Marketing Analysis: The London Knights Hockey Club
By: Jessica Cunha
For: Professor Ron Caughlin
Class: RECL 217 ONC
Due: Friday November 14th 2015
Table of Contents
Titles Page Numbers
Introduction 2
Organization Overview 2
Marketing Mix- The 4 P’s 4
Situational Analysis 5
SWOT Analysis 10
Market Research 11
Recommended Marketing Strategy 12
Conclusion 13
Reference List 14
1
Introduction
The purpose of this assignment is to create a marketing analysis for an amateur sport
organization. The particular organization that will be examined is the London Knights Hockey
Club. An overview of the business, their consumers and competition will be discussed, and a
situational and SWOT analysis will be conducted followed by recommendations for their
marketing strategy.
Organization Overview
In this section, an overview of the company, its consumer as well as its competition will be
outlined to gain a better perspective on the internal portion of the company.
Company
The London Knights Hockey Club is located in London Ontario. They play out of the Budweiser
Gardens which is the largest multi-purpose facility in southwestern London. The club is
associated with the Ontario Hockey League and is organized by their operations staff which
consists of their head coach/president/owner Dale Hunter, who is a former NHL player and
former NHL coach, his brother Mark Hunter who is Vice President and Basil McRae, a formal
NHL player and the current General Manager (London Knights, 2015).
Although their mission and vision is not clearly defined, the objective they have outlined is to
continue their rich winning tradition of having so far won 11 Division trophies; 5 Western
Conference titles; 3 OHL Championships and 1 Memorial Cup. With such strong
accomplishments, it is no wonder why this team’s differential advantage is due to the fact that
they produce a number of players that are later drafted into the NHL. Aside from playing hockey,
they also give back to the community, offering additional products some of which include:
Fleetway London Knights Kids Club
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Budweiser King Club
Chance to sing the National Anthem
Tim Hortons Intermission Skates (London Knights, 2015)
These additional products further reflect the consumers they are attempting to target which will
be discussed further in the next section.
Consumer
Since they are located in London Ontario, their main target market are those living in London
who enjoy either watching, or playing the game of hockey. Based off of their products, the
demographic they are reaching out to comprise mostly of two main markets:
1. Families- As they can go out together and watch a decent game of hockey and,
2. High School Students- As they fit the age category of the players
Competition
In regards to their competition, this can be broken down into direct, substitute and future
competition.
Their direct competition includes mainly other OHL hockey teams in the other surrounding cities
such as the Kitchener Rangers and the Sarnia Sting. Although they are relatively far away from
London, they are still good teams that some may prefer due to numerous factors such as
watching their favourite up and coming players or simply having a better mascot. Within
London, a direct competition would be the Western University hockey and football teams since
both are high performance winning teams, as well as the Fanshawe College teams.
When examining the substitute competition, the Figure Skating Grand Prix Competitions, as well
as any ice shows would cause them to lose some audience members since London has also
produced some of Canada’s best figure skaters. People want to go out and see those who have
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excelled on an international platform such as the Olympics and therefore will take some
audiences away from the London Knights. There are also amazing theatrical performances held
in London, specifically at the famous Grand Theatre where many great and notable actors have
performed. The London Music Hall also hosts many different concerts that people may choose to
attend instead to see their favourite band play.
In terms of future competition, a major one would be the addition of an NHL team in London.
Recently, there have been discussions regarding having more NHL teams in Canada and one of
the places might be in London Ontario since they are a hockey city that might be able to support
a team.
Marketing Mix- The 4 P’s
This section will be a quick examination of the 4 P’s of marketing for the London Knights.
Product- Their main product/brand they are promoting is the OHL hockey team the London
Knights
Price- This will vary depending on what you want as shown below:
Individual Tickets: Range from $20.50- $34.75
Flex Packs: Range from $63.00- $93.00
Season Tickets: Sold Out, Price will vary depending on location. Prices Ranges were not
shown. (London Knights, 2015)
Place- There are three convenient ways of purchasing tickets to their games:
1. In Person- at the Aluminum Associates London knights Armoury
2. Over the phone: 519-681-0800 ext 1
3. Online through their website http://www.londonknights.com/page/tickets-i or through
Ticketmaster (London Kinghts, 2015)
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Promotion- There are different promotional avenues the team utilizes to reach out to their target
market. These avenues include commercials on both the television and on YouTube, promotional
event nights, billboard ads, social media, and Tim Hortons Cards. Some places, such as a few
restaurants in London, even help to promote the team in their own ways through wall art.
