Quad City Mallards Marketing Plan

 Top Shelf Marketing 1 Marketing Plan for the Quad City Mallards Top Shelf Marketing 2 Introduction The Quad City Mallards have provided the Quad Cities with professional hockey for nearly two decades, from 1995­2007 and 2009­present. However, in recent years, the Mallards have had various troubles involving low attendance and a substantial debt. We at Top Shelf Marketing intend, through this marketing plan, to help bring the Mallards back to their former glory. Our main goals are to raise attendance by males and females ages 18­25, to generally increase market awareness of the team, and to improve the product for fans who had never attended hockey games. Team History The Quad City Mallards franchise was introduced for the 1995­1996 season in the AA level Colonial Hockey League. The franchise enjoyed immediate success at the gate, drawing 5860 fans per game despite finishing the season with a losing record on the ice. After the inaugural season, the team surged forward both on and off the ice. On the ice, the team won back­to­back championships in the 1996­97 and 1997­98 seasons, followed up by two losses in the league championship finals and then a third championship in the 2000­01 season. Meanwhile, the team won 50 or more games in 6 straight seasons, an unprecedented feat in any level of professional hockey. Off the ice, the team’s attendance rose quickly, and the team drew more than 8000 fans per game for three seasons, from 1997­98 through 1999­00. The Mallards quickly became one of the most highly regarded minor league hockey franchises in North America. Top Shelf Marketing 3 Unfortunately, the franchise was unable to continue this success. After a string of 6 straight seasons with attendance over 6000 fans per game (the 1996­97 through 2001­02 seasons), the attendance dropped precipitously. By the end of the 2003­04 season, the team was averaging 5117 fans per game. The attendance continued to drop, and the Mallards finished the 2006­07 season with attendance of just 3120 fans per game. Meanwhile, on the ice, the team had one last appearance in the league’s championship finals (which they lost in the 2002­03 season). Since then, the team has never advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Before the 2006­07 season, the team was purchased by QCSV, an ownership group made up of local hockey enthusiasts. When attendance reached an all­time low during the season, this ownership group decided that a change was needed, and QCSV made the decision to officially make the Mallards franchise dormant. This freed them to make arrangements with the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames to bring the Flames’ affiliated franchise in the AAA­level American Hockey League to the Quad Cities. The new franchise, the Quad City Flames, was introduced for the 2007­08 season. This move to a higher level of hockey was greeted by a slight increase in interest, as attendance rose to 3523 fans per game for the 07­08 season. However, many fans refused to support a franchise that was not the Mallards. This attitude nearly destroyed hockey in the Quad Cities, as attendance fell to just 3035 fans per game for the 2008­09 season, far below the level of support needed to maintain a AAA­level hockey franchise. QCSV was forced to fold the Flames after the 2008­09 season.. After a frantic search, new owners were found for the Quad City Mallards franchise, which played in the International Hockey League during the 09­10 season. After the 2009­10 season, Top Shelf Marketing 4 several teams from the IHL folded, and the rest moved to the AA­level Central Hockey League. From here, the outlook for the franchise became grimmer. After the 08­09, 09­10, 10­11, and 11­12 seasons, ownership groups either folded or disappeared, forcing the iWireless Center to work with the remnants of the team’s front office to find new ownership groups. Finally, after the ownership group disappeared and a possible sale fell through just weeks before the 2012­13 season, Boston Pizza, the entity that owned the Central Hockey League, was forced to step in to take over the Mallards franchise. However, for the first time in many years, the outlook for the Mallards may be a little brighter. After last season, the executives of Boston Pizza decided that they felt optimistic about the hockey market in the Quad Cities. They sold their ownership of the Central Hockey League and are now focusing solely on running the Mallards franchise, with the hopes of turning the Quad Cities into a successful minor league hockey market. Situational Analysis (Abbreviated ­ see Appendix A for full SWOT Analysis and Appendix B for full environmental scan) SWOT Analysis Strengths ● Both the coach and the president of the Mallards are well­known and respected in the minor league hockey world, which helps to attract