This week’s assignment will be the first part of a real-world sports marketing plan. There is no standard in regard to the number of actual parts in a marketing plan. If you search online, the number of parts will range in frequency. However, we’ve condensed everything down into six areas considered crucial to a successful marketing plan. Those items are as follows.
- Introduction: Includes a description of the organization, historical perspective, mission, SWOT, etc. (Week 2 Assignment).
- Target Market: Who are you marketing to? (Week 3 Assignment)
- The 5Ps: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, and Positioning (Week 3 Assignment)
- Market Research, Demographics, and Competing Forms of Entertainment (Week 5 Assignment)
- Competitive Environment: What are the other competing forms of entertainment in the area? (Week 5 Assignment)
- Marketing Strategies: Please provide a minimum of five (5) marketing strategies that will be employed with the new minor league team in Charles Town, as well as a proposed timeline for implementation (Week 7 Assignment).
- Results and Metrics: How will you measure the success of the marketing plan? (Week 7 Assignment)
Background Information: The Carolina League
For the purposes of this course, we will assume the existing Carolina League is looking to expand by one team, and that Charles Town, WV is one of the cities being considered for the expansion.
The Carolina League is a Single-A Minor League Baseball association under the Major League Baseball structure ( Currently, there are 10 teams in the Carolina League and each team is affiliated with a specific Major League Baseball team who holds the professional rights to the players and managers/coaches on that specific roster. Currently, the Carolina League has sent a call for proposals to various cities throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia to represent the Carolina League expansion teams. The city council of Charles Town, West Virginia believes their city would make an excellent host for this team and wants to make a proposal to the Carolina League to own one of the expansion teams. You are a consultant in the sports industry. You have been hired by the City Council of Charles Town, WV to develop a recommendation for creating an organizational management structure for owning a new Carolina League Single-A Minor League Baseball team.
Directions: Week 2 Assignment:
After doing some research on the Carolina League, create a PowerPoint presentation to the City Council of Charles Town which specifically and thoroughly addresses the following components:
- Overview of the Carolina League. This includes current teams/cities/MLB affiliations, staff needed (list all positions from the top to the bottom of the organization, coaches (list all coaching positions needed for this new organization), and facilities (list and explain what type of facilities will be needed).
- Historical perspective of the Carolina League.
- Explanation of how a team in Charles Town, WV would benefit the Carolina League and the city of Charles Town.
- Organizational goals of the Charles Town expansion team.
- Please create a mission statement and list the core values of the Charles Town expansion team.
- Community relations and outreach opportunities for the team.
- SWOT analysis of having a minor League baseball team in Charles Town.
- Proposed timeline for implementation, with specific details either by month, or by quarter, based on the length of time recommended.
Please create a PowerPoint presentation covering the areas listed above for presentation to the City Council of Charles Town, WV. Please be sure to review the “PowerPoint Presentation Do’s and Don’ts” document that’s attached. Remember, the PowerPoint must be in bullet format and must include a notes section in a separate PDF or WORD document. The notes section should be a summary of the bullet points in your presentation, such that if you were unable to make the presentation, someone else could make the presentation for you by reading what you’ve written in the notes section. Remember, you will be handing this to the president and board of trustees for review. Be sure to carefully proof your work.
Please include a title slide that includes your name and the assignment topic, as well as a reference slide at the end of your PowerPoint presentation which includes a minimum of three (3) scholarly sources. Don’t forget that every source should be correctly cited throughout your presentation on the appropriate slide.
Length of this section of your marketing plan: This assignment should be approximately 10-12 PowerPoint Slides (not including title page and references).
PowerPoint Presentation Rules: 1. All presentations must include: a. Title page b. Notes section c. Reference page (in APA format) 2. Do NOT use unique or unusual slide transitions or background colors. Keep the slide transitions simple and background colors and slide layout must be appealing and able to be easily viewed by all audience members no matter where they are in the room. 3. Use bullet points on the actual slides; use the notes section for your verbiage. Do NOT have slides, which end up being read verbatim for the presentation. 4. Include a notes section in the actual notes section of the PowerPoint. The information in the notes section should be word for word what would be said during the presentation. If you were unable to make the presentation, someone else should be able to do it by reading what you wrote in the notes section.
