Paper Example - Windsor Spitfires

Having a strategic plan for marketing is an important step to the growth of an organization, and the main purpose of this paper is to come up with a marketing plan for Windsor Spitfires. This marketing will serve as an ability to speak about the unique elements that separate this organization from similar ones and will help to appeal to the target market. The Windsor Spitfires is an ice hockey team that is based in Ontario, Canada, for the juniors. This team was founded in the year 1971 as a franchise where it started competing in the Ontario major junior hockey league four years after it was founded. The Windsor Spitfires have a history of more than 40 years in junior hockey. Currently, the team takes part in the Ontario Hockey League.

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Marketing Environment Analysis

Marketing for Windsor Spitfires will ensure that the team increases its participation in leagues by nine percent in the next ten years. It will also play a major role in increasing the sale of tickets as well as viewership on television in the oncoming seasons (Deluca 1). The marketing of the team will also help in increasing brand awareness and the revenue of the team to 10 million dollars.

Company Analysis

Mission

Windsor Spitfires have been in operation for the past 40 years where it has won different tournaments with different young players having to enter the team to sustain early numbers (Deluca 1). The Windsor Spitfires are committed to ensuring that unique experience in hockey is delivered to all fans in a way that catches the attention of all stakeholders and team members in the pitch as well as far beyond the matches.

Vision

The vision of the hockey team is to create a hockey experience that is more than any other where the players, the game and the pitch are combined to ensure that a professional atmosphere is realized and an interactive technology is maintained in ensuring that the game and the experience given to the fans is of high quality all the time.

Values

Windsor Spitfires value communities a lot and the community programs bring people together where they support various kids and play a major role in ensuring that the community gets backs by funding local charities (Deluca 1). Every year, the hockey team has a donation of thousands of dollars in terms of tickets and merchandise to different local organizations that assist in different efforts of fundraising.

Goals

The Ontario Hockey League is made up of players that lie between the ages of sixteen to twenty. Windsor Spitfires majors on players that are fifteen years old to twenty years for inclusivity as long as they are eligible to become part of the team (Deluca 1). This team competes in different championship trophies, and they are made up of players born in Canada and America, but it also incorporates different European players. The team, according to the rules of the league, is made up of thirty players, and only two of them are European.

PESTLE Analysis

Economic

Pricing of tickets has played a major role in running the activities of Windsor Spitfires. The ticketing process has been a major element in determining who will attend any event for sporting because all people who attend any game must have a ticket to gain entrance to the game either by directly purchasing one or receiving it as a gift from other individuals (Cocker 1). The exchange process between consumers and the organization has played a major role in generating revenue that helps to run the daily activities of the organization.

Social

Windsor Spitfires uses a Most Valuable Playmaker program that aids in different businesses, creating a strong connection in the different communities. The hockey team has used its motto of enhancing lives and improving communities by creating a foundation that has made it to easily raise donations to community services and other charitable groups in Windsor and Essex counties (Cocker 1). The foundation has worked closely with different groups and partners for a long time, and it has enabled them to understand different needs within the surrounding communities.

Fan loyalty has also influenced this hockey team a lot because it has been one major sport that has created a need for different loyalty examinations and how they consume different products and services regularly when Windsor Spitfires are participating in any game. The fans of the team have built a strong connection with the sports teams, and this has helped a lot to build loyalty and trust for the team (Cocker 1). The hockey team gains more from the opportunities of generating revenue especially through concessions, parking fees gained from the attendees and team merchandise. Sports marketers have had a great opportunity to sell different tickets for sporting events to different attendees.

Technological

ChoiceSeat technologies have been adopted where touch screens and different software services are used for the installation of different stadium seats where it features a variety of services of information such as live games and events, statistics and different analysis. Online ticketing has made consumers get the ability to purchase tickets and other online merchandise (Cocker 1). The technology has also enabled the customers to be able to get their tickets mailed to their residences, or they can easily access the tickets at the arena booth. The technology has created an easy time purchasing tickets and buying merchandise from online stores. The fan text systems have also been created in different contexts, which have created a highly innovative solution for text messages.

Competitive Analysis

The top competitors of Windsor Spitfires are Sudbury Wolves and Barrie Colts, which pose a major threat to the team due to their marketing mix.