1 Tim Hortons Card with London Knights Logo
Situational Analysis
In this section, the location and community that the London Knights are within will be further
examined, followed by a Marketing Environment Analysis that will be conducted to further
examine the type of image the London Knights have within the community and their
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2 Restaurant in London showing support for London Knights
organization. Lastly the six questions of sport marketing research will be reviewed to provide a
more in-depth grasp regarding the relationship between the consumers and the brand.
Location and Community Analysis
As was briefly discussed in the previous section, the London Knights are located in the heart of
London, Ontario. Looking at the 2011 Census for the city of London, it shows that the
population has been growing and is predominantly English speaking; 80.7% reporting English as
their mother tongue and 89% speaking English most often at home (Statistics Canada, 2015).
This means that often times the marketing advertisements will be understood by the residents’ as
there is little language barrier between the brand and the consumer. Any messages will be
understood.
Likewise, another important factor looked at within the community is the age range, marital
status and the presence of children. According to Statistics Canada (2015):
About 68% of the population is between the ages of 15 to 64, with the median age being
40 years.
Within the population, 41% are married with children,
43% are married without children,
6% are common law with children and
10% are common-law without children
These percentages are integral when determining who the target audience is, and how to cater the
marketing to their wants and needs.
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Marketing Environment Analysis
Another important factor to reflect on is how the London Knights are viewed within their
community, organization and the different methods they use to communicate with their audience.
The following PEST analysis was used to further examine their marketing environment.
Political In the OHL- Within the Ontario Hockey League organization, the London Knights seem to be in good standing as they have been a part of the organization for the last 50 years without talks of moving the team or cancelling the program. They also have one of the best franchise in the league, producing many great hockey players that end up being drafted into the NHL such as Corey Perry, Patrick Kane, Rick Nash and more recently Max Domi. (Slawson, 2015)
With other Teams- As with any hockey team, there are rivals. Their main two being Windsor Spitfires and Sarnia Sting. In last year’s season, there were a total of 164 fights against the Windsor Spitfires and 139 fights against the Sarnia Sting (hockeyfights.com, 2015).
In the Community- Within the community, the Knights are seen in a positive light. The London Free Press is always writing about their achievements, whether as a team, or individual as well as their losses. With headlines such as “Christian Dvorak and Mitch Marner turn into the dynamic duo on the same line” and “London Knights goalie says it was ‘a big deal’ to him to show he could play and win an entire three-in-three weekend”, it is no wonder why there is such a large attendance (upwards of 9,000 people) at the games (Pyette, 2015).
Economic Sales- To generate money, the London Knights focus on sales of both tickets and merchandise. As was listed earlier, the London Knights offer an array of ticket packages. From season’s tickets, to flex packs to individuals, they provide many options for their fans.
London Knights merchandise is also sold. They offer Game Worn Jersey’s, new jersey’s, apparel, headwear, drinkware, accessories, collectables and the famous Sir Scores-A-Lot Plush Mascot as shown on the right.
Sponsorships- The team also has a numerous amount of different sponsors such as Budweiser, Scotiabank, Tim Hortons, Delta London Armouries, Goodlife Fitness, John Deere and Rocky’s Harley- Davidson just to name a few. In total they have 118 corporate sponsors (London Knights, 2015)
Aside from playing hockey, the London Knights also do quite a bit within
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Social the community as shown on their website (2015).
50/50 Draws- The London Knights will help an organization fundraise at their games. They have already helped the Kidney Foundation raise $2782.00 and the London Skating Club $5089.00
Player Appearances- Once a month the community has a chance to meet their favourite players at different locations such as Jack Astor’s and a Ping Pong Tournament.
