Carolina Hurricanes

Marketing Plan-2017/2018

Brett Gault and Kayla Roberts

Executive Summary

The Carolina Hurricanes are a hockey team based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Canes play their home games at PNC Arena. Originally the canes started out in Boston, Massachusetts as the New England Whalers until 1971. They moved to Hartford Connecticut not long after and became the Hartford Whalers. However, after struggling in Hartford, the organization decided to move in a different direction and move the franchise to North Carolina. They changed their name to the Carolina Hurricanes and since the 1997-1998 season, they have remained put.

After the 2005-2006 season, The Carolina Hurricanes were feeling great as an organization. The Hurricanes had just came off winning the Stanley Cup and things were looking up. Though the attendance was still ranked 21st in the NHL, the Canes finally had a championship to build off of and try to increase fan attendance. The following year, the hype of a championship gained recognition from the fans because the Carolina Hurricanes had an average fan attendance that was ranked top 15 in the NHL. However, after only reaching the playoffs once since that Stanley Cup win, the Hurricanes hype has gone away and so have their fans. After the 2016-2017 season, the Hurricanes ranked dead last in fan attendance with an average of 11,776 fans attending their games. Considering the PNC Arena holds above 19,000, you can see how disappointing this has to be for Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr.

With the team struggling, fans have looked for other options throughout North Carolina to help keep them occupied. With there being numerous colleges around, (UNC, N.C. State, Duke) a lot of people would rather spend their time at a football or basketball game instead of going to see a struggling Hurricanes team play.

There have been multiple marketing promotions that the Hurricanes have in place such as family nights, college nights, harris teeter nights, etc. Skate with the Canes is another great thing the Hurricanes have in place, where the fan’s can come out and meet and interact with the players and have a great experience. The Skate with the Canes also helps the Hurricanes give back to the community because the money purchased from the tickets goes toward the Kids ‘N Community Foundation.

We understand that it will take a while for the Carolina Hurricanes to get it’s fan attendance in the top 15 like it was 9 years ago. Nonetheless, we feel like the marketing goals and tactics that we have came up with will improve the fan attendance of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Table of ContentsIntroduction………………………………………………..…………………….1

Mission Statement……………………………………………………….1

Background…………...………………………………………………….1

Situational Analysis………………………………………..…………………...3

Strengths (Internal).........................................................................3

Weaknesses (internal)....................................................................3

Opportunities (external)...................................................................4

Threats (external)............................................................................5

Competitive Analysis…………………………………….…………………….6

Customer Analysis………………………….………………………………….8

Target Market…………………………………………………………10

Marketing Goals……………………………………………………………….11

Value Proposition……………………………………………………….11

Strategies……………………………………………………………………….

Tactics…………………………………………………………………………

Implementation and Control…………………………………………………..

Action Plan……………………………………………………………….

Budget…………………………………………………………………….

Evaluation…………………………………………………………………

References……………………………………………………………………..

Appendix………………………………………………………………………

½ Priced Beer Flyer………………………………………………………

Sports Theme Flyer………………………………………………………

Disney/Nickelodeon Flyer………………………………………………

IntroductionMission Statement:

The Carolina hurricanes do not have a mission statement of their own, however, they do adopt the mission statement of the PNC Arena. The PNC Arena’s

mission statement proclaims, “We will earn the support of this community by providing excellence in customer service, unsurpassed value for our fans’ investment, and the highest quality sports and entertainment presentations available in the Southeast…on the ice, on the court, and in the arena.”

The Canes also adopt the mission statement of The Carolina Hurricanes Kids ‘N Community Foundation which says, “The Carolina Hurricanes Kids ‘N Community Foundation strives to meet the educational, social, health and cultural needs of our community by offering unique resources and financial support to local youth-oriented organizations.”

