Hoop Dome | Marketing Plan for National Championship Invitational | Hoop Dome Presents: Canada’s Sweet 16 | | Arjan Jonuzi and Alex Kim | 1/20/2015 |

Basketball tournament for the top 16 high school teams across Canada |

Table of Contents

Title Page______________________________________________________________
Table of Contents______________________________________________________1

Event Description______________________________________________________2
Objectives____________________________________________________________3
Target Market_________________________________________________________4-5

Core & Ancillary Product_________________________________________________6-7
SWOT Analysis________________________________________________________8

Place________________________________________________________________9
Pricing ____________________________________________________________10-13

Sponsorship__________________________________________________________14
Advertisement ________________________________________________________15

Branding & Print advertisement Analysis ___________________________________16
Print ads_____________________________________________________________17

Event Description
Basketball in Canada is growing rapidly. More and more people are playing basketball and there are more interests in basketball than ever before. Also the level of basketball is increasing. There are more Canadian basketball players playing in the NBA and top Canadian High School team can compete with the top teams in USA. However, there aren’t many tournaments that get top 20 teams in Canada to play in a tournament to decide the number one team in Canada.
We at the Hoop Dome Association plan to hold a tournament spanning over two days on January 30 to 31, 2015 (Friday and Saturday) where we will invite 16 of the top teams in the nation to compete. Our event will be sponsored by Gatorade and Nike Basketball. The winner will become the #1 ranked high school basketball team in Canada. We will also be giving player of the game tees to the best performing players throughout the tournament. This will be a round robin-type tournament with 4 groups of 4 teams playing each other once and then the top 2 teams from each group will move onto the elimination round(s). The entry fee for each team is $450
In order to change the basketball culture in Canada it becomes necessary for us promote basketball in Canada. In hopes of achieving a fun and competitive attitude between Canada’s top teams, the Hoop Dome association is hosting a National Championship Invitational tournament. The main objective is to promote high school basketball and also a broader focus on basketball in Canada. The tournament was created in hopes to increase the awareness of basketball and to increase the level of play in basketball nationwide.
The event will be held. The audience will not only receive the feeling of accomplishment when supporting one of Canada’s up and coming national sports, but you also receive an opportunity to watch some of the best players in Canada (for their age group) compete at a single event. The event has the mission to strive for the 5 million dollar. The money from this tournament will go towards paying for all of the expenses that made this tournament happen. The proceeds will also go towards funding other tournaments like this one at the Hoop Dome in the future to further promote to the youth of Canada as well as other age groups and show them that basketball is a fun sport to watch and participate in.
By hosting this event, it opens up an opportunity to expose basketball in Canada and help make basketball become one of Canada’s newest national sports. It will also increase the level of basketball because it will get more competitive. More teams will try to get a higher ranking in the top 20 because they can advertise their school and have the resources to do so once they are recognized for their talents.
Objectives

1. Promoting the sport of basketball to the viewers and attendees at the tournament

The main objective of this event is to promote the sport of basketball across Canada. The objective is to display the sport of basketball to the youth and teen generations of Canada by encouraging them to attend the tournament and see how great of a sport it can be. Not necessarily in order to play at a competitive level but merely to find a joy for the game. This event allows anyone to play the sport and ensures that players are not limited by their circumstance but is gives an equal chance to all athletes who are intrigued by the sport. The Hoop Dome Association would love to help create a rise in popularity of basketball across Canada.

2. Trying to create awareness for basketball tournaments at the Hoop Dome

We are the Hoop Dome Association and we hope to create awareness for our facilities through this tournament. These games will be televised nationwide through Rogers and Bell TV, and will be popular nationwide based on the elite high school ball stars presence at the tournament. We want to help display to the youth and teen age groups of Canada just how fun of a sport basketball can be and show them that our facility is one of the best and furthermore create business for ourselves in the future.

3. Trying to increase the level of basketball

It is our mission to set the goal of achieving a certain competitive attitude in Canada’s young basketball stars so that they can strive to become the best they can. Our association does this, and by hosting this tournament we will display the fun and joy of having a competitive attitude playing the sport you love.

4. Bringing together passionate basketball players

The basketball players that will participate at this tournament will be among some of the best in Canada for their age groups. The thing about these stars is that they play without the worry of making money but instead for the love of the game and bringing them together will help create a positive atmosphere at our tournament and furthermore across the nation.

