Game day operations and the role of sports information directors

Article Reviews
Game Day Operations
Game Day Operations involves overseeing every aspect of the game and how it is conducted from the time the doors open to fans to the time everyone is gone. Included in that picture is the sound, music, lights, videos, cheerleaders, sponsors, mascots, parking, security, concessions and more. Games are major events and can include hosting several thousands of people for each event—so there is a lot to think about, prepare for, and mange. Suffice to say, Game Day Operations is not a one man job. This is a full time job for a hundreds of staff workers, who must prep, clean, walk through, practice, train, perform, execute, and deliver a product to fans that encompasses everything from seating to security (Sports Management, 2020).
Another aspect of Game Day Operations is the fact that contingency plans are necessary. For example, a game may be rained out, or there could be an emergency situation that causes the game to be halted. It is not just about planning and readying for the big game but also about planning and readying for what actions to take if the big game is suddenly called off for any reason and thousands of fans are left wondering what to do. Attendants have to be ready to answer any questions, which means they have to be trained in advance on what posture to take (Sports Management, 2020).
For Game Day Operations to run smoothly it requires a highly skilled, highly flexible team of managers who oversee various aspects of the day’s events. There will be a media team, a security team, a concessions team, a sales and merchandise team, a ticketing team, a field or court team, a cleanup crew, and so on. All these different moving parts come together with a tightly scheduled routine that is rehearsed and understood down to the smallest detail—this way there is never a dull moment or a situation that catches the facility’s workers flat-footed and off guard.
The Role of a Sports Information Director
The sports information director (SID) is a public relations (PR) specialist who works behind the scenes, i.e., behind the camera, managing the numbers and stats that are presented to the public on web media, that are used in records keeping, that are publishd in game notes and media guides, and that go to support sports analysts and TV/radio hosts who use them when announcing a game on live TV or radio (Angst, 2018).
The SID thus has a very important PR job: he sets the record straight for the public on how many yards a college football star ran for in a season, or how many blocks an up and coming college center had his freshman year on the court. The SID does not work alone but has a staff that supports his role. Their work is important not only for the team but also for the media that provides stories and reports on the team’s achievements throughout the year.
The team also uses the information, stats, figures, and media created by the SID and his staff as a recruitment tool. For instance, a team that can sign potential new recruits by pointing out how many players on the team had great seasons based on the stats made available by the SID is in a much better recruiting position than a team that has no SID or manages information on players poorly. Players are attracted to teams that show they can help athletes reach and excel their potential—and stats are the big way that gets shown. Thus, it is up to the SID to help keep a record of those achievements and add them up over the course of the year and keep them in an easily retrievable and distributable manner for all the purposes of the organization.
Sport Ticket Pricing—General View
If there is one thing for certain in the sports world it is that not all sports are created equal—at least not when it comes pricing. Sport ticket pricing is different not just for every sport but also for every team and club. For instance, the average price of a ticket to see a basement bottom dweller team is going to be much less than the price of a ticket for a top level continual playoff contender with a shot at the Finals. No matter what sport it is, the ticket pricing of the best teams in the sport will always be higher than the pricing of teams that never manage to get more wins in the win column than they have losses in the loss column.
As Parker (2012) points out, there are also other factors that go into how ticket pricing is determined. Since the mid-20th century, the average ticket price of major sporting events has risen by more than 300% when adjusting for inflation. That means sports are a much bigger draw for fans and families than they were more than 50 years ago. The demand for tickets has been met with limited supply (at least in cities where the team is good), which means the price goes up. Of course in cities where the teams fail to pack the houses every night, prices will be much lower. It is simple economics based on the law of supply and demand.
However, teams also have to consider that families who come out to see a game are likely to spend as much on concessions, parking and merchandise as they are on tickets—so they have to be careful not to overcharge on tickets to the point where demand dries up. To ensure a balance, teams have analysts who look at numbers from season ticket holders, return visitors, family sales, concession sales and so on all to determine the sweet spot for ticket pricing: the goal is to maximize both ticket revenues and concession and merchandise revenues so that none is cannibalizing the other.
