Bendigo Spirit Basketball Club Sponsorship - Case Study Example

Bendigo Spirit Basketball Club Sponsorship Proposal Name Institution Date Word Count Table of Contents Introduction 5 Cover Letter 6 Sports Property 8 Target Markets 9 Promotional Plan 10 Benefits 10 Creative Leverage 11 Budget, Investment and Evaluation 12 Marketing Plan 12 Bullseye 12 SWOT Analysis 12 Pest Analysis 13 Competitor analysis 14 Mission/Vision/Key Objectives 14 Target Markets 14 Inventory of Assets 14 References 16 Executive Summary Bendigo Spirit Basketball Club (BSBC) is based Bendigo, in the central region of Victoria. The club plays their home games at Bendigo Stadium. The club became the 9th Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) club after it was approved to enter the 2007/2008 season. The team is based in Bendigo region which has a population of 71,000 people and it has a solid support from the media, local businesses, and the community (WNBL, 2016). The town of Bendigo has a strong reputation for basketball, especially in the local leagues and associations. The Bendigo Spirit won the WNBL championships in 2012/2013 and the 2013/2014 seasons. In the 2014/2015 championships, they were runners-up. This is a sponsorship proposal to Sportmans Warehouse (2016) for the 2016-17 season. The proposed promotion package is 'Game Night Partner and Season Box Package' where Sportsman Warehouse will enjoy the following benefits as outlined in the website (“Bendigo Spirit Sponsorship”, 2016) for the game sponsored, the sponsor will get exclusive naming rights for one game night as well as promotional advertising which is worth $5000. BSBC will also provide major signage at the sponsored game night. The company will also get four-seater for the whole season which includes four home games. In addition, the company’s signage will be placed at the front of the corporate box for the whole season free of charge. Additionally, there will be our VIP passes to half-time function for the full season with additional 20 general tickets for the sponsored game night. Additionally, the company will receive 20 VIP passes to half-time function for the game night sponsored. The company will also get invitations to BSBC sponsor functions, it will have priority access to home finals as well as recognition on the front and back recognition on the program of the sponsored game night. Additionally, the company will get a full page advertisement on the game night program. The Court Announcer on the sponsored game night will also give a promotional read. The company will also enjoy the opportunity to run in-game promotion or have product giveaway on the sponsored game night. Finally, the company will get promotion as an official BSBC sponsor and will be listed on the Bendigo Spirit website (WNBL, 2016).   Bendigo Spirit Basketball Club Sponsorship Proposal Introduction This Sponsorship proposal aims at soliciting funds for Bendigo Spirits Basketball Club from the Sportsmans Warehouse, sports and fitness apparel, equipment and accessories retail organization with stores in Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria, and New South Wales. The proposal will include a cover letter to the sponsor and a discussion of major issues pertinent to sponsorship which include; a profile of the organization, marketing plan, benefits promotional plan and inventory assets. Cover Letter 25 May 2016 Sajat Mahajan Sportsmans Warehouse Holding Pty Limited ABN: 30008586785 20 Whylla Street Fyshwick ACT 2609 Australia Dear Mr. Mahajan, My name is (INSERT NAME), a representative of the Bendigo Spirit Basketball Club, based in Bendigo, Victoria. We would like to ask you to consider becoming our sponsor for the 2015/2016 season. We have the Game Night Partner and Season Box Sponsorship Package which is packed with benefits for Sportsmans Warehouse. Bendigo Spirits plays in the Women’s National Basketball League. It enjoys strong support from the community, the media and the local businesses in Bendigo. The team has been playing in the WNBL since 2007, we won the WNBL championships in the 2013/2014 and 201/2014 seasons and in the 2014/2015 season, we finished as runners-up. In the current season (2016/2017) our objective is to claim back the WNBL championship title. The club also needs to add an import and home-grown player in the club. The Sponsorship package involves sponsoring the club for the season as well as one game night sponsorship. The package will bring marketing and promotional benefits for Sportsmans Warehouse. Your company will enjoy the following benefits; • “ $5000 exclusive naming rights branding of promotional advertising or one game night. • Major signage at the game night sponsored • Four-seater box for the whole season • Free signage in front of the corporate box for the whole season • 4 VIP passes to half-time function for the entire season with additional 20 tickets for the game