Target Market
Primary Market –Our primary target market are shifted towards the youth and high school level basketball players in Canada. This tournament encourages Canada’s youth to play basketball and also make the game more exciting and competitive.
This gives the opportunity of watching elite players play in a one in a kind tournament as well as increasing the rate of youth athletes in Canada.
The event is organized in a manner to encourage everyone to attend the games. Since the games present players are playing the games, it opens up the opportunity to advertise to the youth and teen age groups a sport they may not know to much about. * Friendly Environment- Basketball is a sport that has the ability to define Canada in the near future. This event will promote the importance of embracing new types of heritage for Canada. * Teenagers - Have another approach to being a target market, this is a way of having the opportunity to play the sport they love and develop long lasting memories and friendships while playing the sport they love. * Youth- The youth generation will see a different sport on the rise in Canada and this tournaments focus is to help prove to them just how exciting it can be.
Secondary Market: This event is targeted to those who have an interest in or play basketball. This event is not only promoting one of Canada’s soon to be national sports, but also provides the opportunity to watch the top athletes from all over the nation. Hosting the tournament, there will be exposure of the best national players that come. Families are also targeted, because of the family friendly concept that will be carried out. This may spark an interest in the future generations, which increases the amount of interest that Canada has started to display for basketball.
Demographics: Targeting youth and teen athletes in Canada
Age: 14-18
Gender: Male
Occupation: none/ student/ part-time/ fulltime
Education: High school Students
Family life cycle: Living with parents/ living alone
Ethnicity and Culture: Youth players who reside in Canada and love to play sports
Psychographics:
Targeting young athletes who are devoted to sports and education, strive for high academics, and have ambitions for the future. Youth and teens who are currently playing a sport, and competing at sports events. Have devotion for basketball, those who are currently prepping or currently attending a secondary education.
Focused on achieving their goals, and have a passion to make a difference with what they do in life; their priorities revolve around not only themselves but also their community. As an individual, they have a strong and passionate mindset and are willing to strive to express their personal skills and character. Youth and teens who continue to seek challenges and achieve greatness.

Core & Ancillary Product
Core Product
Our core product will be the tickets, and entry fees that we will sell to attend the event. These tickets will be sold to the basketball fans in Canada. As well, we are selling apparel, food and drinks, and basketballs. Furthermore, the core product will also be the experience of watching multiple games consisting of players that are some of the nations top athletes and are striving to reach the NBA. The overall core product will be the experience and the excitement of watching the game.
-Increases the number of passionate basketball players and fans in Canada
-Increases knowledge for the youth and teen population about how and why basketball is an up and coming nationally recognized sport in Canada.

The point of difference in this event is the notion of nationalism. Basketball is becoming the pride of Canada and often times have the ability to raise interest of the sport in younger generations that we are planning to achieve. There will be joy and excitement that cannot be accomplished without the younger generations of fans seeing the best high school stars in the nation play the game they have learned to love, which is the point of difference. By hosting this event it allows these star players create a tradition of a sport that they love and our goal is to transfer that love of basketball into the youth and generations of people in Canada. It is an event that is oriented for high school students, which increases the amount of people closer to that age that will attend the tournament.

Ancillary Product
The ancillary products that we would sell include concessions, parking tickets, tees and memorabilia surrounding the event. These products will mostly be marketed to the consumers that attend the event; however we could sell these products online if we see the opportunity to.

The idea of selling tees and other apparel during the tournament only is often a way to draw the attention of a crowd; People recognize that this product will only be sold for a limited amount of time, they feel the need to purchase the item. Additionally, to sell limited items emphasizes the fact that these are items that can only be bought at that specific event which will likely escalate the amount of sales on those particular items.

Concessions also become a prime ancillary product because of how many people are willing to purchase food at the event due to its length spanning over two full days. This event may become a family oriented trip for youth and adults both attending the exciting event, and this encourages the young families to purchase food for their children, etc. Furthermore our sponsor, Gatorade, will help provide us with the necessary amount of drinks and food for the event, or provide us with the amount of money needed to purchase these concessions for the fans and players attending the tournament.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths * Large target market * Oriented around a the best teams in Canada which will bring in more revenue as more people will be willing to spend money to see these teams play each other * Hosted in a large city, which ultimately attracts more people and more tourists who would like to attend the tournament * Large venue Lots of money

