Report By:

Whitecaps' Strategic Marketing Plan

Table of ContentsIntroduction.............................................................................................................................................2

Strategic Focus and Plan..........................................................................................................................2

SWOT Analysis.........................................................................................................................................3

Target Market..........................................................................................................................................5

Marketing Objectives relative to the target market................................................................................7

Strategic Marketing Plan.........................................................................................................................8

Budget...................................................................................................................................................15

Evaluation and Control..........................................................................................................................16

Bibliography...........................................................................................................................................17

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Whitecaps' Strategic Marketing Plan

Introduction

Who are the Whitecaps and what do we plan to help them with?

The Vancouver Whitecaps were originally established as a team in 1974 when they won their first game against the San Jose Earthquakes (Vancouver Whitecaps, "History"). Later in 1984, the North American Soccer League was transformed into the Canadian Soccer League. In 1986, the Whitecaps changed their original name to the '86ers', to honour Vancouver in becoming a city in 1886 (Vancouver Whitecaps, "The 86ers Years"). From 1988-1991 the 86ers became a strong force in the CSL by winning four consecutive league championship titles. The team continued to do well rising steadily with some titles under their belt when on October 26th, 2000 they formally changed their name back to the Whitecaps after their new owner, David Stadnyk, purchased the naming rights (Vancouver Whitecaps, "History"). The Whitecaps, as of 2004, train in Simon Fraser University's campus training centre (Simon Fraser University). They have continued to do well in the CSL, and have recently become a part of the MLS, further bringing pride to soccer fans and uniting soccer lovers across British Columbia.

In this report, we hope to achieve the marketing mission and objectives put in place by the Whitecaps, in which they wish to expand their fan base as well as increase their ticket sales. As a marketing team, we have researched methods and put in place strategies that aim to achieve said goals. We have aimed to create a brand for the Whitecaps that will be recognizable and respected, as well as prided upon for soccer fans in Vancouver – as well as those just being introduced to the sport.

Strategic Focus and Plan

What is our mission?

Our mission is to create a strong growth foundation for the Whitecaps while meeting their team's mission. The Whitecaps have divided their vision into a three part four year plan ending in 2011. As stated on their website, they wish to 'become one of the best sport franchises in the world', 'help grow the sport of soccer in British Columbia and Canada', and become 'a significant community asset' {Vancouver Whitecaps 2010). Our marketing group has developed a set of strategies to help Whitecaps achieve their goals.

What are the product and marketing objectives to reach our mission?

In order to achieve the Whitecaps mission, we need to determine the product objectives and how we will market our plans. Product objectives are defined as the goals of the product that we are selling and what we hope to achieve with the product. The product objective is to entertain and increase the interest in Whitecaps' fans through the enjoyment of soccer. The marketing objective to help us achieve our product objectives is to market the team to a

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broader audience and increase the brand's prestige. By increasing the awareness of the team through effective marketing, we hope to achieve our product and marketing objectives.

SWOT Analysis

What are some of the SWOT's that can potentially affect the Whitecaps?

SWOT analysis is an "organization's appraisal of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats" (Kerin et al. 298). The strengths and weaknesses are internal factors of the company, whereas the opportunities and threats are external factors. A SWOT analysis can "[help] a firm identify the strategy-related factors in [the four categories] that can have a major effect on the firm" (Kerin et al. 299). We have created a SWOT analysis table illustrating both of the positive and negative factors that have been affecting the company internally and externally.

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SWOT Analysis Table for Whitecaps

Location of Factor

Type of factors

Favourable Unfavourable

Internal

Strengths Weaknesses Youth clubs to help promote

awareness and create a healthier lifestyle.

o "help create the fittest generation of youth in BC by 2020"

o Offers summer camps to promote Whitecaps.

o Only professional soccer club in BC to offer professional instructions.

Offers women and men soccer team to promote diversity in genders in the sport of soccer.

Residency to 'develop players for the clubs and national team'

o Many returning players helps Whitecaps

become more recognizable as a professional team.

It is not as recognizable as other sport teams.

Requires donations to achieve their vision of developing specific programs.

o Residency, youth clubs, summer camps and etc.

Youth camp locations may not be convenient to some parents.

