Marketing Plan

Sports Marketing - SPB 4712 Fall 2020 USF

Kelley Harte, Christian Yee,

Connor Kasprik, Carson Sacco

11/24/2020
 Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………........Page 2

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...…......Page 3

Swot Analysis

- Strengths and Weaknesses…………………………………………………………...…...Page

- Opportunities and Threats……………………………………………………………......Page 5

- Competitive Analysis…………………………………………………………………....Page 6

Customer Analysis and Target Market Identification

- Customer Analysis……………………………………………………………………...Page 8

- Target Market……………………………………..…………………………...…….....Page 9

Marketing Goals and Objectives…………………………………………………………...Page 10

Marketing Tactics…………………………………………………………...……………...Page 11

- USF Student Tickets…………………………………………………………………...Page 11

- Youth Sports Night.………………………………..…………………………...……...Page 11

- Tampa Bay Rays Night...…………………………………………………………..…...Page

12

- The Rowdies App..………………………………..…………………………….….....Page 13

- Field Day in Tampa Bay…………………………………………………….……..…...Page 13

- Dollar Beer Night……...…………………………..………………………….…….....Page 14

Implementation and Control………..…………………………………...………………....Page 15

- Action Plan #1..………………………………..…………………….………….….....Page 15

- Action Plan #2……………………………………………………………..……..…...Page 15

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- Action Plan #3……...…………………………..…………………....……….…….....Page 16

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 Executive Summary
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are a professional soccer team located in St.Petersburg, Fl. The

Rowdies were officially Tampa Bay’s first professional sports team and are now owned by the

Tampa Bay Rays. This organization strives to facilitate the spread of soccer with the local

community on a professional and youth level. The main customers for the Rowdies include

youth soccer players, families, socializers (as we call them), and people who are just a fan of the

actual sport. The target market for the Rowdies are typically young men and young families.

There are good things that the Rowdies do well as an organization, but there are also some

threats and weaknesses that need more of the organizations focus in order to enhance the

Rowdies success. Over the past couple seasons, the Rowdies have not turned a profit by the end

of it. This was one of the main goals and a huge focus when creating this marketing plan. In

order to do this we have to adjust our focus to other goals and objectives that could help the

Rowdies reach their overall goal. Increasing overall ticket sales, increasing overall engagement,

and increasing awareness in the local community will help the Rowdies finally turn a profit.

With Tampa Bay being such a hot spot for professional sports, it is hard for the Rowdies to get

some of the spotlight. Some may also say that their facility is not large enough to host a

professional sports team. With all of this taken into consideration, six marketing tactics were

formed to help achieve the goals and objectives. Out of the six marketing tactics, three action

plans were formed. These action plans include USF student tickets, Field Day in Tampa Bay, and

One Dollar Beer Night. With these action plans set in place for the upcoming season, it is only

destined that the Rowdies will satisfy their mission and accomplish their goals and objectives.

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I. Introduction

A) Tampa Bay Rowdies Mission

“The Tampa Bay Rowdies aim to facilitate the spread of soccer with the local

community on a professional and youth level.”

The product that the Rowdies organization produces is professional soccer. Customer

demands include a fun game experience at an affordable price. For example, families in

particular look for a family environment when coming to a game with plenty of activities for the

children. Younger age people come to the games to have fun with their friends and most likely

take advantage of discounted or low prices. The Rowdies organization markets its product and

services in many different ways. Social media is a major channel of marketing for the rowdies.

The youth development program helps reach kids at young age and this helps turn people into

long term fans. Promotions such as themed nights, student discounts, and beer specials all have

been utilized by the Rowdies.

B) Background

The Rowdies were the first professional sports franchise in the Tampa Bay area (The

Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren’t created until 1976) and remain one of the most recognizable and

well-loved brands in soccer. Originally established in 1975, the team won the NASL Soccer

Bowl championship in its inaugural year and created a unique, entertaining and memorable

franchise with the Fannies, Wowdies and unforgettable "Kick in the Grass" theme song. In 2008,

a group of investors announced the purchase of rights to a professional soccer franchise and the

newly established team began play in 2010. They could not use the Rowdies name until

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December 2011 though due to licensing issues so they went as FC Tampa Bay. In 2012, the

Rowdies won the NASL Soccer Bowl Championship. They play at Al Lang Stadium in

downtown St. Petersburg. Starting in the 2017 season, the Rowdies joined the United Soccer

League (USL). In 2018, the Rowdies were then sold to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The organization's customers and primary stakeholders include the fans and also the

Tampa Bay Rays organization which currently own the team. The ultimate customer is the young

adult males and the parents/family who buy the tickets for the whole family. Although there is a

large market segment of kids it’s the parents who buy the tickets and are the real customers. We

need to make sure they enjoy the experience as well as the kids.