night you sponsor as well as 20 VIP passes to half-time function or the night sponsored • Invitations to Bendigo Spirit sponsor functions • Priority access to home finals • Game night program recognition on both the front and back page on the sponsored night • A full page advertisement in the game night program • Promotional read by the Court Announcer on the game night • Opportunity to have in-game promotion/product giveaway during the sponsored night game • Promotion as an official Bendigo Spirit Sponsor and listing on the club’s website” (“Bendigo Spirit Promotion”, 2016, online) Your investment in the game night and the season will be repaid many times over as a result Sportsmans Warehouse ability to identify and cultivate clients and customers sales. We highly hope that you are willing to consider sponsoring us. I also welcome the opportunity to further discuss the details of this sponsorship as well as the cost of the sponsorship. I will follow-up through the phone to see if you have questions regarding the sponsorship package or the club and to take this proposal to the next step. Thank you for your consideration Sincerely. Sports Property Bendigo Spirit is based in the regional city of Bendigo, in the central region of Victoria approximately 150 kilometres north of Melbourne. The team plays its home games at Bendigo Stadium. The team was approved to join the WNBL in 2007. Formerly it was called the Bendigo Braves and it used to play in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) and the Australian Basketball Association (ABS) and enjoyed successes at this level. They played their national championship game in their home court and won. Since then, they have gone on to win the 2013/2014 and 2013/2014 WNBL championships and finished runner-up in the 2014/2015 season. The 2015/2016 season was a tough one for the team after finishing 6th in the championships. Following, this inconsistency, the team’s coach Pritchard aims at recruiting one or two players and to add pressure to the existing members. It also has the goals of adjusting the contracts and realigning their budget (“Bendigo Bank Spirit Identify Key Player Needs”, 2016). One of the reasons cited for the club’s loss in the 2015/2016 season losses is the absence of their key scorer Kesley Griffin. However, the team performance had quality individual performances. The coach noted that the team enjoyed a big support from the Bendigo people and the club’s presence in schools has increased (“Bendigo Bank Spirit Identify Key Player Needs”, 2016). With more sponsorship, the team will be able to handle its budget as well as afford more players. Bendigo Spirits has since signed Kerry Harrington for the 2016-17 season which has increased the team’s prospects of doing well in the current season. The coach says his goals are building the team as well as the club and expects to sign more players (“Kerryn Harrington re-signs with the Bendigo Bank Spirits”, 2016). The season will involve participating in home games as well as in the WNBL championships. The team plays and trains in Bendigo Stadium, their home court. Target Markets According to Pedersen, Milock and Laucella (2007) market segmentation is the most important feature or targeting consumers by understanding their product usage, demographics, and psychographics. We target females, males and families with children. Although the club targets people outside of Bendigo, it concentrates on the local community because of its proximity to the club's home court. Bendigo Spirits targets the local community, which includes men, women and children, as well as the local businesses. Bendigo has a population of 71,000 people and has a strong reputation of basketball. Therefore, the club targets support from sports lovers, youths looking for sports entertainment, and households. Demographics – the club targets children and adults. School going children benefit from holiday camps and training. Bendigo membership covers both children and adults. Middle to high-income earners of all professions is our major targets. Basically, demographically, the club targets households where both parents and children can participate Psychographic characteristics of the target market include people with an interest in sports and fitness which is a great opportunity for Sportsmans Warehouse. It is likely that people with an interest in what the sports is offering to be more attracted to its events (Kaser & Oelkers, 2008). Above all, as Graham, Neiratti, and Goldblatt (2001) say sport is universal and it its appeal cuts across all social, language and religious barriers, thus it is has attractive marketing opportunities. Promotional Plan Graham et al. (2001) note that gone are the days when sports events could be held without much marketing and promotional activities. In the present day, a sports event should be made special in a way that it offers overall value to the