high­quality players to the team. ● The team has built a solid core of diehard fans who come to games despite the turmoil. ● The team has an excellent relationship with the iWireless Center despite all the recent Top Shelf Marketing 5 upheaval. ● They have been able to keep ticket prices low, to make it easier for fans to buy tickets and to attend multiple games in a season Weaknesses ● Until this year, the team has been unable to keep an ownership group for more than one season, which has caused an increased cynicism in the fanbase and among corporate sponsors. ● The Mallards have only met the approximate attendance benchmark for a successful minor league hockey team (4,000 fans per game) once in the past six seasons (HockeyDB). ● The team has done very little marketing outside of radio commercials for upcoming games during the radio broadcasts of the current game, making it difficult to reach potential new fans. Opportunities ● The Quad Cities area has a population of 471,551, so there is a large potential fanbase that the Mallards can draw from (Quad Cities First). ● The Mallards are the only winter­season professional sports franchise in the Quad Cities, which would suggest that competition in the market is limited. ● Augustana College, Saint Ambrose University, and the community colleges provide a large number of young people eager for inexpensive entertainment options, many of whom grew up in the hockey­rich Chicagoland area. Top Shelf Marketing 6 ● An assortment of media outlets (newspapers, radio stations, billboards, and TV stations) provide outlets for expanding advertising. Threats ● High school football and basketball are very popular in the Quad Cities, drawing attention, money, and fans away from the Mallards. ● There are a large number of other entertainment options, from cinemas and theater companies to entertainment options such as Netflix, video gaming, social networking, etc. ● Overall, the economy may not have recovered to a point where most people feel comfortable having a significant entertainment budget to pay for things like tickets to a Mallards game. ● When it comes down to it, the Quad Cities may not be a sports market. Minor league basketball and indoor football teams have started out with great interest and then folded after the initial excitement wore off, and the baseball team has also occasionally struggled to draw fans Environmental Scan Social Forces ● Social networks are becoming a major source of communication, so effectively leveraging the team’s social networks is extremely important. ● Generation Y consumers want to get an experience for their money, and especially enjoy group outings ­ things that the Mallards already provide. Top Shelf Marketing 7 ● Demographics ○ Population: 471,551 ○ Average Household Income: $60,977; Median Household Income: $48,719 (Quad Cities First) Economic Forces ● The national economy recently went through a significant slowdown, causing consumers to be more careful with their spending. ● The Quad Cities economy relies heavily on the Rock Island Arsenal. If there are cuts to the federal government’s defense spending, it will have a major impact on Quad Cities households’ discretionary spending. Technological Forces ● As consumers do more of their purchases online, they are more likely to use phones or tablets to make the purchase. ● Increasing numbers of hockey­related video games can arguably provide fans with a more immersive experience .Competitive Forces ● The local baseball team has been drawing fairly well, providing competition for fans’ entertainment budgets. ● High school football and basketball games are fairly well attended, providing the Top Shelf Marketing 8 Mallards with direct competition during the season. ● There are a number of other entertainment options in the Quad Cities, from theater and cinemas to bowling alleys and museums. Regulatory Forces ● The Mallards must adhere to league rules involving how much payroll is allotted to players. ● The players in the Mallards’ league are members of the Professional Hockey Players Association, which means that there are union requirements that teams must meet. ● Indirectly, they may also be affected by local, state, and federal regulations related to the iWireless Center. Goals After conducting a situational analysis and examining the Quad City Mallards franchise, we came to the conclusion that the team has done a good job with three of the four elements of the marketing mix. The on­ice product has generally been pretty good, and the Mallards have succeeded in making themselves an easily recognizable brand. The price is somewhat lower than average ticket prices around the Central Hockey League, which should make it easier to market tickets to the fans. The element of place is well covered, as the Mallards play in a nice arena and have good distribution channels. Since our analysis showed that these three elements are all well implemented, the team’s struggles to increase attendance likely comes from the fourth element: Top Shelf Marketing 9 promotion. This finding complements our independent experiences, which is that many people in the Quad Cities do not realize that the Mallards even exist. Our team has routinely run into one of two questions: “Wait...the Mallards are still around?” or “Who are the Mallards?” To respond to this lack of awareness, we have settled on two main goals related to promotion: 1. To increase outreach to males and females ages 18­24, an age group that frequently is looking for inexpensive entertainment. 