slideshare for portfolio

1. By Megan Billeter, Elliot Goit, Jonathan Herrera, Patrick
Horner, Blake LaBrash, Jerry Manzano

2. MKTG 471-Sporting Event Write up
Executive Summary:
Our Plan:
When we first began planning this event, we wanted something that would be both
entertaining and competitive. By having a professional golfer and celebrity, amateur golf
tournament, we believe we will achieve the perfect atmosphere for both aspects. With a
professional golfer's passion for the game and a celebrity's popularity, we can bring people
together to have a good time and potentially even make this an annual event.
This event will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona to ensure that there is sunny weather and it
will be located at The Grayhawk Golf club, which is a beautiful golf course that is very
aesthetically pleasing so people will have a good view at all times. We will be selling tickets
starting 9-12 months prior to the tournament so people can have time to sign up, get tickets and
book hotels if they have to. We will also be offering different tiers of tickets so people have
options to choose from in order to attract the most people we can. Since it is a tournament filled
with big names, we expect maximum sales. Due to this, we will be donating 20% of the ticket

3. sales towards cancer research. Another way we would gain attention for the tournament is by
having well-known brand advertisements, for example, Adidas, Toyota, LuluLemon, Gatorade
and more! In addition to that, we will also have sponsorships like a Hole in One sponsorship or a
Longest Drive sponsorship. Since there will be celebrities and professional golfers, we will also
have security to ensure the safety of the people playing in the tournament and the fans who came
to watch.
We will have multiple ways to promote this event but the main direction we are taking
this is through social media and community engagement. We will have a team of people who will
be very active on social media and give people easy access to the information of the event. Not
only are we going to promote this online, we will also be reaching out to local radio stations and
newspapers to ensure we get the most attraction to the event. Also, we will be working with very
popular athletes to promote this event and influence more people to want to attend. At the event
we will be selling our own licensed merchandise/gear. There will also be mini/side events that
people can play to try and win some sort of prize and this will also be another way to gain
revenue.
We feel that we are fully prepared for this event and have a unique way of approaching it
so that people will instantly be interested in attending. Again, we want to make this entertaining
and competitive and this marketing strategy will ensure that. We would take this opportunity to
prove that we can take our knowledge and apply it to gaining profit and maintaining customer
satisfaction through this event.

4. Product:
Our product is the celebrity pro-am event where we host a tournament that allows
competitive rules in a casual environment. We decided on a celebrity pro-am event because we
thought it was a unique and fun twist on just regular pro-am events. We want our event to have
as many views as we can so when we were deciding on which amatuer players we based it off on
popularity. We decided on picking players from different sports that are popular in the United
States, since we want an actual competition. We believe that putting golfers against pro athletes
has a high chance of being entertaining for the viewers at the event. According to this article
published by Sportshow the top 3 sports in the United States are American football, baseball, and
basketball (““The PGA Tour Audience.” 1) . We chose basketball as we are more familiar with
the players and because most of their players donate a ton to charity which fits our event theme.
Not only that but the NBA has an estimated 14,000 attendance per match, making basketball the
3rd most popular sport in the United States.
` When picking players from the NBA we didn’t just want players that are just popular, but
players that also have donated to charities. We want a player that has a positive image in their
own respective sport, so that when they participate in the event it would make it trustworthy. It
was easier to choose from the NBA since they have some of the most charitable people. Based
on the article published by Half A Goal the 6 most charitable NBA players are Lebron James at
number one. Lebron James is one of the most popular NBA players who has donated up to 6
million dollars at previous fundraising events in which he donated the entire sum to his chosen
charities (Bell 2). Kevin Durant at number two who has donated over $10 million to help
students go to college (Bell 3). Coming in third place is Stephen Curry who has made a donation
drive to raise enough money to help protect communities plagued with malaria and has also

5. helped with scholarships (Bell 4). The other 3 are Isaiah Thomas, John Wall, and Tobias Harris
who have all also helped out their communities each donating over a million dollars in donations.
As you can see these players are great people both inside and outside the court. Giving us a
reason to invite these players to compete and donate all the funding to a charity that they choose.
The same concept was applied when choosing our golf players for the event but a little
different. We chose our pro players based on their official world golf ranking because we want to
show off the difference in skill level. We will choose pro players like Jon Rahm who has an
average points score of 10 and total points score of 493,71. We can also invite players like Dustin
Johsnon, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele who all have impressive
scores. We decided to invite players like these because they have skills to show off about golf
and hopefully bring new fans over from people who watch basketball. We are bringing the real
pros to show the amatuers how it’s done.
The tournament will be a bracket tournament that will have at least 1 pro going against 1
amatuer at the start of the bracket. We plan to have 12 players in the tournament: 6 amateurs and
6 pros. Eventually players will start losing and we thought that most amatuer players will start to
lose once the first round ends.