Weaknesses * Less fan involvement * Toronto traffic is quite congested and could affect the time fans arrive at the tournament at * Canadian climates are also known for harsh winters, and fluctuating climate change, which may or may not affect the amount of people and teams that show up to the event as it is in January * Max capacity of 600 fans to watch the games inside the Hoop Dome

Opportunities * Future events that are oriented around the same style tournament at the same or perhaps different venue hosted by The Hoop Dome Association * Live performances during the knockout round games. The opportunities there, is possible advertisement and promotion. They can make public appearances to try and increase fans * More sponsorships * More fans becoming intrigued with the sport of basketball

Threats: * Another company could run the same event and take away from our profits and revenues * Recognize that there will be injuries, negativity towards players and so this is also a threat * Teams unwilling to participate for the set entry fee

Place
Our event will be held at the Hoop Dome. This venue has a capacity for all of the 16 teams and 600 people to enjoy the tournament (250 possible standing areas for people and 350 seats). This arena will be functional for our event because it is located in a large city with a large basketball market. Our venue will need an arena of this size because of the exclusivity of the event. The Hoop Dome is known throughout the basketball community of Canada (mostly Ontario) because it is the venue that hosts almost all of the elite tournaments in Ontario monthly. These are very entertaining teams to watch, and therefore through association, the Hoop Dome name should increase awareness for our event.
The Hoop Dome is located just outside the heart of the city, and is close to the Yorkdale Shopping Mall, restaurants, 5 major hotels, and the main transportation artery leading into Toronto: the 401 highway. Therefore the surrounding area attracts tourism, especially the Yorkdale Shopping Mall, as it is the largest mall in South-western Ontario. Not only would we be creating revenue for the Hoop Dome Association, we would be helping the hotels nearby by offering deals to our fans and teams at the event and also the Yorkdale shopping mall for extra business during the duration of the tournament. This would be profitable us at the Hoop Dome (we are the corporation that owns the Hoop Dome) as well as the city of Toronto. The Hoop Dome Association would benefit through the association of their company with the event venue, and the city of Toronto would gain through the tourism that our event would attract. Tourists, who in this circumstance would likely be basketball fans, would profit the city by visiting the other basketball attractions in the city such as the Air Canada Center where the Toronto Raptors play as well as the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Hoop Dome also features multiple restaurants nearby that consumers can choose from, varying from a “grab and go” to fine cuisine. We can also use the Hoop Dome’s previous agreements to our event’s advantage. Our Hoop Dome employees have worked closely with Rogers and Bell TV broadcasters to ensure that Hoop Dome’s broadcast capabilities would meet the standards for broadcast. This means that our game will be televised and recognized around Canada; since both of those broadcasting corporations are Canadian. This will increase profits for us through T.V. commercials, and would prove to be beneficial for our profits. Some possible networks that we might possibly be able to form an agreement with may include Rogers and Bell TV.

Pricing
The pricing strategy that we will use to sell the tickets to our venue will vary based on whether the fan would like to stand or sit during the tournament. Therefore, we may use some premium pricing for seats, while we will use economy for the tickets that admit one to enter the arena standing while watching the games.
The only cost associated with our event will be the rental of the Hoop Dome. The cost is $525 per 2-day tournament. We will rent the Hoop Dome for two days (Friday the 30th, and Saturday the 31st of January). Games will take place from 8am-10pm. This will total our rental cost at $525, and in addition we must pay HST that is 13%. This will put our total rental cost at $593.25. Our sponsors, Nike, Gatorade and Pizza Pizza will take care of the ancillary products such as the souvenirs, using money from their own pockets, which will overall benefit the promotion of our event as well as creating customers through their help of providing the products for fans to choose from. The Hoop Dome Association will also be working closely with the players that will attend to play by providing them with information on the variety of hotels they may choose from.
Our sources of income will be simply through ticket sales and concessions. We will not be able to gain any revenue through parking because our parking lot is public and directly outside of the Hoop Dome Facility. We have made sure that we have enough parking area for everyone to fit comfortably as well as a specialized parking lot at the back of our facility for the team busses.
The following costs (variable and fixed) will be associated with our event. We will assume that each person attending the event will purchase at least 1 of each concession, and we have made sure to purchase enough supplies to accommodate these expectations. As we have already established, no matter the cost of the total concessions needed for the tournament, Gatorade and Pizza Pizza will be covering the cost of these concessions.

