The Sponsorship Issues at Manchester Giants Basketball Club - Essay Example

BUSINESS RESEARCH AND CUNSULTANCY Table of Contents Introduction 3 Initial Experience 4 5 Feelings 10 Evaluation 11 Analysis 12 Conclusions 13 Personal Action Plan 13 References 15 Bibliography 17 Introduction Experience is not the only factor that is sufficient for a person to learn. Until and unless a person reflects upon his/her past experiences, learning is considered to be incomplete. In simple words, reflection provides opportunities to deepen learning. According to Moon (1999), reflection is a type of mental process which is applied to unstructured or complex issues that hardly have any solutions. Hence, I have decided to present a reflection of the study, which has been recently carried out by my friends and me. The study was about the sponsorship issues at Manchester Giants basketball club, based in the city of Manchester, United Kingdom. My aim of the study was to suggest the name of the companies, who can act as the potential sponsors of the club. In order to present a reflection of the study, I will make use of Gibb’s (1998) reflective cycle. With the help of reflective cycle, I will develop the structure of my reflective essay. The structure of this reflective essay will be divided into seven broad segments. I will start off with the experiences I gained while making this project. The following segments will include the description of the study, feelings associated with the project and conclusion. Finally, I will be presenting my personal action plans for the future. Moreover, I also believe that this structure and method will help me to express how this project benefitted me and how I can apply the learning’s to the professional filed. Figure 1 – The Reflective Cycle proposed by Gibbs Initial Experience The study was undertaken for the principal purpose of finding sponsors for Manchester Giants basketball club. In addition, our aim of the project was also to explore the possibilities of getting the right sponsor for the club. The study was carried out by a group of 6 and I was one of them. At the initial stage, we planned that this study will have three main parts and these parts will collectively satisfy the objective of the study. Accordingly, the objectives of the study were to gain in-depth understanding of the team, identify the existing supporter base of the team, and perform a comparative study of the sponsors of similar clubs. Finally the task of the study was ro suggest the Manchester Giants with the names of the potential sponsoring companies and an appropriate strategy in order to get sponsors. Primarily, we were a little confused about everyone’s role in the study. In simple words, we were finding difficulties in assigning or allocating the tasks among ourselves. However, we solved this issue by a small group discussion. During this session, the task for every individual was allocated. One of the positive aspects was that, we were very much confident about the outcome and that is the reason why we could assertively carry out the activities. Once the tasks were allotted, I had no doubt regarding the study, as it was based on one of my favourite subjects and I also have an immense interest in marketing. However, I felt that before going further into the study, I should reiterate some of the marketing theories, so that I can apply those concepts in the practical field. The next step in our study was to formulate an appropriate research methodology which suits the objectives of the study. Initially, we thought that a secondary research would be the best option to meet the objectives as well as to remain cost effective. Nevertheless, in my opinion, secondary research was not sufficient to meet all the objectives of the study. For example, in order to get an insight into the supporter base of the club, primary research is appropriate. In this matter our team members had a long discussion and later everybody was convinced to include primary research. Moreover, primary data is more reliable and updated. In the next half, we will be providing a detailed description of the area of study. Description As I have mentioned earlier, we had three objectives of the study; and to successfully meet those objectives appropriate research methods were designed. In the group, I was only allotted the task of making analysis of similar sports clubs like Manchester Giants and their sponsors. In addition, I have also provided the club with suggestions about the potential sponsors for the Club. I have used both primary and secondary data to reach my objectives. I have structured my study in such a way so that, it can meet the time schedule as well as tender quality information. To gain information about the sponsors of similar basketball clubs in Manchester, I have used primary research. I have collected data with the help of questionnaire survey and observations. Along with primary research, I have also carried out secondary research to a large extent. With the help of secondary research, I was able to gain insights into the sponsors of the basketball clubs, located at Manchester, UK. The secondary sources of data collection were blogs, electronic articles and company websites. In addition, I have also made use of newspapers, sports journals and social networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Orkut. In this way, we almost reached the position form where we can start to collect data directly from the market. Thus, we decided that to gain in-depth views and get closer to the subject of study, the group members would attend a match played by Manchester Giants and other local clubs. The prime intention of this activity was to know about the supporters of the club. Though this was not a part of my study, I still went to watch the game with the sole purpose of gaining more ideas about how the sponsors appeal to the audience in the stadium. I also tried to know, how these sponsor companies position their brand identity or logo in order make them visible. In this context, I also thought of collecting some primary data, regarding the sponsors of different clubs. I thought, of approaching some of the club officials, but due to security reasons I was not allowed to take their interviews. However, I got a chance to meet one of the officials from the tournament organizers who gave lots of information about the tournament’s history, participating teams and sponsors of the respective teams. Even though his information was not detailed enough to make an analysis, it