5. • Males (18-34)
– 53% of second screeners
use social media when
watching TV
– 78% cite personal affiliation
with their teams
– Majority of males see team
as part of their identity
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
CONSUMER / MARKET ANALYSIS
• Females (18-34)
– Least Likely Demographic
to be a sports fan
– However, they show higher
levels of engagement with
sports.
– 75% are highly interested in
the social aspect of sports
Fan Associations
MLB: 38%
NBA: 31%
NHL: 23%
Dominate Demographics
MLB: Older Men
NBA: 18-34 dominated fan base
NHL: High female engagement
6. Positioning
TARGET MARKET
YOUNG MILLENNIALS
• Ages 18-25
• “Digital Natives”
• More likely to make transform
experiences and events into
social moments
• Includes females, who
participate more heavily in the
social aspect rather than
logistics of sports
ADULT MILLENNIALS
• Ages 26-34
• Open to the introduction of new
digital platforms and social
campaigns
• Higher income
7. • Increase network ratings by 10% in the
month of April
• Increase social media engagement
(amount of followers) by 5% in April
• Average over 3,000 #ShowYourFandom
hashtag mentions per week
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES
9. Positioning
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Weaknesses
- Large Media Market
- Identifiable Superstars
- 4 Winning Teams
- Hockey is still developing in LA market
- Hard for regional network to compete
with industry powers
Opportunities Threats
- Established cross-town rivalries
- New Clippers ownership
- Struggling Lakers/Dodgers TV Deal
- Strong fan ties to Dodgers/Lakers
- Power of social media – speed of news
10. POSITIONING
POSITIONING STATEMENT
Points of Parity Points of Difference
- Regional Sports Network
- Rights to multiple teams
- Post game shows
- Highlight shows
- Exclusive content
- Exclusive game rights
- Over 350 games per year
- Excellent Teams
Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket are the only places where
Southern California fans can watch exclusive content and over 350
Clippers, Ducks, Kings and Angels games every year.
12. MEDIA
MEDIA OBJECTIVES
Increase
Trial
Increase
Preference
Increase
Awareness
Create content and
promotions with desirable
prizes
Provide exclusive access
and incentives to position
the network as leading
platform
Use social and visual media
to highlight the sports
excitement in April
Use social media platforms
and campaign to encourage
fan engagement in viewing
and second screen activity
Create a positive brand
image through creative ads
and billboards
Use social media to create
a consistent stream of
information to consumers
Use star players in the
promotion process to create
buzz in the target market
Use photo campaign to
encourage participation and
stimulate consumer
involvement
Use broadcast media to
communicate the events of
April and the network’s
winning position
14. MEDIA
MEDIA BUDGET
Television $100,000
Radio $60,409
Newspaper $112,000
Magazine $65,000
Billboards $55,000
Building Wrap $199,000
Mobile Ads $350,000
Fantest $15,000
Total Cost of Campaign $957, 408
16. MEDIA
SOCIAL MEDIA
• Heavy Social Media Campaign
• @FoxSportsWest use of hashtags
• Promotion of contest
• Creation of new social media
accounts to drive campaign
17. • Photo Fantest:
#ShowYourFandom
• Photos shown during each game
• @FSWFandom dedicated to the
contest and network promotion
• One grand prize per team: Fox
Sports Suite
MEDIA
CONTEST
Sport seasons vary throughout the year. Basketball season takes place from November to mid-June, hockey season takes place from October to June, baseball season takes place from April to October. Generally means there is an overlap in sport seasons and the month of April presents a prime time when all three seasons coincide. The total amount of hockey, basketball, and baseball games in April positions it as a very busy and eventful month that provides the possibility for endless fan engagement.
According to a Mintel report released on sports viewing tendencies, they noted that most sports-lovers prefer to watch and support their teams from the comfort of their own couches. This means that out of the thirty something games, many of these will be consumed from home. Although this may be true, social and cultural trends highlight that this may not mean audiences are watching alone or their fandom is isolated. The same report also notes that as “respondents are more reliant on watching sports on TV,” they increasingly seek “social opportunities to engage in sports that may occur outside the the stadium.” This further fuels the theme that sports can be unifying, no matter the medium.
