Marketing Audit from Year 2 Semester 1 of Sport Management at Humber College.

1. Marketing Audit Assignment
Brandon Ly
RECL 217 - Marketing
Cecily Clarke
December 5th, 2019

2. 1
Table of Contents
Assignment Components………………………………………………………………………………2
Marketing Environment Analysis……………………………………………………………………..2-8
Segmentation, Targeting, and
Positioning……………………………………………………….…8-11
Marketing
Mix………………………………………………………………………………………...11-14
How to Address Marketing Challenges……………………………………………………………….15
References……………………………………………………………………………………………….16

3. 2
Assignment Components
Introduction
The purpose of this marketing audit assignment is to give an in depth look at a certain
sports organization and the business side of the organization. The sport organization I have
chosen is the Winnipeg Goldeyes. The Goldeyes were founded in 1994, and is located in
Winnipeg, Manitoba. The league they are currently in is the American Association of
Independent Professional Baseball (AA).
Marketing Environment Analysis
Company Analysis
Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals
The only mission statement I could find was for the stadium (Shaw Park) that they play
at. The mission statement is “To provide the highest quality of family entertainment possible by
providing an outstanding level of customer service to all patrons of the Winnipeg Goldeyes
Baseball Club while representing the Goldeyes in a professional and friendly manner.” In terms
of their values, the Goldeyes value winning and offering fans an authentic experience every time
they attend a game or even watch their games from home. They always give 100% every time
they are on the field, no matter what. The Goldeyes have been a successful team for years, so
their goals are fairly simple, and that’s keep winning. Besides the game of baseball, they also
set attendance goals every season, which they have succeeded in and even surpassed every

4. 3
year, and most of that is due to the limit of sports teams in Winnipeg and they have built a
successful team for a while.
PESTLE Analysis
Social
Judging by the demographics in Winnipeg, their current population is ​830,500, and their
population is only going to increase every year, as they are expected to have a 1.24%
population increase from 2018-2013. The demographics are very important when it comes to
the Goldeyes because you wouldn’t want to have a baseball team or any sports team in an area
that is decreasing in population every year. This will bring the organization more fans due to the
population growth. It also helps that the Winnipeg Goldeyes is the only baseball team in
Winnipeg, so they will gain more fans without having to really directly compete with anyone.
When it comes to the cultural norms in Winnipeg, the most popular and notable team there are
the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL, and most of that is obviously due to the mainstream appeal of the
NHL compared to the​ American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. This
negatively affects the Goldeyes because most fans would rather go watch a mainstream and
more well known team rather than a smaller, independent baseball organization. To add on to
that, hockey is also the most popular sport in Canada, so that doesn’t help the Goldeyes case if
they want to attract more fans. This is a factor that is out of the Goldeyes control, since the NHL
has been such a big organization for years. Finally, when it comes to lifestyle trends, it is well
known that baseball is on the decline, and this includes the MLB as well. Most of this is due to
the pace of the game being too slow for fans, and more fast paced and exciting sports such as
basketball, hockey, and soccer are steadily growing every year. This negatively affects the

5. 4
organization as the Goldeyes may not attract more fans than they would like, and that is just
due to society wanting to watch something different. Overall, the positive takeaway for Winnipeg
is the increase in population that may give the Goldeyes a larger fan base, but unfortunately, the
cons weigh out the pros, due to the popularity of the Jets and the decline of the sport of baseball
as a whole.
Technological
There is a very massive innovation coming to the sport of baseball, and that is the
electronic strike zone. What this means is that umpires are being replaced by a robot or
electronic system that immediately tells if the pitch is a ball or a strike. This plan is to decrease
the amount of nonsense calls made by umpires during games and also speeds the pace of the
game. The MLB are currently testing out electronic umpires at the minor league level. This
innovation may affect the Winnipeg Goldeyes and the entire AA as a whole because the
electronic strike zone may be a very popular trend in the future, where almost every baseball
league will implement an electronic strike zone of their own. This will positively affect the
Goldeyes as this rule will speed the pace of play and end the excessive amount of nonsense
calls by non-electronic umpires. This also may attract more fans because fans may get an idea
that the sport of baseball is willing to change for the better. To conclude, the innovation of the
electronic strike zone implemented by MLB may positively affect the Goldeyes and AA if they
were to implement the same rule change in the near future.
Environmental
Climate and weather play a big part on the Goldeyes and AA. Just like the MLB and any
other baseball league, any stadium that does not possess a retractable roof like the Rogers