Proximity Marketing—Why Some Like It and Others Do Not
Proximity marketing is the practice of using a person’s location via their cell phone to send them coupons and messages about purchases that can be made at the stores to which they are nearest (Dunne, 2017). The way it works is that a store will have various beacons throughout that use Bluetooth technology to connect to smartphones. The smartphones will have an app on them that accepts proximity marketing—even if the smartphone user is unaware of it.
That is why some people do not like proximity marketing: they find it to be annoying. They may be walking down the street and have their phone buzz every time they pass a store letting them know about a sale or how much they could save on an item. For people who are generally not interested in sales or consumerism, proximity marketing is an annoyance they could and would do without—if only they could figure out which app on their phone was enabling it.
Others love it because they love to know about sales and are interested in shopping, in knowing about great deals nearby, and seeing how much they could save. Since everyone is different, there are those who do not mind proximity marketing, those who are indifferent to it, those who are annoyed by it, those who are outraged by it, and those who love it. The opinions will vary across the spectrum of personalities.
Companies like it because it allows them to gather data about the behavior of their customers. They can learn about the demographics and psychographics of their consumers, and customers who are open to the idea like it because they can download maps when inside a store that will allow them to see where the sales are in whatever aisle they are in (Dunne, 2017).
Consumer Loyalty Programs
Consumer loyalty programs are marketing methods that reward customers for making repeat purchases of a product within a certain length of time. For example, Subway used to offer a free sandwich to a customer who made 12 sandwich purchases within a year. Other examples include credit card companies that reward users with points that they can use on other purchases or to pay down their loan every time they use their credit card. Customers can get 2x or even 3x points if they make certain purchases from certain stores during promotional periods. These periods typically see the credit card company teaming up with a retailer to give consumers an incentive to shop. The idea is to get consumers used to using a certain card and shopping at a certain store. Because people are creatures of habit, the idea is that once a routine is established the consumer will be loyal to the card company or to the retailer for life—or at least for a while (Leder, 2019).
The goal of a consumer loyalty program is to 1) increase customer retention, 2) gain customer referrals, 3) decrease costs from having to constantly seek out new customers, and 4) increase user-generated content on the web, i.e., through social media influencing (Leder, 2019). Each of these goals is important for the company. First, customer retention allows the company to bond with its consumers over a sense of shared values. When the company shows it has the same values as the customer, i.e., the customer’s best interests, at heart, the customer is more likely to be loyal. Second, happy customers tell their friends about the company, which increases sales for the company. Third, repeat customers decreases the need to market to new customers, which saves the company on costs. Finally, social media influencing is free advertising.
Importance of Social Media to Sports Marketing
Social media is the most important marketing tool of any organization in the 21st century because it provides a direct bridge between the consumer or fan and the organization—whether athlete, manager, administrator, owner or president. Sports marketing is all about creating a link with the target audience and social media provides that link (Witkemper, Lim & Waldburger, 2012). It allows the organization to target fans directly and to answer questions, provide updates, disseminate and share information, and plug promotional material. It is also a way to inspire user-generated content.
User-generated content refers to content that is posted and shared on social media that benefits the sports organization. For instance, a fan who takes a video of LeBron James doing something kind for a fan and then posts that video on YouTube is a type of user-generated content that makes LeBron James and the Lakers look great because it depicts them in a good light and makes other people want to come out and support the team and come to the games to see one of the all-time greats in action.
Social media in sports marketing can be dangerous, however, as it is difficult to control a narrative once it hits social media. This why sports marketing teams have to be very quick to act on a story once it hits social media: if the narrative is being spun by people who do not have all the facts, the wrong picture of the organization can develop and ruin the organization’s reputation. This happened with the Lakers last year when rumors that Magic Johnson had offered the whole team for a trade for Anthony Davis. The story hit social media before the organization had a chance to defuse it and it hurt the locker room.
