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Table of contentsExecutive summary.....................................................................................................................................1

Introduction.............................................................................................................................................1

Organizational information/state of the team........................................................................................1

Product/target market............................................................................................................................2

Competition/climate...............................................................................................................................2

Objectives................................................................................................................................................2

Three promotional ideas.........................................................................................................................3

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................3

Organization................................................................................................................................................4

History/background.................................................................................................................................4

Goals........................................................................................................................................................7

Programs, activities, accomplishments....................................................................................................8

Organizational chart................................................................................................................................9

State of the team.....................................................................................................................................9

Situational analysis....................................................................................................................................11

Product..................................................................................................................................................11

Target market........................................................................................................................................12

Competitors...........................................................................................................................................12

Climate..................................................................................................................................................14

SWOT analysis.......................................................................................................................................16

Objectives..................................................................................................................................................17

#1...........................................................................................................................................................17

#2...........................................................................................................................................................18

#3...........................................................................................................................................................18

Promotions................................................................................................................................................19

#1: Leveraging Joe Johnson’s brand......................................................................................................19

#2: Networking the Hawks....................................................................................................................21

#3: Boosting Attendance.......................................................................................................................22

References.................................................................................................................................................23

Running head: ATLANTA HAWKS 1

Executive summary

Introduction

The purpose of this promotional plan is to increase fan involvement with the Atlanta Hawks

organization and generate interest in the franchise. The goal of this plan is to capitalize on the Hawks’

strengths while branding the team in a positive light among other NBA teams and the general public.

The Hawks organization has many favorable characteristics that can allow a lot of flexibility and

creativity while promoting the franchise.

Organizational information/state of the team

The team is in a very good position in multiple ways. They are a competitive team in the Eastern

Conference and a sure lock for a playoff spot. They have respectable players who have behaved

admirably in their time as an NBA athlete. The organization has many experienced business individuals

and also basketball individuals. The front

office contains many various levels which

ensures organizational stability in the

following years. The Hawks also have a

hometown in Atlanta that is not suffering

as much of a recession as other cities,

such as Detroit. A weakness of the

franchise is the dominance of other teams

in the conference. The Miami Heat,

Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls are regarded as favorites to represent the conference in the NBA finals.

Figure 1: Photo Credit: thestartingfive.net


Product/target market

This promotional plan is selling excitement for the Atlanta Hawks. This emotion is being targeted

towards the younger generation. In today’s society more so than ever before, kids are constantly

concerned with the newest, coolest, and most exciting thing in their world. If the organization is able to

engrave in their minds that the Hawks are an exciting and notable team, the chance of garnering their

attention increases. Once the kids are fixated on the team, the thought is they will pursue their parents

to get involved with the Hawks organization as well. This is finally where the money and interest is

peaked once the parents are feeding off their child’s desires.

Competition/climate

The competition from a basketball point of view is the other Eastern Conference playoff teams.

The Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Orlando Magic are the primary opponents the Hawks

must contend against. Outside of basketball, the Hawks are competing with the other professional

sports teams in Atlanta. The Braves are routinely a formidable opponent in the MLB and the Falcons are

a young, vibrant team on the rise in the NFL. The Hawks also have to contend with the Thrashers

because they play the same time of the year and share a venue. The Hawks compete directly with these

three teams for fan’s entertainment dollars.

Objectives

The first objective the promotional plan entails is increasing Joe Johnson’s jersey sales. The

second objective is to increase interest on social networking sites; namely Facebook and Twitter. The

final objective is to boost attendance at home games. These objectives were carefully chosen with

purpose behind each. The first objective was selected to try and take advantage of our star player’s

image in the community. Johnson is a leader of the team and all-star so he is someone the Hawks feel

proud to have represent the organization. The second objective was chose because our target market is


largely involved with Facebook and Twitter. If the Hawks can reach these kids through technological

means, the probability of heightening their interest with the team will surely ascend. The final objective

was devised to help bring in more gate receipts for home games. The goal is to create exceptional

experiences at home games in hopes to create loyal fans who keep coming back to see the team play.

Three promotional ideas

The first plan is to advertise Joe Johnson everywhere and anywhere the Hawks target market

may see him. The plan is to have kids shown wearing Johnson’s jersey on all types of advertising

platforms. The internet, television commercials, and radio will be the primary places of advertisement.