6. 5
Centre, may have to delay or even postponed games. For a smaller organization like AA, this
may cost them a good amount of money in order to place a tarp on the field if it were to rain,
clean the field, and maintain the field as well during the winter time. Shaw Park, which is the
stadium the Goldeyes play in, is an open ballpark that does not have a roof. Winnipeg
experiences very bad winters, so even during the winter, workers have to maintain the
cleanliness of the park. The same can be said about geographic location. Since Shaw Park is
located in Winnipeg, a province that is known to possess a lot of snow, having a retractable roof
would have greatly benefited them. Compared to a place like Los Angeles lets say, where it’s
sunny for most of the year, they do not need roofs to protect the field. The geographic location
of the Goldeyes ballpark of Shaw Park negatively affects the Goldeyes and the AA organization
due to the well known bad weather that Winnipeg, Manitoba has.
Competitive Analysis
St.Paul Saints: ​The St. Paul
Saints are an American
professional baseball team
based in Saint Paul,
Minnesota. They play at CHS
Field, and are apart of the
American Association of
Independent Professional
Baseball.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers: ​A
football team for the
CFL.They play their home
games at IG Field after many
years of playing at the since
demolished Canad Inns
Stadium.
Product
• How do they use product
extensions to enhance their
core product?
The Saints offer multiple
extensions to enhance their
core product. One being
concessions, where they offer
basic baseball field food such
as hot dogs, ice cream,
nachos, etc. They also have
merchandise stands
throughout the stadium where
they sell jerseys, hats, etc.
The Saints are known for
their between-innings
The Bombers offer multiple
concessions during games,
such as hot dog stands,
burgers, tacos, mini donuts,
ice cream bars, etc. They
give fans multiple food
options they can choose
from, which enhances the fan
experience. They also offer
merchandise stands where
fans can purchase jerseys,
hats, signed items, etc. The

7. 6
promotions. Whether it's
sumo wrestling, tire races, or
a bus race, they’ll get group
members into the middle of
the action. During the game,
a few members of a group
will get to take part in a
Saints between-innings
promotion or contest.
Bombers also have a “Song
of the Game” where they
have fans vote for what song
they want to hear during the
game.
Place
• How does their facility
enhance the consumer’s
experience?
• How do consumers
purchase tickets to their
games?
To enhance the consumer’s
experience, there are picnic
areas, where fans can sit on
the lawn and watch the
game, craft beer corner
where fans get specialty beer
that is only offered to those
that are at that specific
location, and the Spire Sun
Deck, where fans can watch
a baseball game from a
rooftop. To purchase tickets
to their games, consumers
can purchase tickets online or
at the ticket stand at the
stadium. Some types of
tickets are single game
tickets, group tickets, and
season tickets.
The Blue Bombers facility
enhances the consumer’s
experience by offering
pre-game tailgate outside the
stadium before home games
for fans to socialize and have
a good time before the game.
They also have a birthday or
anniversary announcement
you want displayed on the
video board at a Blue Bomber
home game,by simply calling
or emailing the Bombers.
Consumers can purchase
tickets online or at the ticket
stand at the stadium. The
way tickets can be purchased
are Game packs, Flex packs,
Season tickets, Group
Tickets, and Party Ticket
offers.
Price
• What pricing strategy are
they using?
• What is the average price
for a single game ticket?
The pricing strategy the
Saints are using is dynamic.
This is because their prices
are fairly flexible due to the
fact that the league itself isn’t
that popular. If the league
were to become more
popular, then there would be
an increase in prices but for
now, the Saints are using a
dynamic pricing strategy. The
average price for a single
game ticket is around
$14-$18.
The pricing strategy the
Bombers are using is
Off-Peak. This is a common
strategy used by sports team
because tickets will be more
expensive if they are facing a
better team compared to if
they are facing a bad team.
The average price for a single
game ticket is around
$16-$77.