2. To generally increase awareness of the team in the greater Quad Cities. Additionally, we have a third goal, which is to improve the experience for fans who have never attended hockey games before. This our only suggested change to the product itself; otherwise, all our proposed changes involve the promotion of the team. We chose males and females ages 18­24 because that target market consists of individuals looking for ways to have an inexpensive night out with their friends, and with tickets starting at just $10, the Mallards seem to be the perfect option. From our observations at the Mallards games, the team has been able to draw some consumers from this market, but we believe that they can improve attendance among these young adults. Promotions Social Media Campaign The Mallards have been fairly successful at building a social media following, with over Top Shelf Marketing 10 5,000 “likes” for the team’s Facebook page and nearly 2,000 followers on the Twitter account1. However, leveraging those social media followers poses a continual challenge, as does motivating them to share information about the team with their own followers. According to the Pew Research Center, by the end of 2012 27% of adults ages 18­29 were using Twitter, and 86% of adults in the same age range were using Facebook. Overall, the Pew Research Center found that 16% of Internet users are on Twitter and 67% are on Facebook (Duggan and Brenner). This means that properly leveraging the team’s social media following will help in reaching both our targeted 18­24 market and in raising awareness of the team in the Quad Cities. Additionally, social media provides the team with an opportunity for inexpensive marketing with a quick turnaround (Kerin, Hartley, Rudelius 494). We suggest two simple, easily implemented social media campaigns to really utilize this following. Our first suggestion is a simple photo sharing campaign. The Mallards will announce, through the team’s own Facebook and Twitter accounts, via the team website, and by announcements by Guy Perry at games, that fans can upload a photo of themselves at the game to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and tag the Mallards in the photo. Everyone who submits a photo gets a free ticket voucher for a future Mallards game, and they are all entered into a drawing at the end of the season for a small handful of Mallards giveaways, such as a signed stick, a game puck, or a jersey. This will give fans an incentive to take photos and share them on their social media pages. When they do so, the followers of every fan who uploads a photo will see a photo of that fan at a Mallards game, presumably enjoying themselves while watching a local game of professional hockey. The cost to the Mallards is fairly minimal ­ the free tickets 1
Exact numbers as of 10/30/2013: 5,035 Facebook likes and 1,943 Twitter followers Top Shelf Marketing 11 pose little cost unless the team were selling out the arena regularly so that the tickets became lost revenue ­ and the small handful of giveaways should also be low­cost. The return on this could be measured by the increase of traffic and followers on the Mallards’ social media channels, as well as by the number of fans posting photos that tag the Mallards’ accounts. Increasing Fan Involvement in the Brand: Fan­created Promotions The second suggestion to utilize social media involves getting fans actively involved in the brand. Contemporary consumers want to have some level of interaction with the brand, which the Mallards have already taken steps to provide (Kerin et al 431). For example, fans get a chance to “Win a Jersey off a Player’s Back” every home game, allowing them to interact with a player during the game. After the home opener, the team went to Rascal’s to meet with fans, and the players and coaches often appear at events for season ticket holders. We suggest increasing this involvement by holding a contest in which fans can submit their own suggestions for promotions. Fans could submit their ideas via Facebook, Twitter, Youtube videos, or by emailing their ideas to the front office. The team would then pick five or six ideas and put them to a vote via the website and social