II. SWOT Analysis

A) Strengths and Weaknesses

One strength of the Tampa Bay Rowdies is their ability to retain season ticket holders.

85%-90% of rowdies season ticket holders renewing. St. Petersburg has a booming hospitality

industry. While the St. Pete demographic is not the best for soccer fans; it is an attractive

location with many bars and restaurants within walking distance of Al Lang stadium.

There are some weaknesses that face the Rowdies organization. The most important that

seems to stand out the most is the lack of exposure and awareness of the organization. With the

Rays, Bucs, and Lightning all being very successful professional sports teams located in the

Tampa Bay area, it makes it hard for a soccer team such as the Rowdies to get any kind of

recognition. This includes commercials, billboards, etc. as all of these opportunities are already

taken by the big three of Tampa and it seems the Rowdies just do not have the bankroll to

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compete from a marketing perspective. The next weakness the Rowdies face is location, and how

that matches up with the geographic they would like to attract. The St. Petersburg area has many

older individuals who live in the area who may be retired who are starting to settle down for

retirement, causing a very old average age for the demographic area. The Rowdies prefer to

attract fans who are in their early to late twenties, as this age group seems to be a stable group to

continue to target. Since St. Petersburg does not have many people in their twenties compared to

other neighboring Tampa areas, it makes their location a huge weakness. Another weakness is

the size of the Rowdies stadium. Where most professional soccer teams, and even other

professional sports teams, have a big stadium with a large capacity, AI Lang seats a little over

seven thousand people.

B) Opportunities and Threats

The Tampa Bay Rowdies are the only professional soccer team in the Tampa Bay Area

and thus the Rowdies provide a unique product and service. USF St Pete is located directly next

to Al Lang stadium. USF students at the St. Pete location do not have access to live sporting

events on campus. The Rowdies could provide this to USF St. Pete students. The rowdies also

are the only professional soccer team in the Tampa Bay area which can provide appeal to soccer

fans located locally.

A threat to the Tampa Bay Rowdies is the stability of Minor League Soccer in the United

States. Compared to other countries around the world, soccer is not as prevalent in th e United

States, and therefore does not receive as much publicity. Without constant awareness being

shined onto the sport of soccer, it does make the industry somewhat of a shaky situation as the

lack of constant cash flow, especially at the Minor League level, does not always bode well for

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the longevity of an organization. So, the biggest threat that faces the Tampa Bay Rowdies is the

fact that the cash flows are not large enough to provide a clear future for the organization.

C) Competitive Analysis

Within the United Soccer League, Orlando City and Miami FC are top product

competitors within the state of Florida. When researching these two teams the first observations

made were the differences in their stadiums. Just by comparing their stadiums with the AI Lang

Stadium, it is obvious that there is much more seating. AI Lang seats a capacity of 7,227 people,

while Orlando City Stadium seats a capacity of 25,500 people. Miami FC has a capacity of

20,000 people. Miami FC plays on a college football field, which could be an advantage because

it offers more seating and is right next to a college campus, but it does not give the team that

actual “home” feeling on gameday. Orlando City did a great job with their facility and it is a

huge strength of thiers. Orlando City also offers plenty of luxurious seating. Orlando City is who

the Rowdies should copy when considering growing their stadium size. Larger crowds generate

more income for the stadiums. A bigger stadium gives the opportunity to offer more amenities.

With a larger budget advocated towards the facility where the product is being consumed,

stadium factors such as food, parking, or the overall atmosphere are generally more admirable

for consumers.

Right now, the most effective and popular way of marketing is through social media. The

great part is that all of these teams have a fairly strong social media presence. They post

regularly and interact with followers. This is a part of their marketing strategy that is a strength

to the organizations. Orlando City offers “Theme Night” tickets for sale on their website. Their

website does a spectacular job letting you know about all events and activities with everything

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that involves Orlando City. More ticket options, or discount prices, should definitely be

considered. Adding an option on the website to purchase “Theme Night” tickets can help

generate ticket sales.