Sudbury Wolves Barrie Colts

Product This team offers the same quality team players and has beaten Windsor Spitfires several times. This team has used different strategies like trading several top players and posing as a threat to Windsor Spitfires.

Place The organization is strategically placed in the United States, and it is a threat to the fans that Windsor Spitfires may have. It is geographically placed in such a way that it increases its viewership reducing that of Windsor Spitfires.

Price The organization has had relatively lower prices in tickets like in the case of Windsor Spitfires, and this has caused a dilemma to the fans on which tickets to buy. The organization has recorded prices that have, most of the time, created talks about how its affordable prices pose a threat to Windsor Spitfires.

Promotion Has used different advertising and marketing techniques that have proved to be competitive to Windsor Spitfires because this team can easily afford the services of expensive commercials. It has been a major competition in its promotion techniques, with many fans reporting increased satisfaction from the services and products offered compared to those of Windsor Spitfires.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• The team has young players who will be top performers in the next few seasons.
• Windsor Spitfires are ranked among the top hockey teams in Canada, where it has won several trophies.
• The team is situated in an area where hockey is appreciated a lot and is very popular (Upham 1).
• The team has received great exposure through national television in the past years which has made it known to many people and increased the fan base.
• The team has played against top-ranked national teams, which have made it be exposed to more experience.

Weaknesses

• The program that is run by Windsor Spitfires lacks awareness, which makes it unpopular to many people.
• Over the past years, this team has been recording poor records and a low win percentage (Upham 1).
• Windsor Spitfires lack a proper marketing plan that can be used to address different colleges in Canada about home games and how they can join the team.
• There exists little information about the team in different media channels, which makes it hard for research and analyzing certain information about the team.

Opportunities

• Windsor Spitfires have excellent facilities that create a lot of potentials for the team to grow and practice more to ensure that the players are fit and have better chances against other teams.
• The team should create different events to ensure that many people know the programs developed by the team and they are willing to participate in them (Upham 1).
• The team should start engaging fans in the games.
• The team members should take part in accuracy shot competitions, which will help increase their skills and help them win in different matches.

Threats

• Some students prefer to take part in drinking sprees rather than attend different games on the weekends.
• Competition from other major teams poses a threat to the popularity of Windsor Spitfires, making it less popularity among students and other fans.

Target Markets

The organization will target ethnic minorities who are made up of African Americans, Asians and other ethnic groups so that they can join the team and create diversity in teammates and viewers. Many teams lack players from ethnic groups, with many of them a few African Americans and no other ethnic communities (Upham 1). These ethnic groups mainly participate and are fans of other sports like football and basketball because they have more programs that make them more accessible to ethnic groups. When these groups are involved in the team, an increase in fans will be noted. Traditional fans of sports, as well as non-sports fans, are other groups that will be targeted where those that do not love sports and those that love other sports apart from hockey will be targeted so that they can start watching hockey.

Positioning

Windsor Spitfires have reported an increase in its fan base despite a reduced performance over the years. The sudden death of a player in the past years caused many fans to be interested in the team and support it in the signing in of new players that help elevate the team to glory (Upham 1). Hockey teams, in general, possess different skills that are not found in any other sport from the athlete skills to regular seasons combined with physicality creates an excellent position for this hockey team.

Marketing Mix

Product

Windsor Spitfires have worked to create a unique team that is hard to rival. The team has made changes to the players in such a way that it fits the needs of the fans and the different stakeholders who fund it and ensure that all processes go smoothly.

Place

Windsor Spitfires are located in an area that is easy to access for both fans and players from all over Canada and the United States at large. The team is designed in such a way that it is all-inclusive of all types of players and fans and it welcomes any sponsorship from any company regardless of its origin (Anderson 1). The stadium and other amenities of the team are arranged in such a way that they make it easier for the team to practice and take part in different activities such as practicing and ensuring that they improve their skills. The customer services of the team are well organized for easier communication and reaching the fans and any other stakeholders that may step in to help develop the team.

Price

The tickets are priced in such a way that they meet the needs of the team and are easily accessible to the fans. The ticket prices online for purchase communicates to the fans that Windsor Spitfires is a high quality team yet its games are easily accessible to all fans (Anderson 1). This pricing style has increased the fan base of the team, and many more people have been recorded to pay to watch the games.