Scotiabank Captains’ Clinic- A program where a local minor hockey team has the opportunity to have a team practice with 4 players from the London Knights. The players not only have fun but are able to teach the team their working with more skills and knowledge of the hockey game.
Speakers Series- The London Knights offer high school business students, as well as students in College/University an opportunity where they have Geoffrey Hare, the Director of Marketing, attend their class to discuss his responsibilities and educational background.
Technological The London Knights are quite active with technology which helps them connect with their young demographic.
Social Media- As with many sport teams, the London Knights are active on Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat and Instagram. This expands their reach and offers a way to further connect with their fans by including them in what used to be behind the scenes.
Other Technologies- The London Knights also make it convenient for their attendees to not only purchase tickets, but to also present them at games through e-tickets. You have the option of either printing them out yourself or holding your ticket on your mobile device.
Also if you are unable to watch the games but would still like to keep updated with the scores, the London Knights will provide text messages of the game results (London Knights, 2015)
6 Questions of Marketing
In order to acquire specific information from market research, there are 6 crucial questions that
must be discussed in order to begin seeing new opportunities for new products or identifying
new market segments. The 6 questions will be broken down and answered in this section.
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Who: This was spoken about briefly in the previous sections when looking at the
consumers as well as the location. The consumers are the citizens of London, whether
permanently or temporarily residing there. Based on the demographics of the area, it is families
as well as young adults/students who are the main consumers that make the final decision to
purchase London Knights products. The main competitor of the London Knights is the Western
Mustangs and the Fanshawe Falcons both of whom have high performance teams with older or
even former players from the OHL teams. With respect to their consumers though, they
predominantly focus on their students, alumni, faculty/staff and the community surrounding the
school.
What: Based off of the attendance at the games, and the fact that season tickets are sold
out, the consumers seem to be content with paying the current ticket prices. Some of the benefits
they may seek would be to have more opportunities to meet those players who are considered to
be NHL prospects and to even win some free merchandise at the games. Depending on the age of
the consumer, they also may be seeking more ways of getting to know the players, that is, seeing
what they do in their practices, what their personalities are like, what equipment they are using
and even who is single.
Where: Since the London Knights are quite popular in the city already, consumers can
learn more about them from their online website, as well as their home arena. If they are really
curious, many of the residents’ in the London area would also be able to provide more
information on the team. To shop for products, the consumer can go online (London Knights
website, Amazon, Ebay) or in-store. Many of their products can be used outside of watching the
games; wearing hats on a hot or cold day; wearing sweaters at home or outside, and if they’re a
collector, displaying or selling the collectable items. With the use of social media, branding has
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become easier since someone can take a picture of themselves and post it on Instagram where
their many followers will see it and they just may be wearing something of the London Knights
therefore increasing the awareness of the brand.
When: Most of the products are purchased during the hockey season since it is on
everyone’s mind and consumers will use their purchases when there is a game, whether they are
watching the game live, at home or in a bar. They will also use the products when the weather
permits them to use it.
How: Depending on their unbridled passion, the consumers may purchase many products
offered by the London knights that go beyond game tickets. Those who are fans may just buy
tickets and a jersey to wear at games. The London Knights attempt to make it simple for products
to be purchased by their fan base as simply and quickly as possible at their store or online.
Why: People want to feel like they are a part of something big and to have the sense of
unity. Since the London Knights are such a strong team in the OHL, consumers want to be a part
of that and show their support through purchasing products with the London Knights logo. They
want to show to others that they support, and are a part of this larger network of likeminded
individuals, and in this case, a winning team.
SWOT Analysis
A SWOT Analysis was conducted in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the
organization, as well as potential threats and the opportunities that can occur from those threats.
