BUOL 533 – Marketing Management
Case study analysis
WEEK 6 – Review this week’s case, The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues
HARVARD CASE STUDY
This case raises important issues in market research and service pricing. A Class A minor league baseball team has started up in Springfield, Massachusetts and – a year-and-a-half in advance of the first game – is planning its first season. The game dates have already been determined, but pricing decisions remain. Management is evaluating the findings of a detailed survey of potential season and single-game ticket buyers, hoping to use the resulting insights to help it price tickets and design season ticket packages. But the team marketing director’s conceptualization of his key concerns becomes increasingly complex as he considers the intricacies of ticket pricing and ancillary issues such as concessions.
After your analysis of the case, prepare a response to the following questions:
1) Evaluate the research survey undertaken by the League Sports Association and by Larry Buckingham, Nor’easters’ marketing director. Consider each step in the process that led to the findings of the survey.
2) What do you consider to be the key findings of the research survey? Comment on what Buckingham learned about a prospective customer profile, pricing, and single-ticket versus season-ticket packages.
3) What considerations should the Nor’easters take into account in establishing a pricing policy?
4) Design a ticket pricing plan for the Nor’easters’ first season. Be very specific, and be prepared to explain the assumptions – especially assumptions of cause and effect – that underlie your strategy. Should Buckingham offer more than one type of season package? How, if at all, should ticket pricing vary by package type? How, if at all, can Buckingham take advantage of consumer interest in grandstand seating?
5) Using the pricing plan you have designed and given Buckingham’s assumptions about concession sales, will the team reach breakeven in the first year? If not, what options does Buckingham have to reach his target?
In your response to these questions, be as thorough as possible. In case analysis, you always want to support your answers with a cited source. In addition, utilize material from the textbook readings in your response.
This is case study analysis. It should be 6+ pages including references and citation. I have attached template for that and pdf of case study.
Answer preview
This case study analysis is done, to address two issues, market, and service pricing. It is about a minor baseball team, which intends to hold its first season. It has determined its date, but the price is not yet made. It is at this point that the management of the team decides to review the findings of potential buyers and let that influence their decision. This, however, is faced with a lot of difficulties such as the exit of another team, the Falcons from the city because they could not make a sale of more than 300 season tickets. The marketing director has been a manager in other entertainment industries, but sports is new to him. The odds are also against him in Springfield, which is a shadow of its former glory. People living there are below the poverty line, and the fan base for baseball is not that much since most of the households contain children who cannot attend such seasons.
Evaluation of The Survey and The Key Learnings
The minor baseball was attended by many people since the tickets were affordable and the game exciting. These kinds of teams were conducted in the suburbs and were considered player development programs, where they kept working on their skills hopeful that they would join the major teams. The major leagues had…
(2100 words)