6. Note that this is by players not by team*
So to prevent anybody’s favorite player from getting eliminated early we’ve decided to
host a losers bracket that will allow players that have lost another chance to make it to grand
finals. How this works is that once you lose in the winners bracket you get sent to the losers
bracket where you compete against other losers until you get to the losers finals. Once there has
been a winner of the losers bracket that person will compete against the winner in the winners
bracket in the grand finals. However there is another twist added to the game so it won’t be too
easy for the pro players. We will let the amatuer players mess with pro players whenever they
have a point lead. This is done so the pro players don’t have a competitive advantage over the
amatuer players. The way we will implement this mechanic is by having the amatuer players use

7. water balloons or water guns to distract the pro players. This will be a fun and entertaining way
to keep the game unpredictable while having competitive elements second to having fun.
Again this is by player not by team*
Venue:
Grayhawk Golf Club, features two
golf courses, Talon and Raptor.
Talon offers a desert-style test of
golf with box canyons on the way to
large multi-tiered greens. Raptor

8. delivers more traditional challenges with generous fairways and deep greenside bunkers
guarding crowned greens. Both of the highly acclaimed layouts at Grayhawk Golf Club are
widely considered to be among the best golf courses in Scottsdale.
The Raptor course is the
course we have chosen for
our event. Raptor is
considered to be one of the
finest daily fee golf courses
in Scottsdale and is listed
among the best public golf
courses in Arizona by Golfweek and Golf Magazine. Raptor hosted the PGA event, Frys.com
Open 2007-2009 and other tour-sanctioned tournaments include the inaugural Williams World
Challenge, Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf and Waste Management Phoenix
Open pro ams. The NCAA chose the Raptor course as the host site for the NCAA Division I
Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships from 2020 to 2022. Unfortunately, the 2020 event was
cancelled, but they are looking forward to the next two championships.

9. This course was
designed by Tom
Fazio, the course is
both interesting and
challenging with a
variety of long and
short par 4s and some
wonderful/reachable
par 5s, including the
risk-reward 18th that
plays around a lake (shown above). The Raptor actually got some renovation work by Fazio on
the last few holes in 2015.
Grayhawk does provide the following for event hosted at their course:
● Cart Signs
● Welcome/Rules Letter
● Standard Scorecard
● On-Course Competitions
● Divot Tool
● Yardage Card
● Ball Marker
● Logo Usage

10. Pricing/Ticket packages:
● Daily Grounds Ticket: $80
○ These tickets give you access to the grounds, the public ground sections and
public restrooms.
● Daily View Ticket: $200
○ These tickets give you access to an amazing view of the venue and the golfers in
general. You also get access to a limited drinks menu and food menu.
● Daily Golf & Drinks Ticket: $400
○ These tickets give you access to a nice section where you can be seated, have a
relatively easy route to get to the 18th hole, beer and wine on the house and
access to the best restrooms.
● Daily VIP Tickets: $1000
○ These tickets give you access to be around the celebrities and pro golfers that are
participating in the tournament, there will be complimentary beer and wine,
access to the best bathrooms and a food menu available. This specific section has
the best view at the venue, for watching the golf tournament or for the aesthetics.
Info on segments and target market:
For our event, we are hoping to attract multiple groups into watching our tournament. We
aim to have those who are fans of the PGA Tour, and other serious golfing events tune into our
event, while also hoping to appeal more to the amatuer or “everyday” golfer, as well as the
“average sports fan.” Golfing as an industry has been pretty prominent throughout the ‘modern
history’, and the fans spread far and wide in terms of demographics, with the diversity of the
average golfer growing more and more. We want our event to be welcoming to all, our event has

11. a cause, and the more eyes and awareness that we can get on our event, the better it will all turn
out.
For our event, it would prove quite beneficial for us to make sure we can successfully
attract the PGA Tour fans for our event, as on average, they are more likely to invest into our
event than other major sports fans (such as NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, etc.). Another benefit of
targeting PGA Tour fans is that on average, PGA fans are 45% more likely to donate $500
dollars or more to a given charity, and they can be “up to” 43% more likely to belong to a
charitable organization. In addition to the PGA Tour fan base, the digital audience for golfing
events has been, and continues to grow so this could also be a popular audience to target as it
will also give our event a large increase in exposure, and spread awareness of our event, and our
causes behind holding this event.
In addition to the groups/targets that we want to market for, it would be very beneficial to
partner with ESPN, TNT, or another network (one that preferably has an app to watch their
broadcasts as well), and use that as a means to expand the reach of our event. We can also
incorporate this partnership with them and give them added exposure by making them a sponsor
for our event.
The Cause
We decided to host this event in the name of cancer
research. This was an important decision for us because,
not only does it actually do a good deed and help people in
need, but it also gives us a major boost in our public
relations efforts. When an event is thrown (especially a golf