media. This will allow the Mallards to screen out suggestions that would be overly difficult or costly to implement, so that the contest does not get out of hand. The two promotion suggestions with the most votes would then be implemented, either later in the same season or during the next season, and the fan who suggested that promotion would get a free night in a suite for themselves and their group for the game night that utilizes their promotion. In the case of multiple people submitting an idea for a Top Shelf Marketing 12 promotional night that wins the contest, there would be a drawing to decide who wins the prize. This contest would yield major benefits. First, it would provide a major incentive for the fans to submit creative ideas that the front office may not have considered before. Second, if the suggested promotions are good enough, they would increase attendance on the promotion nights more than enough to offset the potential revenue forfeited by giving the fan a free night in the suite. Third, it gives all the fans, both those who submit ideas and those who vote, a chance to feel like a part of the Mallards brand by letting them have an impact on the team’s promotional schedule. Advertising One of the biggest problems we found with the Mallards’ brand is the lack of awareness in the community. Despite the team’s community involvement, including programs such as Blades for Grades, Hat Trick for Reading, Hockey for Helping Hands, and appearances at community events, we have still spoken to many people who do not realize that the Quad Cities has a professional hockey team. We believe that we can improve general awareness by developing a new integrated marketing campaign. This campaign is designed so that it will primarily target our main concentration, males and females age 18­24, while still effectively raising general awareness throughout the Quad Cities. Analysis of the Mallards’ Current Advertising The Mallards have historically been very selective in their advertising strategy. Advertising has been done mainly at the start of the season, with the team airing commercials on Top Shelf Marketing 13 local FM radio stations. They do get a mix of markets this way, as they advertise on stations airing classic rock, pop music, and modern rock. Additionally, the Mallards occasionally buy television advertising, and they generally buy more television commercials in the week before the home opener and first month of the season. However, aside from the 2011­12 season, when they aired a series of three commercials to advertise the home opener, they rarely make heavy use of television advertising. They are more likely to use advertisements in the Dispatch/Argus and Quad City Times, especially since they get free ads in the Dispatch/Argus in exchange for free tickets to Mallards games that are given to Dispatch/Argus employees. Otherwise, the Mallards’ primary advertising avenues are very low­cost: the team’s website, their social media profiles, and in­game announcements of upcoming promotions. However, while these advertising streams are low­cost, they also are low­reward. By relying on the website, Facebook/Twitter pages, and in­game announcements to advertise promotions, the team is only speaking to the subset of fans (approximately 5,000 social media followers, the approximately 3,300 fans who attend the games, and the faithful fans who actively track the team’s website. Advertising Suggestions The marketing being done by the Mallards currently is reasonably effective in reaching out to those who already follow the team, but they could reach out to new fans more effectively. In particular, we think that the Mallards should target their advertising toward 18­24 year old males and females, who are looking for ways to have an inexpensive night out with friends. In Top Shelf Marketing 14 order to achieve this, there should be a campaign to raise awareness of the affordability of attending a Mallard’s game. Ticket prices are already affordable and specials on food and beverages are already being done to accommodate this demographic. The information is easily available on the Mallard’s website, but the team needs to develop advertising that drives traffic to their website for this information to be more effective. Both of these problems could be solved by increasing traffic to the Mallard’s official website. To meet this end, we believe the most cost efficient and effective form of advertising is to take out two series of local billboard advertisements. Billboards provide excellent exposure, as 71% of travelers ages 18 or older notice billboards, and 58% have learned about events that interested them (Williams 7­8). Using billboards would enable the team to target areas that are heavily trafficked by young adults, while still also targeting the general Quad Cities population. We have found four