The second plan is to reward Facebook and Twitter fans with random giveaways for increasing the

Hawks buzz among their friends. The goal is to give incentives to dedicated Hawks fans on these sites for

growing the brand among the internet followers. The final plan is to boost attendance by creating

remarkable atmospherics. Each home game will have a unique twist to hopefully culminate interest and

keep fans entertained and eager to return to more games. These plans will be successful because they

are easy for the fan to achieve. It is crucial to make these plans simplistic because the target market is a

younger generation who are not fully capable of things many adults are. Being able to relate to them

through channels they are comfortable with is essential to these three plans success.

Conclusion

This plan should work best in the following years. The current Hawks regular season is quickly

winding down so these plans may best be implemented in the future. The expectations for the next few

years are high for both the promotional plans and the team on the court. The team is close to being a

championship contender with maybe one or two more additional pieces. Knowing the team is prime for

success, these promotional plans are ripe to flourish just as well. The more success on the court the

Hawks have, the more impactful these promotional plans will be.


Organization

History/background

The Atlanta Hawks have had a fairly successful history even though they only own one

championship trophy. The franchise was first established as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and was one of the

17 teams in the National Basketball Association in the 1949-1950 season. They didn’t remain as the Tri-

Cities Blackhawks for long because the owner, Ben Kerner, moved the club to a new facility in

Milwaukee and thus donned the name the Milwaukee Blackhawks at the start of the 1951-1952 season.

Kerner’s club again moved; this time they went from Milwaukee to St. Louis where they found

immediate success. Hall of Fame player Bob Pettit won the MVP award in the 1955-1956 year as he lead

the league in points per game and also rebounding. The team came up just short of their first finals

appearance as they lost to the Fort Wayne Pistons.

Figure 2: Photo Credit: nba.com/hawks/history

Later on, the organization was able to draft future star, Lou Hudson, in 1966 to try and fill the

hole after Pettit retired in 1965. In 1968, Kerner made his final move as the Hawks owner and sold the

team to a real-estate owner and Georgia governor and the team has been known as the Atlanta Hawks

ever since. Thomas Cousins and Carl Sanders were the team’s owners from 1968 until 1977 and the

team struggled to remain competitive. But when Ted Turner bought the franchise in 1977, the team was

able to return back to the playoffs before losing to Washington in game 7. The Hawks remained an elite


team and broke a 9-year drought of not winning their division in the

1979 season.

Seven different people currently own the Atlanta Hawks:

Bruce Levenson, Michael Gearon, Ed Peskowitz, Rutherford Seydel,

Todd Foreman, Michael Gearon, Sr., and Beau Turner. These men are

all successful businessmen and entrepreneurs who comprise the

Atlanta Spirit LLC. They are also seemingly well liked by the Atlanta

community due to their extensive charitable work, Turner in

particular. Rick Sund is the General Manager of the team. Sund is

credited with a lot of the quality acquisitions that have catapulted the

Hawks into a contender in the Eastern Conference. He is credited with bringing Mike Bibby, Marvin

Williams, Jeff Teague, and Jamal Crawford to the team. He is regarded around the league as one of the

NBA’s most respected executives. He is also seen as a positive philanthropist in the community who is

constantly trying to better the city of Atlanta.

The Hawks value very highly the importance of giving back to the community. The Hawks are

innovators for professional sports teams and one of the first to actively expand beyond the arena and

help the rest of the society. They are impactful to kids and seek to make the younger generations lives

better.

The Hawks play their home games in Phillips Arena. Something very unique about Phillips Arena

is they share the facility with two other professional teams; the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA and the

Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL. Sharing a facility that can house so many teams can be a very big

advantage for the owners and city of Atlanta. With so many different attractions, the building is rarely

empty and is very often bringing in profits from gate receipts, concessions, merchandise sales, etc. on a

Figure 3: Photo Credit: nba.com/hawks/news/Rick_Sund_Bio


nightly basis. This can allow the teams to go out and spend more money on the upper echelon of talent

in the league. The possible disadvantage of this would be the maintenance required to keep the facility

in peak condition always. It would be a 24-hour a day job with so many people passing in-and-out daily.

