SM 546 – Semester Long Project: Sport Marketing Plan
Project Overview
Assume that you have been contracted as a marketing consultant by the respective sport organization of your choosing. This organization can fall under the umbrella of a professional sports team, collegiate athletics team, interscholastic team, recreational organization (like Pop Warner Youth Football), community organization (YMCA) or even one-off events (like a charity 5K). You have been asked to develop and submit a marketing plan to them for a ticketed event or season of events.
The marketing plan is an application of the Marketing Management Process (MMP). The marketing plan should contain all the essential elements of MMP. You can either create a new product concept or use an existing product concept of the organization. However, the marketing plan should NOT be a description/summary of what the organization has been doing. Instead, the project is focused on identifying a NEW market opportunity, researching the corresponding market environment, including the competition, and selecting the ideal marketing mix required to effectively market the product or service.
View a sample marketing plan from Pitt Athletics. (WVU Login Required)
Project Requirements
Your marketing plan must include the following elements. Please read the Sport Marketing Plan Requirements Descriptions, Submissions, & Pacing Timeline for more details:
Executive Summary – Condensed overview of the marketing plan.
Introduction – Description of the organization; event information; product/service analysis
SWOT Analysis – Discuss the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats
Objectives – Describe the specific marketing objectives and goals this plan sets out to meet.
Consumer Information – Discuss information that you have obtained on the organization’s current consumers (due to primary or secondary research).
Marketing Strategies and Tactics
Strategy for market segmentation
What will serve as the basis for segmentation, and why?
Provide analysis and rationale for selecting target markets
Product
What is the core product that this marketing plan will focus on?
What are the product extensions that this plan will address?
Product brand:
What are the visual elements of your organization’s brand for your marketing initiative?
Logos, marks, colors, slogans
What is the goal of the brand – how do you want your product positioned in the mind of its consumers?
Can you describe the branding? Why will it resonate with consumers? What do you want fans to feel?
Pricing strategies
A discussion of the place the event is held and means of its distribution
Comprehensive promotional plan
Discuss how you will promote the event including advertising, public relations activities, promotional elements within the event itself
Provide samples of these elements (this can include digital advertisements, press releases, radio announcement, poster or flyer, billboard, etc.)
Overall event experience and entertainment strategies that address current trends
Timeline for implementation and plan of action
A discussion of methods to evaluate the plan and marketing strategies
Sport Marketing Plan
Towards the end of the course, you will submit a polished and professional written Sport Marketing Plan. Follow the list in the Sport Marketing Plan Requirements Submissions and Timeline for pacing throughout the term.
Guidelines and Suggestions:
The marketing plan should be approximately 15-20 pages (excluding the executive summary and any references), typed and double-spaced with pages numbered in PDF format. Creative assets should be sized appropriately to be legible, but not take up a whole page to fill space.
The marketing plan should include a marketing mix grid illustrating your ideas.
You should be creative and innovative, using any graphics that will supplement your ideas, and the overall presentation of the plan.
The marketing plan will be graded based on the content/substance, accuracy of information, creativity, and overall presentation of the information.
Research marketing plans from organizations to help you in your approach.
Be creative and original.
Include drawings, sketches, renderings, charts, graphs, video/audio, computer simulations, etc. to help illustrate your plan.
Sport Marketing Plan: Presentation
You will need to create a professional 20 minute recorded video presenting your Sport Marketing Plan via Zoom with accompanying slides (PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.) on the screen. Read the details in the Sport Marketing Plan Requirements Submissions and Timeline section.
Sport Marketing Plan Requirements Descriptions, Submissions, & Pacing Timeline
Below outlines when you should be working on each part of the Sport Marketing Plan. Descriptions of each part are located after the table. This also serves as a checklist and the order in which your Sport Marketing Plan should be organized.
You will have three deliverables for this project. Please review the eCampus Calendar for due dates.
Sport Marketing Plan Idea Approval. Submitted at the end of Module 1 – ungraded, but required.
Sport Marketing Plan Written Report. Submitted towards the end of the course. This will be worth XXXX points of your Semester-Long project.
Sport Marketing Plan Recorded Presentation. Submitted towards the end of the course. This will be worth XXXX points of your Semester-Long project.
Check the Calendar in eCampus for specific due dates for all deliverables. The Sport Marketing Plan Written Report and Presentation will need to be submitted to the Semester-Long Project: Sport Marketing Plan folder in eCampus as indicated.