Pizza = $2.00
French Fries = $2.25
Gatorade drink Products (Free for players) = $1.90
Other Food (Candy, Popcorn) = $0.80
Total Expenses = $1.80
Other VC = $1.25
Rent = $593.25 for the event

Break Even Point:
There will be a Break Even Point for each of the sections. There are three specific sections: courtside seating sections, bleacher sections and standing sections. The courtside seating section will be priced as the premium ticket because you get the comfortable leather seats to go along with courtside viewing access of the games. With the purchase of these higher priced tickets, a fan will be able to move around from court to court in a first come first serve manner. There will be exactly enough courtside seats for each ticket purchased so that no fan will be left out of viewing the games. The seating section consists of multiple bleachers spanning across the facility with the access of any of them with the purchase of these tickets. The seating section comes with the benefit of comfortable bleacher seats with backrests and leather padding. The main reason the seated tickets cost more is because they offer a premium of having a more comfortable experience for the fans as well as access to any seat at any time in a first come first serve fashion. The standing room tickets occupy the less desired tickets of the two and consist of a standing room without seats for the spectators. Although there is a benefit to these seats, they are situated in between and around courts so these people that are standing can get closer viewing of the games then those sitting although it is all very close to the main action. The seat price will certainly vary depending on which ticket is purchased, as the tickets get seating access and get closer to the courts. Therefore, courtside rows will be the most expensive, whereas the standing room tickets will be the least expensive. We expect that we will sell out 100% of each section as the facility can only hold 600 fans in total.
Prices for Tickets based on seating:
The number of people we assume to be attending will then move into the breakeven point. For Example since rows 1-5 has 800 people assumed to purchase tickets, we will calculate 800÷20 270 to calculate the percent of the overall occupancy that will be located in that particular section. We will then multiply this percent by the fixed cost that has already been established ($593.25 to rent the Hoop Dome for the event) to calculate how much of the fixed cost actually applies to the specific price.
Row 1-5 section 100 (1 000 occupancy- 800 people assumed): $1 000
Break Even Point=$1 704$1 000
Break Even Point=1.7 tickets
Section 100 rest of seating (8 000 occupancy- 6 400 people assumed): $750
Break Even Point=$13 639$750
Break Even Point=18.2 tickets
Section 200 (3 000 occupancy- 2 400): $350
Break Even Point=$5 115$1 000
Break Even Point=5.1 tickets
Section 300 (8 000 occupancy- 6 400 people assumed): $150
Break Even Point=$13 639$150
Break Even Point=90 tickets
Standing Room (270 occupancy- 216 people assumed): $60
Break Even Point=$460$60
Break Even Point=7 tickets
Profit:
Row 1-5 section 100 (1 000 occupancy- 800 people assumed): $1 000
Break Even Point=1.7 tickets
Profit=998×$1000
Profit=$998 000
Section 100 rest of seating (8 000 occupancy- 6 400 people assumed): $750
Break Even Point=18.2 tickets
Profit=6381×$750
Profit=$4 785 750
Section 200 (3 000 occupancy- 2 400): $350
Break Even Point=5.1 tickets
Profit=2395×$350
Profit=$838 250
Section 300 (8 000 occupancy- 6 400 people assumed): $150
Break Even Point=90 tickets
Profit=6310×$150
Profit=$946 500
Standing Room (270 occupancy- 216 people assumed): $60
Break Even Point=7 tickets
Profit=263×$60
Profit=$15 780
Total Profit
Profit=$998 000+ $4 785 750 + $838 250+ $946 500 + $15 780
Profit=$7 584 280