The major brand competitors include local sports teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,

the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Tampa Bay Rays. Location is crucial in the Tampa Bay area

for sports. You will notice many more fans going to games on the Tampa side of the St. Pete

bridge compared to games in St. Petersburg. The age gap between the two cities, and just the

overall commute to the games, is dramatic enough to have a significant effect in attendance.

With such high success and so much spotlight on the local Tampa Bay sports teams, it makes it a

challenge to gain any awareness. Compared to these teams, the Rowdies brand awareness is sub

par. These other teams do a great job at promoting and advertising in the local media via

television, newspaper, and radio. With Tom Brady joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the

Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley cup, it should bring a lot of eyes on the Tampa Bay

sports scene, however some eyes may only focus on those two nationally popular teams.

III. Customer Analysis and Target Market Identification

A) Customer Analysis

○ Soccer fans

■ These fans can range from highly identified fans to lowly identified fans.

Fans with a higher ID are more likely to come watch the game in person

since it can be hard to find on major television network channels. These

fans normally have a higher amount of team loyalty than the rest of the

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 customers. They are basically only interested in watching the team play

and most likely do not want to be too interrupted while watching the

game. These soccer fans are most likely to be season tickets holders or

purchasers.

○ Soccer Players

■ These customers play soccer. These soccer players are normally younger

kids, around fourteen years old or below. The soccer team will generally

come as a group, therefore they are mainly purchasing the group tickets.

Most of these customers will come watch the game when the opportunity

is handed to them. They are not normally highly identified fans.

○ Socializers

■ These customers are normally younger adults, ages twenty to thirty-five,

with a low to middle income. Socializers go to games to take part in one

thing, socialize. Most of the time, they could care less about the game that

is going on in the background. These customers tend to drive concession

sales. Most of these customers are day-of ticket purchasers, but tend to

purchase more often than just once a month.

○ Families

■ These families are normally younger families with parents under forty

years of age and kids older than two. Families come to a game looking to

have a good time and spend it with one another. They come to have fun

and create memories. Their ticket purchasing habits are very moderate.

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 While these families will watch the game at some point while inside the

stadium, they normally come for the entertainment for the kids enjoyment.

B) Target Markets

○ Primary - Young Men

■ Males

■ Early to late 20’s

■ Low to middle income

■ Typically fresh out of College

○ Secondary - Young Families

■ Kids ages 3 - 7

■ Parents in their early 30’s

■ Low to middle income

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IV. Marketing Goals and Objectives

Goals:

❏ Increase overall ticket sales

❏ Increase overall engagement

❏ Increase awareness in the local community

Objectives:

❏ Increase season ticket sales by at least 5% by the beginning of the next season

❏ Sell out all single game and group tickets for every home game of the 2021

season

❏ By using Facebook/Instagram ads designed for our target audience the Rowdies

will increase total social media following to a minimum of 3.5k people by the end

of the 2021 season.

❏ By the beginning of the season, implement the Rowdies app for fans to participate

in promotions and more in-game experiences

❏ Hold at least three youth related community events throughout the 2021 season

for members of the Tampa Bay (field day, community picnic, backyard barbeque,

bowling night, or goal shot fundraiser)

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V. Marketing Tactics
1. USF Student Tickets
Product: USF students will receive tickets to a game at a highly discounted price. The
student section in Al Lang Stadium will be section 305. The stadium is a four minute
drive or thirteen minute walk from USF St. Petersburg. Student Tickets will attract
students, and more importantly the age group of our target markets, to come to the games.

Pricing Objective: For this tactic we will use a meet the competition pricing strategy.
Most college students do not have much disposable cash that can be spent however they
please, so we need to be able to compete with these other activities that are affordable for
that demographic. USF St. Petersburg doesn’t have a D1 soccer team so we will not have
to compete with free student tickets to games like at USF Tampa. The only other high
level sports team located in St. Petersburg is the Rays and their ticket prices are higher.
With this taken into consideration, ticket prices for USF students will be $5.

Distribution: For distribution we could connect with the people who run the USF St.
Petersburg social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to help spread
the word. Broadcasting the special deal over Bulls Radio is a good advertising platform
to take into consideration. We could also contact administration and see if they would be
willing to send out emails to all the students at the beginning of the season promoting the
discounted tickets. Tickets would be available online and at the door.

Promotion: Along with the discounted ticket, USF students will get discounted
concession food, as well as $2 beer specials for everyone 21+. We will cap this deal at
five beers though because we want to keep the environment a family friendly place for
all.

