will choose not promote any tobacco campaigns even
though chewing tobacco is very popular when it comes to baseball. We will
only promote alcohol sales on Thursday which is our dollar beer nights.}
Step 14:
Opening day promotions- The target market for this promotion campaign
would be any loyal slugger fan. We plan to promote this even by flooding the
city with flyers everywhere. Since downtown Grand Rapids is always full of
action the word around town that opening day is fast approaching will spread
quickly. Success will be measure by fan attendance on opening day.
Dollar Beer day- The target market for this promotion is any fan that is of age
to consume alcohol. Every Thursday at the slugger stadium the slugger
promotion team will sell dollar beers. Alcohol sells itself, but we plan on
putting a billboard outside our stadium facing the busiest street. The effect
of our promotion will be measured by the amount calculating beer sell on
Thursday and comparing them with any other home game beer sells.
Women night- The target market for the promotion campaign is women ages
15-60. Since our main target market are men and boys between 10-60 we
thought it would be a good idea to put something together so women will
feel appreciated. We will pass out pink baseballs at every game to promote
this night. We will measure the success of this campaign by tallying the
number of women in the stands compared to any other home game.
Step 15:
Helen DeVos Children Hospital: We choose Helen DeVos Children Hospital
because we think it is very vital that the sport of baseball should be taught
at a young age. Teaming up with this hospital gives u the opportunity to
work with terminal ill children while keeping the community image we are
pushing toward.
Step 16:
Commercial: Come out and support your local Grand Rapids
Sluggers. You will be sure to have a family fun filled night with our
sluggers. The sluggers are Grand Rapids new main attraction. Come
and see the new state of the art stadium while you enjoy some
baseball along with 1 of our 5 in stadium restaurants. Dont forget
to stay after as there will be a fireworks display after every game
win or lose. Dont miss the most talked about sports team. For
schedules and times please visit www.grsluggers.com or contact our

box-office at 1-800- tickets. We hope to see you there gooooooo

sluggers!!!! { As this is being said Take Me Out To The Ball Game
will be playing in the background)
Step 17:
We will take 6 steps to evaluate our marketing plan that we think will give us
an accurate measure on how we are perform as a franchise.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Look at sale numbers

Ask clients personally
Did we get an direct response from our marketing plan
Did we form new partnerships and create new opportunities
Is our product easier to sell?
Does are product have a good return on investment?

Taking these 6 steps into consideration we can see if our marketing plan is
effective or not. They implement the 5 Ps of the marketing mix while taking
into the factors that we would so much look at.

References
Mullin, Bernard James., Stephen Hardy, and William Anthony Sutton. Sport
Marketing. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2007. Print.