acted as a foundation to my study. With such activities, I could efficiently proceed towards fulfilling my objective. My next target was to identify the sponsors of the other clubs participating in the tournament. In this regards, I luckily got the opportunity to meet the club officials. From them I got to know about the number of sponsors for each club. Along with that they also told me about the name of the companies providing sponsors for the respective clubs. This allowed me to gather data about the companies which usually invest money in the field of sports. Moreover, I can also highlight this as an important step towards the accomplishment of my goals. Once I got the required data, I organized it and summarized it in such a way that analysing became an easy task. In addition, I have also underlined the industries to which these companies belong. The principal reason behind the identification of the industries was to confirm the fact, that if a company performed certain activities, its competitors would like to repeat the same. Now, on the basis of these findings, I started to carry out secondary research. The secondary research was intended to identify the companies belonging to those industries that are located in Manchester. I thought, if I could succeed to identify the rivals of those sponsoring companies, I might discover an appropriate sponsor for the Manchester Giants basketball club. In order to identify the companies presently operating in the markets of Manchester, I browsed through the internet and visited the Manchester markets. The secondary and primary study revealed that the companies which sponsor basket ball clubs in Manchester have a large number of rivals. For example, I found that Nike sponsors Newcastle Eagles and in that market, Reebok is also operating, who is one of the biggest competitors of Nike. In addition, I also found Worcester Audi as one of the sponsors of Worcester Wolves and in the same market I found Volkswagen as an active player. Likewise, I found several such examples. Once I identified the rival companies, I prepared a list and tried to gain information about those companies. I also collected their sponsorship history to determine whether or not they can be considered as a potential sponsor for the Manchester Giants. I recorded all the relevant data about those organizations and analysed their chances of being a potential sponsor for the club. In this process, I was able to identify different terms and conditions of sponsorship. The rationale of the companies to sign sponsorship deals was also uncovered. Some of the evident reasons behind companies signing a sponsorship deal are as follows: - Most of the companies like sponsoring clubs which belong to their hometown; with this approach they can be labelled as good corporate citizens. One of the common causes is that a top executive or manager might be a huge fan of a certain sports club and thus decides to particularly sponsor that club. The employees of the company can be a fan of certain sports club and they can act as the driving factor of company’s sponsorship. The biggest cause is however to reach the target audience with the help of sponsorship. Brands of the companies also get linked with the fan base of the target club, thereby offering the company a new set of potential customers. Companies provide sponsorships so that they can gain control over the complementary tickets. They use these tickets and hospitality to entertain the existing employees and priority customers of the company. To support their brand-building. To drive the company’s business. To motivate the employees. Now on the basis of the findings from the analyses, I shortlisted some of the companies which can prove to be potential sponsors for the club. These companies were selected on the basis of their preferred customer segments. For example, companies such as Lucozade and Three appeals more to people between 16 to 25 years of age. I shortlisted the following companies: - All Age groups Argos Bose Bannatynes Health Club Over 46 years Neill & Browns Tree communications 16-25 years Lucozade Three Capital FM Key 103 Fitness First Pure Gym Y club The data collection and analysis part of the study completed with the identification of the potential sponsors of the company. Depending upon these factors, I made some recommendations for the company. Some of the evident ones are as follows: - Since Manchester Giants is a relatively a small and new club, I suggested them that they should try to develop sponsorship proposals which includes the various facilities and advantages that a company will gain from sponsoring them. In addition to that I also suggested the club to implement technologies for the purpose of evaluating sponsorship management. Feelings In this section of the study I will be stressing on my feelings about the study. Throughout the process of finding a potential sponsor for the basketball club, Manchester Giants, I had differing reactions and feelings. During the initiation of the project I was a little confused and frightened about the study’s progress. However, all our group members were definite that the outcome will be as per the expectations. As the study progressed, I became more confident and started working according to the schedule. There were times when I felt a little nervous, but with the support of my team members, I was able to overcome it. However, when the research process started, I got relaxed, especially when all the group members discussed together, about how the objectives of the study will be fulfilled. With the help of Gantt chart Schwalbe (2010), I created an activity schedule which helped me throughout the course of the study. According to Kongstvedt (2001), Gantt chart is extremely helpful in scheduling the activities and communicating the same with the team members. Moreover, a number of scholars stated that Gantt chart is essential for planning activities and tracking the progress of each tasks (Langabeer, 2008; Mosley, Pietri and Mosley, 2010). Evaluation In the evaluation part, I will be highlighting what was good and bad about the experience that I gained. One of the most disappointing incidents occurred when I went to the ground with the other group members, to watch the match between the Manchester Giants and another club. During this event I was supposed to collect some information about sponsorships from the club officials of Manchester Giants, but I was terribly frustrated when the security personnel did not allow me to meet the