Reviewing the Marketing Mix Based on Ironman and TransRockies - Case Study Example

?Ironman v/s TransRockies-The Marketing mix Introduction: TransRockies Inc. has been organizing for-profit events and is an exact copy of the event known as the TransAlps. The paper begins with analyzing the Ironman’s use of the marketing mix and explains how TransRockies Inc. operate with applying the previously understood concepts. The TransRockies Challenge has been able to maintain its uniqueness, and has thus become more and more stable with each running. The company uses two major ways of marketing itself; one is the cycling publications, and the other is the endorsements and price level for the customers, which is only for those who are willing to fully commit to the race, and thus own it. Despite the fact that the costs remain high for the event, it is the emotional commitment to the challenge that surpasses all prices. The marketing mix thus evolved over time, has consequently enabled the companies to recognize factors that can cost higher price in return of the already present goods and services. Therefore, the current paper critically analyzes Ironman’s use of the marketing mix, and examines its application in comparison with TransRockies. First, the paper will illustrate the evolving role of marketing in these two companies. As an individual from Ironman, the company’s firm belief is on the experience and relationships. The company is of the belief that life and business both need to be tasted equally. Factors, besides the previously mentioned, such as value, works as one of the best tools that brings together people and products. As an Ironman, competitiveness is at the top, and thus the client base is all about those who have interest in the Ironman competitions, marathons, and off road cycling as well (Ironman). This paper will be discussing and examining the Ironman’s use of the marketing mix, which is the basis of marketing planning (Gronroos, 1989) and analyzing its application in comparison with TransRockies. In doing so, the product, price, place, and promotion are all mixed up into two words; securing the product and the financial sponsorships. As far as the relationship of Ironman and its marketing is concerned, most of the successful marketing is dependent upon the performance of the athlete, and the fact that his or her performance is able to hand the logos and products of the company a good disclosure. The athlete in this case, would be the one who would mostly finish at the top three positions of the event, because always finishing on the top can be regarded as a case of Utopia. While there may be many discussions and debates over the correct use of word for an individual from the triathlon community, it is an established fact that the tactic provided above holds useful in the age of tight budgets (Epstein). With that established, it becomes imperative to consider as to how one must keep generating revenue, increase the potential of sponsorship of the triathlete, and maintain his or her foothold in the field of this sport. One of the basic challenges to consider of the marketing mix, especially in this context, is the fact that these triathletes, hence the target market, never become a team, and thus, have separate performances. More specifically, they do not relate to any unions or associations, since they do not have any fixed salaries, they also do not have any inclination towards the collective-bargaining agreements. Therefore, the target market for Ironman earns money through two ways; the races and the sponsorships. Certainly, the races represent the money that is purely due to the challenging races played by the athletes themselves; where it has been a general observation that the agents do not ask for a percentage, the sponsorships speak otherwise. The money from sponsorships are basically from the contracts that prove as a highly attractive market for those companies whose goal is to make money. This area of serious sport is very beneficial to nearly every sports marketer, because it represents three sports that are swimming, biking, and running (Getz and McConnell, 2011). In such a scenario, it is easier for sports marketers to gain sponsorships from a number of companies as the base is broadened (Stebbins, 1992). Analyzing Ironman with TransRockies, it is imperative to understand that the two of these are a bit different from each other. More specifically, the types of athletes that can excel in both are far less than the one who cannot. In such a scenario, if the aim is going for a sponsorship, then it is imperative that the chosen ones are from the cult of above stated few. Obviously, the marketing mix for both the companies is somewhat the same. As far as the promotion is concerned, Ironman’s success in its triathlons is the broadcasts provided by the NBC television. The broadcasts are done every year when the Ironman Triathlon World Championships are conducted. This means that not any other event is broadcasted on such a huge scale; that is obviously an exception until the Olympic Games (Universal sports network). Evidently, those who truly sponsor require a good return for themselves for the advertising investment. Organizations also try to grab marketing sponsors from the outside and when that happens, a lot of ‘no thank you(s)’ and overall rejections are experienced. Therefore such types of sponsorships can only be attained before or after Olympics. Once it has been attained however, contract is written where the main focus is on performance and the salary. Coming over to the TransRockies Inc, the whole idea behind TransRockies Inc. was to conduct an event known as TransRockies Challenge. Beginning in 2006, TransRockies Inc. has been organizing