promising locations, each of which has heavy traffic in general and is well used by young adults. Each billboard will cost $3,689 to rent from the end of September through the end of April, with a total cost of $14,756 to run four billboards, two in Illinois and two in Iowa, for the entire season. The DECs of the billboards among adults ages 18­24 range from 19,663 to 31,380, providing excellent exposure for the Mallards2. We will have two sets of billboards3. The first series would be rolled out annually starting October 1, approximately 2­3 weeks before opening night. This series would emphasize that the Mallards in particular, and hockey in general, is back in town, using tag lines such as We’re Back, Ice Hockey, not Nice Hockey, and Ice Cold. The second series would be introduced starting January 1 to advertise the rest of the season. This series would focus on building 2
3
See Appendix C for more detailed information about the billboard campaign See Appendix D for billboard samples Top Shelf Marketing 15 excitement and showing what the Mallards are all about: Passion, Tradition, Hard Work, and One Goal (victory). These would serve to drive traffic to the website while developing the Mallards as a brand and showing the public that the Quad Cities still has a professional hockey team. Once on the website, fans will then be able to browse the promotional schedule, see the team’s low ticket prices, find information about how to buy tickets through the box office, and also have convenient links to Ticketmaster, where they can buy tickets online. We believe that having the website URL on the billboards, instead of phone numbers or other contact information, is critical, as “myqcmallards.com” is going to be far easier to see and remember than a phone number. Along with the billboards, we plan to sporadically air TV and radio commercials throughout the season, changing the spots to reflect upcoming promotions. Our plan is to target days and times when males and females ages 18­24 are most likely to be paying attention, which from our informal polls at Augustana College seems to be Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 6:00PM ­ 12:00AM. We would target TV shows that have high ratings among young adults, and radio stations that get significant attention: ROCK 104.9, B100, KISS FM 101.3, and WLLR 103.74. In order to provide a truly integrated marketing campaign, the television and radio campaigns will focus on the same keywords as the billboards. This will provide cohesion to the Mallards’ brand messaging, thereby positioning the product in fans’ minds as a professional, gritty hockey team. The main focus will be the “Ice hockey, not nice hockey” line, which is a quote for former Mallards coach Paul MacLean. This communicates the type of hockey that fans in the Quad Cities enjoy, and it also evokes memories of past success for former diehard fans. 4
See Appendix E for suggested outlines for radio and TV ads Top Shelf Marketing 16 Additional Suggestions Improving the Experience for First­Time Fans As we researched the Mallards, we noticed a lack of outreach to those who would be attending their first hockey game. Getting new fans interested is critical in making them returning buyers, and it is difficult to get fans interested if they do not know what is going on in the game. In the past, the Mallards have offered a Pucks 101 program, open only to women and costing $30 to attend (Mallards in the Community). However, the additional cost likely turned away many who would be interested. We have two suggestions for helping new fans become acclimated to hockey. First, we suggest adding a page to the website that explains the basic rules of hockey, as well as information such as the roles of the referee, linesmen, and off­ice officials. Second, we would suggest creating a brochure that would be available at the games for new fans. Guy Perry could announce before each game that fans who would like more information about the rules of hockey can go to an usher at the top of each section or visit tables behind certain sections to pick up one of these pamphlets. Communicating In­Game Promotions The Mallards offer many in­game promotions, including ticket giveaways for fans who successfully answer trivia questions, a free haircut from GreatClips given away via a video board promotion, tickets to upcoming events at the iWireless Center for the winner of on­ice challenges during intermission, and free Harris Pizza for every fan in a certain section if the Mallards score Top Shelf Marketing 17 a powerplay goal. However, until the fans go to the games, they do not know that these giveaways are available. These smaller in­game promotions do not necessarily merit their own advertising campaigns, but they could certainly be mentioned on the team’s website. This does two things for the team. First, potential