The Atlanta Hawks are rich with talent among their former players. Most notably would be

Dominique Wilkins. He is the Hawks all-time leader in points and has numerous hours of video dedicated

to him throwing down rim-breaking dunks. Arguably

the second best Hawk ever would be Bob Pettit. He

was named the MVP of the league 4 times and took the

franchise to their lone championship. Another former

Hawks player of interest is Lenny Wilkens who was at

the time of his retirement 2nd all-time in assists in his

career. Along with Dominique and Pettit, Lou Hudson is

the only other Hawk to have his jersey retired. Former

owner, Ted Turner, had a jersey retired in his honor as

well. These members of the organization are loved by

all Atlanta Hawks fans and appreciate what each one

has given to the franchise.

As for the Hawks legacy, the organization has seen a reasonable amount of success. They have

only earned one world championship, but have been competitive for a large part of their history. They

have made it to the NBA finals on 4 separate occasions and have 39 total playoff appearances. They

have had down years, but that comes with the territory of any professional team. The future is bright for

the Hawks as they have a youth infused core ready to take the next step in competing for an NBA

championship.

Figure 4: Photo Credit:giantbomb.com


Goals

Every organization strives to win and win championships specifically. The Hawks are taking steps

to do the same. They have a talented core of players like Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jamal

Crawford. But they still have big steps to take in order to overcome some of the powerhouse teams in

the NBA. They have other goals that expand past the court. They have a program called TEAM GA

(Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management) to help inform their guests about impaired driving and

the responsibilities they encounter as patrons of Phillips Arena. The Atlanta Hawks Foundation puts on

various events throughout the year such as hosting an annual golf outing to raise money for multiple

philanthropic endeavors. They also held an event called a Full Court Fest which was a fundraiser where

people were able to interact with the Hawks players, former players, and coaches. They have numerous

activities that attempt to get the youth in Atlanta involved in learning and educating themselves. One

example of this is the recent poetry contest they held. High school students were able to submit a poem

he/she wrote and the winner was given the chance to recite the verse at a Hawks game in front of the

whole arena.

The Atlanta Hawks mission statement would encompass a multitude of things. First, as an

organization on the court, they want to win and put a team on the court that the community is excited

about. The organization has a very

positive image among the rest of the

league. None of the players have

been having legal issues or have

been in the media for any negative

news. Secondly, they try to improve

the community around them and

specifically the youth by getting Figure 5: Photo Credit: nba.com/hawks/community


them involved in educational programs so they will be doing something positive with their time. The

Hawks are very involved with the public and have many outreach programs that illustrate the

importance placed on giving back to the community.

Programs, activities, accomplishments

The Hawks were one of the first professional sports teams to develop a foundation. They are

thoroughly committed to reaching beyond the basketball court and making their efforts felt in the

Atlanta community. They are a part of the NBA’s Read to Achieve educational program. They created a

local “All-Star Reading Team” to further motivate the kids of Atlanta. They are also involved with the

Fast Break for Reading program. With this program, they will award teachers who excel in the scholastic

system by giving them the All-Star Teacher Award. The impact is immense and is very important to

promoting lifelong learning and reading in the youth.

The Hawks also participate actively in community outreach programs. Each year since 2000, they

have gone to a local Atlanta neighborhood and renovated 2 courts in the area to promote kids to play

basketball and stay away from possible negative things. The Home Depot is in conjunction with the

Hawks as they repave the cement, put up fencing, and all the details needed for the renovations. After

the ribbon cutting ceremony on the new courts, there is a basketball clinic held for the youth. Another

outreach program involves recognizing and awarding outstanding individuals for their efforts in the

community. They created a Home Town Hero Award and give the winner tickets to Hawks games, a

jersey, and tickets to go to New Orleans via Amtrak. They also have a Rebound Against Hunger program

to help combat starvation. In the 2003 season, the Hawks donated $25 to the Atlanta Community Food

Bank every time Shareef Abdur-Raheem pulled down a rebound. The Hawks are actively bettering the

lives of the people in the Atlanta area constantly.


Organizational chart

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Executive Management:

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State of the team

There have been many influential players and faces of the Hawks organization since its existence

since 1949. Without question, the number 1 face of the franchise is Dominique Wilkins. He was one of

the most popular players ever and is still in an executive position for the team. He best represents the

community and the Hawks faithful still love him. The second person who best represents the franchise is

Lenny Wilkens. He excelled as a Hawk both as a coach and as a player. He became the winningest coach

ever while he was coaching his Hawks and also was at one point second all-time in assists in a career.