2. Youth Sports Night

Product: This special night would be dedicated to youth sports in the Tampa/St.
Petersburg area. We would invite youth sports teams of all sports to a game. Kids who
dress in their uniforms receive a free rowdies t-shirt and the opportunity to be placed in a
donation drawing. We want this event to help support and promote youth sports in the
area.
Pricing Objective: This event would be a promotional pricing event. We would offer
discounted group tickets to the different youth sports teams and coaches in order to help

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 promote this event. The parents and any other family/friends would still be full price of a
general admission ticket.

Distribution: With all of our youth soccer leagues and teams that we are closely
associated with, it should be fairly easy to get the word out about this promotion. Youth
sports complexes that are around the Tampa Bay area, and that are also not affiliated with
the Rowdies, will be taken into consideration when looking to attract more youth sport
players. We would start advertising at the beginning of the youth sports season with
flyers posted around the fields and complexes they play at. We would also advertise the
event on the Rowdies website and other social media platforms. Advertising that there
will be a chance to win a donation will help give an incentive for the whole team to
come.

Promotion: Each youth athlete who attended the Rowdies game, and dressed in their
game uniform would get a free Rowdies t-shirt. They would also have the opportunity to
have their name, and the team/organization’s name that they play for, put into a hat. At
halftime, we would select a name from the hat. Part of the revenue from that game would
be donated to that person’s youth team/organization that was chosen randomly from the
hat. This would help fund the growth of youth sports, positively impact our community,
and attract our secondary market.

3. Rowdies x Rays Night

Product: This would be a Tampa Bay Rowdies x Tampa Bay Rays event. We would
have Rays players at the game. They would be honored at halftime for their recent
American League championship and world series birth. They would also sign autographs
after the game for fans. One fan will be given a pair of Tampa Bay Rays tickets based on
their seat number.

Pricing Objective: Standard pricing for tickets will be effective because we believe
this will be a very attractive event for fans.

Distribution: This event will be advertised on both the Rays and Rowdies social
media platforms heavily. There will also be a direct link to purchase tickets on the
homepage of the Rowdies website.

Promotion: One lucky fan who attends the game will be gifted with a pair of tickets to
a Rays home game for their upcoming season. This fan will be selected during halftime
based on their ticket number.

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4. The Rowdies App
Product: The app, compatible with Android and iOS devices, would help keep fans
informed of upcoming games and promotions. For all of these marketing tactics listed, it
does no good if individuals are not informed of them, so the app would serve as a central
location to find all of the information.

Pricing Objective:The app shall be free in the Apple and Android stores so that fans
can receive the information cost free. Most apps are free, especially ones that are
specifically for sports organizations. If there was a price to get the app, even if it was just
$0.99, it would turn away too many fans and the application would not be as effective.

Distribution: For distribution, we could remind fans at the game to download the app
by advertising it on tickets and scoreboards. Flyers could be hung up around the stadium
that contain a QR code that fans can scan to easily navigate to the app store to download
the application. For fans not at the game, we would advertise the app on the website and
paste the link to download the app in the Instagram and Facebook bios.

Promotion: For promotion, we could give fans a free drink or food coupon if they
prove they downloaded the app. We could have specials exclusively throughout the app
so that it gives fans another incentive to download the app.

5. Rowdies Field Day in Tampa Bay

Product: Field day in Tampa bay is a free event for all ages held at Curtis Hixon Park.
At this event there will be plenty of activities and vendors set up around the park.
Activities include a water balloon fight, a face painting station, a huge inflatable slide, a
dunk tank, tug-o-war, three legged race, egg and spoon race, and a soccer relay. Rowdies
employees and volunteers will help orchestrate the event. Activities where multiple
participators are needed, we will have a set start time with three different time windows
to participate in. Hosting this event will increase our awareness inside the Tampa Bay
community and, in hopes, increase ticket sales. Many families will bring their kids to
participate in the fun and this will help us reach our target market.

Pricing Objective: Field Day in Tampa bay will be a free event, however there will
be ticket vendors set up at the park to help entice people to buy tickets to the Rowdies
games.

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 Distribution: In order to get people more aware of our event, we will do some radio
advertising through major Tampa radio channels like 9.33flz, Wild 94.1, 95.7 the beat,
and Hot 101.5. Flyers will also be placed around Tampa in areas that have a lot of foot
traffic. Free admission tickets will be handed out at all home games before the event.
During the event, the Rowdies logo will be all over Curtis Hixon park, on many signs and
vending tables. Hosting this event will increase our awareness inside the Tampa Bay
community and, in hopes, increase ticket sales. Many families will bring their kids to
participate in the fun and this will help us reach our target market.