Overpriced seasonal tickets

External

Opportunities Threats Partnership and sponsorship with

BELL to create awareness. Four year partnership extended

with Bank of Montreal to help Whitecaps' youth and professional programs.

Other more popular and recognizable sport teams to take away attention, such as Canucks.

Competition for sponsorships and partnerships by other sport teams.

Other sports events and camps that will decrease the ticket sales.

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Target Market

What is a Target market?

A target market is "a specific group of consumers that can either be already existing or potential consumers that an organization would like to directly target its marketing efforts towards" (Kerin et al. 6). As a group, we decided that the target market for Whitecaps season tickets would be ages 18 to 45 because, as a team, they have been trying to increase their fan base by creating interest for newer generations and maintaining their current returning consumers. By selecting the age group 18 to 45, they can pay for the luxury of watching the entertainment from their employment.

Methods of segmenting

Geographic This is a method of segmenting the target market according to geographical

location. It looks at aspects such as country, region, province and city size as well as types of location be it suburban, urban or rural (Kerin et al. 107). By segmenting their target market in this particular way, it makes it easier for the Whitecaps to advertising and market more effectively as they know the exact location of their major market. The geographic target market mainly resides in the lower mainland. And another major portion of Whitecaps fans are from the Southside.

Demographics This method of segmentation is interrelated with geographical. Based on

geographical location an organization will look into the specific demographics of that location. Demographics include age, gender, income, family cycle, occupation and even ethnicity (Kerin et al. 108). Whitecaps primary target are people between ages 18 and 45. Finding out the age of the target market is important as it will aid the Whitecaps in marketing their season tickets. Similarly with income it will show the Whitecaps who would be more likely to afford tickets to a game and will allow them to alter prices accordingly. Since many families are currently working with lower disposable income compared to before, it will affect the Whitecaps greatly. The season ticket pass is $319 or $16.79 per game. Occupation can help to distinguish between school, college students and working class this can also help when dealing with pricing as well as marketing. Finding out the various sizes of families can be important information when considering special deals on tickets for families.

Psychographic

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Psychographic segmentation deals with the consumer attitudes, beliefs, interests and opinions (Kerin et al. 108) .The information is generally gathered by conducting primary research. In our case for the Whitecaps, it would specifically deal with the consumers whom are interested in sports. Some points for us to consider before starting our strategic marketing plan would be the consumer’s attitudes towards spending money on tickets to watch the game live rather than watching the game at home. Major Whitecap fans would prefer to watch the game live, whereas the casual viewer may prefer to watch Whitecaps games on the television. All this information should be incorporated when dealing with the target market.

Behavioural Behavioural segmentation examines the reasons why a consumer purchases a

product, how they use the product, the benefit it provide them, as well as why they choose the specific ‘brand’ (Kerin et al. 108). This will deal with what benefits a consumer receives by going to a Whitecaps game and what the Whitecaps can do to make sure that their consumers and fans are satisfied with their experience in order to encourage them to repurchase; therefore encouraging brand loyalty. Again the Whitecaps would need to consider the demographics of their consumers in order to make sure they are satisfied. For example the Whitecaps employees can provide a variety of refreshments and drinks to cater to the various lifestyles of their consumers, as well as providing handicapped parking and other amenities to aid the disabled. The Whitecaps also encourage audience participation by allowing the crowd to be as loud as they please! This factor gives them an edge on other sports teams and may encourage loyalty.

What is Point of Difference?

Point of difference is a very important part of marketing. It is the way a company clearly distinguishes its product from other companies and competitors (Kerin et al. 147). What the product offers a consumer that their competitor’s products do not plays a huge role in marketing. In order to do this, the Whitecaps would need to look into other sports teams like the BC Lions and the Canucks and examine the ways where they can provide a better gaming experience to their consumers. This information can be obtained by using a combination of primary and secondary research. We can achieve point of difference by interviewing soccer fans and finding out why they would prefer going to a BC Lions game rather than a Whitecaps game to incorporate new innovative ideas and concepts. The Whitecaps can then use this information to help them successfully put themselves apart from their competition.