Those are accomplishments that very few players or coaches have had the privilege to be a part of and

being he has done extraordinarily well in both is remarkable. The final face of the franchise is Joe

Johnson. He is currently the Hawks best player and leader on the court. He is highly underrated and one

of the most clutch players in the league when the clock is approaching 00:00. He is liked by his

teammates and well respected around the league.

Atlanta Spirit LLC. (7 Owners)

President: Bob Williams

General Manager & Executive Vice President: Rick Sund

Senior Vice Presidents: Tracy White, T. Scott Wilkinson, Phil Ebinger

Assistant General Managers:T. Scott Wilkinson & Dave Pendergraft

Vice President: Dominique Wilkins


The team is seen as a high energy, highly talented, young team among the rest of the NBA. But

in the community, they are seen as people who are actively trying to improve the city they live in

through numerous charitable work and various programs.

The coaching staff is lead by head coach Larry Drew. He is in his first year as a NBA coach and

has been pretty successful thus far. The assistant coaches are Lester Conner, Bob Bender, Kenny

Gattison, and Tyrone Hill. Nick Van Exel is also on the staff as a player development instructor. The staff

is comprised of all previous players in the NBA and all have long track records of success.

The front office goals for the Hawks should be set at the team reaching the Eastern Conference

finals. This may seem like a tall task being the Heat, Magic, and Celtics are all heavily loaded with

players, but so are the Hawks. The team matches up pretty favorably against Orlando but may struggle

with Dwight Howard. The Hawks are weakest up front and that is Orlando’s biggest asset with Howard

at center. The Hawks are more athletic and younger than the Celtics currently so that may be an

advantage. The Celtics are a proven team against the Hawks and beat them in the 2008 playoffs in a

tough 7 game serious. And as for the Heat, no team really matches up well against Lebron James,

Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh when they play as well.

One would expect them to challenge for an Eastern Conference title possibly this year but

certainly in the years to follow. Fans should feel confident the team will continue on the right path and

within the next 3 seasons earn an Eastern Conference Championship and contend for their second

World Championship.


Situational analysis

Product

The Atlanta Hawks are an athletic, youthful, exhilarating team that is looking to make a name for

itself among the NBA’s elite. The Hawks encompass one main thing: excitement. The Hawks are a team

loaded with youth but have developed an unprecedented chemistry. They are in a position to do some

great things on and off the basketball court.

The emotional state of the team can be described as hopeful. The youth infused core is as

consistent as any team in the league. They can pick

each other up when one may have an off night due to

their depth. Although they were only picked in the

preseason to finish as the 13th best team in the power

rankings, the Hawks are definite threats to the

favorites in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat

and Boston Celtics. The goal of the team is to advance into the Eastern Conference finals and vie for a

NBA championship birth against the Western Conference champion. The team matches up formidably

against both the Celtics and Heat. Atlanta is a much younger team than Boston and took them to game 7

last postseason. As for the Heat, matching up with Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh will be

trouble for any team. But the Hawks are possibly one of the scariest opponents for the Heat. Joe

Johnson is the same size as James and can body him on defense. Josh Smith is a bigger, slightly more

athletic Bosh. D-Wade can be neutralized by a longer, lengthy Marvin Williams and some help defense

when Williams gets beat. The team is prime for a deep playoff run and championships in the future.

Figure 6: Photo Credit: nba.com/hawks


Target market

The Hawks’ target market is the young basketball fan in Atlanta and the metropolitan area

surrounding the city. The team can appeal to all ages as they have a diverse team and can play different

styles. The primary demographic will be

the younger generation who come from

middle to upper class families. They will

be fascinated with the high flying Josh

Smith and effortless scoring ability of

Jamal Crawford while the secondary

demographic of old school basketball

fans can appreciate Joe Johnson’s finesse

and also Al Horford’s toughness inside. These various aspects of the team are just two examples of

diverse psychographics that the Hawks team can offer to fans.

Every person, especially sports fans, loves getting free items and benefits for being a part of an

organization. These are all motivating factors that can help generate revenue and attract more season

ticket holders by giving the fans things they want.

