Prince Tennis

By: Jaime, Courtney, Dave, Kaitlyn, Lauryn and Stephanie

Overview

Lauryn- Mission/Brief history

Stephanie-Demographics/Interview

Jaime-Promoting and Sponsorship

Kaitlyn- Partnerships & Community Involvement

Lauryn- Prince Tennis vs. Competitors

Courtney- PR plan/ Marketing & PR Suggestions

Dave- Company Expectations/Suggested Improvements

Prince Tennis Mission Statement- Prince has continually revolutionized the game with

introductions of new racquets

- “Prince is committed to continually delivering top-quality tennis products in all categories – outfitting players with the very best in footwear, apparel, strings, balls, accessories, and more.”

www.princetennis.com

Prince’s History

- Prince is of one of the leading brands and manufacturers of tennis balls, racquets and equipment.

- Prince is sold in some top leading sporting goods stores.

- Founded in 1977, when Bob McClure built Little Prince. - first ball machine for home court use - developed in McClure's very own garage in Princeton,

NJ

Prince’s History Continued

Prince currently manufactures Footwear, apparel, strings, balls and

accessories.

Prince maintains local level partnerships all over the country to help athletes

Prince’s partners include Kaplan College Prepatory School, Wimbledon and USSC (US Sports Camps)

Demographics

Adjusts with product market. Apparel

Dresses, shirts, shoes, visors.

Racquets Ball machines, strings, grips, frames & customization,

balls, equipment bags, net

Zach Perles on Demographics “Prince is an all encompassing tennis brand, and is one

of the few companies to do so. We try to appeal to the frequent tennis player. This can be anyone; to the 75 year old woman who plays 3-4 times a week, to the competitive 14 year old junior who is playing tournaments on the weekends and has private lessons. Prince tries to appeal to all frequent tennis players across the board.”

Zach Perles, Vice President of Prince Communications

Use of Social Media

Well established Facebook and Twitter pages.

Facebook teaser statuses for new 2010 tennis racquets and product lines

Over 10,000 Facebook fans. https://twitter.com/prince_tennis http://www.facebook.com/Official.Prince.Tennis

Use of Social Media

Twitter Use to interact with online tennis community. Gael Monfils Tokoyo- Semi-Finals Victory

“Prince uses Facebook and a Twitter account to develop a strategy of what the consumer was saying to each other. If consumers are delivering misinformation about our brand, we can provide them with the correct information.”

-Zach Perles

Prince’s Promotions

Prince Tennis sponsors Gael Monfils

Released 3 new racquets in EXO3 series Ignite 95 Ignite Team 95 Blue 110

Try the racquets out before you buy them

- Promote sales by using the slogan “More power. More spin. More comfort. Exceptional feel. It’s all possible now.”

Sponsorship for Prince

How does Prince pick people to sponsor them?

Prince philosophy

How do the athletes sponsor Prince? racquets foot wear apparel

Who is a Prince Sponsored Athlete Highly skilled competitor

Always trying to raise the level of their game

Good sportsmanship

Promotes Prince through their action and words

Puts their equipment to good use and uses it correctly

Respectful of the game, players, coaches, officials, sponsors, and spectators

Sponsorship

For those who love the game of tennis

Can be sponsored as a junior player college coach/player an adult player

Players can boost sales

Prince Tennis and Partnerships Financial Benefits

- Funding

Public Relations Benefits - Credibility

Provide Resources

Provide Broader Audience

(www.prince.com)

Prince Tennis and Partnerships Twelve Partners

Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy SAP Open Kaplan College Preparatory School Saddle Brook Resort

Prince’s Community Involvement

Prince Plugged In (PPI)

“By connecting academy students and coaches around the world, we are promoting the sport, facilitating the abilities of potentially great players and cultivating the next great champion in the process.” - Nick Bollettieri

(www.prince.com) (www.racquetsportsindustry.com)

Prince Community Involvement II Prince Plugged In Benefits Community

Positive Company Image for Prince Dedication to sport Investing to community and its youth

Major Competition: Wilson Tennis and Head Tennis Wilson Tennis -Founded in 1913 as the Ashland Manufacturing Company

Employs 3,062 workers Sells over $300 million in merchandise annually Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois Worldwide Company: sells in Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan,

Italy, Australia, and Singapore. Official sponsor of Williams sisters

Price Tennis vs. Competitors

Price Tennis vs. Competitors Continued Head Tennis

Tennis and Ski company

Founded in 1950 by Howard Head

Manufactures tennis balls, racquets, shoes, skis, ski boots

Players have won Olympic gold medals with Head racquets

Sponsored players include: Andy Murray, Tommy Haas, and Andre Agassi

How Prince Deals with Competition Last US Open was Princes made sure their name

was seen

handed out temporary tattoos and promotional literature on the subways Hired athletes to wear shirts with letters to spell out

PRINCE

Prince teamed up with Nintendo Wii to make Prince tennis racquet attachments for Wii controllers with real strings and authenticity of a real tennis racquet

Prince’s PR Plan

Audience-variety of people (juniors, men/women)

Strategy- presents PR tactics( media relations, broadcast, consumer outlets, print and social

media)

Tactics- None specified

Calendar- off season/ photoshoot (w/Sharapova testing new line of racquets)

(sources: Interview

www.princetennis.com)

Marketing/PR Suggestions

“Sport marketing is a competitive business involving as much front-office strategy, risk, discipline, and energy as that shown by the players and coaches”

Web page- does not reflect the sport of tennis

Use brighter colors to grab viewers attention/interactive games

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – need to use these outlets more ( Twitter and YouTube)

http://www.youtube.com/user/PrinceTennis1

Source: Sport marketing, Volume 13 By Bernard James Mullin, Stephen Hardy, William Anthony Sutton

Marketing/PR Suggestions II

Clothing-Promote retail stores more ( increase revenue and maximize profits) ,

feature products (equipment included) on web page, pricing

Brand-more exposure

More connection with consumers Prince Indoor Tennis Facility ( sell products, test products, play tennis!

Source: Marketing plans: How to prepare them, how to use them

By Malcolm McDonald

Expectations

What would headquarters be like?

What was VP going to say in meeting?

How did company run on day to day basis?

Pros

Company logo prominently displayed.

Obvious pride in company.

Casual, comfortable work environment.

Cons

Reception area was cold and uninviting.

No receptionist to greet clients.

Employees not interactive with waiting clients.

Recommendations for Improvement Learn and utilize social media networking

sites.

Consider adding receptionist to staff.

Maintain comfortable work environment to ensure productivity of staff.

Conclusion

Discussion- History

Public Relations Plan

Tactics

Marketing Suggestions

Competition

Sponsorship

Questions? Responses ?