8. 7
Promotion
• What unique promotional
approaches are they using?
The Saints website didn’t
specifically state what kind of
promotions they have, but
they did say that during the
game, a few members of a
group will get to take part in a
Saints between-innings
promotion or contest.
Some unique promotional
approaches the Bombers are
using are 50/50 tickets where
fans donate to a charity and
can win some money, flag
raising where long-time
season ticket members,
celebrities, and notable
Manitobans will raise the 13th
Man Flag in honor of all the
fans, and the Dominos Player
of the Game where fans vote
through text who they think
was the player of the game.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
● Excellent developmental team that
has produced multiple MLB players
such as Luis Villarreal and Mike
Wagner.
● Terrific coaching staff. Rick Forney is
the long time coach since 2006 and
has taken them to the playoffs the
same year he got hired.
● The Goldeyes have maintained a high
attendance every season and there is
no sign of it decreasing any time soon
● The Goldeyes have won 3
championships. This has raised their
profit, increased their attendance, and
developed a winning culture. Their
strength here is winning, and if they
can continue to win, it will be a huge
positive for the organization
● Family Fun Environment
Weaknesses
● Although the Goldeyes reached their
goal for attendance, compared to the
rest of the league, it is something they
need to improve on. For example, the
St.Paul Saints had over 400,000 fans
in attendance last season, almost
200,000 more than the Goldeyes.
● They don’t get as much attention as
other teams in the league due to the
region they are in (Every other team is
in the U.S.)
● Name power/ Recognition on the
roster. There is no notable names on
the roster that may attract new fans.
● The stadium is older and needs
renovations. Shaw Park has been
around since 1999, so some
renovations may help the aesthetics
of the stadium.
Opportunities
● Possibly extending the field to have
seats in the outfield. Their average
attendance was around 7,000 last
season, so this would definitely help
the Goldeyes out in that aspect.
● Having more collectible promotions,
Threats
● Having an older stadium may shy
away fans from attending games.
● MLB or MiLB may sign the top players
on the team, which will make the team
worse.
● Lack of success may mean that

9. 8
such as bobbleheads. Fans are well
known in baseball to go to games just
for the giveaway items, so having
maybe around 2-3 bobblehead nights
a season will increase attendance.
● Partnering with MLB or MiLB. This will
give the Goldeyes more awareness to
other fans.
● Interact more with the fans during
games. In the competitive analysis,
the Blue Bombers had fans voting for
different songs and player of the
game during the game. This will
enhance the fan experience for
Goldeyes fans.
players will leave for other teams
● Rival clubs becoming more successful
may negatively impact the Goldeyes
in terms of attendance, popularity, and
wanting to play in Winnipeg for the
players.
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Target Markets
The first target market that the organization is trying to reach is younger fans around the
age of 3-14. The Goldeyes are definitely looking at demographics because a majority of their
promotions caters to children, which include “Superhero Night”, “Pajama Night”, and “School
Patrol Night”. They are well aware, according to Polaris, that 17% of Winnipeg’s population is
made up of children and youth ages 0-14, which can also be tied into the geographics as well.
They are also catering to different genders too, by having different promotional giveaways or
events that are girl and boy themed. A promotion catered to young girls they are promoting is
“Girl Guides Sleepover”, while they have “Zombie Night Fireworks”, which is more catered
towards young boys. When it comes to geographics, Shaw Park is located in the most
populated area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, which is where most families in Winnipeg live.
Psychographics wise, baseball is a sport that children mostly enjoy due to the slow pace of the
game, the easy understanding of it, and the very rare big moments that happen during games
that get them excited. Their personality and attitude towards the games will be positive and