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Product positioning is "the image of the product you want to establish in consumers' minds relative to the competition" (Kerin et al. 110). Positioning Whitecaps a certain unique way is one of the great methods to distinguish it from its competitors. We will go into detail about positioning and some ways we will position Whitecap in the strategic marketing plan section.

Marketing Objectives relative to the target market

What are the marketing objectives we have to each target market?

The marketing objectives must relate to target market to efficiently market to the target market. From the section above, we have broken down the marketing objectives into each of its target market categories: geographic, demographic, psychographic and behaviouristic.

To market to the geographic target market, we will need to cater to the lower mainland's preferences. Vancouver consists of mainly urban and suburban families (Baker). Since urban families are becoming more common, many may prefer watching sports as a social event. Our marketing plan may include buying tickets to Whitecaps as a family or friends event. The marketing objectives would be including geographic elements into our marketing plan that may capture the lower mainland's attention and awareness towards Whitecaps.

Demographics differ between regions. The Whitecaps are mainly directing their marketing efforts towards the age groups of 18 to 45 with disposable income to spend on season tickets as an entertainment source. Income plays a huge role in order to increase the ticket sales revenue. According to the Maslow hierarchy of needs, consumers must first satisfy their physiological needs and safety needs before satisfying their social and personal needs (Kerin et al. 48). Our marketing objectives for the demographics' target market would be creating an interest for the newer generation while maintaining the older generation's interest and preferences. There is an increase in the average age in Canada (Statistics Canada, "Age and Sex"). We must alter our marketing plans to cater to the rising age as well as capturing the newer generation's interests.

Since the lower mainland is near the mountain, many people have different psychographic views. Vancouver offers winter and summer sports, and most Vancouverites prefer a healthier lifestyle. Many children are becoming obese and parents are becoming increasingly concerned (Vancouver Sun). About 10.9% of obese British Columbian were surveyed (CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.) and 7% of the

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10.9% were between the ages of two and seventeen in 2007 (Legislative Assembly of British Columbia). Whitecaps cater to Vancouverites that have an interest in watching and participating in sports. By having youth clubs to promote a fit and healthy lifestyle for children and youths, it can increase a parent's loyalty towards Whitecaps, as they are supporting the growing needs of their family and children to remain active and healthy; which can generate higher ticket sales. Our marketing objective for Whitecaps to aim at the psychographic target market will provide as many activities to capture the interests to increase our seasonal ticket sales.

Behaviouristic factors may greatly affect Whitecaps' seasonal ticket sales. We must determine how the Whitecaps' games can benefit its consumers. The stadium allows the consumer to sit or stand while watching the matches, create noises during games, and create a unique atmosphere. Our marketing objectives for this category will be to increase the brand loyalty of our customers by determining how the product can benefit them. Increasing the brand loyalty will enhance the rate of returning fans, in turn increasing the revenue.

Strategic Marketing Plan

How are we going to promote the Whitecaps through marketing?

The Vancouver Whitecaps would like to increase the number of annual seasonal ticket holders as well as appeal to a new and upcoming generation of soccer lovers which will continue their growth for the coming years. In order to do so, we have developed a comprehensive strategic marketing plan which will generate the desired demand for the sport, as well as infiltrate the team’s branding into the market in a way that will help to create a new generation of soccer lovers. Included in the Strategic Marketing Plan for the Whitecaps are the four most crucial strategies in developing a marketing plan: product, price, distribution and promotional strategies.

Product Strategy

i. As a newly recognized MLS team, the Whitecaps have several different ranges of ticket prices for their upcoming games in 2011. There are seven packages/levels of season passes which range from $319 (green package) to $1,292-1,482 (club package) amongst the others in between (Vancouver Whitecaps 2010). Due to the HST and the $10 processing fee currently set in place, the cheapest season pass works out to be around $367.28, making the Whitecaps tickets the most expensive season tickets in the league. Because of this pricing, there has been significant outrage on social media sites, such as Facebook, by Whitecaps fans. Therefore it is in our best interest to redevelop, minimize and move around prices in our season passes in order to keep our fans happy, as well as expand our fan base!

