1. Aidan Ryan
MKT 1414
Research Proposal
Background (2 paragraphs)
As an expansion team dating back to 1962 the NYM have always been the
underdogs and have been hidden in the shadows of the New York Yankees. With only
two world series titles under the Mets belt, they have struggled to produce a large
number of fan attendance over the years. Being the underdog in NY and the worse of
the two teams in NY the Mets have been looked down upon and have lost some of their
loving fans and support as a result.
The New York Mets have been struggling to win games the past few years
following their world series run in 2015. The NYM have seen attendance numbers drop
and are losing the fan base that they have worked so hard on to establish. To increase
fan attendance, we are diving into the fan base to see what we can do to leverage our
strengths and diminish our weaknesses and get more tickets sold and establish that
NYM fan base that has driven the Mets to success.
2. Marketing Research Question
How do we as the New York Mets sell more tickets for the upcoming season?
Research Objectives (4 or 5 objectives)
• Why do Mets fans come to watch the games?
• Are ticket prices competitive and fair?
• What is the number one attraction in Citi Field? (Mets Stadium) • What can we
leverage to make the fan experience that much better?
Secondary Research (3 paragraphs)
During the secondary research phase, we found that the NYM plan on launching
a new ticket deal along with an in-game experience app to potentially boost the sales
and fan attendance. The article was written by a reporter from CNBC and Cornell
graduate, Emma Newburger. With the information gathered from Newburger’s article
we can determine how many ticket plans will be sold and record the number of users of
the new app they plan to implement. To go along with ticket sales, we looked at an
article done by K. Bradenhausen, which describes the increased price of tickets
following the 2015 world series run. With this information gathered we can evaluate
how many people are willing to spend the extra dollars to watch the NYM or see if the
attendance diminishes and produce little numbers.
Also found was an article done by Mike Ozanian, a well-known author and editor
for Forbes. In this article he explains the fact that the NYM profits have fallen 44%,
3. which is a huge percentage when speaking on a Major League Baseball team. With the
information in this article we can be able to determine where we need improvements
and of course improve upon the profit margin for the upcoming season, whether it if
through ticket sales or through marketing strategies. We also looked at the world
population review, which displays the demographics, average income, and median age
for individuals living in NYC. With this information we are able to narrow down and of
course strategize who we will target as the NYM fans, to drive ticket sales and prompt
the fans to buy our merchandise.
We also dove into Data USA, who recorded data for New York, New York in
2018. With the information gathered from this resource we determined the population
as well as median age & income in NY and can dissect how many of that population
are attending Mets games throughout the upcoming season. Lastly, we looked at the
article “The ultimate guide to Citi Field” written by Amy Pitt. In this article we found out
what the best overall experiences are or things to do when you are attending a NYM
game. The article lists almost all of the best things to do at the ballpark and what the
entail and where to find them.
4. Research Approach (1 paragraph)
For this data research quantitative research will be the most beneficial with this
research question. This is due to us wanting to know how many tickets are being sold
and how many actually attend the game. We can also quantify the number of fans who
attend the games and what the reasoning behind it is, whether it is for the game itself,
the food, family time, or you just love the NYM in general. Also using quantitative
research, we can make up fan surveys, Q&A’s, and of course experiments that will in
theory give us the data we need to increase fan attendance and of course sell more
tickets as the New York Mets.
Sample (2 paragraphs)
The best sample to use would be to use a fan survey. There will be up to 50,000
people who are used in this survey and can be disturbed through email of the NYM fan
base. Our demographics will be Mets fans between 30-40 years of age, which is the
median age of a person living in New York. The survey will be used to identify the
reason people come to Mets games in the first place amongst other things like what
their favorite thing to eat at the ballpark is and what the number one thing to do at the
park is besides watching the game.
Surveys are used to increase knowledge in fields such as social research and
demographics around the area of concern. Survey research is often used to assess
thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Surveys can be limited, specific, and can have
widespread goals. We figured out that a survey would be best for our data analysis
5. based on the fact that it is a quantitative research method and can be used to gain
mass data with a little effort. With lots of Mets fans and typically newcomers every
game we want to have a large data population which is unique, and everyone has an
equal chance to participate.
Research Instrument (Online survey or Interview Guide – Please link to Google Forms
item)
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9FP2BYdPCGVxWoB8zj7N8EmoJ91nZ
XIWJoj1BFZZLXYLBA/viewform?usp=sf_link Sources (Please use APA format)
emma_newburger. (2019, March 20). NY Mets launch new ticket subscription deal for 78 home
games. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/20/ny-mets-launch-new-ticket-
subscription-deal-for-78-home-games.html.
Badenhausen, K. (2016). Royals, Mets Lead Baseball’s Most Expensive Opening Day Tickets.
Forbes.Com , 21. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=11425559
&site=ehost-live
Ozanian, M. (2019). New York Mets’ Citi Field Profits Fell 44% Last Season. N.PAG.
Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=13562781
6. New York City, New York Population 2019. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/new-york-city-population/.
New York, NY. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://datausa.io/profile/geo/new-york-ny.
Plitt, A. (2019, April 1). The ultimate guide to Citi Field. Retrieved from
http://ny.curbed.com/2018/3/26/17116672/citi-field-guide-seating-transportation-food-parking.