10. 9
happy due to the children friendly accommodations and promotions that the Goldeyes
constantly do. For youth around 12-14, baseball could be an interest for them, and since they
live in Winnipeg, the Goldeyes are really their only option to watch a professional baseball game
that is somewhat near them. Finally, when it comes to product choices for kids, this may be the
only downfall for this target market profile. The usage rate and loyalty status is more for adults.
This includes purchasing season tickets, buying merchandise, and going to almost every game.
Families will occasionally take their children to baseball games, but the Goldeyes will make
more profit with consumers with a higher usage rate and loyalty status, which are mainly adults.
The second target market the Goldeyes are reaching out to are families. When it comes to the
demographics, the Goldeyes cater to all ages. They do that by having giveaways for children as
discussed earlier, adult themed nights such as “Military Night”, a picnic area where families can
sit on the lawn and watch the game, and a “craft beer corner” for adults. The average family
income for Winnipeg is around $118,000. The Goldeyes provide reasonable prices for their
tickets and typical ballpark prices for their concessions, so even though Winnipeg’s family
income is relatively high, the Goldeyes are still catering to families with lower incomes as well.
On the geographics side, 64% of the Winnipeg population is made up of one-family households,
which will attract more fans for the Goldeyes since most of Winnipeg’s population is made up of
families. As well, Shaw Park is located in one of the main areas of Winnipeg, so it will be easier
for parents to attend games since most of them work in the main area of Winnipeg. When it
comes to psychographics, baseball has always been a family friendly sport due to the friendly
environment, family friendly promotions and accommodations, and the pace of the game being
very relaxing for families to just sit back and enjoy. As well, when it comes to Winnipeg, they
value a winning culture. The Jets and Blue Bombers are both winning teams, and the same can
be said for the Goldeyes, as they have been a playoff team almost every season. For some

11. 10
families, this may not matter, but others may value spending their hard earned money for their
family to watch a good team rather than a team that loses all the time. Finally, when it comes to
product choice, the Goldeyes offer group packs that are catered towards big crowds and
families mostly, at a very reasonable price. Having group packs at such a reasonable price will
increase the usage rate that families buy the packs even more, as it’s around $20 for a group
pack, depending on the amount of people. This will also build loyalty for families to come back
because of how easy and cheap it is to attend a family friendly baseball game. Overall, the 2
target markets the Goldeyes are targeting are younger people and families, and this is done
using demographic, geographic, psychographic, and product choice segmentations.
Positioning
When it comes to positioning, there are 3 main factors to look at, and that is image,
features, and price. When it comes to image, the Goldeyes have a fairly clean and
non-controversial image surrounding their organization. This is very rare for a team that has
been around since the 90’s, but they have still maintained a clean image. They have done this
by not making any controversial comments, catering to fans of all ages, and having a winning
team and front office. This differentiates them from their competitors because the St.Paul Saints
have had controversy surrounding them when they had an “Atheist Night” where they honoured
Atheists for a night. Most fans were very offended about the tradition, saying “be careful what
you wish for if you get religion involved.” Winnipeg has maintained a clean image throughout
compared to its competitors, which has benefited them greatly. The features that the Goldeyes
possess at Shaw Park are very family friendly. They have a picnic area where families can sit on
the lawn and watch the game, a playground in the stadium, and a patio section. Most
competitors only have one or the other, but Shaw Park has all of these amenities for families