Competitors

The most obvious competitors to the Atlanta Hawks franchise are the other NBA teams striving

to win an NBA championship. The Hawks share a division with their most direct competition, the Miami

Heat. There are other direct competitors with the Hawks as well. These are the teams that also share

Atlanta as their hometown. The Falcons, Thrashers, and Braves are all viable sports teams in Georgia and

compete for center stage in the state’s biggest city. But with such an eclectic pool of talent on the team,

the Hawks are still a major player in the intercity competition for supremacy.

Figure 7: Photo Credit: nba.com/hawks/community


Outside of the sports industry, there are still other opponents the Hawks must deal with. As one

of the most popular cities in the world, Atlanta has many different attractions to offer people. There are

numerous museums, theme parks, aquariums, parks, and many other things that can lure people away

from the sporting scene. With the current state of the economy, every entertainment dollar is critical for

all businesses to sustain during these rough times.

The Atlanta Braves and Falcons are two teams the community in Atlanta follows closely. The

Braves have a strong tradition of winning divisions and making deep runs into the playoffs. They are well

liked among the citizens of Georgia. One disadvantage the Braves are currently faced with is the

retirement of long-time manager Bobby Cox. He has led the

team to all their division titles and World Series’ appearances

so now the team must struggle to find a new identity with

their leader no longer in the dugout.

The Falcons are also a winning organization but in a

slightly different sense. They have just recently become a top

team in the NFL. They were the #1 ranked NFC team in the

NFL playoffs this year and many predicted them to reach the Super Bowl. They have a young, talented

roster much like the Hawks. The biggest disadvantage for the Falcons is their failure to deliver in the

playoffs. They were bounced in the Divisional round of the playoffs as the eventual Super Bowl

Champions, the Green Bay Packers, trounced them. The fan following is very strong for both teams. This

causes the Hawks success to be even more crucial to maintaining a strong fan base in Atlanta.

Figure 8: Photo Credit: mlb.com/braves


All three of the popular Atlanta

sports teams, Hawks, Falcons, and Braves,

are competing for the same target market.

The target market they are looking to

attract is the sports fan in Atlanta and the

surrounding metropolitan areas. This

overlapping target market makes sports

entertainment dollars scarce. The competition

among these three professional teams drives the need for each to compete for championships in order

to generate enough revenue to stay relevant in the city.

Climate

The entire United States has seen major economic problems within the last decade. But

fortunately for Atlanta, it has been one of a few cities that has been able to minimize the effects of such

a poor economy. According to economywatch.com, Atlanta was very well off and was virtually immune

to various economic problems other cities have dealt with. This is partly because of the recent Olympics

that were held in the city in 1996. The city has managed their profits well and as a result has been able

to tread water while other cities have faltered in recent years. Economy Watch also predicts that Atlanta

will take at least until 2011 to revive its economy which is a significantly sooner than many other big

cities in the states.

Furthermore, Fizber is a group that analyzes the economy and stated Atlanta’s unemployment

rate to be just 5.3%. Since Atlanta is among the elite cities economically currently, they do not have to

deal with such steep declines in revenue. This is also shown in this past offseason as the team was able

to spend a fortune on its star player, Joe Johnson. He will receive $119 million over the next 6 years,

Figure 9: Photo Credit: accessnorthga.com


roughly $20 million per year. This shows how the economy in Atlanta has taken a hit just as everyone

else has, but they have still kept their head up and maintained a reasonable climate in these hard times.

The societal and cultural climate is also one that favors the Hawks. According to

areaconnect.com, the people in Atlanta are predominately African-American at nearly 62% and the

majority of the people are ages 25-34 years old. This is a premium demographic for the Atlanta Hawks.

According to helium.com, African-Americans dominate certain sports, basketball being the most

notable. So having a city populated by mainly African-Americans, it would seem basketball would be

very popular especially among the 25-34 age range. This age range is very aware of their surroundings

and able to understand the current styles of play more so than other age groups. For example, an

elderly man may not appreciate the skill required for Josh Smith to put the ball through his legs in mid-

air and dunk because they grew up watching more traditional types of play; players like Bill Russell, Bob

Cousy, Bob Pettit didn’t possess the same talent today’s players have.