Ambush Marketing
Ambush marketing is when a company tries to hijack another company’s ad campaign, usually connected to a sporting event that already has the hijacked company as an official sponsor. Ambush marketing can seem malicious or in good fun, as some examples will show.
The first instance of ambush marketing occurred when Visa became the official sponsor of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Visa released a serious of commercials in which it stated that Visa would be the only card accepted at the Olympics—which was really on true if one was trying to purchase tickets. It was not true if one wanted to use a credit card for anything else. American Express took offense for good reason since the ad was misleading and released its own ad campaign that spoofed the Visa ad campaign by stating that if one is going to Spain this summer one only needs a passport—not a visa. Visa took offense and viewed this as parasitic marketing and sued (Shewan, 2020).
However, an example of ambush marketing that became good fun for the two companies and for their consumers was the case of BMW vs. Audi. BMW started a campaign that compared service stations at a BMW rally to paramedics at a chess tournament. Audi jumped on the poor analogy and compared BMW rallies to boring chess in a billboard. Instead of suing, BMW saw an opportunity to stretch the analogy and turn it into a game with Audi—the company threw up its own billboard across the street, with a picture of a BMW and the word “Checkmate” on the sign. Audi then put up another billboard that read, “Your pawn is no match for our king,” so BMW put up a blimp over the Audi billboard that read “Game Over” (Shewan, 2020). The ambush marketing by Audi turned into a game of good sportsmanship by the two companies.
Impact of COVID 19 on Baseball
The spread of COVID 19 through winter and spring of 2020 has delayed the start of baseball indefinitely in the US. By January, the virus had been reported in Washington state and a month later ballplayers were reporting to spring training. After a conference call with all 30 teams, Major League Baseball officials announced that the league would continue with spring training games and would still open the start of the season on March 26 as planned (Perry, 2020).
However, two days later, the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, banned large group gatherings for the rest of the month, which meant baseball games were out. The Seattle Mariners began looking for alternatives for playing home games scheduled at the end of March. But then San Francisco announced a similar ban, which meant both the Giants and the Oakland A’s were now in the same position as the Mariners.
At the same time, the NBA was facing a crisis as two of its star athletes were diagnosed with COVID 19—Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. The NBA quickly suspended the rest of its season and every other major league sport was essentially left to follow suit. MLB canceled the remainder of spring training games the next day and delayed the opening of the season. The planned date for Opening Day was pushed to the middle of May but nothing was made final. More athletes began to test positive for the virus. The draft was pushed back to July from June. A series meant to be played in London was canceled. So far MLB is still hopeful to get the season underway soon, but it all depends on when governors lift the stay-at-home order.
Impact of COVID 19 on Football
Fortunately for football fans—or at least for NFL fans—the season ended before COVID 19 struck down all sports, including NBA, which suspended the rest of its season, and MLB, which delayed the start of its season. The NFL had already concluded its season. However, the XFL was still going in its inaugural season and was looking to finish out the year strong. Then COVID 19 started shutting everything down and suddenly the XFL was forced to shutter its events and call the season a bust. Not long thereafter, the XFL was filing for bankruptcy—again, even after so much promising progress (Barrabi, 2020).
The NFL expects to hold its draft on schedule but the plan is for it to be held remotely with Roger Goodell doing it from his home. The NFL will likely open its season on time this year, barring any unforeseen outbreaks or second waves with the COVID 19 virus. However, many people are reporting that the outbreak has changed everything and that sporting events may be a thing of the past. At this point it is difficult to tell just how the pandemic will impact sports or the NFL fully. Currently, everyone is in a holding pattern and wait-and-see is the mantra of the day.