Background:

The Carolina Hurricanes’ story begins in Boston Massachusetts when the World Hockey Association (WHA) gave the franchise to four businessmen. The team Started out as the New England Whalers in 1971 but moved to Hartford Connecticut in 1979 when the WHA stopped operating. They joined the National Hockey League and changed their name to the Hartford Whalers. In 1997, The Hartford Whalers signed a 20 year lease with the Raleigh officials, moved to North Carolina, and became the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Canes have a history of struggling to make themselves known. When they first began playing in Boston, they were thrown into a huge pool of northern competition. They had a difficult time securing a venue for their home games due to the competition with rivals, The Boston Bruins. The Bruins owned the Boston Garden and got priority of play when it game to scheduling, thus the need to move the team to Connecticut. When the team decided to move from Boston, their new home arena was not yet completed. The Hartford Whalers would have to play at the home of the Springfield Indians, the Big E Coliseum, in West Springfield, Massachusetts until 1980 when the Hartford Civic Center was completed. The Whalers continued to play at the Civic Center for 17 years before the move to NC.

Moving the team from Connecticut to North Carolina was not an easy task. Much like when they moved from Boston to Connecticut, the Canes did not have a NHL approved Hockey arena in Raleigh, NC. The Hurricanes had to play their games 90 minutes away in Greensboro, NC until the PNC Arena was built. Two years later the Canes finally completed their relocation to their permanent home in Raleigh. With having to move the team twice in such a short period of time and changing the name of the team, the Hurricanes were struggling with their

fanbase. The Canes not only had to generate awareness of the team, but also of the sport. The Canes had to work hard to rebuild their fan base to create what is today, The Caniac Nation.

Some previous target market that the Canes have focused on include families, college students, and the military. The past marketing efforts to these target markets are mainly just discounted ticket packages. The canes have also started a new marketing strategy called the Homegrown Series, which entails selling various local beer, food, t-shirts, a free poster, and a band will perform during the intermissions between periods. This draws in a crowd of raleigh lovers and supporters who can experience their favorite local things while watching a Canes game.

Situational Analysis (Swot Analysis)

Strengths:

● Won the Stanley Cup in 2005-2006 season- A Stanley Cup is the most prize possession in the NHL- It helps fans realize that at one time the Hurricanes were an elite

organization- It’s something that the Hurricanes can always use as a marketing tactic if

they want to have anniversaries every 10, 15, 20 years.● City of Raleigh is Growing Rapidly

- Raleigh is a city that keeps on growing and will continue to grow year by year

- Since 2010, the population of Raleigh has grown from 400,000 to 450,000 people in 2015.

- By the year 2030, the population is predicted to reach 550,000 people- More people in Raleigh means more people to come and watch the

Hurricanes play and increase the fan attendance.● PNC Arena

- A very nice arena that holds 19,772 people- PNC arena is within 30 minutes of UNC, Duke and N.C. State- Holds many other events which attracts tourists that might also watch a

Hurricanes game when in town.● Young Hockey team

- The Hurricanes are the second youngest team in the NHL- A young team means talent that will continue to get better every year- A young team may also attract younger fans to come watch the games

Weaknesses:

● Haven’t been to the playoff since 2009- A team that hasn’t been to the playoffs in 8 years will not attract many fans

to attend the games.- It’s hard to promote and recruit other players for a team that hasn’t been

relevant in the past few years.● Decrease in Fan Attendance

- Since 2013-2014 season, the fan attendance has decreased rapidly.- The fan attendance of the Carolina Hurricanes is ranked dead last in the

NHL and has been the last two years.- Fans have decided to go and do other things because the Canes haven’t

been relevant in sometime.● Scheduling

- With the Canes playing at the PNC arena, scheduling conflicts of N.C.State basketball games, concerts, and other events could become a problem.

- Having a long road game stretch due to the scheduling conflicts could be an inconvenience to the dedicated fans.

- Fans could forget and move on from the Canes if they are gone for long periods of time.

Opportunities:

● Build interest in hockey

- A lot of people in North Carolina may not be familiar about hockey and this is a good opportunity for the Hurricanes to promote and make people in the state aware of hockey.

- Continue to have events to be able to interact fans with the players.● Expand fan base

- With Raleigh continuing to grow, the Hurricanes need to make new residents of Raleigh aware of the Hurricanes

- Expand fan base to younger kids because of how young the team is- Let people know that the Washington Capitals are the closest hockey

team to the Carolina Hurricanes● Continue to give to the community

- Continue to give back to the community through the Kids ‘N Community Foundation

- Continue to do the Skate With the Canes and other events to help the fans get to know the players and help expand the brand image.