Sponsorship * Nike * Gatorade * Pizza Pizza
Nike will be used as a sponsor for this event because they will have the necessary apparel and accessories to provide to the players. In return for providing equipment for the players, Nike will receive honorable mentions throughout tournament. We will advertise their company as “The Largest seller of basketball accessories worldwide”. This will be beneficial to them because the main network that is broadcasting the event is Rogers TV, which is a Canadian based network. This will increase their brand image as the largest seller of basketball based goods across Canada and the world, and create some brand association with our tournament. Nike already does a lot of work to help the youth register for sports. This sponsorship chance will coincide with their previous work and encourage the youth attendees to try out the sport of basketball and furthermore popularize the sport nationally.
Gatorade will be used as a sponsor for this event to provide drinks and concessions to all of the fans and players at the tournament. The company will provide us with the estimated amount of drinks needed for the event. Their company will be viewed as the concession sponsor through the drinks we are selling at the event. All of the drinks will feature a custom cover that one lucky fan entering their twitter contest will design for the event, to establish a strong relationship with their customers. As well, Gatorade will sponsor half of all half times during the games. This will be profitable for them because many people will attend this event, and many others will watch it on TV. Gatorade will gain publicity through this event and the company will look good in the viewer’s eyes because of their work with the fans to create a special edition bottle as well as providing all of these star players with free drinks throughout the tournament.
Pizza Pizza will also be one of the main sponsors that will be contributing to the tournament. The company will be providing the necessary amount of food (Pizza, French fries, Candy, and Popcorn) for this event. Often accommodating players with basic foods, and funding the ancillary products. For example, the cost of providing all of the food for this tournament. Furthermore, Pizza Pizza will be advertised as a sponsor during half of all of the half time events during the tournament. This, like Gatorade, will help create a good brand image, as viewers on TV and at the event will see it.
Advertisements
With the increasing use of social media to attract fans, this would be one of the many advertising tactics of creating conversation about this event event. Social media is an very useful asset because of the strong dependence society has towards it.
To advertise, the Hoop Dome Association will be using:
Twitter: Tweeting before the tournament begins will create conversation across the nation about what teams will attend the tournament and which team will win it all. Or tweeting your designs to our page with the winners design going on every Gatorade bottle that will be sold during the event. There will be a lot of talk on Twitter about the tournament that will help our TV views increase and also increase the attendance at the tournament.
Facebook: A Facebook page will be created for the tournament. This page will be the official page event, which will allow fans to see the tournament schedule, and promote the tournament to everyone who has viewed and liked the page. Due to the fact that millions of people across the nation us Facebook, this is the strategy we are using to create a buzz around our event. The Facebook events can show (who, what, where, when and why) the basic outline of the event. This page will also hand out official page links to the players, teams, and the Hoop Dome Association. On our page will be a right column space available to promote our sponsors (Gatorade, Nike, and Pizza Pizza), which is where all of the main sponsors will be provided a link.
Instagram: Our very own Hoop Dome Instagram account will contain multiple pictures promoting the teams, players, and the facility it will be held in. We will be constantly posting these photos to intrigue fans that have either previously or recently liked our page. This Instagram page will have photos of the event and promote the success once it is all done so that we can see if a future tournament would work in the same way.
As well, each team has a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram account posting about everything from injuries to scores. If they agree to post about the upcoming event it will increase awareness and hopefully increase the amount of people wanting to attend the event.
Commercial: Our commercial sponsorship will take place with us using the social media as previously stated, posting billboards across the busiest sections of the city, and through our TV providers (Rogers and Bell TV Networks)

Branding The branding of our event is extremely unique. We continued to use the Wayne Gretzky Foundation with the concept of simplicity; it was to draw the attention of the public. Not only focusing on a certain age group, or target market it was in the notion to appeal too many.
Logo: We created a unique logo, to identify our company from others. Without adding several other concepts or wording, we just put the foundation name, as well as our slogan.

The color red and blue were demonstrated when creating out logo, to exemplify polar opposites. Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense color. This could set the mood of our event and we can orientate having a ideology similar to this.
Blue was the second color used that was also prevalent. Blue symbolizes the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Each of these concepts combined, brings out the notion of nationalism.
The Slogan will be: “Everyone deserves a chance.” This is the inspiring concept to orientate the event around. This is the perfect slogan for the event because of what the event is hosted for.
Promotional Advertisement Analysis
This advertisement uses the power of the past to draw the attention of our present. The bolded picture is of Wayne Gretzky and his glory days. This is important when targeting the public. This ad used colors which blended and wasn’t over dramatic. However the center picture is a bold red, which elaborates on the pride of Canada. The 5 w’s have been covered.
A: The bolded letters of “Gretzky Cup”: has never been announced to the public, which will spark interest.
I: A new improved concept of a hockey game. This type of game has not been targeted, this will spark desire
D: Since this is a new concept, to those the advertisement had caught attention will most likely thrive to have a desire to attend the game, due to natural curiosity.
A: The natural curiosity will often send those to purchase a ticket.

January 1, 2015
Air Canada Centre, Toronto
January 1, 2015
Air Canada Centre, Toronto
Gretzky Cup 2015
Gretzky Cup 2015