Should shelter-in-place orders be lifted in May, it is quite likely that the NFL will begin its season on schedule. Less certain is what will happen with summer and spring sports. The NBA’s season may be a wash, and MLB’s season may be truncated. However, the NFL is likely to be least impacted since the virus is striking the US during the offseason. Save the bankruptcy filing of the XFL, football fans have no real reason to be disappointed, though the XFL was showing signs of promise. Unfortunately, the pandemic put it out of the game before it could even really get started carving out a new niche in the professional football market.
Impact of COVID 19 on Basketball
The NBA was looking to finally see LeBron James back in the Finals, this time with Anthony Davis at his side—but now it seems as though that may not come to be. The season has been delayed indefinitely and though there has been hopeful talk of getting the games going back up again, right now that seems more like wishful thinking than anything. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom does not appear to be in any rush to open the state back up, which means Staples Center is closed until further notice. So if James is going to be pursuing one more ring it is going to have to be outside the state of California, where he now calls home.
Since the suddenly diagnosis of the Utah Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Donavan Mitchell with the virus, the NBA has essentially gone into lockdown mode. Several other players have tested positive, but no deaths among athletes and for the most part the symptoms have been mild to none. The scare itself has been worse than the disease for the NBA world. The big problem the NBA faces, however, is how to get back to playing. With social distancing rules in place, fans are not going to be allowed in—and basketball will not seem like basketball until the seats are filled.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has no timetable in place, and the common belief is that widespread testing will need to be conducted before play resumes (Quinn, 2020). As unrealistic as that sounds for a nation of 360 million people, the question is: how much of the sidelines are sports fans going to take? America runs on sports if it runs on anything and with sports now on hiatus, America is twisting in the wind. For everyone’s psychological health, James may need to give Silver the signal: it’s time.
Impact of COVID 19 on Collegiate Sport
With the cancelation of March Madness due to COVID 19, the entire college basketball world gasped in horror—along with those casual sports fans who only pay attention to college sports in the month of March when it is time to fill out brackets. March Madness has been shelved and players who put in months practicing free throws and three’s for the biggest show of the year have now either decided to come back for one more year or are looking ahead to the draft.
Other sports have been affected as well, such as baseball. However, with colleges closing all over the nation and classes going online, there is no working timeframe for when college sports will pick back up. This is problematic for big schools like Ohio State because college sports are huge money makers. The University of Kentucky makes a boatload of money during March Madness as it perennially fields a Sweet 16 contender. Other schools like Duke and Kansas are in the same situation.
To help schools sort through this crisis, the federal government is sending money their way. As Newton (2020) points out, more than 400 failing colleges are going to receive $315 million in COVID 19 money. This bailout will help to offset some of the losses from having their sports canceled. However, it is unclear why so many schools need these funds. They are still able to operate using Zoom and hosting classes online. The only problem is that revenue from sports is not coming in. But most colleges should have money saved for just such a rainy day—but bailout culture has spread and since irresponsible corporations like Boeing are getting bailed out, everyone who is adversely affected by the virus is looking for theirs as well—including colleges that have seen March wiped off the map for 2020.

References
Angst, F. (2018). Learn about being a sports information director. Retrieved from
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/job-profile-sports-information-director-3113309
Barrabi, T. (2020). XFL for sale amid bankruptcy proceedings. Retrieved from
https://www.foxbusiness.com/sports/xfl-for-sale-bankruptcy-proceedings
Dunne, N. (2017). Proximity Marketing: Often Creepy, but It Doesn’t Have to Be.