The table below will outline each section of the analysis:
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Strengths
Have loyal fanbase- have many spectators come out to watch the games
Are in good standing with the community/media
Product is strong- Winning team with many NHL prospects
Prices for games are reasonable Great facility
Weaknesses
People new to the city may not know or care who they are since they are not a professional team
Most of the marketing is geared towards families when 43% of married couples do not have kids. Also the second largest age group is between 20-25
Often times only the knight logo is shown without the name of the organization (ex: Tim Horotons Cards)- assuming everyone knows who they are
Team/players themselves do not actually do much within the community
Threats
Western Mustang games are cheaper- Tickets are around $5-$10
Possible expansion of the NHL into the city of London
Competing with direct and substitute competition for the same consumers
Great players are picked up by AHL and NHL teams, consumers may follow the players and travel to their games instead
Changing demographics- People moving out of Toronto to more affordable places with job opportunities. May not have same love for the game
Opportunities
Offer free bus ride with the purchase of a ticket to both high school and post-secondary students. Similar to what they did during the Pan Am Games
Offer discount tickets for post-secondary students
Have alumni return- have a friendly match with alumni and current team
Create different nights that cater to different markets i.e. Ladies Nights
More community events with the players helping out
Market Research
If asked by this company to undertake a form of market research, the method used would be a
questionnaire as they are inexpensive and can be used to reach a wide range of people. It will
also allow the company to gain insight on how happy the current fans are with the organization,
and provide input on what they believe would make things better. At the same time the
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organization would be able to gain insight as to why others may not be fans, and what things
they may like in order to try and cater to their needs and wants.
Recommended Marketing Strategy
What the London Knights are currently doing with their marketing has been working for their
product sales so far, but things can improve. To increase product sales so that they sell out their
games, I have provided the following 3 recommendations:
1. Reach out to the University/College students.
As was stated earlier, there are a large number of 17-25 year olds residing in
London, most of them probably students. Students have a lot of pride in their
sports teams and are willing to travel with their friends to have a good night out to
watch a good game and hopefully a winning team. This organization should offer
College/University nights called “Knights of the Round Table” where students
can get a great deal of purchasing their ticket and getting free bus rides to and
from the game, as well as free food or drink. This will be enough incentive for
students to want to come out to a game.
2. Create a slogan
Brand names are often accompanied by a slogan which help to physically and
emotionally communicate the brand. For example, the Raptors slogan “We the
North” created this unifying emotion amongst the people of Toronto and even the
rest of Canada. All of a sudden everyone felt like they were a part of the team.
With Nike, their slogan “Just do it” also conveys an emotion to their consumers of
just going for something and doing your very best. It is something uplifting and
powerful. With respects to the London Knights they may want to convey a
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winning/unifying emotion with “The Best Start Here” or “We Are Hockey”.
Creating an emotional attachment will have a ripple effect on retaining current
fans and obtaining new ones.
3. Get former players to do promos
Once you begin getting former players to do promotions with the current players,
a connection between those in the AHL or NHL comes into play. This will not
only get people to go out to watch the games and meet the players while they are
still in the city, but it also begins to create a connection with the NHL and AHL so
that if they ever do expand out to London, they may not lose that many consumers
to the professional league. The connection will already establish that these boys,
although young, are the future of the NHL and should be supported on their
journey. The other benefit of using alumni are to engage those people who only
watch the professional league. If they realize that one of their favourite NHL
players used to play for the London Knights, they may be more inclined to watch
their games to see who the prospects are.
Conclusion
Overall, the London Knights Hockey Club have a fairly strong marketing strategy implemented
compared to other OHL teams. They have captured and retained their desired target market, have
a strong product that produces optimal results and are able to compete with their competitors.
The London Knights organization should continue to look for ways to build their brand as there
are other targets in the area that they can capture.
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Reference List
Hockeyfights.com. (2014). London Knights Team Rivals. Violent Gentlemen. Retrieved from
http://www.hockeyfights.com/teams/11008/team_rivals
Pyette, R. (2015, September 27). Get ready for more crazy. The London Free Press.
Retrieved from http://www.lfpress.com/2015/09/27/confusion-reigns-as-kingston-
frontenacs-down-knights
Slawson, D. (2015, August 3). London Knights- The Team to watch in 2015-16. The Hockey
Writers. Retrieved from http://thehockeywriters.com/london-knights-the-team-to-watch-
in-2015-16/
Statistics Canada. (2015). 2011 Census metropolitan area of London, Ontario. Retrieved from
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-cma-
eng.cfm?LANG=Eng&GK=CMA&GC=555
The Official Site of the London Knights. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.londonknights.com/
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