● Build up the young team - Make people aware that the Hurricanes are a young team and are only

going to get better.- The Hurricanes had spurts of good play during the 2016-2017 season and

were in playoff contention towards the end.- The Canes have been improving their win/loss record in the past few

years which is a good trend to have

Threats:

● Lack of hockey interest- North Carolina is known as the “Basketball state”- Hockey is more popular and associated with the states and people in the

North.- People would rather do other things around Raleigh than go and watch the

Hurricanes play.● Competition with other sporting events/activities

- With UNC, N.C. State, and Duke within 30 minutes of PNC arena, there could be other sports going on at those schools that people want to go and watch instead of going and watching the Hurricanes play.

- Other things such as movies, bowling, putt-putt, etc. could lure fans away from going to the Hurricanes games.

- Baseball teams such as the Durham Bulls, Holly Springs Salamanders, and Carolina Mudcats are also near Raleigh.

Competitive AnalysisThe Carolina Hurricanes have many direct and indirect competitors. They compete with a variety of different activities such as other hockey teams, a wide variety of sporting events, and events in the raleigh community. Although the Canes do not compete with any other NHL teams in North or South carolina, they do compete with collegiate hockey teams. Due to the lack of availability of hockey to consumers in the area, the options to physically go to a hockey game are narrowed between the Canes and hockey teams of various universities in the Raleigh/Durham area. Since the Canes have not had a winning season in a long time, Canes fans could be easily swayed into supporting a college team who might have a better season than them. Some of these collegiate hockey teams include Duke University, North Carolina State University, and Chapel Hill University. There are not any other professional hockey teams that are competing with the Canes at this time. The closest NHL team to the Canes is the Washington Capitals who are roughly 234 miles away.

There may not be many direct competitors of the Hurricanes, but there are many indirect competitors. The indirect competitors include other sporting events as well as other events in the Raleigh community. With Raleigh being a part of the triangle area, there are quite a few colleges in the area. North Carolina State University, The University of Chapel Hill, and Duke University each have prestigious athletic departments with many different sporting events occuring at the same time as Canes games. In addition to collegiate sporting events, Raleigh is also home to many minor league soccer and baseball teams.

As mentioned in our threats section of the situational analysis, basketball is a big competitor when it comes to fan loyalty. Although NC State does not have a very successful basketball program, Duke and Chapel Hill both did very well this year. Basketball is a very fast paced game, just like hockey, and can draw the same type of sport fans. Some specific target markets of collegiate basketball teams are families, big businesses, and especially students and alumni. Because students dedicate so much of their time to the university, they feel a connection with the team even after graduating. This helps the universities fan base grow without even having to do special promotions. Customers are being satisfied by these competitors because students get in for free and some alumni get discounted tickets. Whereas with the Canes, students have to pay to go to games.

The Raleigh/Durham area has two minor league baseball teams and a minor league soccer team. These minor league teams all cross paths with the Carolina Hurricanes season at some point. The two baseball teams include the Durham Bulls, and the Carolina Mudcats. Both of these teams target heavily to families. The Bulls have Wool E.’s World and a kid zone to keep kids entertained during the games. The Mudcats have Muddy Buddies Kid’s Club which includes box seat tickets to certain games, a t-shirt, meet and greet with the mascot, and many other cool incentives for children under 12. The minor league soccer team, NCFC, also targets families and holds many youth soccer camps.

On top of the variety of sporting events to chose from, Raleigh also has many theaters, concert venues, and other activities to participate in on nights and weekends. The Durham Performing Arts Center, The Red Hat Amphitheater, and many other smaller venues all call the Raleigh/Durham area home. Throughout the year and especially during the hockey season, these venues put on many shows that range from a variety of genres of concerts, ballets, plays, and musicals. The target for these markets can range anywhere from rock music to classical ballet. The nightlife in Raleigh is also a big competition for the Canes because people can watch the hockey game on tv while out at a bar with friends, or at a restaurant.

