Vanessa Gauger, Evan Gauger, Colin Clavell February 8, 2016 Sports and Entertainment Promotion Plan Indianola DECA Indianola High School 1304 East 1 st Avenue Indianola IA, 50125
Table of Contents I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 1 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY/ORGANIZATION... 2 III. OBJECTIVES... 3 IV. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS... 4 A. Special events... 4 B. Advertising... 5 C. Display... 6 D. Publicity... 6 V. RESPONSIBILITY SHEET... 7 VI. BUDGET... 8 VII. STATEMENT OF BENEFITS TO THE COMPANY/ ORGANIZATION... 8 VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY... 9
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Iowa Energy is a fairly new team that could use some promotion help to gain a stronger fan base. Located right in the most populated city in Iowa, there are many different ways to promote this team. Marketing will play a key role in getting more people to come to the Energy events. The following are the objectives of this promotion plan: Get more people to attend Iowa Energy games Increase the annual revenue Increase the overall fan base This promotion will starting during the 2016-2017 season and is designed for one season. We will begin campaigning during the off season before the season even starts with advertising on billboards and buses. Everyone will benefit from the awesome experience that will be provided. Family night will appeal to the families of young children and provide for a good time. High school rivalry night will get the teens interested in coming. Work nights will get employees from different businesses coming as well, also bringing in their friends and families. In order to make these special event nights productive, the advertising has to target the right people. Putting posters in the local high schools, using billboard space, putting ads on buses and promoting the energy to the local businesses are all targeting these special events. Exposure will also be given to these specific audiences through the Des Moines Register and social media. Another way more people will find out about the energy is through internal advertising. This internal advertising is simply advertising within Wells Fargo Arena. All of this would not be possible without the help of certain people. The basketball players will be going to the local high school basketball games to promote the Energy. The marketing team will analyze which nights create a big crowd and find ways to make those nights better. During events, the event manager, will walk around and make sure that everything is going smoothly. During special event nights, greet the targeted audience and make sure they re having a good time. The social media team will be putting all the upcoming dates of the Iowa Energy s events on social media in an appealing way. The overall budget for this promotion plan is $19,760. The cost of advertising will be expensive but the benefits will ultimately be worth the cost because more people will attend Energy games. 1 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY/ORGANIZATION Iowa Energy is a D - League basketball team that is located in Des Moines, Iowa. The team came to Iowa during the 2007-08 four team expansion season. At the start of the team the owners held a contest on the team's website in order to figure out what their name would be. The candidates were Corncobs, Maize, River Rats, Scarecrows, and Thoroughbreds. The owners made a final decision and they announced to the public that the team's name would be The Energy and that their team colors would be purple and orange. The team plays their home games at Wells Fargo arena in downtown Des Moines. The Energy s first game broke an attendance record for the D-league. They later broke their own record again in 2011 when they had a home game when they were in the leagues finals. They would later go on to win the finals in 2011 and become champions. Ever since then though the team has been struggling to do much in the playoffs and have lost first round every time. The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat were originally named the Energy s affiliates when the team first started out. Then before the 2014 season started there was a switch and the Memphis Grizzlies, an NBA team, were announced as the team s new NBA affiliates. Once they changed their affiliates, they also changed their colors. The new colors are navy blue, blue, smoke blue and yellow. 2 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y
III. OBJECTIVES The objectives of our campaign are the following: Get more people to attend Iowa Energy games Increase the annual revenue Increase the overall fan base With the Iowa Energy just starting its franchise, the plan is to get more people to attend their games while being excited to be a part of the Energy experience. Not only do we want to increase the number of attendees, increasing the revenue steadily each year is another objective. Ultimately, getting the fans and their families involved and keeping them coming to the games will help with the increase of revenue and increase of a loyal fan base. A way to achieve a higher attendance is targeting the local high school and middle schools with our advertising campaign. By advertising to the youth, it will easily pass on to their friends and guardians. Once the youth are interested, they will take their parents and friends with them which will result in a higher attendance. Higher attendance will result in an increased revenue which is another objective. Once we start bringing families to the Energy games, they will want to keep coming back with the nice experience we provide for them. Family friendly halftime shows and programs will create an unforgettable time for these families. Providing these unforgettable times will increase the fan base and revenue that the fans bring in. 3 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y
IV. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS A. Special events For a couple of the home games during the 2016-2017 basketball season, special events will take place. This is to ensure that the fans will have a memorable experience and want to keep coming back for more Iowa Energy games. February 2, 2017 will be family night. Family night will be a night centered on families. Discounts will be given upon entry for families of four or more with $3.00 off regularly priced tickets. The families will also have fun with the friendly halftime show given. Upon the multiple entrances there will also be a display set up and families can get their pictures taken. All home games that aren t other special events night will be business night, with different businesses attending each time. Business night would be made for the businesses in Des Moines, especially the ones who help sponsor the Iowa Energy. Employees of these companies would get a certain amount of free tickets per person which would encourage them to attend the game. December 13, 2016 will be High School Rivalry night. High School Rivalry night will consist of all the CIML high schools. Each high school will have their own section and during the game, on breaks and halftime there will be contests. By the end of the night, one school will win a visit from the whole Energy team during a school day. During that day the Iowa Energy will visit classrooms and have an assembly full of other fun activities. A special event that will apply to all home games will be the Dunk Dog. Each section of the stadium will be assigned a player. If that player dunks two times, that 4 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y