Cover page
Name, class, date, Sport Marketing Plan Title
Table of Contents
Table of Contents for the Sport Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
This is a condensed overview of the marketing plan. Even though you may write this section of your plan last, this section will go right after the table of contents in your written sport marketing plan. The purpose of the Executive Summary is to communicate a snapshot of what is included in the sport marketing plan to grab the attention of the reader. If someone was to only read these few pages (no more than three) they would have a clear grasp of the content contained in the rest of the report.
Instructions for submission
You will submit this part of the assignment in your Written Report due at the end of the course.
Marketing Plan Idea (Module 1)
During the first week of class you will brainstorm an overall idea for a marketing plan that is relevant to the sport industry. You will share that idea with your instructor to obtain approval before moving on with the project.
Instructions for submission
Note: This is the only part of the semester-long project that you will submit early in the course. The rest of the parts of this project will be submitted in the final Written Report and Presentation.
In Module 1, post your sport marketing plan idea to the Semester-Long Project: Sport Marketing Plan>Sport Marketing Plan Idea Discussion Forum.
Your instructor will contact you via the discussion forum or email to give you feedback or the go-ahead to work on the subject matter you described.
SWOT Analysis (Module 1)
Conduct a SWOT analysis of the team or sport organization for your final marketing plan project. After you complete the analysis, brainstorm marketing initiatives (at least 3) that address the analysis.
Instructions for submission
You will work on this in Module 1. You will submit the SWOT analysis as part of your final Written Report submission towards the end of the course. The marketing initiatives that you brainstorm will not go directly in the plan in this section, but it will help you in subsequent sections.
Objectives (Module 1)
Outline the specific objectives your marketing plan sets out to meet.
Instructions for submission
You will work on this in Module 1. You will submit this as part of your final Written Report submission towards the end of the course.
Consumer Information (Module 2)
Conduct research on consumer behavior related to the sport organization for your final marketing plan project. Discuss information that you have obtained on the organization’s current consumers (due to primary or secondary research).
Instructions for submission
You will work on this in Module 2. You will submit this as part of your final Written Report submission towards the end of the course.
Strategy for Market Segmentation (Module 2)
Explain your strategy for market segmentation:
What will serve as the basis for segmentation, and why?
Provide analysis and rationale for selecting the target markets of your marketing plan.
Instructions for submission
You will work on this in Module 2. You will submit this as part of your final Written Report submission towards the end of the course.
Product and Branding (Module 3)
What is the core product that this marketing plan will focus on?
What are the product extensions that this plan will address?
Product brand:
What are the visual elements of your organization’s brand for your marketing initiative?
Logos, marks, colors, slogans
What is the goal of the brand – how do you want your product positioned in the mind of its consumers?
Can you describe the branding? Why will it resonate with consumers? What do you want fans to feel?
Instructions for submission
You will work on this in Module 3. You will submit this as part of your final Written Report submission towards the end of the course.
Comprehensive Promotional Plan (Module 4)
Discuss how you will promote the event including advertising, public relations activities, promotional elements within the event itself. Provide samples of these elements (this can include digital advertisements, press releases, radio announcement, poster or flyer, billboard, etc.)
Although the strategy behind these creative samples is what you will be graded on, taking the time to learn basic design and editing skills is necessary for a marketer in the event that you have a limited budget for a graphics designer. If you’re comfortable using the Adobe Creative Suite, feel free to do so. If you are new to graphic design, you can use the free version of Canva or Adobe Creative Cloud Express’ “Post” tool to create visually appealing creative assets that have consistent branding.
Resources:
View Canva Tutorial for Beginners: How to Use Canva in 2021.
Learn about the Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Spark) platform.
Access Adobe Creative Cloud Tutorials.
Instructions for submission
You will work on this in Module 4. You will submit this as part of your final Written Report submission towards the end of the course.
Pricing Strategies (Module 5)
Discuss pricing strategies and outline how your product will be priced (ex: cost of tickets – are there different tiers? Do children and seniors get a discount? Is there a group discount? etc.)
Instructions for submission
You will submit this part of the assignment in your final report due at the end of the course.
Event Experience and Strategy to Address Current Trends (Module 6)
Discuss overall event experience and entertainment strategies that will address current trends to meet your consumers needs.
Instructions for submission
You will submit this part of the assignment in your final report due at the end of the course.
Timeline for Implementation (Module 6)
Create a realistic timeline for implementation of the contents of your marketing plan.
Instructions for submission
You will submit this part of the assignment in your Written Report due at the end of the course.