for-profit events and is an exact copy of the event known as the TransAlps. The event, thus known as the TransRockies Challenge is carried out for a whole week, just like the earlier mentioned European event, and covers more than 600km of trails within the 7 day challenge. The event also manages to cover over 12,000m of elevation gain which is carried from the Fernie, British Columbia to places like Canmore, Alberta. With the earlier mentioned ending in the year 2006, from the year 2007, the event moved on to the Province of British Columbia (TransRockies events). According to Getz & McConnell (2008), the main reason behind the TransRockies Challenge to shift entirely to this place was the limitations placed on a large number of participants by Alberta Parks. With such a development from 2007, the TransRockies Challenge, however, returned to the course in Alberta. Of course this time, it was conducted on a different course with 400km (Getz & McConnell, 2008). The gist of the event: After analyzing the Ironman’s use of the marketing mix, it is viable to understand how TransRockies Inc. operate with applying the previously understood concepts. The TransRockies Challenge begins when the complete lot of participants initiates their ride at the beginning of the day. As far as the scores are concerned, the overall score card is based upon the average of time of every stage that is further divided in days. The for-profit event begins in one town and ends in a town as well, but the rest of the event is carried out at wilderness camps. This is the responsibility of the event organizers of the TransRockies Inc. The challenge is also separated into seven groups that revolve around participants from categories of various ages and genders, while also catering to mixed teams. At the end of the event, a cash purse is divided between winners. The Mix: Product: The TransRockies Challenge, a product of the TransRockies Inc., aims to become (and is) one of the world’s most exigent and testing mountain bike race. The event thereby focuses on attracting and retaining paying participants. When the product is brought under discussion, it can be easily stated that the challenge is for those who seek a challenging experience that in the end is self-fulfilling in every consumer’s own way. Since its inception, the TransRockies Challenge has been able to maintain its uniqueness and has thus become more and more stable with each running (Getz & McConnell, 2008). Promotion: As far as the promotion is concerned, the TransRockies Inc. uses two major ways of marketing itself; one is the cycling publications, and the other is the endorsements, which include well known faces from the cycling community and can thus be labeled as high-profile figures. Therefore, the TransRockies Challenge relies mainly on the word of mouth because of the fact that the participants, that are the customers as well, need to be prepared for the race. Therefore, the TransRockies Challenge effectively manages to maintain the bridge between its customers and itself, and maintains the share of its target market by communicating when it will be launched, so that the customers can prepare and plan for the event well in time. According to statistics, the year of 2006 recorded the participation of partakers of more than 50 percent from outside of Canada (Yair, 1986). Price: The TransRockies Challenge is all about commitment and enthusiasm. Thus, the event is very efficiently able to maintain its exclusivity that is given a certain amount of positioning in the minds of its customers. It has been observed that the event requires three kinds of commitments by the participants, and hence the consumers; personal, financial, and emotional. Considering the price level for the customers, it is easy to establish that the level set is only for those who are willing to fully commit to the race, and thus own it. Beginning with the financial commitment, other than the cost related to travel, the event also costs for additional equipment, accommodation, and of course the entry. In numbers the event costs its customers the dollar figures of $500, $600 and $1,300—$3,000 per person in approximation (Getz & McConnell, 2008). Other than the figures, the cost of investment of time is also one of the biggest factors of the event. The investment revolves around training, since one needs to be professionally aware of the hows and whys of such serious sport that takes more energy than any other sport (Major, 2011). Also known as the personal commitment, one more factor that needs to be considered, if viewing the world from the customer’s eyes, is the factor of support. It has been observed that one needs to state a support member, which is the individual who provides support during the event. Despite the fact that the costs remain high for the event, it is the emotional commitment to the challenge that surpasses all prices. The barriers to entry can only be broken by those who have enough money to dispose, and have the time and urge to experience it. Thus labeled as the TransRockies’ target market, the customers contain the highest motivation ever. According to the company itself, the participants sometimes find it tedious, and may even regret being in the race, but the motivation remains so strong that by the end of the week, regret and fear are taken over by elevated moods and satisfaction as their true nature is served. This is so, because the target market for the challenge is the one that consists of individuals who are slaves to personal accomplishment as well as personal standing. Place: At the TransRockies Inc., it is all about maintaining communication with the customers, suppliers, and those that directly benefit the company. The full event is carried