fans will be more likely to pay for tickets if they see that they may well get extra bang for their buck. Second, it will give the sponsors of these promotions extra exposure, thereby giving the sponsors more return ­ and, presumably, more satisfaction ­ from their investment in the team. Advertising in Student Newspapers If the Mallards want to really reach out to the college students, they will want to consider buying advertisements in the college newspapers: the Augustana Observer, the Black Hawk Chieftain, and the Saint Ambrose University Buzz. This will provide the team with direct exposure to college students, who often are looking for inexpensive entertainment. In particular, college students frequently want to have inexpensive group outings, making them the perfect target for the Mallards. This advertising is fairly inexpensive; for example, a set of 14 front­page ads in the Augustana Observer spread throughout the school year would cost just $128 per ad (Augustana Observer Rate Card). Conclusion The team at Top Shelf Marketing believes that these changes ­ adding a new social media promotion, developing a contest for fans to submit their own promotion ideas and holding a vote Top Shelf Marketing 18 on those ideas, and creating a new integrative marketing campaign ­ will help the Mallards. The social media promotion and contest will get more fans involved and get them sharing their experience at hockey games with their friends, which will provide virtually free advertising for the team. Additionally, the marketing campaign will increase exposure to fans ages 18­24, but it is also constructed in a way that will increase exposure to the Quad Cities as a whole. These are the main goals, but we also provide suggestions for improving the experience for new fans and better communicating the extra value that can be available to fans when they buy Mallards tickets. Top Shelf Marketing 19 Appendix A Complete SWOT Analysis for the Quad City Mallards Strengths ● A new affiliation agreement with the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild should draw more players who are eager for an opportunity to gain exposure to scouts from higher leagues, may lead to borderline AA/AAA­level players being sent to the Quad Cities, and will increase interest in the team from any fans of the Minnesota Wild in the Quad Cities area. ● Both the coach and the president of the Mallards are well­known and respected in the minor league hockey world, which helps to attract high­quality players to the team. ● The team has built a solid core of diehard fans who come to games despite the turmoil. ● The franchise itself has a history of huge success, both in terms of on­ice performance and in terms of attendance, that it can draw from. For instance, last season they began to actually use the spreadsheets of ticket sales from the successful early seasons (roughly 1995­2002) to make cold­calls to try to reignite interest in fans who had not attended since the team’s “Glory Days.” ● The team has an excellent relationship with the iWireless Center despite all the recent upheaval. ● The franchise finally has owners who have stayed for more than one season, which has not happened since the Quad City Flames (a failed attempt to move to the American Hockey League, which is a higher level of hockey) folded after the 2008­2009 season. This provides reassurance to the fans, players, coaches, front office staff, and potential Top Shelf Marketing 20 corporate sponsors who had spent the past four offseasons wondering whether or not there would actually be a hockey team in the Quad Cities for the next year. ● The team has cultivated a good relationship with some of the local radio stations, particularly with the Dwyer and Michaels Show, which is one of the largest morning shows in the Quad Cities. ● They have been able to keep ticket prices low, to make it easier for fans to buy tickets and to attend multiple games in a season (although this is also a weakness ­ see the Weaknesses section for the other side of this). Weaknesses ● Until this year, the team has been unable to keep an ownership group for more than one season, which has caused an increased cynicism in the fanbase and among corporate sponsors. ● Season ticket sales have increased this summer, but they struggled the last few seasons because fans have not been confident with the assumption that there will be a team for the next season. ● There has been a rolling snowball of debt. After the failed venture to the American Hockey League, the ownership group that folded after the 2008­09 season paid off all of their $1.7 million of outstanding debt. However, since that time each new ownership group has inherited the debt built up by all the groups before them (Tappa). ● There has been at least one lawsuit over the franchise’s failure to pay off its debts and Top Shelf Marketing 