Evaluating the Marketing Plan (Module 6)
Discuss which methods you will use to evaluate this plan and marketing strategies.
Instructions for submission
You will submit this part of the assignment in your Written Report due at the end of the course.
Appendix (Module 6)
Optional
Sport Marketing Plan: Written Report Expectations
You will submit a polished and professional Sport Marketing Plan. Follow the list in the Sport Marketing Plan Requirements Submissions & Timeline above.
The final Written Report should use Arial or Times New Roman size 12 font, 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left and right), indicate page numbers. Use of in-text citation in APA is mandatory.
Ongoing Optional Opportunity for Feedback: Drafts via ThinkingStorm or WVU Writing Lab
In addition to asking the instructor questions about writing the various sections of your Sport Marketing Plan, we have provided two avenues for receiving feedback on your drafts from a writing perspective. It is expected that your Plan be organized and well written without grammatical errors. It is imperative that you take advantage of at least one of these writing assistance opportunities.
Thinking Storm – When you would like to have parts of your Sport Marketing Plan reviewed, you can go to the Online Writing Lab (ThinkingStorm) link in the course menu under “Resources” in eCampus. Under Submit a Paper, select the “Get Started” link. You will be prompted to upload a document to ThinkingStorm for writing feedback on your organization, grammar, formatting, and more.
WVU Writing Lab – You are also invited to submit a draft of your Executive Summary to the WVU Writing Studio. Please visit Students | SpeakWrite | West Virginia University for information on making a virtual appointment. This link is also available under “Resources” in the course menu in eCampus.
Zoom Recorded Presentation (Module 6)
Now that you have created a Sport Marketing Plan for the sport organization of your choosing, you will need to create a professional 20 minute recorded video presenting this plan to your organization via Zoom with accompanying slides (PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.) on the screen. In practice, these presentations are done often to receive approval and buy-in of the marketing plan from senior leadership.
A few things to note: your slides should be visually appealing, and should not have all of the text from your written marketing plan. A general rule of thumb is the “6×6” rule – no more than 6 lines of text with 6 words per line on each slide. You need to know your material well enough to present without having every word on your slides. The presentation should highlight all of the sections of the marketing plan.
Once you have finished your recording, keep the URL to share in your project submission.
Resource:
Visit Zoom Recording Logistics for assistance.
Image Resources:
If you need images to accompany your presentation, it’s important for you to use copyright/royalty free images. Here is a list of recommended sources. Be sure to give attribution when required. Note: If you use Canva or Adobe Creative Cloud Express, many images are included in the tool.
Pexels
Creative Commons Image Search
Pixabay
Unsplash
Sport Marketing Plan: Presentation Expectations
Appropriate, relevant content. The content must be appropriate/relevant to the project at hand and to the audience you chose. It must include the highlights of the requirements posted above.
Application of course concepts. You must connect your background information to course concepts, where appropriate.
Aesthetics.
Formatting (spacing, colors, fonts, styles, headings, etc.): Are they appealing and appropriate?
Craftsmanship/Quality: Is your finished product high quality? Consider grammar, spelling, punctuation.
Professionalism. Take time to practice your presentation. You want to be poised and practiced. Try not to read the slides or notes word for word. Be confident, comfortable, and knowledgeable about the topic. Be aware of the time limit!
Preparation. Test out your link and review it prior to submission. Be sure the presentation works (audio works, slides transition, etc.) before you submit it.
Sport Marketing Plan Written Report and Presentation Submission There are two submissions with the final part of this assignment. You will submit your Sport Marketing Plan Written Report for instructor review and you will submit the link to your presentation for instructor and student review.
Sport Marketing Plan Written Report and Presentation Submission Sport Marketing Plan Written Report For Instructor Review:
By the date specified in the Course Calendar in your eCampus course, submit the Sport Marketing Plan – Written Report to the Semester-Long Project: Sport Marketing Plan folder>Sport Marketing Plan Written Report Assignment in eCampus.
Please follow the appropriate naming convention for saving your document (“Firstinitial_LastName_SMPWrittenReport.docx”).
Select Browse My Computer and attach your file.
Select Submit to finish.
Sport Marketing Plan Presentation for Instructor and Student Review:
On the date specified in the Course Calendar in your eCampus course, submit the Zoom Recording Presentation Link to the Semester-Long Project: Sport Marketing Plan folder> Sport Marketing Plan Presentation Discussion Forum. (Note: This Forum will not be available until the day that it is due to allow for student review/commenting to happen in the final week of the course.)
