UMass Men's hockey marketing plan

UMass Men’s Hockey
Marketing Plan
Marke/ng Plan
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By: David Tews, Carlo deMarco, Shawn Bergeron, Danielle DeRenzo, Matt Marcotte

Table of Contents
Secondary Research
•  General Information
•  SWOT Analysis
•  Secondary Research Results
•  Conclusion
Market Segments
•  Segment 1
•  Segment 2
Manipulations
•  Segment 1
•  Budget, Segment 1
•  Segment 2
•  Budget, Segment 2
Marke/ng Plan
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3-13
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14-20
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17
21-37
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28
30
35

Secondary Research
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General Information
Recently, the UMass Men’s Hockey team has been struggling. The team
finished the season with an overall record of 8-24-4, winning just two home
games and two games in conference. Immediately after season, head coach
John Micheletto was let go after being with the team for just four seasons.
However, it wasn’t just on the ice where the Minutemen were struggling. The
team ranked 33rd in overall attendance during the 2014-2015 season with an
average of 2,581 fans per game. To put it into perspective, the leading school
in attendance was North Dakota, with an average of 11,516 fans per game. This
comprehensive report takes a look at some current hockey news and trends, a
SWOT analysis of the team, and general ice hockey identification patterns to
ultimately help the UMass athletic department attain higher home-game
attendance numbers.
Some current developments relative to the team that could affect attendance
include the hiring of new Athletic Director Ryan Bamford, senior Shane Walsh’s
status as one of 66 candidates for the 2016 Hobey Baker award, the school
band’s recent attendance at games, and a game in Ireland scheduled for next
season. However, the most recent and most exciting development is the hiring
of new head coach, Greg Carvel. The UMass alum comes in with an impressive
background, helping two NHL teams reach Stanley Cup Finals. Carvel most
recently lead St. Lawrence University to win 72 games over the course of four
seasons. This hiring will certainly create buzz going into the next season, and
could help more fans. But it won’t be easy; UMass is also competing with fans -

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- of other hockey teams, such as the Springfield Falcons, the Boston Bruins, and
any of the other more successful Division I hockey teams in the area like BC,
BU, UMass Lowell, Northeastern, Harvard, Quinnipiac, and Providence.
SWOT Analysis

Strengths:
•  Young players who should improve over the next few seasons (http://
dailycollegian.com/2015/10/08/umass-looks-to-be-more-competitive-in-
hockey-east-behind-youth/)
•  Game in Ireland - should bring a lot of exposure to the program (http://
dailycollegian.com/2016/02/08/umass-hockey-to-participate-in-2016-
friendship-four-tournament-in-belfast-northern-ireland/)
•  Mullins Center has the 6th highest max capacity of any hockey team in the
country
•  Hockey East conference with highly-marketable opponents
•  Located in the northeastern part of the United States where hockey is very
popular
•  Admission to games is FREE for students
•  Strength of schedule - play at least 10 nationally ranked teams
•  Good amount of national exposure via national television broadcasts, elite
opponents, and program alumni playing professionally
Weaknesses:
•  Poor record; win percentage of .277
•  Lack of school awareness of the program
•  Lack of extensive marketing plan to alert the campus of home games
•   Western MASS isolation → transportation may be an issue

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•  Lack of player involvement with fans
•  Little to no engagement with alumni from the hockey program
Opportunities:
•   Excellent facilities: part of the Mullins Center strength, lots of potential for
growth in attendance given the large capacity
•  Friday night college hockey on NESN
•  Chance to market top players from other universities that will play in the
NHL: Eichel’s appearance last year, Hanifin’s appearance last year, Demko on
BC, etc.
•  Create an event to advertise the professional talent the program has
produced: Quick, Vatrano, Sheary, Irwin, Montour, etc.
•  New England accounted for 12.4% of the nation’s hockey participants in
2014, despite having just 5.1% of the nation’s population. That would be the
best participation ratio in the country.
•  Three players on the team right now are from Massachusetts (including
Shane Walsh), play up the local roots
•  Giveaways - fan engagement at the game
•  Start serving alcohol at games (like other universities, such as UMass Lowell)
•  UMass students playing at intermission (raffle with ticket stubs from previous
games)
•  Speed shot on the concourse
•  Accuracy shot competition
•  “Zoo Crew”/”Mullins Maniacs” - name for fans at the games
•  Dress up as animals
•  Potentially other themes (white out series at WISC)
•  Develop a shuttle bus schedule to bring students directly to Mullins Center
from each residential area on campus on game days