Customer AnalysisThe current customers that the Carolina Hurricanes serve include a wide variety of ages, household incomes, and many different geographical locations. The statistics below are from SBRnet.

Average Attendance:❏ The average home attendance is 11,391 fans per game. The Canes are nearly

1,520 people below the second to last ranked team which is Arizona, with an average of 12,905 fans per game.

❏ The overall 2016 season attendance resulted in 500,363 people between the 42 home games.

Geographic Location: ❏ The Carolina Hurricanes play at the PNC Arena, 1400 Edwards Mill Rd, Raleigh,

NC.❏ Canes fans normally come from the Raleigh area and the surrounding cities

including: Durham, Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Cary, Apex, Garner, and Holly Springs.

❏ There are often just as many, if not more, of the opposing team's fans at the Canes home games. This is because a lot of people from the northern states relocate to southern states, including the North and South Carolinas. They still hold allegiance to their hometown teams, but will come to Canes games because they are the closest NHL team around.

Age (NHL Wide):❏ 4.2% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season were between the ages of

13-17.

❏ 31.5% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season were between the ages of 18-34.

❏ 32.1% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season were between the ages of 35-49

❏ 25.9% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season were between the ages of 50-64.

❏ 6.3% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season were ages 65 and older.❏ The average age of attendees is listed at 40 years old.

Gender (NHL Wide):❏ The percentage of males that attended NHL games in 2016, 65%, was almost

twice as high as that of females, 35%.

Average Household Income (NHL Wide):❏ 4.4% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season had a household income

under $25,000.❏ 15.4% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season had a household income

between $25,000 and %49,999.❏ 34.4% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season had a household income

between $50,000 and $99,999.❏ 45.7% of fans attending NHL games in the 2016 season had a household income

of $100,000 or more.❏ The average household income of NHL attendees is $93,600 as of 2016.

Geographic Region (NHL Wide): ❏ The Midwest region has the highest percentage of NHL attendance as of 2016

with 29.8%.❏ The second highest attendance percentage in 2016 was the Northeast region

with 28.6%. ❏ The Southern region, which is where the Hurricanes are, makes up 21% of NHL

fan attendance. Total Mobile Usage (NHL Wide):

❏ The total number of NHL attending fans who own a mobile device is 11,852,000 people.

❏ Of the mobile NHL users, 3,439,000 people used their mobile device for game related activities.

❏ 2,741,000 people, or 23.1% of mobile users used their mobile device for social media purposes including, Facebook (15.9%), Instagram (7.9%), Twitter (5.9%), Snapchat (5.9%), and Google+ (3.5%) to follow and post about the game.

❏ Besides social media, NHL fans mainly used their mobile devices to take pictures while attending the games (20.5%).

Frequency of attending (NHL Wide) :

❏ 46.7% of NHL attendees in 2016 only attended a game once the whole year. ❏ 34.4% of NHL attendees in 2016 attended between 2 to 3 times that year. ❏ Only 18.9% of NHL attendees went to 4 or more games in the 2016 season.

Target Market: There are many sectors of customers that the Canes market to which are listed below:❏ Families:

● Many families already attend the Hurricanes games.● By adding a Disney/Nickelodeon theme night, we are hoping to increase

this number of families. ● Families are an important group to market to because it can result in the

kids becoming life long fans of the canes and the families will likely recommend Canes games to other families.

❏ Ages 21-39:● Young adults often like to go out on the town also enjoy having a few

drinks. There are very many local breweries and cool bars to go to in raleigh which are a competition for the canes.

● By having half price beer nights, we can cater to this aspect of the younger adult crowd.

❏ Low frequency attendees:● We want to market to low frequency attendees because it would increase

attendance rates immensely if we could get attendees who only come once a year to come to multiple games a year.

❏ Household income $25,000 and under:● People who make $25,000 and under might not have a lot of extra money

to spend on going to sporting events. ● By marketing a tactic that includes discounted ticket prices such as our

theme nights, and also our ½ priced beer nights, it might be more feasible for them to attend a game or two.