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In order to increase our fan base, we will implement a differentiation strategy, which will recognize the branding of the Whitecaps as unique throughout the industry. One of the features of our strategy is our creation of a “Family Platinum Package” which will allow younger generations to be exposed to the game, and learn to love it and respect it as a fun, social sport which they can carry on watching in their later years. The Family Platinum Package will be good for two adults and two children. This package is especially important as it will give exposure and opportunity for families to attend the events at a lower cost, while developing a positive relationship with younger generations, necessary in order to build a fan base that will continue over time.

ii. There has been little branding and marketing of the Whitecaps team as a whole. We would like to implement not only a branding of the product (being the season tickets and Family Platinum Pass) but also the branding of the team themselves. It is crucial to develop an appealing image of a product, and essentially the team is also a product, as it is the team and the sport that increases the fan base, not necessarily the prices of the tickets. Marketing the Whitecaps as well as the sport as Canadian, social, and a competitive entertainment would put the Whitecaps in the market alongside sports teams such as the Vancouver Canucks, which has been branded as the Canadian sport to attend and has developed strong social unity amongst Canadian viewers due to its competitive nature and branding of Canadian (or even just Vancouverite) pride. The Whitecaps need to be considered a pride to Vancouver, which can be done by increased exposure to younger generations by means of social media, and even contests and giveaways that would appeal to said generation. Considering that the roster of the 2011 MLS league is still to be announced, it will be within our best effort to place the top ranking Canadian players onto the team, creating an image of an “all-Canadian” sport. Despite being the pride and joy of Vancouver, the Canucks have a team infiltrated with out of country players – we would like to make sure that the Whitecaps can truly represent our city; however out of country players will of course be considered and placed on the team.

Pricing Strategy i. There are several important factors that were necessary to consider while

producing a pricing strategy for the season pass, family package, as well as the budget developed for how much the Marketing department is to spend on advertising and the creation of the Whitecaps brand. Whitecaps have not picked up many new fans; their fans are mostly based on those who started watching the team from the beginning. Considering the

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Whitecaps have been introduced to the industry on a very minimal level, we have decided to take a Market Penetration Strategic approach, therefore, setting our prices a bit lower. This decision has also been made on the basis of many different factors and forces such as: Economic Forces:-With the state of the economy being one of the most influential factors in the decision to purchase a product, especially large scale purchases like a season pass to a game, it is necessary to be aware of the struggle many people are facing with the increased taxation. Entertainment, arguably, is a luxury not a necessity and is therefore left to the discretionary income of people. Lowering the prices will make it easier for people in today’s economy to feel comfortable making such a purchase.Competitive Forces: - The ticket pricing of direct competition to the Whitecaps such as the Vancouver Canucks and the BC Lions were considered in this process. In comparison to the Whitecaps general admission tickets at $50, the ticket prices for a Canucks game are steep; beginning at $65 and reaching above $145. However despite the price, the general public would agree that they are getting their money’s worth of entertainment. A large reason for this is people’s attachment to the team. Before we can implement steeper prices (as has been done in the past couple of months, even before the first MLS game has even been announced) there needs to be a larger draw to soccer, which can be done by developing a better relationship between the Whitecaps and the people of Vancouver.

ii. The current lowest price for a season pass to the Whitecaps in 2011 is $319 per person, which is about $16.79 per game not including the $10 processing fee and provincial taxes. Although in the grand scheme, this is a fantastic deal as the price per game is nearly half of what it would be when purchased on its own, even this price will be difficult for the average person to purchase. Not only that, there has been debate over the overall pricing for season tickets amongst supporters whom feel that they are overpriced for what they’re worth (positioning of the sections in relation to the packages). With that in mind, we will aim to lower each package by at least $20. The goal for the pricing of the Family Platinum Package is $750, which includes two adults and two children, approximating the price per person at $9.86 per game, and will be placed on a first come first serve basis – beginning in the Teal Sections, and then moving down to the Green Sections (see sections below).