officials. However, I got the opportunity to meet one of the members of the tournament organizing committee. Overall, I can say that it was a good learning experience for me and I also feel that this experience will surely help me a lot in the near future. Moreover, I also feel that the study related to the finding of sponsors for the Manchester Giants went well and the feedbacks I received were also positive. All the team members of our project stated that they enjoyed the entire process. Interestingly, the team members noticed that I have high levels of enthusiasm and good communication skills. One of the team members also stressed that my interaction with other team member played a major role in completing the project successfully. Nevertheless, I believe rather than concentrating on my strong points I should put emphasis on my weak areas. While doing the study I was able to determine some of my weak areas. Therefore I have decided to overcome these weaknesses by seeking help from the senior team members and my tutors. Analysis It is evident that all the team members including me have enjoyed the study and gained something positive from it, but it is also true that at the initial stages of the research every member had some issues with the allocation of responsibilities and scheduling of the activities. I can relate this occurrence with the concept provided by Corey (2011) regarding the working of a team. There was also a little bit of confusion among the team members, regarding the cost associated with the project. In the similar manner a number of scholars have stated about the problems or issues associated with a team work (Shulman, 2009; Robson, 2002; Miller, 2009). Some of the members of the team stated that we should conduct the study in an economical way, but others believed that remaining cost effective might negatively impact the outcome of the study. However, after having a few sessions regarding this issue we decided to accomplish the study in such a way that it does not involve high costs, but at the same time provide good results. Hence, rather than completing the study in an economical way we tried to complete it in a cost efficient way. This decision was taken with help of the concept stated by Iris A. Hauswirth about cost efficiency and economical way of doing a project (Hauswirth, 2006). I feel that in order to complete a project successfully, all the team members need to have good coordination among them. In the similar way, as we developed good coordination among ourselves, we hardly had any issues later. The process became smoother and ultimately we were able to achieve what we wanted to. As pointed out by Funnell, Koutoukidis and Lawrence (2008), coordination among team members is the most crucial element towards the completion of a study. Conclusions The feedbacks that I received from the tutors as well as from the seniors were positive. Therefore, I can mark this as a successful study. The aim of the study was to find appropriate sponsors for the basketball Club, Manchester Giants. After carrying out the study, we were able to find a number of potential sponsors. On the basis of requirements of a club and sponsorship history of the companies we have suggested the names of some companies to the club. In addition we have also suggested about how to retain those sponsors and attain new ones. Apart from helping Manchester Giants by suggesting the probable list of sponsors, I was also benefitted to a large extent as I was able to develop my communication skills, learn how to schedule a project and monitor it till the end. Most importantly, I also learned how to work within a group and how to enhance coordination among the group members. Hence, this study has helped me to acquire new skills also. Thus, from an overall viewpoint it can be concluded that this project allowed me to learn a number of new things and I believe that these will help me in the future. Personal Action Plan In the context of my personal action plan, I believe that I need to focus on my weak areas to and overcome them. In addition, I also believe that the strong areas need to be strengthened further. While doing the study, I faced difficulties to conduct primary research due to less experience; that is why I decided to attend a certified course on primary research techniques. Furthermore, we have only used MS-Excel to conduct the data analysis. However, I believe that software packages such as SPSS and SAS could have offered better results. Therefore, I have also decided to learn some of the analytical software tools. References Corey, G., 2011. Theory and Practice of Group Counselling. 8th ed. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Funnell, R., Koutoukidis, G., and Lawrence, K., 2008. Tabbners Nursing Care: Theory and Practice. 5th ed. Victoria: Elsevier Australia. Hauswirth, I. A., 2006. Effective and Efficient Organisations? Berlin: Springer. Kongstvedt, P. R., 2001. The Managed Health Care Handbook. 4th ed. Alphen aan den Rijn: Aspen Publishers. Langabeer, J. R., 2008. Health Care Operations Management: A Quantitative Approach to Business and Logistics: A Quantitative Approach to Business and Logistics. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Miller, K., 2009. Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes. 5th ed. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Moon, J., 1999. Learning Journals: A handbook for academics, students and professional development. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Mosley, D. C., Pietri, P. H., and Mosley, D., 2010. Supervisory Management. 8th ed. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Robson, M., 2002. Problem Solving in Groups. 3rd ed. Hampshire: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Schwalbe, K., 2010. Information Technology Project Management. 6th ed. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Shulman, L., 2009. The Skills of Helping Individuals, Families, Groups and Communities. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Bibliography 1. Assenmacher, K., 2011. Reflective Writing. Munich: Grin Verelag. 2. Bolton, G., 2006. Reflective Practice: Writing and professional Development. 2nd ed. London: SAGE. 3. Cowie, B., and Bell, B., 1999. A Model of Formative Assessment in Science Education. Assessment in Education, 6, p.101–116. 4. De Bono, E., 1985. Six Thinking Hats London. London: Routledge. 5. Parbold, L., 1998. Feedback from Newly-Qualified Adult Education Teachers, Journal of Teacher Training, 12 (3), pp.23-38. Read More