❏ People who do not know much about the sport of hockey:● Many southerners do not know much about the sport of hockey because it

is not as popular in the south as it is in the north. ● By increasing awareness of the sport, we are hoping to draw in and create

new fans of the sport who will attend the Canes home games.

Marketing GoalsWith the poor attendance of the Carolina Hurricanes, we have came up with a few marketing goals to hopefully help improve the Hurricanes attendance and bring the excitement of hockey to the city of Raleigh.

1. The first one that we have implemented is to increase the attendance by 20% . As we have mentioned before, the Carolina Hurricanes are dead last in attendance in the NHL with an average of only 11,776 fans. Increasing the attendance by 20% will boost that attendance to an average of 14,131 fans per game. This increase in attendance will still put the Hurricanes in the bottom five for attendance among all teams, but it would still be a big improvement from the attendance that they currently have.

2. The second goal that we have proposed is to expand the amount of people that go to the hockey games 4+ times a year from 18.9% to 25%. According to SBRnet, the percentage of fans that go to hockey games 2-3 times a year is 34.4% and we expect this percentage to be similar to how it is with the Carolina Hurricanes. Therefore, we have a goal in place to hopefully get fans to attend more than one game a season.

3. The third and last goal that we have in place is increase awareness of the sport of hockey to the people in North Carolina by hosting a promotional theme night every other home game.

Value Proposition:With the Carolina Hurricanes, we offer an experience like no other. With ½ price beer nights and theme nights that everyone will enjoy, fans will jump at the opportunity to go to a Canes game now. Include our Caniac Cane basket for our dedicated fans, and the Hurricanes will be the talk around Raleigh and even North Carolina.

Marketing StrategiesAlong with the goals that we have in place, we also have strategies to go along with the goals.

1. The first strategy we have in place to gain fan attendance is to discount items so that the fans will be more willing to come to the games

2. The second strategy in place to try to get people to come to the games at least 4+ times a year by having a basket giveaway.

3. The third strategy in place to increase awareness is having theme nights to make it fun for fans to dress up in the specific theme and attend the game.

Marketing Tactics½ off Beer Nights

A lot of fans enjoy going to watch a hockey game and drinking beer while doing it. The beer at PNC arena is actually one of the lowest among the NHL at $6.50. They also sell higher priced beer that can cost up to $10. However, we want to break that price in half for our fans. On some selected nights throughout the season, we will have ½ off beer nights. We hope to hopefully gain the attendance of more fans with this tactic. The beers will now cost $3.50 a piece for the beer originally priced at $6.50 and $5 for the beer that was originally priced at $10. By implementing these discounted beer nights, we expect the attendance for the games to grow rapidly. Even though $6.50 is considered low among the NHL, it can still add up to be expensive if a person is buying multiple beers throughout the game. This way, fans will want to come to the game because they know they are getting really cheap beer and also getting to watch a great hockey game at the same time. These beer nights will be recognized by flyers throughout the PNC Arena and bars in downtown Raleigh.

➔ See appendix for ½ Priced Beer Nights flyer

Caniac Cane Basket

One of our marketing strategies is to try to get fans to come more than just once to a Canes game during the season. To do this, we will giveaway a basket to our dedicated fans that attend Hurricanes games more than 4+ times during the regular season. The basket will include two hurricanes t-shirts, a Canes jersey, a bobblehead (player to be determined), two hockey pucks with the Hurricanes logo on it, and two Hurricanes hats. We feel that this nicely put together basket with all of the Hurricanes merchandise inside it will peak the interest of fans and make them want to come to Hurricanes games more often. For our season ticket people, we will automatically include a basket with their purchase of season tickets. We appreciate their support of the Carolina Hurricanes and therefore, we feel it is only fair if they get a caniac cane basket when purchasing or renewing their season tickets. We will advertise this on the Canes website as well as having a couple billboards throughout Raleigh advertise it.