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Distribution Strategy

i. A marketing channel is the link between the producer and its buyer which provides the means through which a firm executes various elements of its marketing strategy (Kerin et al 193). Through deciding which marketing channel would be appropriate for the distribution of the Whitecaps product, we considered which channel and intermediaries would best reach our target market, serve the needs of the target market, as well as lead to the most cost-efficient and profitable results. In consideration of our target market as well as technological advancements and focus, we would like to use a Selective Distribution strategy, which will allow us to focus our product around only a few retailer outlets – mainly used over the internet. The Season Pass and tickets will continue to be sold through Ticketmaster outlets, which can be accessed through our main website, and also may be purchased at Ticketmaster locations, and sports orientated stores throughout the Vancouver area. This decision will be easiest accessed for our target market, and also be the most minimized cost choice of the three marketing channels.

ii. Some of the specific locations and retailers can be found through the Official Whitecaps website. When clicking on the button to purchase the season pass or a game ticket, the purchaser will be immediately redirected to the Ticketmaster website, in which all interactions will be fulfilled. Tickets are also able to be purchased through Ticketmaster retail outlets, such as Vancity Sports in Downtown Vancouver, Moneyway Currency Exchange at Park Royal in North

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Vancouver and more. We would also like to utilize soccer orientated sports stores, such as Soccer Express in Vancouver (along with other sports stores), to sell Whitecaps paraphernalia and product. Making our product easily accessible and convenient for the consumer is a main priority and our choices of the several locations for our product will maximize the availability and recognition of the Whitecaps. Awareness of our product and its accessibility will be shown throughout our strategic promotional strategy which follows.

Promotional Strategy

i. In order to achieve our desired goals, we will be attempting at using a “Pull Strategy” in our advertising and promotion. A pull strategy being that we will be directly advertising to our consumers, as opposed to having intermediaries doing said job. This will involve a heavy commitment to advertising; however, we feel that this is necessary in order to truly get the Whitecaps brand on the mind of Vancouverites. We will use all means possible (and within our budget) to fully utilize the Pull Strategy. We see it as necessary to put an ad on TV, as well as use all means of social networking, including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. In order to maximize awareness of the Whitecaps, it is important to have direct relationships with our potential consumers, as well as use as many outlets as possible to gather a following. To conserve money as well as involve teenagers and young adults, we have developed a Youtube competition in which Youtubers send in their own written, produced and directed video for the Whitecaps promoting the season pass. The winner will win a dual season pass in the Yellow section for themselves and one other person, as well as a meet and greet with the team. This will minimize production costs (which can range between $,1,000 - $350,000 for a 30 second advertisement) that would have been necessary in producing our own advertisement, while also getting the general public involved in the new branding. We have also developed an 8 ½” by 11” magazine ad which will be featured in the Georgia Strait – a youthful, energetic magazine based in Downtown Vancouver. The ad will run one week prior to each game starting in the MLS 2011. We have arranged a sponsorship deal with the Georgia Strait that will eliminate all costs of the advertising: in exchange for the spread, we will allow the Georgia Strait to be placed at all Whitecaps game in the most visible area, as well as the placement of banners around the area. We have included a visual of this advertisement at the end of our strategic marketing plan section.

ii. We have also decided to use Personal Selling to raise awareness of our product and essentially gain customer loyalty and build relationships with our customers.

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As personal selling is a face-to-face activity, customers receive a high level of personal attention, which would be a great idea to help develop relationships with our customers. It also gives us the ability to really sell the product on a personal level. The Whitecaps foundation includes the Women’s program, which is the envy of many countries (Whitecaps). We would like to use these role models to help us through personal selling. Our PR and Marketing department will train them in personal selling, and then perhaps have them attend Men’s, Women’s, and Youth league soccer game in order to spread awareness of the Whitecaps season pass and the brand as a whole. The women’s team is a supporter of the development of women’s soccer, and is helping to address the obesity epidemic by encouraging youth to become healthy and active. Their ambitions will be an inspiration to other, and thus showing how socially conscious the Whitecaps brand is, as well as essentially “making the sale” at the end of it all.

iii. Public Relations can be considered to have more credibility then advertising as they are seen as impartial (Kerin, 266), PR is also crucial in maintaining a brands image as positive. Over the past few weeks, since the announcement of the inflated prices of the Season Pass tickets, there has been significant outrage from Whitecaps supporters. PR has had difficulty addressing this problem, which described by some as a “PR disaster” (John Soames, Facebook). PR will be doing everything within its power to reprehend the situation and put fans at ease. We will send out a press release to all media outlets (includes newspapers, radio stations, television stations) to reassure the public that the prices are in fact being lowered and changed, that we are adding alternatives to the roster to expand to different target markets as well, as well as creating awareness for the upcoming 2011 games.

iv. Consumer promotions, or sales promotions, will also be necessary in the development of our marketing plan. As mentioned above, the Youtube commercial contest will be a huge draw for our audience and will help to create hype and awareness for the team and the game.