Retrieved from https://www.digitalethics.org/essays/proximity-marketing-often-creepy-it-doesnt-have-be
Leder, R. (2019). Best examples of customer loyalty. Retrieved from
https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2016/10/customer-loyalty-program-examples-tips.html
Newton, D. (2020). More Than 400 Failing Colleges Will Get $315 Million In COVID-
19 Relief. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2020/04/11/more-than-400-failing-colleges-will-get-315-million-in-covid-19-relief/#174a6b512c0a
Perry, D. (2020). A timeline of how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted Major
League Baseball. Retrieved from https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/a-timeline-of-how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-has-impacted-major-league-baseball/
Quinn, S. (2020). Adam Silver: NBA to consider delaying start of next season, may finish
2019-20 but safety is priority. Retrieved from https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/adam-silver-nba-to-consider-delaying-start-of-next-season-may-finish-2019-20-but-safety-is-priority/
Shewan, D. (2020). Ambush marketing. Retrieved from
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2018/04/04/ambush-marketing
Sports Management. (2020). Game operations. Retrieved from
https://www.sports-management-degrees.com/job-profiles/game-operations/
Witkemper, C., Lim, C. H., & Waldburger, A. (2012). Social media and sports
marketing: Examining the motivations and constraints of Twitter users. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 21(3).


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A. In what stage of the product life cycle is Major League Baseball? Use research to support your position.
The product life cycle consists of four stages: 1) introduction, 2) growth, 3) maturity, and 4) decline (The Street, 2019). The introduction stage is when the product is introduced to the market. Major League Baseball (MLB) was founded over a century ago in 1903, while the National League was formed even earlier in 1876 and the American League in 1901. MLB brought the leagues together in a spirit of cooperation and competition. From its inception to1920, known as the dead-ball era, MLB was a ground-hitter’s game: home runs were few and far between.
In the 1920s, the sport’s popularity began to increase and the product entered into the second stage of the product life cycle—the growth stage. The 1919 World Series fixing scandal in which the White Sox became known as the Black Sox for taking money to throw the Series helped to mythologize the game in a way, with a popular sports hero Shoeless Joe Jackson being expelled from the League for life even though his play during the Series was nearly faultless. Throughout the Great Depression, baseball became a way to take one’s mind off the worries of day to day life. Then the war broke out and soon after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier that existed in the League. New stadiums were built as baseball became a bigger and bigger attraction and a bigger and bigger business. Stars were made and TV helped to take MLB to the next level.
The League expanded from the 1950s onward, and the game seemed to hit its peak in the 1970s with the Big Red Machine, consisting of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and several others dominating the game out of Cincinnati. By the 1980s and 1990s the game began to change, however, as rumors of steroid abuse took over and home run records were shattered. At this point, baseball entered into the third stage—maturity. The game was at its zenith. Pitchers like Greg Maddux dominated from the mound.
However, attendance began to decline from 2007 onwards when baseball drew nearly 80 million attendees that year. 12 years later attendance is down some 14% in spite of more home runs being hit than ever before (Moran, 2019). Baseball is now in the fourth stage of the cycle—decline. Fewer children are playing growing up; technology (video games) and social media have taken the place of outdoors activity for the next generation and baseball no longer seems like what it once was in the old days. It has become overly technical, and the rules do not allow for the kind of all-out competition that was seen in its heyday. Everyone is very sensitive now, and technology has slowed down the game with instant replay now being used to challenge umpire calls. Part of the fun of the game was seeing people lose their tempers and the fact that errors were made and left on the field. Now the game just feels artificial and even the long balls seem unreal, as many have suggested the balls themselves are being tweaked to travel further so as to make the game “more exciting” for fans—but fans seem to be leaving the sport now.
Thus, it is apparent that MLB is in the fourth stage of the product life cycle and declining interest due to generational changes and the game itself becoming too technical and sensitive (players cannot even express their opinions on social media anymore without being censored, fined or kicked off the team). Plus too many cheating scandals have turned off fans. The game seems to have lost its purity and fun for fans, which could explain why the decline stage has arrived.


References
Moran, E. (2019). Another year of declining attendance. Retrieved from
https://www.thestreet.com/markets/commodities/product-life-cycle-14882534
The Street. (2019). Product life cycle. Retrieved from
https://www.thestreet.com/markets/commodities/product-life-cycle-14882534


b. Locate two websites for the same sport – one American and one international – comment on differences and how these sites market to spectators of the sport.