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•  Intensify rivalry against UMass Lowell - more fan involvement
•  Work to bring back famous alumni to games
•  Create a UMass Athletics app
•  Develop/increase reliable WiFi access both for students via eduroam, and
campus visitors who can’t access the student network
Threats:
•  UMass basketball (same season)
•  Some students would rather engage in drinking/parties during weekend
games
•  Televised Bruins games that people rather stay home and watch
•   Large brand teams in the area (BC, BU, Harvard, etc.)
•  Better-skilled/ranked teams in the area (BC, BU, Harvard, Providence, Yale,
Quinnipiac, UMass Lowell) All had higher win percentages than UMass
Secondary Research Results
Other Successful Organizations:
•  Wisconsin Hockey:
•  App and NHL Alumni
•  Wisconsin has developed an extensive mobile app that allows their
fans to upgrade their experience and engage with the team, and
interacted with fans via social media while displaying interesting video
content and highlights through these platforms. Their attendance is
currently the third best in the entire country, despite the team’s last-
place standing in the Big Ten.

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•  ASU Basketball
•  “942 Crew” and “Curtain of Distraction”
•  Arizona State University Men’s Basketball’s student attendance has
increased by 33% since 2013, when the fan section named “ The 942
Crew” introduced the entertaining Curtain of Distraction. The Curtain
of Distraction is a student-run attraction designed to distract
opponents at the free throw line in the second half. When the player is
about to take his free throw, the curtain is drawn and some
outrageously dressed student will dance or create a scene that could
catch the shooter’s eye for just enough time to make him miss his free
throw. This is something that has received national attention and that
the students clearly want to be a part of. (statepress.com)
•  Dayton Dragons
•  Great customer service
•  The Dayton Dragons have sold out a record 1,121 consecutive games
entering the 2016 season. This is in large part due to their extensive
training program, which they call “Dragon University”, that trains each
and every employee in customer service that makes fans want to
come back to the stadium again and again.
Potential Fan Base:
Despite finishing second-to-last in Hockey East in the 2011-12 season, the
UMass Men’s team still had the 7th best home attendance average in the
country. This season, however, that ranking has fallen to 31st in the country,
despite the team’s similar standing in HE. This shows that there is a history of
strong attendance regardless of the team’s performance on the ice. With that in
mind, we can determine that there is a large potential fan base for the team.

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Without information from the athletic department it is difficult to determine
whether this previously high attendance was due to student attendees or off-
campus visitors, but the target fan base for the team should be students, area
fans, and alumni in that order. This is due to the ease with which students and
area fans would be able to actually attend games on a regular basis.
Who is interested in hockey?
Participation for Men’s College Hockey has begun to plateau, with no real -

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- increase since 2009. The same can be said about Boys High School Hockey,
as participation has actually decreased beginning in 2009. However, both
Women’s College and High School hockey has increased steadily over the past
several years. The following graph demonstrates these trends:
Source: SBRNET
Another thing to note about participation is the types of people participating in
it. Over 60% of those that participate in Ice Hockey are members of households
with annual incomes of over $75,000. This tells us that when targeting families,
we should focus on those who have higher level incomes, because it is more
likely that they would have consumed hockey at some point and thus be more
engaged. (see next page for chart)

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NHL TV Viewership is spread fairly evenly across the United States; in 2015 the
Northeast region accounted for 22.8% of NHL Viewership. This indicates that
there is no differentiation amongst regions, and that a hockey fan in the
Northeast is no more or less likely to watch than one in a different region.
18-34 year olds and 35-49 year olds account for the lion's share of NHL attended
games. Based on the average age of attendees of NHL Hockey games being 40
years old, we may want to consider targeting families surrounding the town of
Amherst. Also, hockey does have more attendees in the 18-34 range than
basketball or football, indicating that younger fans should be a larger target for
marketing efforts. (see next page for chart)

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The New England Region accounts for 12.4% of the participation percentage in
Ice Hockey. However, New England only accounts for 5.1% of the U.S.
Population. This is the strongest ratio in terms of U.S. Population size to
Participation percentage.

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Conclusion
It was not long ago that UMass Men’s Hockey sat atop the nation in fan
attendance. When looking at the number of wins per season compared to
attendance figures, there is little to no correlation. That tells us that in this case,
the fans are not showing up solely based on the team’s performance. Rather,
there is something about the fan experience or (probably) the marketing of the
games that has faltered. UMass has a large network of alumni across the country
that can be drawn on to support the athletic teams, although mobility within the
New England region could be an issue depending on where most alumni are
currently located.
Additionally, the attendance success of college hockey programs like Wisconsin -

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- show that it is not impossible for a team to generate large attendance
numbers, without a winning on-ice product. Following in the footsteps of their
program and interacting with fans on a larger scale while also making every
aspect of the attendance experience easier for fans could help the program
make huge strides in a short amount of time.

Market Segments
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Segment 1: UMass Amherst Underclassmen Students
Student attendance has accounted for just under 42% of average total
attendance since 2009-2010. Despite falling attendance numbers overall, the
graph below shows that average student attendance increased by 223
students from 2014-2015 to 2015-2016. Thanks to this increase student
attendance has jumped to 46.1% of average total attendance this season.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
Avg. Student ADendance
Avg. Public ADendance
Avg. Total ADendance

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This jump not only indicates that there is rising interest in the team on
campus, but also that the attendance potential for this demographic has yet
to be maximized. Underclassmen represent the most desirable student
attendee for three key reasons:
1.  UMass Amherst has a 90% freshman retention rate, meaning younger
students are likely to stay on campus for an extended period of time,
which gives them more time to develop into loyal fans.
2.  They are already on campus, limiting potential transportation issues
(24.72% of the undergraduate population lives in SW, which is just a 17
minute walk from the Mullins Center according to Google Maps).
3.  They are too young to take advantage of the college’s popular bar scene
and would be in need of other forms of entertainment on weekend nights.
Characteristics:
1.  Size: There are 21,202 undergraduate students at UMass for the Fall 2015
semester according to the UMass Office of Institutional Research. Of these
students 4850 were in their first year of enrollment at UMass and 4439
were in their second year.
2.  Measurability: Because students swipe their U-Cards upon entrance, we -
can determine how many of the students are Freshman and Sophomores
can determine how many of the students are Freshman and Sophomores
compared to Juniors and Seniors.
3.  Reach: There are 9,289 underclassmen students at UMass in the fall of
2015. They are already on campus, and 5,500 are clustered in the towers
of Southwest. Because of this, developing a presence in that area (along
with the Honors College and its 1,379 students living in the housing
complex) will be vital. This can be done by placing fliers in residential halls-

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-have players table in the dining areas to talk about their upcoming season,
posting Snapchat and Instagram usernames on posters and in emails, and
by offering a chance to win free UMass hockey merchandise by entering a
raffle (part of the tabling experience). These social media apps have yet to
be utilized by the marketing staff for the hockey team, but their creation
and subsequent promotion is one easy way to expand the reach of the
program and engage fans. For instance, the UMass Athletics Instagram
account has 4,907 followers, and the creation of a hockey account could
generate a similar draw. Also, there are several “Freshman Only” dorms in
throughout campus. Southwest: Melville, Thoreau, Pierpont, Moore,
James, Emerson, Kennedy, Cance. Central: Van Meter, Gorman, Wheeler.
Northeast: Crabtree, Dwight, Leach, Mary Lyon, and Knowlton. Orchard
Hill: Dickinson, Webster. By targeting these dorms we know we are
precisely reaching a large sector of our target market.
4.  Behavioral Variation: The behavior of underclassmen varies from the
behavior of upperclassmen in that they are more likely to follow campus
trends. We believe this to be true because they are new to the University
and thus have no preconceived notions about the University’s athletic
events experience. Upperclassmen with experience attending UMass
hockey games have likely already made up their minds about whether or
not they will attend another game. Underclassmen, on the other hand,
have had little to no experience with UMass hockey and can be more easily
convinced to continue attending games by the improvements we are
proposing. Another behavioral variation between upperclassmen and
underclassmen exists due to Amherst’s multiple bars. Most underclassmen
are under the age of 21, so we would not have to compete with the bars
for their entertainment dollars like we would have to with upperclassmen.

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Goal #1: Increase the underclassman involvement with the hockey team.
•  Objective A: Increase attendance at home games by underclassmen by
20% for the 2016-17 season.
•  Objective B: Increase the amount of students who attend 5 or more games
by 30%.
Goal #2: Increase awareness among underclassmen.
•  Objective A: Increase click-through rate (in emails) by underclassmen living
in SW/Honors College areas.
•  Objective B: Have 15% of all underclassmen who attend games download
the app (which is to be developed in our plan).
Segment 2: Middle-class, Middle-aged Family Households in
Amherst
According to SBRNET, data revealed that 62% of ice hockey participation
came from households with incomes of more than $75,000 – despite the fact
that those households accounted for just 21.4% of the US population. This
indicates a heavy level of involvement with the sport by people in that
demographic.
The town of Amherst had a median family income of $96,733 in 2010, or more
than $15,000 greater than the median income of Hampshire County. Also, the
town of Amherst has 8,583 households and a total population of 38,651 in
2010.
With such a high level of hockey involvement in a demographic with a larger -

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- amount of disposable income, these people represent the ideal matches to
increase season ticket sales. Season ticket sales have made up just 38% of
total ticket revenue this season, down from 44.7% in 2010-11. With 6,684
people in households in Amherst, the potential to raise season ticket
purchases is high.
Characteristics:
1.  Size: The town of Amherst had a population of 38,651 in 2010 with 8,583
individual households.
2.  Reach: The best place to gain exposure to middle-class families with an
interest in hockey would be at hockey games. UMass hockey needs to
have team representatives at youth games and tournaments (such as the
‘Western Mass Freeze Out’ and ‘Mullins Mite Madness) in the area to talk
to parents about ticket packages and the great experiences that can be
had at the Mullins Center. Another opportunity to reach parents of these
families would be at higher-end stores that they visit nearly every day.
Within the area Whole Foods offers an attractive partnership opportunities,
where flyers can be placed and benefits between entities can be bundled
to create a mutually beneficial package for both ticket purchasers and
stores. Those stores and other area stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods
would be the best match as they specifically target the same middle to
upper class market that we are also targeting. Lastly, we can get in touch
with the Amherst Hockey Association, home of youth hockey for Amherst,
Belchertown, Hadley, Hatfield, Leverett, Pelham, Shutesbury, Sunderland,
and Ware. We can reach out to the club Board of Directors (contact info on
website), or provide information at some of the local rinks where they play
and train, such as the Mullins Practice Rink. Families whom are a part of -

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- this club are a part of our target market because a) they participate and
are involved in hockey, and b) are financially able to pay for one or more of
their children to participate in it.
3.  Measurability: A survey will be sent out to all Amherst residencies to
collect information about the entertainment preferences of households
within our target market. The questions on the survey will be geared
toward gauging the households’ interest in hockey, the University, their
pricing threshold, and any barriers they might have to attendance.
Households that respond positively to the survey will be added to the
UMass database as potential customers so that we can reach out to them
regarding ticket package deals in the future.
4.  Behavioral Variation: Our previous research revealed that 62% of ice
hockey participation came from households with incomes of more than
$75,000 – despite the fact that those households accounted for just 21.4%
of the US population. This means that families that play hockey are also
typically higher earners than the typical American family and thus have
more disposable income to spend on entertainment. For instance, the top
20% of earners in 2013 spent more than twice as much per year on
entertainment than the middle 20% of earners on average ($5,133 to
$1,997). Since families that play hockey are typically a part of this top-
earning demographic, they will also have the most money available to
spend on entertainment compared to demographics with lower earnings.
Goal #1: Increase season ticket purchases within the target market.
•  Objective A: Establish an 85% renewal rate for season ticket holding
families from Amherst.
•  Objective B: Increase season ticket revenue from Amherst families by 10%.

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Goal #2: Increase Amherst family attendance among non-season ticket
holders.
•  Objective A: Increase revenue from smaller family ticket bundles by 10%.
•  Objective B: Have 25% of Amherst families who attend one game, attend at
least one more.

Manipulations
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Target Market 1: UMass Freshman and Sophomores
Positioning:
The goal of our marketing efforts is to have underclassmen at UMass think of
hockey games as a can’t miss event. The most important aspect of this is
creating a communal atmosphere for students at the game, where a lively
home atmosphere generates fan interest, regardless of the performance of the
team on the ice. To get students at games, however, we will need to entice
them with promotions and engagement opportunities in order to create that
environment. That begins with re-establishing UMass hockey as an attractive
brand and promoting the ‘Mullins Maniacs’ nickname that fans had earned in
years past. If the proper mix of promotions and fan engagement strategies
described in the rest of this section, UMass hockey games will once again
become can’t-miss events for students on the UMass Amherst campus.
Product:
The UMass Men’s Hockey team is in the midst of a major revamp, as Greg
Carvel was recently signed to become the team’s new head coach for the next
five seasons. Carvel experienced great success at St. Lawrence and was
brought in by AD Ryan Bamford to turn the program around after a terrible
stretch of years under John Micheletto. The building excitement surrounding
the team and athletic department in general will draw fans in and should result
in a dramatically improved performance over the course of Carvel’s contract.
Additionally, we are planning to further engage fans by expanding the social -

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- media and digital offerings available for fans by the creation of a Mullins
Center Sports App, the creation of a UMass hockey Instagram account, and a
Snapchat account for the team. The app will allow fans to purchase
merchandise, view stats, vote during in-game fan engagement opportunities,
receive in-stadium discounts, and answer daily trivia questions for the chance
to win exclusive team-related merchandise (signed sticks, jerseys, and game
pucks). The Instagram account will provide an avenue for the team to
advertise promotions and update fans on the outcome of games. The
Snapchat will provide an inside look at team practices and pre-game activities
that fans wouldn’t normally be able to see. This gives them a chance to
become more acquainted with the players on the team and become more
motivated to support their favorite players on the roster.
Student tickets will be printed to include the Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat
usernames on the ticket. Additionally, all game flyers and schedules hung
around the campus will include the usernames, to further spread awareness of
the accounts. We will also offer ‘Mullins Maniacs’ sunglasses to the first 2,000
student fans that follow all three accounts. There will be a table at the first two
games to check student phones to verify that they followed each account
before students are given the glasses. As a side benefit, giving students
branded sunglasses will provide the student fan base with a uniting identity
that will hopefully transfer to the student section of games as well. Alan
Pandiani’s recent tweet about potentially moving the fan section back to the
center-ice area -- the way it was when Coach Cahoon was still with the school
-- would only enhance the ‘Mullins Maniacs’ brand and increase the motivation
students would have to interact with the social media accounts.

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Price:
Currently, students at UMass can attend hockey games for free. This is
something we don’t want to change because of the threat of losing fans who
won’t go simply because it isn’t free. College students operate on strict
budgets, and typically only massive college sports programs like Penn State
Football charge money for their games. However, even though we won’t be
generating gate revenue from having students attend for free, we can still
generate revenue from other sources like food and beverage. Additionally, the
creation of new merchandise for students to purchase would drive revenue
beyond that of gate revenue. We designed a new tank-top that would provide
an interesting alternative to the current merchandise lineup available to
students at the campus store and at the small stands set up at games. The
price for these new tanks would be $15, which is not too expensive for the
average college student to afford (comparable to the $14 shirts available
online for fans).
Place:
Aside from the Mullins Center, the only other feasible location for a game that
students could attend would be at McGuirk Stadium. The team could have an
outdoor hockey game similarly to how NHL teams compete in the Winter
Classic and Stadium Series games. McGuirk is as easy to get to as the Mullins
Center, and the sheer idea of having a game at McGuirk would create a ton of
excitement. Also, an additional game at McGuirk stadium would be another
opportunity for underclassmen and college students to tailgate.
Promotions:
We want to give underclassmen a chance to prove their hockey skills to the -

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- rest of campus by competing in games at the Mullins Center. We will call it
the Dunkin’ Dangle, sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts. Our plan is to have UMass
students play in a round-robin style tournament during both intermissions of
the game. For a chance to play, teams of 4 (three and a goalie), will have to
sign-up as a group online. We will bring in two additional goals, and create to
back-to-back rinks so that two games can be played at the same time. This
way we can maximize the number of students who get the chance to play. Five
minutes into the first period, teams will be randomly announced and called
down to the training room area so they can get their gear on. The winners of
the first intermission games will play during the second intermission for the
championship. The winning team will receive a prize from Dunkin’ Donuts (free
coffee, donuts, gift card, etc.).
We hope fans will attend the game for several reasons. First, simply by
attending students will get some sort of Dunkin’ Donuts discount. Second,
those who signed up for a chance to play at Mullins will come so they don’t
miss out on their opportunity to go on the ice and play. Lastly, the
entertainment of watching amateur college students play against one another
will keep fans engaged and excited, especially the friends of those playing.
•  Advertising: For this demographic, we will primarily spend our advertising
dollars on signage. First, we will put up signage at the Dunkin’ Donuts
locations that are near campus. It is likely that a student who goes to one of
these locations will be interested in attending a game where they will be
receiving a discount to a product they already consume. We will also put
large signage outside of popular on-campus locations. These include dining
halls, the Rec Center, the Library, and the Southwest tunnel. The banners -

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- will be very large, approximately 4 feet by 10 feet.
•  Personal Selling: A large portion of our personal selling will be via e-mail
blasts. We will create a UMass Hockey e-mail address and send e-mails
from that account to UMass students. We will also obtain a list from the
Intramural Department of all of the students who have ever participated in
intramural hockey. This group of students already identifies with and plays
the sport, and it is likely that they will be interested in playing at the Mullins
Center (e-mails to this group will be heavily focused on getting teams to
sign up). We will also perform personal selling via social media. We will be
actively attempting to attain higher social media followers via the
aforementioned sunglasses giveaway.
•  Sales Promotion: The entire game, along with the intermission tournament,
will be sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts. Every UMass student that attends the
game will receive a coupon to a local store simply for attending. We will
also set up an activation table at the concourse where students can buy
Dunkin’ Donuts products.
•  Promotional Materials: The major theme of this promotion is to promote
hockey involvement on campus in a unique and fun way. There will also be
a heavy focus on the prizes for the winning teams, as Dunkin’ Donuts is a
very popular brand for college students in the area and having the incentive
of free Dunkin’ products would entice students to participate. The following
appendix highlights the sum of the materials we will use throughout this
promotional process. (see next page for appendix)

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Appendix:
Item
Price Per Unit
Units
Total Cost
Banners $50 6 $300
Medium Signs (for
DD)
$14 5 $70
Flyers for Campus $0.50 120 $60
Email Blast $0 (all students) $0
Dunkin’ Table
Ac/va/on
$0 2 at the game $0
Dunkin’ Donut
Giveaway
$0 (sponsored) $0
Totals
$430

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Rationale:
We believe in this manipulation for several reasons. We created the Dunkin’
Dangle Challenge as a way to generate some buzz around a particular hockey
game. Currently, the product we are producing on the ice is not winning, so
fans need other reasons to come to the game. We’ve also established a
sponsor for the game that we feel resonates well and is popular with UMass
students.

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According to Wakefield, a special event paired with a giveaway is one of the
promotions that helps boost sales (or in this case, attendance) the most. We
also want to boost fan involvement with the team so that UMass hockey
becomes a consistent presence in the minds of UMass students. This is why
the social media engagement is such an important factor in attracting fans to
games and then ensuring repeat attendance. The encouragement of the
‘Mullins Maniacs’ label will also help student fans identify with the team and its
fan base. This is a crucial aspect of developing loyal fans who repeatedly
come to games over their years at UMass.
Budget
To promote the “Dunkin’ Dangle,” we will hang up six 4x10 banners around
campus in areas that a large number of students walk by/through throughout
the day, every day. The banners will cost $50 each and since we’ll be buying 6,
the total spent on banners will be $300. We will put 5 medium signs for
Dunkin’ Donuts around campus, priced at $14, the total spent on banners will
be $70. We will hang and distribute 120 flyers to students around campus.
Each flyer will cost $0.50 and after having 120 flyers made, the total cost will
be $60. We will send out an email blast to all UMass students to spread the
word about the Dunkin’ Dangle, which will cost $0. There will be 2 Dunkin’
Table Activations and Dunkin’ Donuts giveaways, which will also cost $0
because they will be set up and sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts. The total cost
to promote the “Dunkin’ Dangle” will be $430. We estimate that 2,200
students will come to this game because of the excitement of the tournament,
and that each student will spend about $3 on food and beverages on
average.

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“Dunkin’ Dangle” Budget:
Item
Student Attendees
Revenue
Expense
Total
Margin
Average
aDendee
F&B
purchase
2,200 $3 $6,600
F&B
Expense
per
Attendee
2,200 ($1) ($2,200)
Banners ($300) ($300)
Medium
Signs
($70) ($70)
Flyers ($60) ($60)
Email
Blast
($0)
Dunkin’
Table
Activation
($0)
Dunkin’
Giveaway
($0)
Totals
2,200
$6,600
($2,630)
$3,970

30
Marke/ng Plan
Controls and Evaluations:
Seeing as underclassmen as our target market, we will be able to measure
exactly how many freshman and sophomores attend the games because they
swipe their UCards to get in. We can compare the number of underclassmen
that attend a regular home game to the number that attend the Dunkin’
Dangle. We will know will be successful in reaching the segment if their
attendance numbers significantly spike. We can also use the coupons for the
free doughnuts as a KPI. Each coupon will have a special bar code, and when
scanned will signify that the coupon came directly from our game. We can
compare the number of coupons that we gave out to the number of coupons
that were used to measure how well underclassmen receive Dunkin’
Doughnuts. A successful ratio would be between 70%-80% coupon use rate.
Another KPI will be the number of social media followers we can obtain in the
week leading up to the game. Part of our personal selling techniques will be
through social media, so if we gain more followers during the week leading up
to the game compared to a different week, it will be a successful promotion.
Target Market 2: Middle-class, Middle-aged Family Households in
Amherst
Positioning:
The goal of our marketing efforts is to have middle-class, middle-aged family
households in the Amherst area think of UMass hockey games as a game that
can entertain their family. The children that come to the game will have a
chance to see their role models play hockey, while parents will be happy to
have an affordable and exciting form of entertainment that the whole family
can be involved in. Developing this view of UMass hockey games for area -

31
Marke/ng Plan
- families starts with exceptional customer service to season-ticket holders and
developing promotions that they can’t afford to pass up. Additionally,
providing families with convenient ticket packages to fit their entertainment
needs will only increase their chances of attending.
Product:
The core product (and most attractive feature for families) is that UMass
hockey games offer a ready-made entertainment option for students and
families. The difference for families is that we can offer them a cheaper option
that is stress-free compared to their other entertainment options by offering
them ticket packages. For instance, we would offer a package of four tickets,
four hotdogs, four drinks, and four free t-shirts for $60. We could also offer
fours games of such a package (so sixteen tickets, etc.) with four shirts for
$220. Families would be able to choose which games they would like to
attend within that package, and it gives them four weekend nights with easy
entertainment for their entire family. Larger packages (with more tickets per
game) would also be available for larger families at an increased price. One of
the larger objectives is to attract season ticket holders as well. These season
ticket holders would be given premium treatment to ensure renewals and in
order to encourage them to tell friends about the excellent experiences they
have had with UMass hockey. The benefits for season ticket holders will
include guaranteed tickets available for purchase for the McGuirk outdoor
game, meet and greets with players and coaches, and exclusive jerseys
available only to season ticket holders and their families.
Price:
Middle-class, middle-aged family households can attend hockey games at an -

32
Marke/ng Plan
- affordable cost. In the past, single-game adult tickets were priced at $15 and
single-game tickets for children under 18 years old were priced at $6. The
ticket prices for the 2016-2017 season have yet to be determined. As of 2010,
the median family household income for families in the town of Amherst was
$96,733, so it can be assumed that $15 for an adult ticket and $12 for a child
ticket (13 and under) is affordable. The experience that these families can
potentially gain from attending a game will be worth the ticket cost. In
addition, ‘Youth Hockey Nights’ will give teams the chance to purchase tickets
for their entire team and coaching staff (with added benefits discussed below)
in a bulk plan for $10/ticket. The birthday package (for a $10 meal voucher
per person, one ticket, and one t-shirt per person) would be priced at $20 per
attendee. The price will also include the family ticket packages mentioned in
the section above.
Place:
Similarly to our first target, we will market the McGuirk Stadium Game to our
middle-class, middle-aged family households as well. The buzz around the
event will be so large that local papers and news stations will undoubtedly be
covering it, so local families in the area will have no problem finding out about
the game. For our season ticket holders, we will offer exclusive upper deck
seating at the Champions Center, along with the opportunity to skate on the
ice the day before the game. Again, traveling to the game will be virtually the
same as at the Mullins Center.
Promotions:
We want to create a fun, family experience that will keep families coming back
to games. One family-oriented promotion that we could run involves birthday-

33
Marke/ng Plan
- party packages. This promotion would bring in multiple families at a time as
children often invite their entire group of friends and their families to birthday
parties. The package would be sold with a meal voucher, a ticket, and a t-shirt
and could work with as many people as needed for the party.
We will invite Amherst youth hockey teams to a game as part of a Youth
Hockey Team night. Along with attending the game, each youth player will
receive a game puck, which is exciting and unique for younger children. These
youth players who attend the games will receive a chance to meet with the
UMass hockey players after the game. Most young players in the Amherst area
look up to the UMass players as role models and having a chance to meet
them is a very special opportunity, which will make the experience something
they will remember for a long time. In order to spread the word about Youth
Hockey Team night, we will have representatives from the team at prominent
youth hockey tournaments and games in the area. There, our representatives
will have the chance to meet with parents, managers, and coaches and
communicate the benefits of the opportunity. Among the potential benefits
this night could offer youth teams are the game pucks, the chance to meet
players, relatively cheap entertainment, and a bonding experience for
everyone on the team. Once the promotion has been advertised at
tournaments, it will be up to the sales staff to maintain the relationship with
area teams and ensure that they return for future UMass hockey games.
(see next page for appendix)

34
Marke/ng Plan
Item
Price
Units
Total
Flyers at Youth
Games
$0.50 400 $200
PA
Announcements
at Tournaments
$50 3 (tournaments) $150
Local Radio Ads $20 30 $600
Local Newspaper
Ads
$20 30 $600
Total
$1,550
Rationale:
We chose the Youth Hockey Team night because it allows the team to
establish a relationship with local teams and parents that have the potential to
become loyal fans of the UMass hockey program. The players and parents of
these youth hockey teams also represent the ideal fit within the target
demographic of middle-class area families as we already established that
hockey families are of the middle class on average (62% of households with a
hockey player come have incomes of over $75,000), so designing promotions
that target the families of hockey players provides a perfect fit for our target.
We also wanted to ensure that these fans enjoy their experiences and want to
come back in the future, so we designed promotions and benefits that would
entice them to purchase ticket packages for the team and renew their bundle -

35
Marke/ng Plan
- plans. This includes the puck giveaways for youth teams, the right to sit in
the Champions Center for season ticket holders at the McGuirk game, and the
convenience associated with purchasing a family ticket plan with the team.
Budget
We anticipate a total revenue of $16,790 from our promotional efforts toward
this target market. This number comes from our season goals of 7 Youth Team
Nights and 5 Birthday Parties throughout our 15 game home schedule, as well
as the goal of selling 100 4-ticket packages and 50 16-ticket packages. We’ve
estimated the total costs of marketing these events to this market to be about
$1550. Our marketing efforts include flyers to be handed out at youth hockey
games in the area, PA announcements during period breaks at local
tournaments, radio ads on local stations, and newspaper ads in local news
publications. Each of these inclusions in our marketing mix is designed
specifically to meet this target market.
(see next page for complete budget)

36
Marke/ng Plan
Item/Event
Expense
Revenue
Total Margin
Youth Team Night:
Cost per attendee $10
Expense per attendee ($1)
Margin (7 games, 30
people per)
$1,890
Birthday Party
Cost per attendee $20
Expense per attendee ($5)
Margin (5 games, 20
people)
$1,500
Family Package
Cost per package $60
Expense per package ($16)
Margin (100 packages) $4,400
4 Game Family Pack
Cost per package $220
Expense per package ($40)
Margin (50 packs) $9,000
Marketing Expenses
Flyers: ($200)
PA Announcements ($150)
Radio Ads: ($600)
Newspaper Ads: ($600)
Total Margin
($5,860)
$21,100
$15,240

37
Marke/ng Plan
Controls and Evaluations:
Our first KPI will be the number of youth hockey team, birthday, and family
packages we are able to sell. We will compare this to the number of other
ticket packages that we have offered in the past and measure the success. We
can also measure each of these packages against one another to see which
package is most successful. Essentially, whichever package sells the most will
be the one we can focus in on and potentially raise the prices for.

UMass Men's hockey marketing plan

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