FREE ESSAY ON SPORTS MARKETING

SPORTS MARKETING

The Grand Rapids Hoops and their marketing team are obviously in some serious trouble. Let
me start out by commenting and some of the game we saw last week. When I first walked
into the arena I didn't know what to expect, I had never been to a hoops game before. I
had gotten there a little bit early so I figured that was the reason for the low
attendance. As I waited until the game started only a few hundred more people had shown
up. It was at this point when I realized that the Hoops were in some serious trouble.
One of the first things I did when I got into the arena was to take a look at all the
advertisements that were posted. Some of the backlit signs are saw were for the
following: Budweiser, Bank 1, Voice Stream, Comerica, and News 3, there were also a few
others that I did not mention. There were also some removable signs as well, but not
nearly as many. A couple of the removable signs that I saw were for Franklin Express, and
WXSP. In addition to those there were also signs about the shot clock for enterprise rent
a car. I had never seen an add on the shot clock before and I don't think I really liked
it there; it was too much into the game. The Hoops didn't have a wide variety of
advertisements, it seemed like two or three companies were doing all of the advertising.
And those companies that were doing all the advertising were getting advertisements put
everywhere. There were even adds running on the projection television throughout the
National Anthem. 
I think the main problem with their lack of attendance, is what we have said in class
already. That problem is the Hoops arena, Van Andel is just way to big of an arena for
the Hoops to be using. From there it just gets worse, it's like the trickle down effect.
The arena is way to big to be filled, and since it isn't filled no one wants to pay to
advertise there. This only hurts the way they market their product as well. In the Hoops
brochures, they say there is a phenomenal atmosphere, combined with intense fan fun. When
I was there it didn't seem like the atmosphere was too phenomenal. If you are going to
put a motto on your brochures and ads, you better make sure that you can provide what you
are promising. If you can't supply what you promise, people will be disappointed no
matter what happens at the game. I'm sure that the motto would have been great back at
the old arena, but not at Van Andel. I think the only thing that can really help the
Hoops, is a smaller arena. People visit Hoops games because of the fun and excitement
that is provided, and Van Andel arena can't supply the correct environment.
The way I see it, a lot of the things that went on throughout the game were very good
ideas. I particularly like the idea of letting the little kids shoot around on the court
before the game, this builds tremendous fan interaction. Another thing I thought was
interesting was the play area, this seems like a really good idea. One of the other idea
I really liked, was how the players stay around after the game to sign autographs. This
idea is great, it builds a kind of bond between the player and the kids. Hopefully the
kids will really enjoy that experience and ask their parents to take them back. Besides
that, the basketball itself is really pretty good. I thought it was entertaining just
watching the game, but it felt kind of like I was at home watching it because of all the
silence. 
I think if the Hoop can get a smaller arena, it will solve a large amount of their
problems. By doing this, it will intensify the atmosphere in the arena by providing more
of a packed arena. By doing this it will also make the Hoops tickets seem more valuable,
because there won't be as many to go around. It seems like everyone wants to go to
something they can't, and no one wants to go to something they can. This idea makes the
Hoops seem more exclusive, which is really what they need right now. It seems like no one
really wants to go to their games, but if people can't get tickets I really feel that the
demand will rise. Then if the Hoops can fill the arena, they probably won't have a
problem finding people to advertise in it. You could go as far as to say people might
even be asking to put advertisements in the arena.
Overall, it seems like the Hoops have some really good ideas about what they want to do
with their product. It just seems like they are at the wrong place. It would be a big
jump for the Hoops to move out of Van Andel, but I think it's something they definitely
need to do to get back on top.