12. event) that features an expensive venue, super rich celebrities and athletes, and offers prize
money, there is a chance people will see it as self-congratulatory and tone-deaf to potential social
issues. Having a good cause for the event also makes it easier to persuade big-name celebrities
into participating without paying them.
A good cause also gives us a lot of room to run with our promotional content and
advertising as mentioned before. Local media outlets will be more likely to print news that paints
us in a good light, and our social media activities will benefit from the emotional connection
many people have with our cause. We didn't specify a specific area of cancer research for a
couple reasons. For one, we wanted the players to be able to donate their winning to whichever
branch of cancer research they found themselves most connected to. Along these same lines, we
realize that almost everyone has had some experience with cancer, whether that be a family
member or close friend or even potentially themselves and we didn't want to hinder conversation
on these experiences simply because we chose to focus on one specific type of cancer research.
We want the players and celebrities to feel welcome to talk about their experiences no matter the
type of cancer.
It would be pointless for us to arbitrarily decide on one type of cancer for the event when
all it would do is divide the conversation. Cancer research, broadly stated, is a cause all people
can feel a part of, we don't want to lose viewership because we specified brain cancer or
whatever, this is supposed to be unifying, and keeping it broadly focused was the best way to
make it about everyone who has experienced cancer. Breaking it all down like this makes us
seem heartless, stone cold, and manipulative, but it really is a win-win for everyone.

13. After each day of the tournament there will be a light hearted press conference for the
players to talk about their play that day and poke fun at one another. Press conferences are a
great way to continue producing content even after the day of golf is over. Sports marketers have
known this since the beginning of time. For the celebrities it will be an opportunity for personal
PR as they answer low hanging fruit questions, talk about their experiences with cancer, and
what organizations they plan to donate winnings to. All of this content can be recycled for social
media posts to keep the engagement 24/7.
Well Planned Event Logistics:
It's important that we maintain a consistent message throughout our advertising process.
And for us that message is “watch these people you know play golf and do good for the world all
at once”.
Besides our message and cause we also prioritize the experience our fans receive from
attending the event in person. We are aware how a lack of well planned logistics can affect the
overall experience for a spectator. Being stressed out about finding parking, not knowing where
the bathrooms are, not
enough food options, and
bad viewing angles can
seriously hinder one’s
ability to enjoy themselves.
We want to make sure they
feel taken care of, and that
the event is well organized

14. to fit their needs. To do this we will work closely with event planners that have organized events
at this venue before. This will ensure aspects such as parking, food, bathrooms, viewing areas,
and other logistics are well thought out and enhance the experience of the fans. We will have
signs directing traffic, signs for bathrooms, signs for everything. In addition, we will hire roughly
50 people to help guide our guests and answer questions for them if they need help with
anything. We will be meticulous when picking these helpers as well. Nothing can ruin a
customer's perception faster than a negative customer service experience, so it is very important
to us that we get friendly, and patient people to represent our event.
Lastly, we will have these helpers handing out brochures that contain a detailed, labeled
map of the total venue and other information pertaining to food and other facilities, such as
which food options are vegetarian, and where to buy the merch. Consider the following
example..

15. Sponsorships:
Our event will have multiple sponsors that span across more than just the golfing
industry. We will have golfing brand sponsors such as Callaway,
Taylormade, Titleist; and in addition, we will have a well
renowned car brand such as Toyota, Honda, etc. etc. sponsor us as
well, which will play a part through some of our activation
strategies that will be mentioned later on. We also plan on having
a TV channel, the likes of an ABC, TNT, or ESPN sponsor us so
that we can broadcast our event on their channel, which will give our event even more exposure,
and allow those who don’t get tickets a chance to still watch the event, and donate to the cause
that we are promoting. Also among our sponsors, we want to have a golf cart company sponsor
us so all of our participants can use their equipment, this will not only allow our participants a
means to get around the course quicker, but it will also allow those who are watching (both from
those in attendance, and those tuning it at home), a chance to see the goods that the golf cart
manufacturer has to offer. With all of our sponsors for this event, our intention is to have them
present in a fashion that allows for all the brands involved to gain brand awareness, while also
increasing our events popularity by association.
Within our event, we want to have different sponsors play parts in several aspects of our
event. We want to have a “hole in one” sponsored segment where if a player makes a hole in one
on any hole of the golf course, that sponsor will donate a set amount of dollars to the cancer
based charity of their choice. Additionally, we want to have a “Closest to the Pin” sponsored
segment where over the course of the tournament players will see who can get their tee shots on
the par 3s closest to the pin, and at the end of the tournament, whoever is the closest will have