12. 11
and fans to enjoy. They also have a record amount of concessions in the AA, with 30 different
concession stands. Finally, the pricing for games is fairly similar to other AA teams when it
comes to tickets, but the biggest takeaway is that even though the Goldeyes are a winning
team, they didn’t bump up their ticket prices and kept them affordable. Their concession prices
are relatively the same compared to their competitors, but the only positive is the fact that they
have way more concessions around the ballpark compared to their competitors. Therefore, the
Goldeyes have succeeded in differentiating themselves from their competitors in terms of their
image, features, and pricing.
Marketing Mix
Product
Some of the Goldeyes key product extensions include concession stands, merchandise,
and multiple interactive promotions. Concession stands are fairly simple, as food is essential for
most fans when watching a sporting event. The Goldeyes possess 30 stands throughout the
stadium for fans to enjoy. Merchandise stands are also found around the stadium, where fans
can purchase jerseys, hats, balls, bats, etc. Finally, the Goldeyes hold multiple interactive
promotional event/giveaways, including “baseball bingo night.” In order to increase brand equity,
the Goldeyes have done 3 actions. The first action they have done is developing a winning
culture. For 10+ years, the Goldeyes have been a winning team. This has increased brand
awareness but also developed brand loyalty. This is because the Goldeyes winning almost
every season has allowed them to be talked about more, thus developing brand awareness to
users who may not be familiar with them. Brand loyalty also increases due to the consistent
winning culture for the Goldeyes, so fans are going to more games, and buying more
merchandise. The second action the Goldeyes have taken is catering towards families and

13. 12
children. They have done this by having promotions directed towards both markets, and
providing amenities for both markets as well. This has increased the perceived quality and
brand association consumers have towards the Goldeyes. When it comes to the perceived
quality, consumers get a perception of the overall quality of the product and they can identify
how much the Goldeyes are trying to cater to them. Brand association on the other hand is due
to the fact that the organization is treating and catering to the consumers so much where
consumers want to associate themselves with the organization because of that. Finally, the last
action the Goldeyes have taken to increase brand equity is having a “baseball buddies”
program, where parents can sign up their children to be on the field with the players and stand
by their side for the player introductions. This increases brand loyalty because as a kid, being
on the field with your favourite player is a dream come true and is a moment a kid will never
forget. Experiences like that make a fan for life, which is why the Goldeyes are intelligent for
developing a program like that. Overall, the Goldeyes have developed a winning culture,
catered towards families and children, and have a “baseball buddies” program for kids and
youth. All of these factors have positively influenced fans when it comes to brand awareness,
association, loyalty, and perceived quality.
Place
When it comes to Shaw Park, 4 factors must be considered: location and accessibility,
design and layout, amenities, and customer service. When it comes to location and
accessibility, ​while many fans find street parking options in the surrounding neighbourhoods of
the Exchange District and St. Boniface, there are a number of lots surrounding the ballpark as
well. For wheelchair parking, fans can park near Gate 4 on the west side of the ballpark. Finally,
season pass holders can park in exclusive lots 1, 4, and 5. Transportation wise, The Goldeyes

14. 13
provide specific bus routes on their website for fans to travel on to get to Shaw Park. When it
comes to the design and layout of Shaw Park, the ballpark is relatively old, dating back to 1999,
but they have still been able to make their ballpark very aesthetically pleasing, by having a
modernized patio and lawn for fans to sit on. They also have in and out privileges, where fans
can actually leave the stadium and come back if they want, which is very rare to find when it
comes to sporting events. There is also a lot of room for fans to walk around in the arena as
well. The next factor is the amenities. The seating capacity of Shaw Park is just over 7,000, and
that is not including the patio and lawn, so overall there is a good amount of seating for a
smaller arena. Food and beverage is a big aspect of Shaw Park, as they deliver a record
amount of concession stands compared to other AA teams, with 30 stands around the stadium.
This includes hot dog stands, cookie dough, craft beer, etc. Finally, when it comes to customer
service, fans have only said good things about the staff working at Shaw Park for the Goldeye
games, and how interactive and personal they are. They enhance the fan experience, and this
is due to the training they go through. The training workers go through is very basic when it
comes to a customer service level job, such as role plays and scenarios being a part of that.
Consumers can obtain their tickets online and in person at the ticket booth outside the stadium,
whether it is single game tickets, season tickets, or group packs. Overall, the ​4 factors that must
be considered are location and accessibility, design and layout, amenities, and customer
service, and the Goldeyes and Shaw Park have successfully done all of those components
correctly.
Price
The main pricing strategy that the Goldeyes have and will continue to use is penetration
pricing. This is because the Goldeyes are currently in a very small and independent baseball