Promotion: There will be a chance to win tickets to a Rowdies game for a couple of
the games and activities. In order to measure the success of this event, the number of
people who attend need to be accounted for. We could do this simply by having a couple
employees or volunteers monitor the count at a designated entrance.

6. One Dollar Beer Night

Product: The product for this promotion is $1 beers, redeemable for each fan over 21
years of age, for a maximum of five beers per game. Many people enjoy attending games
not only to watch sports, but also as a form of social activity. Hosting a $1 beer night
would attract a fan that may not be familiar with soccer, however, they attend because of
the promotion. If they enjoy their experience while they are there, they will be inclined to
attend more games in the future, expanding the reach of the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Pricing Objective: This promotion is a great one strictly because of the pricing. A $1
beer at a professional sporting event is a great deal, considering many concession stands
charge around $10 per beer at other venues. The price in this situation attracts the
customer to the game, not the game itself. Social drinking is also more prevalent for
individuals in their 20s and 30s, which is exactly the demographic that the Rowdies want
to attract.

Distribution: Informing people of this special could be posted on flyers around local
bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, preferably sports bars in the area. These bars are
always hosting customers that enjoy to drink and watch sports, which is the prime
combination for the promotion to be successful. We could also advertise this deal on
Instagram and Facebook and implement a geolocation for the St. Petersburg and Tampa
area for individuals 21-45. This way we are advertising directly to our preferred market
and all of the money is being used in an influential way.

Promotion: The promotion would apply to individuals over the age of 21 and the most
important way is how we will track the promotion to ensure that it is not being taken

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 advantage of. Individuals would receive a wristband that has five boxes located on it. For
every drink they buy, a box would be crossed out, ensuring that they did not get more
than five beers for the night. If a wristband has been tampered with, we would not serve
the customer as it means they may be trying to use someone else’s band and get more
beers than the maximum amount. We would put that detail on the wristband though so
that the fans would know they should take their wristbands off until exiting the stadium.

VI. Implementation and Control

Action Plan #1 - USF Student Tickets

When: Tickets will be available for sale at the beginning of the 2021 season and will be
available throughout the whole season. Student tickets will also be available at the door
of each home game.

Budget: The main cost associated with this will be the 2 dollar beers for USF students
who are over the age of 21. With beers at Rowdies games ranging between 6 and 9
dollars each discounted beer would cost the Rowdies between 4 and 7 dollars.

Evaluation: We can evaluate the effectiveness of the USF tickets by the amount of
student tickets that were sold. The amount of concessions sold at the event will also help
reflect how effective USF Student Ticket night was.

Action Plan #2 - Rowdies Field Day in Tampa Bay

When: Based on the 2020 schedule, Rowdies Field Day in Tampa Bay will be held on
June 30th, 2021. This ensures that kids are out of school for summer break and will be
able to attend the event. It is also on a Saturday, when most adults do not work, so they
can bring their kids to the event.

Budget: The first expense for this event would be the advertisement space on the radio.
One 30 second advertisement in a small market like Tampa could cost up to 900 dollars
for one week of ad space. We would like to get Ad Space on four different stations so this
would cost about 3,600 dollars. An inflatable water slide in the Tampa Bay area cost
about 400 dollars a day to rent.

Evaluation: We can measure the success of this event by the amount of people who
attend the event as well as how many tickets are sold at the event. We can encourage

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people to use specific Rowdies related hashtags on social media if they decide to post
pictures at the event.

Action Plan #3 - One Dollar Beer Night

When: With sixteen home games available during the regular season, One Dollar Beer
night will be held for two nights out of the 2021 season.

Budget: Like USF student ticket nights the biggest section of the budget is taken up by
the dollar beers as each beer is normally sold at about 7-9 dollars at Rowdies games. In
order to make sure that this tactic is successful it is vital that One Dollar Beer Night is
heavily Promoted. Local ad space for television in the Tampa St. Pete area can cost
around 50-80 dollars per comercial.

Evaluation: The effectiveness of One Dollar Beer Night can be measured by how many
tickets are sold and concession sales. For this event ticket sales are the most important
thing to evaluate. With each beer costing the rowdies around 7-9 dollars the amount of
tickets sold needs to be high for this promotion to be worth it. Concession revenue for
this night also has to be high because 1 dollar beers can only bring in so much revenue
and not every fan is able to benefit off the one dollar beer special.

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