¶ … marketing plan a sports enterprise (e.g. professional, school, community program). You select a "real" enterprise a fictitious . You position manager develop a plan implement employees / contractors. Marketing plan

The modern day society is nowadays characterized by numerous challenges, one of the more notable of these being increasing health problems among the population. And these health problems are more severe not only as they attack more people, but especially since they come to impact younger and younger generations.

A large majority of the health problems of today are related to an inadequate nutrition, combined with a sedentary life style. The youth of the day for instance consume more and more calories from the highly processed foods and they exercise less, as the leisure activities come to be centered on video games or other sedentary activities (Smith and Biddle, 2008).

In such a setting then, the current project proposed the opening of a new sports centered for the children in the local community. The scope of this center would be that of promoting a healthier life style among the youth in the local community, based on the belief that this service is both necessary, as well as adequate.

2. Situational analysis

At this level of the plan, it is important to assess the internal and external contingencies, in order to best understand the market in which the product would be launched and the means in which the provider could adapt it to fit the specifics of the market place. In such a setting then, emphasis is placed on the completion of the SWOT analysis and the PEST analysis.

2.1. SWOT analysis

Internal strengths

Internal weaknesses

The sports center would employ specialized staff members, with vast expertise and positive results in the field of youth sports

The services of the center are focused on the creation of better lives within the community

The sports center is newly opened and still has to gain the trust of the parents

The sports center is a small institution, with limited resources available to attaining its pre-established objectives

External opportunities

External threats

There is an increased need for sports activities among the population, especially the youth

The adults are more likely to invest in the health of their children than they would invest in their own health

In the context of an increasing need for sports, there is an intensifying competition among the providers of sports services for both adults as well as youth

The parents may have little time and financial resources to engage in sports for their children

2.2. PEST analysis

Political-legal environment

Economic environment

Relative political stability, in which sports facilities are regulated by local institutions and have to adhere to safety norms

Internationalized economic crisis, which forces parents to work harder to ensure their preserve their jobs, but also to spend less in order to safeguard the family from debt

Socio-cultural environment

Technological environment

Increased health problems, revealing an increased need for sports at the level of the entire population, but even more so among the youth

As technology evolves, it also comes to support the creation of machineries and equipments to be used in sports facilities

3. Market selection

3.1. Target market

The identification of the target market addressed by the new sports center is a more complex endeavor, given the nature of the service provided. Specifically, the sports center strives to attract children in the community to practice sports, yet these children are not the factors making the final decision. In this setting then, it becomes obvious that the sports center has to appeal to both children as well as parents. A campaign would have to be created through which the children are attracted through the entertaining dimension, whereas the parents are attracted by the practical dimension, such as the health benefits or the ease of access to the center's services.

In such a setting then, the selected target market is formed from children between the age of 7 and 15 and the parents of these children. The age of the parents does not constitute a segmentation criteria. From a social and economic standpoint, the targeted parents belong to an average income category, the selection being based on the perception that the children of parents in the above medium income category will have an easier access to other facilities (they would nevertheless be welcomed in the center, yet they would not constitute the primary target market). Children of parents in the below average income group would also be welcomed and efforts would be made to ensure the...

It is nevertheless assumed that the best success would be retrieved from the parents in the medium income category and these would constitute the primary target market.
3.2. Positioning

Within the local community, the sports center would devise and implement a positioning strategy revolving around the presentation of the sports center as a source of health and a good life style for the children in the community. The current efforts would ensure not only present well-being, but also future success in the life of the child, who becomes healthier and also better to learn and function within the society; at this level, emphasis would be placed on the team spirit and fair competition that is promoted by sports (Weinberg and Gould, 2010).

4. The marketing mix

4.1. The product

The new sports center would provide a wide variety of sports services to the children in the local community. It would be opened from 7 AM to 7 PM and it would hire specialized trainers to provide programs and assistance as required by the children. For instance, as the numbers of allergic and asthmatic children increase, counseling with exercise becomes more useful (Armstrong and Van Mechelen, 2009).

The exercise services would be complex and they would include several programs designed for children, mostly organized in teams. In this setting, the center would offer coaching for football, soccer, volleyball and baseball. A fitness center is also opened where children can individually work out. In the future, it is hoped that the center would also open a swimming pool, but this project requires large investments and it is, as such, sensitive to financial resources; the future of this plan depends on the center's ability to generate sufficient funds, but also the possibility of attracting sponsorships from the government and the members of the community.

Aside from the base product -- the provision of sports services to the youth in the community -- the center would also provide a series of adjacent services, two of the more important of them including:

The provision of transport services in the meaning that the children could be picked up from school and taken to the sports center, from where the parents could pick them up. Also, it would be possible for the center to have the children transported back to the school or their neighborhood. This measure aims to serve the flexibility needs of the parents, who are now busier than ever and who may not be able to pick the child up from school and then take them to the sports center.

The provision of nutrition lessons, in the same facility of the sports center. The classes would be offered by specialized nutritionists who would demonstrate the need for a healthy nutrition, and would also provide some practical advice on how health can be preserved through proper alimentation. Emphasis would be placed on the demonstration of several recipes which can even be prepared by the children, such as sandwiches or snacks that are not complicated and do not require lit fire.

4.2. The price

The pricing strategy to be implemented in based on a variable pricing strategy, in the meaning that the costs incurred in the delivery of the services would be faithfully revealed in the price presented to the customers (Longenecker and Loeza). This pricing strategy is selected due to its ability to reflect the operational realities and to enable the center to recover its investments. The sports center is not focused on registering large profits, its organizational mission being a social one. Nevertheless, the sports center still requires revenues in order to fund its own operations.

4.3. The distribution strategy

The sports services created for the youth within the community would be offered within the facility of the sports center. This mechanism involves a direct distribution, through which the center delivers its service to the end consumers, without the incurrence of any intermediaries.

4.4. The promotional strategy

The sports center would be promoted through several media channels and several organized efforts. Some endeavors in this sense include the following:

The creation of a campaign reflecting the entertaining feature of the sport services and the practical aspects of the offering and its promotion on various media channels, such as television advertisements, the internet, radio or street banners and fliers. At this stage, it would be essential to identify the highest concentrations of potential customers and place the advertisements in these locations, such as family entertainment areas, malls and so on.

The engagement of the sports center representatives in public relations through the granting of interviews in the local media and the hosting of conferences to promote the benefits of a sports center, and also…