21 over unmet obligations to sponsors, and at least one other lawsuit that has involved past team owners over financial irresponsibility involving the purchase of the team (Angell). ● The Mallards have only met the approximate attendance benchmark for a successful minor league hockey team (4,000 fans per game) once in the past six seasons, and the attendance numbers for that season are widely thought to have been seriously inflated. ● The team has done very little marketing outside of radio commercials for upcoming games during the radio broadcasts of the current game, making it difficult to reach potential new fans. ● Ticket prices are low compared to many entertainment options and compared to the other teams in the Central Hockey League, meaning that when the team struggles to increase attendance, their revenue from ticket sales really suffers. Opportunities ● The Quad Cities area has a population of 471,551, so there is a large potential fanbase that the Mallards can draw from (Quad Cities First). ● The Mallards are the only winter­season professional sports franchise in the Quad Cities, which would suggest that competition in the market is limited. ● There are plenty of businesses in the Quad Cities to approach about sponsorship deals or other partnerships with the team. For example, the team has a history of partnering with John Deere and Genesis Medical Systems, and the team’s highest attendance nights come Top Shelf Marketing 22 when one of these companies buys a block of tickets to distribute to employees. There are enough businesses in the Quad Cities to try to cultivate more of these relationships. Businesses can also be comfortable sponsoring the team because minor league sports tend to be oriented toward being family­friendly. ● Augustana College, Saint Ambrose University, and the community colleges provide a large number of young people eager for inexpensive entertainment options, many of whom grew up in the hockey­rich Chicagoland area. ● Other entertainment options (cinemas, theaters, etc.) have similar or more expensive tickets, so the Mallards are relatively low­cost entertainment in the area. ● An assortment of media outlets (newspapers, radio stations, billboards, and TV stations) provide outlets for expanding advertising. ● Hockey is a well­known sport that is growing in popularity Threats ● High school football and basketball are very popular in the Quad Cities, drawing attention, money, and fans away from the Mallards. ● The local minor league baseball team has been doing fairly well, so it may be drawing sports fans’ entertainment spending and businesses’ sponsorship money that would otherwise go to the Mallards. ● There are a large number of other entertainment options, from cinemas and theater companies to entertainment options such as Netflix, video gaming, social networking, etc. Top Shelf Marketing 23 ● Overall, the economy may not have recovered to a point where most people feel comfortable having a significant entertainment budget to pay for things like tickets to a Mallards game. ● Future lawsuits may cause additional financial burdens for the franchise or its owners. ● If the iWireless Center’s arena management changes, the team could lose its fantastic deal on rent for the facility. Without this deal, the team would likely rack up far greater losses. ● When it comes down to it, the Quad Cities may not be a sports market. Minor league basketball and indoor football teams have started out with great interest and then folded after the initial excitement wore off, and the baseball team has also occasionally struggled to draw fans. ● The new affiliate, the Minnesota Wild, are well­supported in Minnesota, but they are not known as a hockey powerhouse ­ they have never won a Stanley Cup ­ and they may not have much of a following in the Quad Cities. Top Shelf Marketing 24 Appendix B Complete Environmental Scan for the Quad City Mallards Social Forces ● Social networks are becoming a major source of communication. The Mallards have capitalized on this fairly well ­ their Facebook page has over 5,000 followers, and they have almost 2,000 followers on Twitter ­ but there are ways that they can better leverage their following. ● Generation Y consumers want to get an experience for their money, and especially enjoy group outings ­ things that the Mallards already provide. ● Demographics ○ Population: 471,551; 49.4% Male and 50.7% Female (Quad Cities First) ○ Median Age: 40.5 ○ Average Household Income: $60,977; Median Household Income: $48,719 Economic Forces ● The national economy recently went through a significant slowdown, causing consumers to be more careful with their spending. ● The Quad Cities economy relies heavily on the Rock Island Arsenal. If there are cuts to the federal government’s defense spending, it will have a major impact on Quad Cities households’ discretionary spending. Top Shelf Marketing 25 Technological Forces ● As consumers do more of their purchases online, they are more likely to use phones or tablets to make the purchase. Without some sort of app or an easy­to­find link from the Mallards website, it may be difficult for fans to navigate to Ticketmaster to buy tickets. ● Increasing numbers of hockey­related video games can arguably provide fans with a more immersive experience. ● For the most part, the technological forces that may impact the Mallards are limited. How consumers buy tickets and how they get to and from the game are likely the main factors that can be influenced by technological shifts. Competitive Forces ● The local baseball team has been drawing fairly well, providing competition for fans’ entertainment budgets. ● High school football and basketball games are fairly well attended, providing the Mallards with direct competition during the season. ● There are a number of other entertainment options in the Quad Cities, from theater and cinemas to bowling alleys and museums. Buyers are powerful in the market because there is little cost in switching to different entertainment options. ● One advantage the Mallards have is that setting up and marketing a new team would be incredibly expensive, limiting potential competition. Regulatory Forces ● The Mallards must adhere to league rules involving how much payroll is allotted to Top Shelf Marketing 26 players. ● Teams must provide health insurance to players. ● Teams must also provide housing to players. ● The players in the Mallards’ league are members of the Professional Hockey Players Association, which means that there are union requirements that teams must meet. ● Indirectly, they may also be affected by local, state, and federal regulations related to the iWireless Center. Top Shelf Marketing 27 Appendix C Expanded Data on Billboards Billboard 1 Location: 702 19th Avenue, Moline, IL DEC: 31,380 Reach: 125.8 Frequency: 5.6 Cost to rent for 7 months: $3,689.00 Billboard 2 Location: 3300 Utica Ridge Road, Bettendorf DEC: 25,153 Reach: 115.6 Frequency: 4.9 Cost to rent for 7 months: $3,689.00 Billboard 3 Location: 6216 Brady Street, Davenport DEC: 19,663 Reach: 103.7 Frequency: 4.2 Cost to rent for 7 months: $3,689.00 Billboard 4 Location: 1008 W 10th Avenue, Milan DEC: 27,679 Reach: 120.1 Frequency: 5.2 Cost to rent for 7 months: $3,689.00 Top Shelf Marketing 28 Appendix D Sample Billboards Top Shelf Marketing 29 Top Shelf Marketing 30 Appendix E Scripts for TV and Radio ads Radio Script: (Begins with Motorhead’s Ace of Spades playing) Announcer: We’re Back. The Quad City Mallards 2013­14 season has begun with all new deals and promotions. Visit www.myqcmallards.com or contact the Iwireless center for more information. The Quad City Mallards. We’re Back. Television Commercial Concept: The television ad will consist of a montage of shots, brutal slams, and fights by the Mallards team. Satriani Summer Song will be playing in the background and each time someone takes a hit it will be accompanied by cheering or groaning by the fans. After approximately 15 seconds, the announcer will say “Quad City Mallards. We play ice hockey. Not nice hockey.” The parting shot will be of the Mallards logo, contact information, and the date of the next home game. Top Shelf Marketing 31 Works Cited Angell, Dan. "Ex­Mallards owner sues Club 9 Sports." The Quad­City Times, 2013. Web. 30 Oct 2013. <http://qctimes.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/ex­mallards­owner­sues­club­sports/
article_6d6d5a48­075b­11e2­a574­0019bb2963f4.html>. "Demographics | Workforce in the Quad Cities | QC First." Quadcitiesfirst.com, 2013. Web. 30 Oct 2013. <http://www.quadcitiesfirst.com/demographics/>. Duggan, Maeve and Joanna Brenner. "Overview | Pew Internet & American Life Project." Pewinternet.org, 2013. Web. 30 Oct 2013. <http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Social­media­users/Social­Networking­Site­Us
ers.aspx?view=all>. HockeyDB. "Yearly attendance for the Quad City Mallards at hockeydb.com." Hockeydb.com, 2013. Web. 30 Oct 2013. <http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl­attendance/att_graph.php?x=67&y=23&tmi%5B%5D=973
1&tmi%5B%5D=10418>. Mallards in the Community. "myqcmallards.com: CHL News." Myqcmallards.com, 2013. Web. 30 Oct 2013. <http://myqcmallards.com/newsandinfo/chlnews/index.html?article_id=447>. Kerin, Roger; Hartley, Steven; and Rudelius, William.Marketing. 11th Ed. McGraw­Hill Learning Solutions, 2013. Print. Tappa, Steve. "Club 9 Sports responds to CHL's Mallards takeover." QCOnline.com, 2013. Web. 30 Oct 2013. <http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=613320>. Williams, Diane. “The Arbitron National In­Car Study.” Arbitron.com, 2009. Web. 30 Oct 2013. <http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/InCarStudy2009.pdf>