Create a thread and title it with your name. Paste your Presentation Recording link in the text box. Your peers and your instructor will view your presentation from this forum.
Select “Submit.”
Review and thoughtfully comment on at least two peer presentations using the 3CQ model. In addition, keep an eye on your presentation thread as well and answer questions and field comments as needed.
Grading
The following rubrics will be used to grade the Sport Marketing Plan Written Report and Presentation.
Sport Marketing Plan: Written Report Grading Rubric – 150 points
Exemplary
Accomplished
Developed
No Submission or Unsatisfactory
Key Course Concepts: The Sport Marketing Plan Written Report demonstrates understanding through application. It integrates key class concepts as they relate to the assignment.
Submission reflects a mastery level of performance. It also complies with most to all of the requirements and expectations. (75 points)
Submission reflects movement toward a mastery level of performance, but there is still more work to do to reach the next level.
Submission reflects some level of performance, but it misses several requirements or expectations.
Student either does not submit the deliverable or it is done with minimal effort and/or reflects a submission that is totally off-track of what was assigned.
Requirements: The Sport Marketing Plan Written Report is complete with all required sections. Project includes all material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the topic.
Submission reflects a mastery level of performance. It also complies with most to all of the requirements and expectations. (50 points)
Submission reflects movement toward a mastery level of performance, but there is still more work to do to reach the next level.
Submission reflects some level of performance, but it misses several requirements or expectations.
Student either does not submit the deliverable or it is done with minimal effort and/or reflects a submission that is totally off-track of what was assigned.
Sequencing of Information and Professionalism:
Plan is well written. The student shows competence in grammar, spelling, and punctuation which suggests good skills and evidence of proofreading. Information is organized in a clear, logical way with attention to professionalism.
Submission reflects a mastery level of performance. It also complies with most to all of the requirements and expectations. (25 points)
Submission reflects movement toward a mastery level of performance, but there is still more work to do to reach the next level.
Submission reflects some level of performance, but it misses several requirements or expectations.
Student either does not submit the deliverable or it is done with minimal effort and/or reflects a submission that is totally off-track of what was assigned.
Sport Marketing Plan: Presentation Grading Rubric – 50 points
Exemplary
Accomplished
Developed
(7 points)
No Submission or Unsatisfactory
(0 points)
Presentation: Presenter is knowledgeable and comfortable with information being presented throughout the presentation. Complied with the time limit.
Submission reflects a mastery level of performance. It also complies with most to all of the requirements and expectations. (15 points)
Submission reflects movement toward a mastery level of performance, but there is still more work to do to reach the next level. (10 points)
Submission reflects some level of performance, but it misses several requirements or expectations. (8 points)
Presenter either does not submit the deliverable or it is done with minimal effort and/or reflects a submission that is totally off-track of what was assigned. (0 points)
Content: Appropriate, relevant content that included highlights of the parts of the Sport Marketing Plan Written Report requirements.
Evident application of course concepts.
Submission reflects a mastery level of performance. It also complies with most to all of the requirements and expectations. (15 points)
Submission reflects movement toward a mastery level of performance, but there is still more work to do to reach the next level. (10 points)
Submission reflects some level of performance, but it misses several requirements or expectations. (8 points)
Presenter either does not submit the deliverable or it is done with minimal effort and/or reflects a submission that is totally off-track of what was assigned. (0 points)
Aesthetics: Formatting, Visuals/Images/
Media, Design, Quality follow the guidelines posted.
Submission reflects a mastery level of performance. It also complies with most to all of the requirements and expectations. (10 points)
Submission reflects movement toward a mastery level of performance, but there is still more work to do to reach the next level. (8 points)
Submission reflects some level of performance, but it misses several requirements or expectations. (6 points)
Presenter either does not submit the deliverable or it is done with minimal effort and/or reflects a submission that is totally off-track of what was assigned. (0 points)
Discussion: Relevance in response to classmates.
Two or more thoughtful reactions to peer presentations and one or more responses to a peer question illustrate thought provoking, supportive/
challenging reflection following the 3CQ model: Compliment, comment, connection, and question. (10 points)
Two reactions to peer presentations and one response to a peer reaction partially illustrate thought provoking, supportive/
challenging reflection following the 3CQ model: Compliment, comment, connection, and question. (8 points)
Mere responses such as “interesting idea,” “good project” without providing the reason/reflection. (6 points)
Did not respond to classmates. (0 points)