NBA.com and FIBA.Basketball are two pro basketball websites—the former American and the latter international. The sites are similar in that both use big pictures and stories to promote the sport for readers. However, they are different in their focuses. NBA.com features multiple pictures of Michael Jordan on its homepage, while FIBA just has a big picture of a basketball on its homepage. The NBA promotes Jordan as a legend at just about every chance it gets on the site, and it also has pictures of LeBron James on the homepage as well, because he is the biggest star still playing. The NBA site is all about drumming up a sense of nostalgia in the viewer, while the FIBA website focuses mainly on news and information that the reader might find important.
For example, the FIBA site headlines are about news regarding the COVID 19 spread: “Spanish basketball players unite and donate memorabilia for auction to help Red Cross” and “FIBA Europe Board cancels summer 2020 events, continues to support Youth Development Fund and agrees to prepare post-COVID-19 roadmap” are two of the top headlines on the FIBA site. However, on the NBA site, the headlines are small and the pictures dominate, with links to Jordan-related posts, like the Hang Time podcast and “The Last Dance” unseen footage. The NBA site is much more focused on leveraging the use of its legends and playing on fans’ sense of nostalgia during the COVID 19 crisis. The FIBA site does not really do this too much, partly because it is mainly just focused on delivering the news.
Scrolling down the NBA site homepage further, one comes to the inevitable Greatest of All Time section, with four video clips that one can link to: “LeBron on Jordan’s Inspiration,” “Rookies make their GOAT picks,” “2018-19 rookies weigh in,” and “Who is the Real GOAT?” with pictures of LeBron James and Michael Jordan held up side by side as if the debate were settled and it was only a matter of choosing between these two—even though there are numerous other great NBA stars who are basically left out of the discussion.
The FIBA site is basically just a way for a person to get information and important news on upcoming basketball events in Europe, Asia or the Americas. It is not meant to be entertaining at all. The NBA site is much more about entertaining fans—especially since there is no basketball to be watched presently since the season has been suspended. So the NBA site is more about giving fans something to do with their time as there are no new games to see or to report on. The FIBA site does not seem to care much about entertaining fans. It is educational and informational in nature and not really that promotional in the way the NBA site is.
Of the two the NBA site markets itself to spectators much more favorably as it keeps them engaged and interested in the game and in the hot button debates of the day, i.e., who is the GOAT? The FIBA site does not do a very good job of marketing the sport to international spectators as it does not offer them anything entertaining or engaging to pass the time while COVID 19 holds the sport up.

References
FIBA.basketball. Retrieved from http://www.fiba.basketball/europe
NBA.com. Retrieved from https://www.nba.com/


2. External Research-Read the following article: 2pages
https://hbr.org/1987/11/competing-on-the-eight-dimensions-of-quality

1. Go to a sporting goods store and locate three sports products that you believe exhibit high levels of quality.( Usually this assignment requires a physical visit but current conditions prevent a visit so go to a website that features sports products) What are the commonalities among the three products? How do these products rate on the dimensions of product quality? (see the article). Rate each of the chosen products on all of eight dimensions of quality.Be sure to include the name and address of the site the sporting goods examined along with pertinent information on the product.

Dicks Sporting Goods website at https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/ offers numerous products for sale that can be compared using the eight dimensions of quality: performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics, and perceived quality. This review will compare the Nike Kyrie Flytrap III Basketball Shoes, the Unicorn Eclipse Pro Bristle Dartboard, and the Spalding NBA Cross Court Official Basketball (29.5").
Performance
The Kyries are meant for high performance players, just as the Spalding basketball is meant for high performance play. The Unicorn dartboard is a basic dartboard model and does not score high on the performance charts.
Features
In terms of features the Kyrie Flytrap III’s have Flywire cables combine with forefoot bands to lock you in; the Spalding ball has Improved composite cover for rugged surfaces; and the dartboard has bristle fibers and Ultra slim spider wire that reduces bounce out for maximum points.