15. 14
league, so the ticket prices are ranged from about $14-$18. Although, if the league were to gain
more traction and gain more awareness, ticket prices would definitely skyrocket. The same can
be said about concessions due to the high demand of fans wanting to attend games. The main
problem is that the AA league has been around for a long time, and the attendance has slightly
increased every year, but nothing too significant where ticket prices have to go up. With the
popularity of baseball in Winnipeg going up, penetration pricing is the best pricing strategy for
the Goldeyes to use if they want to maximize their profit.
Promotion
The first used by the Goldeyes was their “Bark in the Park” promotion, sponsored by
Winnipeg Veterinary Care Group and Peavey Mart, where fans can bring their dogs to the
game. They used digital marketing by posting the promotion on their Twitter and showing
highlights of the past years of the same promotion. The video package showed how fun and
enjoyable the event was, and how the dogs and owners can go on the field after the game. The
next promotion was military night, where former marines got to come for free to the game and
were honoured on the field during the 7th inning. The Goldeyes used digital marketing to
advertise this event by having their main promotion being “Marines get in for FREE”, thus
emphasizing the “free” in the promotion, which would catch the consumers eye. The last
promotion the Goldeyes did was “Christmas in July Fireworks” where fans would wear ugly
Christmas sweaters or anything Christmas related to the ballpark. Along with that, there would
be a fireworks show after the game for fans to enjoy. The Goldeyes advertised this event by
simply putting it on their Twitter, stating the event and what would be going on that night.
Overall, the Goldeyes held multiple promotions and advertised them all using social media and
digital marketing.

16. 15
How to Address Marketing Challenges
Recommendations
The first recommendation for the Goldeyes is hold more adult friendly promotions.
Although the Goldeyes have promotions such as Military Night, they would benefit more if they
had more promotions catered towards adults. They have many children themed promotions, but
by having more adult themed promotions, that is where they will enhance brand loyalty and
make more profit. This is because if there are more adult promotions, some fans may want to
buy a season pass and go to more games which will thus maximize profit for the Goldeyes. The
second recommendation is to partner with the MLB or MiLB. This will give more brand
awareness to not only the Goldeyes, but the AA league as a whole. This may also attract other
players who are well known to go and play for the Goldeyes as well. It would overall benefit the
Goldeyes because they would gain tremendous recognition from baseball fans around the
world. The last recommendation is to have more collectible promotions such as bobblehead
giveaways. There are a lot of collectors out there who exclusively collect bobbleheads, so by
having around 2-3 giveaways a season will increase the attendance and profit for the Goldeyes,
and will bring them more fans who enjoy collecting such collectibles. Overall, the three
recommendations for the Goldeyes will help its marketing challenges.

17. 16
References
Bloom, B. M. (2019, July 13). The Electronic Strike Zone Is On Its Way To The Majors, Like It
Or Not. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrymbloom/2019/07/13/the-electronic-strike-zone-is-on-its-way-
to-the-majors-like-it-or-not/#46880e3b4dd5​.
Promotions. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://saintsbaseball.com/groups/layer/layer/on-field-fun/between-innings-promotions/​.
Unsaintly: The Story Behind the St. Paul Saints. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://news.sportslogos.net/2015/02/28/unsaintly-the-story-behind-the-st-paul-saints/​.

18. 17