fans. Bendigo Spirt has an online presence where it promotes major seasons’ events. Currently, the club is selling membership using last season prices, which is an added incentive. The membership package include adult, concession, child and family membership packages. Apart from promotion on the website, Bendigo uses social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – to network and promote its season’s events. In addition, Bendigo has several sponsorship packages that allow for different firms to sponsor single events or the entire season (“Bendigo Spirit Sponsorship,” 2016). The club also uses newsletters to promote the season’s news and major events. Additionally, it hold sponsors and membership events. The clubs participation with schools also spreads its publicity to a wider reach. Benefits Game Night Partner and Season Box Package is a strategic it for Sportmans Warehouse. Sportsmans Warehouse targets sports and fitness lovers which is the kind of audience Bendigo Spirit attracts. Main characteristics of your target audience is men, women and children, which is similar to Bendigo Spirits target audience of households. According to Sportsmans Warehouse website (Sportsmans Warehouse, 2016), the company targets community and local sporting and fitness groups. This sponsorship package presents with the opportunity of reaching a community club with a local standing. Here, your company has the opportunity of reaching our fans, spectators, players, volunteers, management and the schools Bendigo Spirit reaches. In addition, with our support and presence in the media, your company is bound to reach a further national audience. One of your core values is to inspire sporting, physical activity and an active lifestyle. This message can reach more people through the signage, promotional advertising and the Court Announcer mentions benefits of the proposed sponsorship package. The package also allows you to have in-game promotion and product give-away during the sponsored night (“Bendigo Spirit Promotion”, 2016); this is in line with your objective of promoting a healthy active lifestyle. It is more convincing to match your philosophy with action, thus, sponsoring Bendigo Spirits will not only show your support through selling people the products but also through supporting Creative Leverage Sportsmans Warehouse (2016) needs connections to market and make sales for both the sporting and fitness clothing. In addition, the company needs to reach grass root sports and fitness groups. Partnering with Bendigo Spirit will not only give you this opportunity, it will give you connections to teams in other sports like football and volleyball. This is especially because Bendigo stadium supports all these sports. The networking opportunity this sponsorship offers will increase the company’s sales and provide opportunities for more growth. According to Irwin et al (2002) personal contact with stakeholders achieves more than promotional objectives, it builds goodwill and generates sales. Your investment in the game night and the season will be repaid many times over as a result Sportmans Warehouse ability to identify and cultivate clients and customers sales. Budget, Investment and Evaluation The Game Night Partner and Season Box Package involves two payment schedules; one for one game night and the other one for the season partnership. Both are cash investments but arrangements but the season box plan can include in-kind promotional support of sports and training equipment. In turn Bendigo Spirit will provide benefits like branding and promotion valued at $5000, major signage, and in-game promotions among others as described by WNBL (2016). This partnership will be a success because it is a season’s promotion which gives the opportunity of evaluation and the season progresses. Marketing Plan Bullseye Bullseye refers commercial value, preference and perception of a brand (Gaines, 2009). Bendigo Spirit Bullseye – ‘Keeping the Spirit High’ SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis will involve a critical look at the population size, target audience, location of the events, date, time, volunteers, personnel and the ultimate budget (Graham et al., 2001). In this case it will involve both a game night and Bendigo Spirit activities in the 2016-17 season. Strengths: Bendigo Spirit has a huge support of the local Bendigo community, has a well-equipped stadium and has successfully participated in the WNBL championships. In addition to having one of the best scorers (Kesley Griffin), it has won the WNBL championships thrice and finished runners-up in one. Our membership program has been successful in ensuring that we have as many people supporting our events as possible. Our participation with the youth and schools attracts households in the team. The weaknesses of the team at the moment is not having enough key players. In addition, the team does not have