Despite all this, a possible challenge that should be anticipated is the growing trend that consumers increasingly like to watch content through streaming platforms or at a later time after the live game has been broadcasted.
A possible challenge that exists is the growing trend to watch content through streaming platforms or at a later time after the live game has been broadcasted.
Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket broadcast games for: LA Kings, LA Angels, Anaheim Ducks and LA Clippers.
Reach: 6 million homes
700 live sporting events annually
Clippers: 72 regular season games for this upcoming season (no playoff coverage)
Kings: 72 regular season games for this upcoming season
Ducks: 71 games for this upcoming season
140k likes on Facebook
also has Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter
When asked what sports do you associated yourself with, 38% responded MLB, 31% NBA and 23% NHL.
BROKEN DOWN BY SPORT
NFL/MLB:
Males 35+ are the core fan base
● Skews towards older men
NBA:
● Younger males, ages 18-54
● Since fans are usually younger, this provides a prime area to “groom” fans to
continue loyalty and thus the possible expansion of the fan base
NHL:
● There is a greater opportunity for women engagement and fandom within hockey
● If league can continue to attract female fans then it should see long-term growth
in the female fan base
Other:
NBA are more reliant on star power of individual players while fans of NHL and MLB cite
appeal from the entire team/team identity
- Particular note: Dads play a significant role in the fan base of the NBA, NHL, NASCAR,
MLS (Mintel)
Individuals between 18–34 years old don’t just seek tangible rewards but more so
intangible experiences/memories that will hold more sentimental value than a physical
object. Also value interactivity.
According to the Pew Research Center,
According to Mintel, Millennials favor intangible experiences more than tangible objects so when it comes to sports, they’re more likely to transform it into a social moment.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/
Direct Brand Competitors: Major sports networks. All that are shown above and MLB, NFL, NHL National Networks.
Category Competition: All TV programming including cable, news, pay per view channels, and network stations
Product Substitutes: Anything someone chooses to do instead of watch the game.
Strengths:
Large Media Market: LA is the second largest media market in the country. The size of the market is a big advantage because there will always be fans around teams in LA.
Identifiable Superstars: Mike Trout, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are becoming household names, however even in a struggling hockey market names like Jonathon Quick and Ryan Getzlaf are becoming more and more recognizable.
4 Winning Teams: This is a very important strength, as it is what our campaign is built around. It is not often that all of the major sports teams in a market are title contenders, in fact it is very rare.
Weakness:
Hockey is still developing in the LA market. This is a weakness because 2 of the 4 teams involved in the campaign are hockey teams. The Kings just won the Stanley Cup and are right around the league average in attendance while the Ducks had the most wins in the NHL last season and they are below the attendance average.
Opportunities:
Cross town rivalries are established creating extra buzz around those game. Fans show their spirit more.
New Clippers ownership brings new fans and excitement
Lakers Struggling and Dodgers holding out TV rights leaves room for new Clippers and Angels fans.
Threats:
LA has always been considered a Lakers/Dodgers town
The speed of social media leaves viewers less inclined to tune in as the can get updates to the second from their phones.
Positioning the brand as the only place all year long that has Angels, Clippers, Ducks and Kings games helps build a loyalty with the brand as fans know they have to tune into this certain station to catch the game. It becomes more of a top of mind network when it is stated in such a way.
There is so much to do in LA that fans need excellent content to be entertained. Well look no further.
Last Season’s Stats:
Angels: AL West Champs; Best Record in the MLB; AL MVP Mike Trout
Clippers: Western Conference Pacific Division Winners
Ducks: Most wins in the NHL
Kings: Stanley Cup Winners
Winning is fun and exciting and when teams are good people tune in.
In terms of trial and retrial, we mean for consumers to watch the sports events on the network and create positive associations with their watching experience. This will overall improve Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket’s brand equity with consumers, which will increase the chances of heightened viewership if consumers like where they are receiving their information and content from.
As another goal of the campaign is to position Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket as the leading location for all sports-related content, we aim to provide the element of exclusivity and attractive incentives so that consumers will place the network in their consideration set. A positive brand image will also be formed through creative advertisements and billboards that fuel excitement. Photo campaign will encourage target market to participate and foster the relationship between consumer, network, and the teams.