Direct Response marketing is the most useful tool that we will be making use of in our Strategic Marketing Plan. The internet plays a crucial role in direct response marketing, and we intend to fully utilize it. We will encourage possible customers to sign up for email blasts in which we will promote our products, contests and more, as well as notify supporters of upcoming events and promotions. If the customer desires an alternative, we will send notifications by mail. We do not want to over-do the direct response, which may overwhelm possible customers. We intend to create a healthy balance of direct response marketing and promotion.

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Budget

What is a budget?

A budget can be defined as a financial plan that allows an organization to keep track of cash inflows such as revenues and profits as well as cash outflows like expenses and spending (Kerin et al. 255). There are three situations that can occur in a budget: Balanced budget when inflows=outflows, Budget surplus occurs when inflows are greater than outflows and a Budget deficit is when outflows are greater than inflows. Budgets are important because they act as an action plan for a business, it allows them to allocate their resources, evaluate performance, and make specific plans. A budget can help keep track of an organization’s finances easier. Recording what they spend, how much is spent and when it is spent means that they can keep a track of their spendings and work towards saving better and reaching organizational goals effectively and more efficiently.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of planning a budget?

Advantages:

Budgeting help to coordinate the activities amongst the various departments across the organization.

Budgets help to identify the organizations resources, revenues and activities. They help to put business plans into action.

Budgets allow for an improved allocation of resources as they are specific and so can help reduce waste, if any.

Because budgets use actual figures they give businesses a clear picture of how to carry out their activities.

Disadvantages:

Budgets can be time consuming to plan out. Budgets may not always work out according to plan. Keeping a budget can limit and sometimes even restrict a business from making changes

to their business plans. Budgets are like predictions and so do not take into account changes in the economy

such as inflation and rises in taxes and other costs.

Here is an example of what a Whitecaps budget may look like for one year:

General Expenses Cost in Dollars CADGeneral Manager Salary 28,000.00Stadium Rental 25,000.00

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Administration 1,500.00Accounting & Legal 1,100.00Advertising & Promotions 25,000.00Promo Advertising 15,500.00Food 5,000.00Beer Garden 10,000.00Sponsor Fees 5,000.00Volunteers Fees 400.00 Coordinator Fees 10,500.00 Licensing/Permit Charges 5,500.00Web Design & Hosting 2,050.00Possible cost/year 274,050.00

Employment Costs

Intern Expenses Cost in Dollars CADTicket Operations Intern $650 per month Multi-media Intern $650 per monthCulinary/Catering Intern $1000 per monthFood and Beverage Interns $700 per monthFacility Maintenance Intern $700 per monthGroundskeeping Intern $800 per month

Evaluation and Control

What are the two methods we will use to measure the market plans' success?

There are two methods that can measure our marketing plan's success. Our marketing plan is based on the marketing objectives and target market, and how it appeals to each target market. The marketing plan's success can be measured by the amount of increased revenue. Since our marketing objective is to increase the seasonal ticket sales and broaden the audience interested in soccer, the revenue should be affected. We should be able to see the revenue increase or decrease by comparing the last and current year's finances. The other method of determining the marketing plan's success would be initiating an anonymous survey with questions such as what age group they are in and preferences of the Whitecaps. This will help us have an idea of about what age Whitecaps' fan base has expanded to. Although there is a small margin of error, it can be calculated through the statistics method.

Researching and analyzing our information is crucial to our marketing plan and can affect the success greatly. Via researching and analyzing, we can find primary and secondary information on the Whitecaps to help us further our understanding of the team and prepare an accurate marketing plan. It can also help us find the target market, such as demographic, geographic, behavioural and psychographic. To measure our marketing plan's success we need communicate to receive accurate information.

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