enough funding to adjust players’ contracts and pay competitively. Furthermore according to the coach, the team has been inconsistent and resulted in doing not so well in the 2015/2016 season. The Club has great opportunities for the current season. Although the last season was a difficult one, there were key performances by individual members and Kesley Griffin was recognized as the WNBL all-star for the second time. In addition, the team has acquired new players like Kerryn Harrington and seeks to acquire more. Bendigo Spirit is also set to enter TV deal that will air game nights in free to air channels. There is an opportunity to market to the players, management, other sponsors and the media The team faces threats in competition especially from the teams that defeated us last season. It also faces potential financial threats as well as potential injuries to key players. Pest Analysis Political factors that could affect the team include legislation issues for imported players, taxation and regulation issues. In addition, the 2015/2016 experienced hostilities between the board and the coach (Bourke, 2015). Economic factors significant to this season include funding and sponsorship for both the club and players. Social economic factors – the club enjoyed has continually enjoyed support from the local community. Majority of the population is young people. Bendigo community is rich in basketball tradition. Technological innovation is bound to affect this teams activities this season. Use of apps and social media that updates funs of the clubs activities has already taken shape with many clubs. Competitor analysis Bendigo Spirit does not face major competition especially in support from the community since it the only regionally based team that is competing in the national championship. However, it faces competition in the team which has resulted to its drop from first-runners up to position 6 in the last season. The club also faces competition for players from other teams in the WNBL. Mission/Vision/Key Objectives The club aims at participating in and winning major competitions and WNBL championships while supporting budding players and school basketball activities. The major objectives include; soliciting for funds through memberships and sponsorships, hiring new local and imported players, pushing and training the players in preparation for the championships. Target Markets The club targets households (parents and their children), men, women and children who are sports and fitness lovers both in Bendigo and nationally. Inventory of Assets 1. Physical Assets The club has the Bendigo Stadium which is its home court. Signage can be placed here and reach the local people especially because Sportsman Warehouse has a retail outlet in Victoria 2. Promotional Materials The club will provide $5000 exclusive naming rights and promotional advertising A corporate box that is four seater for the whole season and a signage inform of the corporate box. In addition, game night program recognition on the front and back and a full page advert on the same program. Furthermore the company will get promotional read by the court announcer and have the chance to do in-game promotion and product give-away. 3. Tickets and luxury boxes Bendigo Spirt will offer priority access to home finals, provide four seater corporate box for the whole season and invite Sportmans Warehouse to all sponsor and major events. The club will also provide 4 VIP passes to half-time function for the whole season and 20 passes for one game night (“Bendigo Spirit Promotion”, 2016). In addition, it will offer general tickets to the company. References Baker, E. R. & Esherick, C. (2013) Fundamentals of Sport Management. Human Kinetics, Illinois. Bourke, A. (2015). Bendigo Spirit Presentation Night. Bendigo Advertiser, May 26, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/2941620/bendigo-spirit-presentation-night/ Gaines, A. (2009). Building a Better Bulls Eye. Retail Merchandiser, 49(4), 16-21 Graham, S., Neiratti, L.D., and Goldblatt, J.J. (2001). The Ultimate Guide to Sport Marketing. McGraw-Hill, New York. Irwin, R.L., Sutton, W.A., and MC'.Carthy, L.M. (2002). Sports Promotion and Sales Management. Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois. Kaser, K. & Oelkers, D. B. (2008). Sports and Entertainment Marketing, 3ed. Thomson Learning Inc. USA. Pedersen, P. Miloch, K. & Laucella, P. (2007). (2007). Strategic sport communication. Human Kinetics, Illinois. Sportsman Warehouse (2016). Our story. Retrieved 25 May 2016, from http://sw.com.au/our-story/ WNBL. (2016). Kerryn Harrington re-signs with the Bendigo Bank Spirit. http://wnbl.com.au/bendigo_news/kerryn-harrington-re-signs-with-the-bendigo-bank-spirit/ Bendigo Bank Spirit 2007-2015. http://wnbl.com.au/bendigo/club-history/ Bendigo Spirit sponsorship retrieved 24 May, 2016 from http://wnbl.com.au/bendigo/sponsorship/ Read More