Another objective is to increase overall awareness through social and visual media that will be used together to not only highlight but provide consumers a steady stream of information and content to keep Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket relevant as they make their consumer decisions on which network to be loyal to. Broadcast media, such as our 0:30 second commercial spot, will communicate in a more stimulating manner to the consumer that will hopefully resonate with them.
Since our campaign is relatively short at just six weeks, we will aim to focus our efforts on frequency rather than reach to encourage maximum exposure and impact.
Campaign will being with two weeks left in March to educate viewers about the contest and hashtag, and build up hype going into the playoffs. Each vehicle will more or less run evenly with one another with a heavy emphasis on social media advertising.
Construction of TV Commercial:
Music: Kendrick Lamar – i. This song was chosen because he is a widely recognized artist from LA and it has an upbeat, fun vibe to it.
Scenes: Scenes were cut using the superstars of each team as fans relate to those types of advertising the most (Mintel). Last season’s accomplishments are also during their respected clips to hammer home the big idea of “Winners Watch Here” so we wanted to show just how much these teams win. The last 2.5 seconds are dedicated to introducing the social media fantest.
Radio:
A quick 15 second ad to educate listeners about the brand and what teams are offered. Also introduce them to the #ShowYourFandom hashtag.
Social Media will play a huge role in the campaign. 18-34s are major social media users and this is where we will put the most advertising money into with sponsored tweets and Instagram posts promoting the contest talked about on the next slide. The reason we are putting so much into it is because social media is the best way for fans to engage with their teams and ultimately the network.
Our contest will engage viewers to not only turn to the game, but stay tuned in and share their viewership within their social networks.
The contest encourages fans to take pictures of themselves showing off their team spirit, rituals, viewing habits, lucky charms, etc. The idea is to make viewing a sports game in LA as much of an event as being at one. Fans will look for creative and funny ways to show how they watch their LA teams with a chance of getting their pictures shown live during the game. According to Mintel, 18-34s are especially interested in the social aspect of sports fandom with 75% of women and 71% of men in that demographic agree that being around or in this case, seeing their friends showing their fandom makes them more enthusiastic. Also, 37% of Hispanics and 36% of non-white/non-black sports fans believe their game day rituals help their team win, which leaves an interesting opportunity for these fans to show their rituals, especially in a market as diverse as LA’s.
The reasoning behind a photo contest was the growing second screen phenomenon and the need for consumers to be interacted with. 29% of 18-34s use a second screen while watching TV and 53% of them use it for social media.
@FoxSportsWest and a new account @FSWFandom will sift through the results and during each game prepare 2-3 of the best photos to be displayed at during a break in action towards the end of the game, and then again during a post game recap. This will keep viewers tuned in after the game.
With 2 weeks left in the month, 3 of the biggest fans chosen by their submitted photos will be voted on by other fans on Fox Sports West’s website, and the winner of the contest gets 4 tickets to a suite for the game, along with pregame access to the players (if available), the broadcast team, a tour of the arena/stadium and they will take over the @FoxFandom twitter handle for the game, while live tweeting it, and choosing who that day’s winners are to be shown towards the end of the game.
Ads:
Magazine Ads
Billboards
Posters
Building Wrap
Newspaper Ads
Excluding the pictured billboard ad, each ad will be highly versatile. The ads with individual team’s all-stars will be placed around their respected arenas to reach those attending games. They will also run on a rotating Newspaper schedule that spans across various newspapers (see media calendar), along with magazines.
Our billboard ad will be placed in each of the counties the network reaches along major traffic areas such as freeways and main roads. It will also serve as the creative for the two building wraps we choose as those will see the heaviest traffic of all ad placements. Because it reaches such a wide audience we looked to ensure the brand shows it’s wider portfolio.
Construction of the Ads:
We chose to focus on the superstars of each team to make the vocal point of the ads because according to Mintel, ads featuring popular athletes were cited among the favorite types of sports-related advertising.
Winners Watch Here goes across the top because it fully exemplifies the Fox Sports West brand. All of their times are winners.