16. that sponsor donate another set amount (likely less than the hole in one) to whatever cancer
research charity that they want. Lastly, with our hole related sponsors,we want to incorporate a
“Longest Drive” sponsored segment, as the name suggests, the winner of this will be the
participant who is able to drive their ball the furthest off of the tee shot, and the “winner” of that
will have the segment sponsor donate money to the cancer research charity of their choice.
Promotions & Advertising:
We decided to call this golf event the Living Legend Golf
Championship due to the celebrity status behind each player.
The name of the tournament is the first interaction fans have
with the event and a catchy name grabs the attention of the
potential attendees.
We will be releasing teaser videos of the professional athletes giving interviews before
the scheduled event including behind the scenes interactions between them, along with players
statistics from previous golfing tournaments. In releasing these short teaser clips of the celebrity
players, it will help build up anticipation amongst fans.
In terms of promoting and advertising this golfing event, we are taking a multifaceted
approach in terms of social media coverage, printed advertisements, and multiple sponsorship
packages. We are including promotional items such as short commercial coverage on ABC, TNT,
and ESPN in the months leading up to the event. Advertising for this event will also incorporate

17. signage, we will be utilizing mobile billboards during sporting events in major cities to help
deliver advertising coverage on a larger scale.
On top of mobile billboards, we are also going to
provide signage at the U.S. Open, and Masters
Tournament to help acquire more golfing
audience’s attention. As we all may know, when
there is an event with patrons, traffic is soon to
follow. So, to help mitigate traffic issues we will
be putting up signage around Scottsdale to navigate vehicle traffic to parking areas.
We are pursuing social media advertising and
promotions in two main categories. First, we
will establish the framework behind a field
marketing campaign that will include brand
ambassadors with PING, TaylorMade, and
Callaway. These brand ambassadors will
facilitate promoting the event through
followership and giving up-to-date information regarding the golfing event schedules. Our
second category for social media advertising would be dedicated hashtags exclusively promoting
the contest. This will include real-time posts and live sharing at the event from the celebrity
athletes and key people involved in the tournament.

18. Event Merchandise:
Golf lends itself nicely to a large line of merchandise. Not only will people be able to buy
the usual sportsy merchandise such as hats, shirts, and hoodies, but also actual golf equipment
such as balls, tees, club covers, divot fixers, and ball markers. Golf is a great sport for selling
merchandise because the fans are likely to actually play golf themselves, so they will need to buy
the equipment. Of course all of the merchandise mentioned will display our event name, cause,
and logo. Some of the merch may even have pictures of the celebrities.
We plan on hosting a raffle for a few select items such as a new driver, new golf bag, sets of
irons, and a few scotty cameron putters. Everyone loves raffles, it gives you something to look
forward to throughout the day besides the golf. Don't lose that ticket! There will also be an
auction for merch and golf equipment that has been signed by the celebrities and golf pros that
will be participating in the tournament.
Obviously, we will pay close attention to the profit margins on our merchandise and we will find
a good balance between customer satisfaction, donation goals, and of course the costs of the
event. We dont believe this section requires too much detail because pricing has a well
established precedent and the logistics involved are not pertinent to the overall planning of the
event. Hypothetically we would most likely use a “cost +” basis for determining our prices.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
1. On-site Viewership

19. 2. Great climate and in a high traffic area that is known for golf
3. Some proceeds going towards a great cause
4. Different set up than a regular pro am
5. Excellent Golf course conditions and beautification
6. Playability for the average celebrity golfers
7. Larger property of dessert golf, a lot of room to create and work with
8. Several other events have been hosted here so we know that they have the space to host
this kind of layout
Weaknesses
1. Regular target market for golf event are old high-class individuals
2. Some spots on course aren't grandstand accessible
3. Golf isn't the most popular sport to watch or play
4. People have to travel to Arizona
Opportunities
1. Social Media
2. A great cause gains exposure
3. Creating a need for different sponsorships and promotional activities
4. Having high star power between professional golfers and celebrities
5. The Raptor actually got some renovation work by Fazio on the last few holes in 2015.
Threats
1. Other sporting event contributing to causes
2. Other entertainment options

20. 3. Weather can be unpredictable (wind, too hot, fog)
4. Finding celebrities that want to play and are good enough
Citations:
Bell, Kian. “6 Of the Most Charitable NBA Players.” Half A Goal, 28 Apr. 2021,
halfagoal.com/6-of-the-most-charitable-nba-players/.
“The PGA Tour Audience.” PGATOUR.COM - Official Home of Golf and the FedExCup,
www.pgatour.com/advertise/audience.html.
“Top 10 Most Popular Sports In America In 2021: Viewership And TV Ratings.” Sports
Show, sportsshow.net/most-popular-sports-in-america/.