whole section will receive a free hotdog. The player s will all have different sections each game. B. Advertising High School The Iowa Energy is really focusing on getting everyone in the community involved, especially the younger generation. Putting some posters around the high schools will inform the students about the energy which they could rely on to more people they know. Energy players are also going to visit the home basketball games of these high schools. By visiting the high schooler s games, they will be able to speak about the Energy to the crowd full of basketball fans during halftime. Work Places The Iowa Energy would also benefit from working with the local businesses. Many of these big businesses support the Energy and it would do us good to repay them by giving them tickets to attend our games. By not making them spend money on tickets to get into the game, it will give them more opportunity to spend more on merchandise and food. Many of them employees also have families which they could share their tickets with. Social Media Having multiple social media accounts will help to promote the Iowa Energy in a free and fast manner. Social media is yet another way to appeal to the younger fans of the Energy. Teenagers spend about nine hours on media each day. Spending so much 5 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y
time will make it easier to distribute quick information to these teens spending so much time online. Websites like Facebook and Twitter make it really easy to do this. C. Display The Iowa Energy plays in Wells Fargo Arena, located in Des Moines and does not own the arena. Because many different events happen at this venue, displaying posters and game schedules within the stadium will help increase awareness of the Energy. Another item we can display is the social media accounts so they can refer back to any information they have missed. The big screen in the middle of the arena is a good place to stick a quick ad with no expense. D. Publicity Releasing the dates of the games in multiple places will get the message out to many different people. Putting an ad in the local newspaper, the Des Moines Register each time there is a home game will help increase awareness to the subscribers of the paper. Social Media accounts will also help publicize to different types of audiences. Going to the different high schools in the Des Moines area will also help create awareness to the local basketball fans. 6 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y
V. RESPONSIBILITY SHEET Employee Responsibility Basketball players Go to the local high school basketball games (North High School, Hoover High School, Lincoln High School, Roosevelt High School and East High School). Speak at the halftime of high school games Promote the Energy and encourage more people to attend games. Marketing Team Analyze which nights create a big crowd and find ways to make those nights better. Find ways to inform the public about special events and deals that go on. Event Manager During events, walk around and make sure that everything is going smoothly. During special event nights, greet the targeted audience and make sure they re having a good time. Social Media Team Put all the upcoming dates of the Iowa Energy s events on social media in an appealing way. Spread the word that Iowa Energy is appearing at local high schools. Tell which dates the players will speak at half time and which players will be showing up. 7 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y
VI. BUDGET Anticipated Expenses Cost Player s appearances at local high schools Two players per school (5 schools) $40 per player $400.00 Posters at local high schools $50 per poster (25 posters per school) $6,250 Billboard advertising 3 billboards at $2000/4 weeks for 8 weeks $12000.00 Newspaper advertising 1 ad per week of home games with 16 home games at $30 per ad $360.00 Signs on the side of Des Moines buses 5 buses of ads at $150 per bus $750.00 Total $19,760.00 VII. STATEMENT OF BENEFITS TO THE COMPANY/ ORGANIZATION If the Iowa Energy were to use this promotion plan in the best way possible, an increase of people coming to games will occur along with an increase in revenue and overall increase in the fan base so the Energy will have more supporters. The goal of this promotion plan is to increase the fan base which will ultimately get more people coming to the games and increase the revenue obtained annually. When the Iowa Energy tries out these new strategies, the Iowa Energy will blossom. Advertising more to the local population will get their name out more to these local 8 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y
communities in Des Moines, Iowa. Advertising during the off-season will also get more people aware of the Energy and get them thinking about coming during the actual season. Billboards located strategically in Des Moines can promote the Iowa Energy to the right clientele. Once the advertising works and gets more people coming, they will start talking about the Energy experience to others. With more people attending, they will want to keep coming with the great experience that we will give them. Family and friends will all have their own nights. The Iowa Energy will be able to track the difference of attendance by pulling up reports for each game for the next two years. The Energy will give an experience that will keep people coming back. The promotion given will not be too costly and in the long run will increase the revenue that the Iowa Energy earns enough to cover the cost. The goals are within easy reach and will get more fans to attend games. VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://iowa.dleague.nba.com/ http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/health/teens-tweens-media-screen-use-report/ http://www.iowaeventscenter.com/wells-fargo-arena/professional-sports/iowa-energy/ http://images.google.com https://twitter.com/search?q=iowa%20energy&src=typd 9 P a g e I o w a E n e r g y