Reliability
All three products score high in terms of reliability as their reputations are well-known and consumer comments left on the retail pages express approval.
Conformance
All three products also conform to the standards and norms expected of shoes, balls and dartboards. Not one of them is deficient in terms of meeting standards and all three in some way go above the standards. All three do so through the features they offer, from the lock-in strap to the grip to the thin wiring.
Durability
Durability is a big issue when it comes to getting a sneaker. The blowout that Zion Williamson experienced during a game is not something any player wants to experience. The Kyrie Flytrap III’s are meant to be durable and the reputation of Nike is generally for a durable shoe, barring the Zion experience. The Spalding ball of course is going to be durable as it is the official ball of the NBA and is known for durability. The Unicorn dartboard is also of high quality fibers and made without staples so it should hold up well, too.
Serviceability
Serviceability is not really an issue for any one of these products as when they wear out—as they will over time—they are simply replaced. The Kyrie shoes will wear out in the soles or in the tread and the person will simply by a new pair of shoes rather than get them replaced. This will not be a problem since the shoes are only $60. The same goes for the ball—it is only $30 and when it loses its grip the person will just buy a new ball. The dartboard should hold up well for years. None of these products is something that will need repair.
Aesthetics
The Kyrie Flytrap III’s look great in gray and their design is simple and effective and most people would be pleased to wear them on their feet as they have an appealing look. The Spalding ball also has a nice logo on it and people will feel satisfaction playing with it as it boasts an official ball of the NBA tag. The Unicorn dartboard has an aesthetically pleasing design to it and will not disappoint any dart player in terms of looks.
Perceived Quality
The perceived quality of all three products is high, as the manufacturer behind each one has a reputation for producing high quality products. Nike is known for good shoes that hold up well, Spalding is known for good balls, and Unicorn is known for fine dartboards.



3. Research and write a report on up to three of the following- 1 page each
National Snowboard Retailers Association
The National Ski and Snowboard Retailers Association (NSSRA) was founded in 1987 with the purpose of facilitating the growth and support of snowsports retailers. Because it is a niche market, the Association mainly represents small business owners. They meet once a year at the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show, where members and the Board of Directors come together.
The stated mission of the NSSRA is: “To help specialty snow sports retailers grow their business and advocate on their behalf” (NSSRA, 2020).
The NSSRA grew out of the experience of retailers in the industry and their need for advocates. Following the formation of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee on snow skiing, many different independent shop owners faced the challenge of getting retailers’ interests represented.
The organization works out trade show date conflicts and issues and has been instrumental in addressing Pro Forms abuses, Internet MAP pricing policies, and vendor-direct sales to consumers issues in the industry (NSSRA, 2020).
One of the most important issues of the NSSRA, however, is the promotion of snowboarding and skiing so as to keep the public actively interested in the outdoor sports. That is the key to keeping traffic coming through to the retailers and to keeping the industry alive. The Winter Olympic Games has been a great promotional tool and the X-Games has as well but these may be seeing the decline stage of their product life cycle so it is important to keep the sport interesting for the next up and coming generation and all that they do.
National Sporting Goods Association
The mission of the NSGA is to support its members’ efforts to grow their businesses and to that end the organization advocates on their behalf (NSGA, 2020). The organization started loosely in 1927 when it opposed South Carolina’s taxation on sporting goods. Within the decade, similar organizations had formed in other states and they merged in 1936 to form the NSGA.
The NSGA conducts research for the industry and their research is often considered to be the most relevant and important for discovering trends in the retail area of sporting goods. Members join the organization partly just to have access to this research information at a discounted price.
The NSGA always provides a number of tools and guides for how to grow one’s sporting goods business. It provides support for increasing brand exposure. It also helps members to understand the ins and outs of doing business in the industry and how to begin the process of setting up shop.