out to provide an exhilarating experience whilst its execution, as a customer once attracted should soon become a customer for life. The challenge manages to provide a high level of services that revolves around good food, bike tune-up facilities, and showers, along with a support of safety and medical. The exceptional customers, the ones that win the challenge, are provided with trophies and are thus recognized. When the race is about to end, TransRockies Inc. realizes that the participants must leave with a feeling of exuberance that should act as a tool to bring them back. Thus, in order to keep the spirits up and maintain the motivation, a video from the day’s race is played. TransRockies Inc. thus aims to develop a brand community (Getz & McConnell, 2008). The use and application of marketing mix, thus developed for both of the companies, can be summarized in the following lines: The mix generated has very efficiently managed to consider the customers, their thoughts, beliefs, and motivating factors. The mix is not entirely customer centric but does consider the customer behavior. The mix very effectively manages to cater to the relationships that are built through sound interactions. The mix is not passive at all. The marketing mix is not only about the management; it is about creating a community and is therefore not completely void of theoretical content (Wright and Dimsdale, 1974), (Goi, 2009). The marketing activities of both of these companies very effectively deal with the personification of marketing activities. Where at one end it is all about sports, the companies and their mix generally also focus on the traditional factors of service marketing (Fakeideas, 2008), (Goi, 2009). It effectively manages to cater to the relationship building and therefore achieves through creating a lifetime experience of the customer. The marketing done by these companies is a bit of both; the marketers are the central element and the customer-focused management (Goi, 2009) It can also be established that the athletes of this sport have a frame of middle class orientation and therefore relate to the worth of the community with the fact of suffering related to sport. If the market of these companies is further examined, their way of marketing is greatly influenced by the athletes. To complete the cycle, the athletes are further influenced by life histories individuals bring into sports. Considering sports, social patterns, and relationships - all of these cannot be separated and are thus directly related to each other (Atkinsona, 2008). As far as its role in the CSR is concerned, the TransRockies challenge has always been able to create awareness regarding several issues with the help of the race. For example, the inclusion of MitoCanada team in the race to highlight the awareness regarding the Mitochondrial disease, is one step which affects one in five thousand individuals. The race includes them with their own uniforms and gears. There have been various propositions for creating a separate team MitoCanada. Other examples are the Applied’s solar marketing team where CSR is not viewed as charity, rather an investment to the society (McLaughlin, 2011). Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that this for-profit event is unique, iconic, and different from other non-serious sports and that it has dealt with marketing as a means of science (Jones and Monieson, 1990). Since these types of events are very expensive, the market has somewhat higher frequency of males as they have been found to be better educated with high income. It has also been found that these companies have very effectively generated branding and uniqueness that has now generated appeal for a vast audience. The challenge, now, for the companies, is way more than just considering the place. The people participating in the event consist of individuals who have a vast experience in traveling as well as participating in such events with a broad approach towards sports tourism in general. Such events are therefore life changing, and manage to act as a tool of changing self-concept. This statement can be justified by the study by Granskog (2003), in which it was established through the case of Axelsen (2009) that events like triathlon have acted as ways of inculcating wholeness as well as self-actualization. An anorexic patient in the past, Axelsen had been involved in a cycle of regret and limited goals, which was dealt with rigorous practices that actually gave her something to look forward to. Triathlon thus became a part of her life (Axelsen, 2009). The complete idea of these kinds of events provided by the two companies has very efficiently managed to consider the implications of expertise as well as transformations. The marketing mix thus enabled the companies to recognize factors that can cost higher price in return of the already present goods and services, identify the resources that would lead to fast growth, continuously monitor the service provided in order to command a distinct price, and provide experiential transformation to identify the true essence of their business (Gilmore and Pine, 1997). References: Atkinsona, M., 2008,“Triathlon, suffering and exciting significance”, Leisure Studies, a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK, 27:2, 165-180 Axelsen, M., 2009,The Power of Leisure: “I was an Anorexic; I’m Now a Healthy Triathlete”, School of Tourism, The University of Queensland, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, Leisure Sciences, 31: 330–346 Epstein, A., “Marketing the Triathlete”, The Sports Journal, united sports academy, Accessed April16th, 2012 Fakeideas, 2008.“Revision: Reviewing the Marketing Mix”. 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