Sports NightMost people have their favorite sports team that they always cheer for no matter what the circumstance is. Whether their team is losing or winning, they will still support then no matter what. We will post flyers around all the sports bars of Raleigh to help gain the attention of sports fans to let them know that if they wear their favorite sports team jersey or shirt to the Hurricanes game, then they will get $10 off their ticket. We feel that this will gain awareness all in downtown Raleigh and we hope that the word gets out and we can have a huge crowd for this sports night. We understand that these people won’t be wearing necessarily Hurricanes jerseys, but we feel like it would be a great atmosphere and cool to witness everybody's favorite team. Flyers at both PNC Arena and sports bars downtown will be the best way to get this out.

➔ See appendix for flyer

Disney/Nickelodeon NightThis theme night will attract the kids that have a favorite Disney or Nickelodeon show that they just can’t stop watching. The kids get an opportunity to dress as their favorite character from whatever show they like watching the most. Don’t think for one moment that this is just for kids though. We know that adults have their favorite favorite disney and nickelodeon shows from when they were growing up as children. This is not only fun for the kids, but also the families! We hope that the kids will realize how cool hockey is want to become more aware of the sport and gain an interest in it. Also, along with the kids, we hope that the families will have a great time and find this as a great bonding experience. Flyers at PNC arena and advertising it on the jumbotron throughout the beginning of the season we feel will hope get the word out.

➔ See appendix for flyer

Implementation and Control

Action Plan: Gnatt chart

Budget:

Tactic How Cost of Event How Many Total Price

Sports Night Flyers at Bars and PNC Arena

$112.49 333 flyers $112.49

Nickelodeon/Disney Night

Flyers at PNC Arena and advertising is on Jumbotron

$112.49 333 flyers 112.49

½ Off Beer Nights

Flyers at bars in Raleigh and

$112.49 333 flyers $112.49

at PNC Arena

Caniac Canes Basket

Advertised on Website and on billboards around Raleigh

$12,000 2 billboards up for 2 months

$12,000

TOTAL $12,337.47

*1,000 flyers will cost $337.47 to make. Divide the 1,000 into 3 as well as divide the $337.48 into 3 because of 3 different types of flyers being made.

Evaluation:

We believe that these these marketing strategies and tactics will reach our target market effectively and will increase the attendance at home games in the 2017-2018 season. By implementing our new tactics alongside the previous tactics that are in place, we expect that there will be a great increase in attendance and will ultimately result in an increase in revenue within the next few years. With attracting a new crowd of people to the games, although it might be through discounted tickets, we believe it will create more fans of the Canes. This will lead to them coming back to more games for years to come, thus generating more revenue and an increase in attendance. We will be working hard to assure that these marketing tactics are successful. One way that we will be able to see the effectiveness of these tactics will be through home game attendance. We can look to see if the special promotion nights are generating a higher attendance rate than other games. We can also compare the attendance rates at the end of the season to previous seasons to see how they differ.

Appendix

Referenceshttp://hurricanes.ice.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=45638http://www.espn.com/nhl/attendance

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/carolina/hurricanes.html

https://www.raleighnc.gov/government/content/PlanDev/Articles/LongRange/

RaleighDemographics.html

http://stats.nhlnumbers.com/teams?year=2017

https://www.thepncarena.com/assets/doc/February-Newsletter-29a3081a98.pdf

http://hurricanes.nhl.com/v2/ext/community/10-11KNCFannualreportWEB.pdf

http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?

ymd=20151209&content_id=159254252&sid=t249&vkey=team3

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2016/01/21/carolina-hurricanes-have-lowest-

attendance-by.html

http://www.sportsmarketanalytics.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/research.aspx?subrid=546

http://www.vistaprint.com/lpt/flyers-one-resp-4tiles-sizes-1.aspx?

mk=making+flyers&ad=p&crtv=68473399339&device=c&psloc=9009731&pstid=kwd-

558009328&psite=mkwid

%7cqmKG7kAf&iv_=__iv_p_1_a_4585369_g_17871599059_w_kwd-

558009328_h_9009731_ii__d_c_v__n_g_c_68473399339_k_making+flyers_m_p_l__t__e__r_1

t3_vi__&gclid=CK-

s3P_n2dMCFcxXDQodYY8JMw&couponAutoload=1&GP=05%2f05%2f2017+18%3a35%3a0

1&GPS=4386616330&GNF=1

Appendix½ Priced Beer Nights Flyer: