Marketing Analysis: The London Knights Hockey Club

By: Jessica Cunha

For: Professor Ron Caughlin

Class: RECL 217 ONC

Due: Friday November 14th 2015

Table of Contents

Titles Page Numbers

Introduction 2

Organization Overview 2

Marketing Mix- The 4 P’s 4

Situational Analysis 5

SWOT Analysis 10

Market Research 11

Recommended Marketing Strategy 12

Conclusion 13

Reference List 14

1

Introduction

The purpose of this assignment is to create a marketing analysis for an amateur sport

organization. The particular organization that will be examined is the London Knights Hockey

Club. An overview of the business, their consumers and competition will be discussed, and a

situational and SWOT analysis will be conducted followed by recommendations for their

marketing strategy.

Organization Overview

In this section, an overview of the company, its consumer as well as its competition will be

outlined to gain a better perspective on the internal portion of the company.

Company

The London Knights Hockey Club is located in London Ontario. They play out of the Budweiser

Gardens which is the largest multi-purpose facility in southwestern London. The club is

associated with the Ontario Hockey League and is organized by their operations staff which

consists of their head coach/president/owner Dale Hunter, who is a former NHL player and

former NHL coach, his brother Mark Hunter who is Vice President and Basil McRae, a formal

NHL player and the current General Manager (London Knights, 2015).

Although their mission and vision is not clearly defined, the objective they have outlined is to

continue their rich winning tradition of having so far won 11 Division trophies; 5 Western

Conference titles; 3 OHL Championships and 1 Memorial Cup. With such strong

accomplishments, it is no wonder why this team’s differential advantage is due to the fact that

they produce a number of players that are later drafted into the NHL. Aside from playing hockey,

they also give back to the community, offering additional products some of which include:

Fleetway London Knights Kids Club

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Budweiser King Club

Chance to sing the National Anthem

Tim Hortons Intermission Skates (London Knights, 2015)

These additional products further reflect the consumers they are attempting to target which will

be discussed further in the next section.

Consumer

Since they are located in London Ontario, their main target market are those living in London

who enjoy either watching, or playing the game of hockey. Based off of their products, the

demographic they are reaching out to comprise mostly of two main markets:

1. Families- As they can go out together and watch a decent game of hockey and,

2. High School Students- As they fit the age category of the players

Competition

In regards to their competition, this can be broken down into direct, substitute and future

competition.

Their direct competition includes mainly other OHL hockey teams in the other surrounding cities

such as the Kitchener Rangers and the Sarnia Sting. Although they are relatively far away from

London, they are still good teams that some may prefer due to numerous factors such as

watching their favourite up and coming players or simply having a better mascot. Within

London, a direct competition would be the Western University hockey and football teams since

both are high performance winning teams, as well as the Fanshawe College teams.

When examining the substitute competition, the Figure Skating Grand Prix Competitions, as well

as any ice shows would cause them to lose some audience members since London has also

produced some of Canada’s best figure skaters. People want to go out and see those who have

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excelled on an international platform such as the Olympics and therefore will take some

audiences away from the London Knights. There are also amazing theatrical performances held

in London, specifically at the famous Grand Theatre where many great and notable actors have

performed. The London Music Hall also hosts many different concerts that people may choose to

attend instead to see their favourite band play.

In terms of future competition, a major one would be the addition of an NHL team in London.

Recently, there have been discussions regarding having more NHL teams in Canada and one of

the places might be in London Ontario since they are a hockey city that might be able to support

a team.

Marketing Mix- The 4 P’s

This section will be a quick examination of the 4 P’s of marketing for the London Knights.

Product- Their main product/brand they are promoting is the OHL hockey team the London

Knights

Price- This will vary depending on what you want as shown below:

Individual Tickets: Range from $20.50- $34.75

Flex Packs: Range from $63.00- $93.00

Season Tickets: Sold Out, Price will vary depending on location. Prices Ranges were not

shown. (London Knights, 2015)

Place- There are three convenient ways of purchasing tickets to their games:

1. In Person- at the Aluminum Associates London knights Armoury

2. Over the phone: 519-681-0800 ext 1

3. Online through their website http://www.londonknights.com/page/tickets-i or through

Ticketmaster (London Kinghts, 2015)

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Promotion- There are different promotional avenues the team utilizes to reach out to their target

market. These avenues include commercials on both the television and on YouTube, promotional

event nights, billboard ads, social media, and Tim Hortons Cards. Some places, such as a few

restaurants in London, even help to promote the team in their own ways through wall art.

1 Tim Hortons Card with London Knights Logo

Situational Analysis

In this section, the location and community that the London Knights are within will be further

examined, followed by a Marketing Environment Analysis that will be conducted to further

examine the type of image the London Knights have within the community and their

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2 Restaurant in London showing support for London Knights

organization. Lastly the six questions of sport marketing research will be reviewed to provide a

more in-depth grasp regarding the relationship between the consumers and the brand.

Location and Community Analysis

As was briefly discussed in the previous section, the London Knights are located in the heart of

London, Ontario. Looking at the 2011 Census for the city of London, it shows that the

population has been growing and is predominantly English speaking; 80.7% reporting English as

their mother tongue and 89% speaking English most often at home (Statistics Canada, 2015).

This means that often times the marketing advertisements will be understood by the residents’ as

there is little language barrier between the brand and the consumer. Any messages will be

understood.

Likewise, another important factor looked at within the community is the age range, marital

status and the presence of children. According to Statistics Canada (2015):

About 68% of the population is between the ages of 15 to 64, with the median age being

40 years.

Within the population, 41% are married with children,

43% are married without children,

6% are common law with children and

10% are common-law without children

These percentages are integral when determining who the target audience is, and how to cater the

marketing to their wants and needs.

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Marketing Environment Analysis

Another important factor to reflect on is how the London Knights are viewed within their

community, organization and the different methods they use to communicate with their audience.

The following PEST analysis was used to further examine their marketing environment.

Political In the OHL- Within the Ontario Hockey League organization, the London Knights seem to be in good standing as they have been a part of the organization for the last 50 years without talks of moving the team or cancelling the program. They also have one of the best franchise in the league, producing many great hockey players that end up being drafted into the NHL such as Corey Perry, Patrick Kane, Rick Nash and more recently Max Domi. (Slawson, 2015)

With other Teams- As with any hockey team, there are rivals. Their main two being Windsor Spitfires and Sarnia Sting. In last year’s season, there were a total of 164 fights against the Windsor Spitfires and 139 fights against the Sarnia Sting (hockeyfights.com, 2015).

In the Community- Within the community, the Knights are seen in a positive light. The London Free Press is always writing about their achievements, whether as a team, or individual as well as their losses. With headlines such as “Christian Dvorak and Mitch Marner turn into the dynamic duo on the same line” and “London Knights goalie says it was ‘a big deal’ to him to show he could play and win an entire three-in-three weekend”, it is no wonder why there is such a large attendance (upwards of 9,000 people) at the games (Pyette, 2015).

Economic Sales- To generate money, the London Knights focus on sales of both tickets and merchandise. As was listed earlier, the London Knights offer an array of ticket packages. From season’s tickets, to flex packs to individuals, they provide many options for their fans.

London Knights merchandise is also sold. They offer Game Worn Jersey’s, new jersey’s, apparel, headwear, drinkware, accessories, collectables and the famous Sir Scores-A-Lot Plush Mascot as shown on the right.

Sponsorships- The team also has a numerous amount of different sponsors such as Budweiser, Scotiabank, Tim Hortons, Delta London Armouries, Goodlife Fitness, John Deere and Rocky’s Harley- Davidson just to name a few. In total they have 118 corporate sponsors (London Knights, 2015)

Aside from playing hockey, the London Knights also do quite a bit within

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Social the community as shown on their website (2015).

50/50 Draws- The London Knights will help an organization fundraise at their games. They have already helped the Kidney Foundation raise $2782.00 and the London Skating Club $5089.00

Player Appearances- Once a month the community has a chance to meet their favourite players at different locations such as Jack Astor’s and a Ping Pong Tournament.

Scotiabank Captains’ Clinic- A program where a local minor hockey team has the opportunity to have a team practice with 4 players from the London Knights. The players not only have fun but are able to teach the team their working with more skills and knowledge of the hockey game.

Speakers Series- The London Knights offer high school business students, as well as students in College/University an opportunity where they have Geoffrey Hare, the Director of Marketing, attend their class to discuss his responsibilities and educational background.

Technological The London Knights are quite active with technology which helps them connect with their young demographic.

Social Media- As with many sport teams, the London Knights are active on Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat and Instagram. This expands their reach and offers a way to further connect with their fans by including them in what used to be behind the scenes.

Other Technologies- The London Knights also make it convenient for their attendees to not only purchase tickets, but to also present them at games through e-tickets. You have the option of either printing them out yourself or holding your ticket on your mobile device.

Also if you are unable to watch the games but would still like to keep updated with the scores, the London Knights will provide text messages of the game results (London Knights, 2015)

6 Questions of Marketing

In order to acquire specific information from market research, there are 6 crucial questions that

must be discussed in order to begin seeing new opportunities for new products or identifying

new market segments. The 6 questions will be broken down and answered in this section.

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Who: This was spoken about briefly in the previous sections when looking at the

consumers as well as the location. The consumers are the citizens of London, whether

permanently or temporarily residing there. Based on the demographics of the area, it is families

as well as young adults/students who are the main consumers that make the final decision to

purchase London Knights products. The main competitor of the London Knights is the Western

Mustangs and the Fanshawe Falcons both of whom have high performance teams with older or

even former players from the OHL teams. With respect to their consumers though, they

predominantly focus on their students, alumni, faculty/staff and the community surrounding the

school.

What: Based off of the attendance at the games, and the fact that season tickets are sold

out, the consumers seem to be content with paying the current ticket prices. Some of the benefits

they may seek would be to have more opportunities to meet those players who are considered to

be NHL prospects and to even win some free merchandise at the games. Depending on the age of

the consumer, they also may be seeking more ways of getting to know the players, that is, seeing

what they do in their practices, what their personalities are like, what equipment they are using

and even who is single.

Where: Since the London Knights are quite popular in the city already, consumers can

learn more about them from their online website, as well as their home arena. If they are really

curious, many of the residents’ in the London area would also be able to provide more

information on the team. To shop for products, the consumer can go online (London Knights

website, Amazon, Ebay) or in-store. Many of their products can be used outside of watching the

games; wearing hats on a hot or cold day; wearing sweaters at home or outside, and if they’re a

collector, displaying or selling the collectable items. With the use of social media, branding has

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become easier since someone can take a picture of themselves and post it on Instagram where

their many followers will see it and they just may be wearing something of the London Knights

therefore increasing the awareness of the brand.

When: Most of the products are purchased during the hockey season since it is on

everyone’s mind and consumers will use their purchases when there is a game, whether they are

watching the game live, at home or in a bar. They will also use the products when the weather

permits them to use it.

How: Depending on their unbridled passion, the consumers may purchase many products

offered by the London knights that go beyond game tickets. Those who are fans may just buy

tickets and a jersey to wear at games. The London Knights attempt to make it simple for products

to be purchased by their fan base as simply and quickly as possible at their store or online.

Why: People want to feel like they are a part of something big and to have the sense of

unity. Since the London Knights are such a strong team in the OHL, consumers want to be a part

of that and show their support through purchasing products with the London Knights logo. They

want to show to others that they support, and are a part of this larger network of likeminded

individuals, and in this case, a winning team.

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT Analysis was conducted in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the

organization, as well as potential threats and the opportunities that can occur from those threats.

The table below will outline each section of the analysis:

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Strengths

Have loyal fanbase- have many spectators come out to watch the games

Are in good standing with the community/media

Product is strong- Winning team with many NHL prospects

Prices for games are reasonable Great facility

Weaknesses

People new to the city may not know or care who they are since they are not a professional team

Most of the marketing is geared towards families when 43% of married couples do not have kids. Also the second largest age group is between 20-25

Often times only the knight logo is shown without the name of the organization (ex: Tim Horotons Cards)- assuming everyone knows who they are

Team/players themselves do not actually do much within the community

Threats

Western Mustang games are cheaper- Tickets are around $5-$10

Possible expansion of the NHL into the city of London

Competing with direct and substitute competition for the same consumers

Great players are picked up by AHL and NHL teams, consumers may follow the players and travel to their games instead

Changing demographics- People moving out of Toronto to more affordable places with job opportunities. May not have same love for the game

Opportunities

Offer free bus ride with the purchase of a ticket to both high school and post-secondary students. Similar to what they did during the Pan Am Games

Offer discount tickets for post-secondary students

Have alumni return- have a friendly match with alumni and current team

Create different nights that cater to different markets i.e. Ladies Nights

More community events with the players helping out

Market Research

If asked by this company to undertake a form of market research, the method used would be a

questionnaire as they are inexpensive and can be used to reach a wide range of people. It will

also allow the company to gain insight on how happy the current fans are with the organization,

and provide input on what they believe would make things better. At the same time the

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organization would be able to gain insight as to why others may not be fans, and what things

they may like in order to try and cater to their needs and wants.

Recommended Marketing Strategy

What the London Knights are currently doing with their marketing has been working for their

product sales so far, but things can improve. To increase product sales so that they sell out their

games, I have provided the following 3 recommendations:

1. Reach out to the University/College students.

As was stated earlier, there are a large number of 17-25 year olds residing in

London, most of them probably students. Students have a lot of pride in their

sports teams and are willing to travel with their friends to have a good night out to

watch a good game and hopefully a winning team. This organization should offer

College/University nights called “Knights of the Round Table” where students

can get a great deal of purchasing their ticket and getting free bus rides to and

from the game, as well as free food or drink. This will be enough incentive for

students to want to come out to a game.

2. Create a slogan

Brand names are often accompanied by a slogan which help to physically and

emotionally communicate the brand. For example, the Raptors slogan “We the

North” created this unifying emotion amongst the people of Toronto and even the

rest of Canada. All of a sudden everyone felt like they were a part of the team.

With Nike, their slogan “Just do it” also conveys an emotion to their consumers of

just going for something and doing your very best. It is something uplifting and

powerful. With respects to the London Knights they may want to convey a

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winning/unifying emotion with “The Best Start Here” or “We Are Hockey”.

Creating an emotional attachment will have a ripple effect on retaining current

fans and obtaining new ones.

3. Get former players to do promos

Once you begin getting former players to do promotions with the current players,

a connection between those in the AHL or NHL comes into play. This will not

only get people to go out to watch the games and meet the players while they are

still in the city, but it also begins to create a connection with the NHL and AHL so

that if they ever do expand out to London, they may not lose that many consumers

to the professional league. The connection will already establish that these boys,

although young, are the future of the NHL and should be supported on their

journey. The other benefit of using alumni are to engage those people who only

watch the professional league. If they realize that one of their favourite NHL

players used to play for the London Knights, they may be more inclined to watch

their games to see who the prospects are.

Conclusion

Overall, the London Knights Hockey Club have a fairly strong marketing strategy implemented

compared to other OHL teams. They have captured and retained their desired target market, have

a strong product that produces optimal results and are able to compete with their competitors.

The London Knights organization should continue to look for ways to build their brand as there

are other targets in the area that they can capture.

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Reference List

Hockeyfights.com. (2014). London Knights Team Rivals. Violent Gentlemen. Retrieved from

http://www.hockeyfights.com/teams/11008/team_rivals

Pyette, R. (2015, September 27). Get ready for more crazy. The London Free Press.

Retrieved from http://www.lfpress.com/2015/09/27/confusion-reigns-as-kingston-

frontenacs-down-knights

Slawson, D. (2015, August 3). London Knights- The Team to watch in 2015-16. The Hockey

Writers. Retrieved from http://thehockeywriters.com/london-knights-the-team-to-watch-

in-2015-16/

Statistics Canada. (2015). 2011 Census metropolitan area of London, Ontario. Retrieved from

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-cma-

eng.cfm?LANG=Eng&GK=CMA&GC=555

The Official Site of the London Knights. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.londonknights.com/

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