2. Whitecaps FC and MLS
Major League Soccer (MLS)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC is in its
was founded in 1993 and
second season with the MLS and
began competition in 1996
newly reinvented stadium they look
with only 10 teams in the
to make a strong push for the
league. With 19 teams now
playoffs after acquiring sensational
in the league the MLS Cup is
forward Darren Mattocks from
one of the greatest trophies a
Akron University and the second
soccer team can hold up in
overall pick in the MLS Superdraft.
the U.S. Previous winners of
The ‘Caps look to stay in the hunt
the cup include LA Galaxy
while fans from around Vancouver
who won last season making
and Canada look to support them
that their 3rd win, and D.C.
on and off the pitch by staying up
United who won in 2010
to date with live feed from the
making that their 4th MLS
games and updates containing
Cup.
information about the team via the
internet and social media.
3. Challenges and Goals
• Competition includes NHL teams such as the Vancouver Canucks, developmental
soccer organizations in the area, the BC Lions a CFL team established in 1954 and
the Vancouver Canadians a Minor League baseball team. With these other teams
in the area competing for fan support the ‘Caps must pursue their fan support in a
very creative manor to get their attention and to show them they are not only one
of the supreme teams in Vancouver but in the MLS as well.
Goals of this campaign will be to increase fan support during the season but
also during the offseason when the team is preparing or at pre-season games.
The main goal of this strategy is to increase not only single game ticket sales but
season ticket sales as well which are the loyal supporters every team needs.
4. Twitter & Facebook- Our main focus for the
campaign will be reaching our target market
The Big Idea
of 18-35 year old males and females involved
with sports but more importantly those who
support soccer giving them opportunities to
win free tickets, jerseys, and scarfs. Other
things our fans will be able to participate in
on these social media sites are things like live
chat with players or coaches at certain times,
they will be able to get live feed from there
phone via twitter if they are not able to make
it to the game. Promotions such as free give-
a-ways for the first 5,000 or so at the gates
will also be able to be register via mobile
devices saving paper and time.
5. Short term Accomplishments
During this campaign we
look to increase our fan
base around the area and
hopefully to those around
the US and Canada. We also
look to increase our ticket
sales which will in turn
increase our revenue at the
games selling more
merchandise and food
during the games. With
attendance the highest its
ever been at the start of this
season this campaign will
help continue those growing
numbers in our favor.
6. Long Term Accomplishments
Our long term goals for this campaign will be to increase our numbers of
season ticket holders both in the Southsiders area which are the fans
that do the chants and signing as well as those seats made available to
loyal fans who may just want to come to a great atmosphere and watch
great soccer.
7. To measure our success
for this campaign our
team set marks for how Success
many fans will view the
social media and internet
market places within a
season. As of now
Whitecaps FC has over
22,000 followers on
Twitter and nearly 30,000
likes on Facebook. With
the efforts of this
campaign we hope to see
the Twitter page reach
over 30,000 followers and
the Facebook page reach
over 40,000 likes by the
end of the season.
8. Budget
To gain support from our fans for this season and those to come our budget to
carry out this internet campaign will be a significant one, however, with the
results of the promotions and raffles the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, BC Place
Stadium and the city of Vancouver will benefit far more than the expense of
putting together this campaign.
Our budget for the campaign will be $500,000.00 which includes employees on
payroll, start up money for the Twitter and Facebook pages to buy spots in crucial
television and internet markets, merchandise to give away at promotions and
raffles, and another expense that we may come across in the process.
9. Timeline
This campaign will run
starting at the half way
point of this 2012 season
after the All-Star break
through the summer and
hopefully will continue to
be used continually for
years to come. This will
give fans something to
look forward to after the
all-star break to get them
back into the stadium
and cheering for their
team first hand and also
staying up to date with
their favorite players.