With every new technology, there comes change. The Internet has infinitely changed how

people do business in the world and will only continue to evolve. One relatively new technology the

Hawks organization may take advantage of could be implementing mobile technology. Smart phones,

iPads, and other handheld devices are becoming increasingly popular for all people. It would be in the

best interest of the Hawks to somehow utilize this evolution. They could possibly keep a Twitter of all

the news regarding the team or create an application that allows fans to track the team through their

mobile device. Players may even keep a Twitter account that could allow for more athlete-fan

interaction. This may heighten interest in the team and thus generate more revenue.


SWOT analysis

Strengths: Exciting, youthful team Economically stable city Star power Nice weather

Weaknesses: Tough division/conference Inexperienced Baseball season starting

Opportunities: Expand talent on team Help improve community even more Utilize technology

Threats: Other professional teams in Atlanta Underperforming

The most notable strength of the Hawks is the level of play they bring. They are a fun team to

watch and can draw in many different fans with their exciting style of play. They are also fortunate to

live in a city that has handled the economic downturn relatively well compared to the rest of the

population. This gives them opportunities to give back to the community and help increase Atlanta’s

economic climate more. Also regarding the economy, they are able to possibly go out and spend more

money on players due to their economy being respectable. The organization knows they can spend

money on talent but at the same time get a return on their investment via gate receipts, concessions,

merchandise, etc. because Atlanta is doing okay economically.

On the other side, possible weaknesses of the Hawks could have to play in the same division as

the Miami Heat. The Heat are favorites to win the title in some peoples’ minds so this would make

Atlanta’s journey tougher. The youth of the team is also a possible negative drawback because they may

not understand what it takes to win a championship but a team like the Boston Celtics does understand

because they have done it previously. As for the popularity of the Hawks, the biggest threat is the other

Atlanta professional teams, namely the Falcons and Braves. The Falcons had been the main focus of the

city since many experts chose them to go to the Super Bowl this year so this overshadowed the Hawks


season for over a month. The lack of exposure takes attention away from the Hawks and gives it to the

Falcons. Lastly, the Hawks may still gain the attention of its Atlanta fans, but it will be quickly forgotten if

the team underperforms. Underperformance is the quickest way to have fans lose interest in a team.

The organization has a few advantages that other franchises don’t have the luxury of owning.

The Hawks are in a city that is economically on the upward so spending money is more feasible than

other cities. For example, Atlanta was able to sign players this past off-season and improve while the

Detroit Pistons have taken massive steps back, just as the city of Detroit has as a whole. The Hawks are

able to better appeal to the fans of Atlanta because they can put out a product on the court people will

enjoy watching. The city and franchise are prime for success both this year and into the future.

Objectives

The Atlanta Hawks organization has numerous promotional ideas designed to help increase

awareness and fan interest in the community. These objectives are primarily directed at the Hawks

target market which happens to be the youth population of kids aged 20 and under. The first

promotional objective involves increasing Joe Johnson’s jersey

sales. The second deals with increasing awareness on various

social networks. Lastly, the Hawks are aiming to boost the

attendance average at home games.

#1

The first objective of this promotional plan deals with

merchandise sales, specifically jersey sales. The idea is to

improve Hawks All-Star Joe Johnson’s jersey sales to our target

market by 5% within two months. This objective was carefully

Figure 10: Photo Credit: hawksjerseydeals.com


chosen for a few key reasons. First, Johnson is the biggest name on the Hawks and is known around the

league as a star. He has been a leader on the team since his arrival and the city values his talents.

Secondly, he is a very marketable individual who has never had any bad media exposure in his time with

Atlanta. He works-hard, does his job, and sets a good example for the rest of his teammates. Finally,

Johnson is a young player who can create a younger following through his play. Young kids enjoy

watching abilities so they will be more enticed to follow him. This promotion will be measured primarily

through merchandise sales of his jersey. It will be important to monitor his jersey sales, specifically

youth jersey sizes. The sales will be counted weekly to ensure the goal progresses each week. This will

be a good indicator of whether or not this objective is attained in two months.

#2

The second promotional plan is to increase fan awareness on different types of social networks.

There are two specific networks that are looking to gain attention: Facebook and Twitter. The goal for

Facebook is to increase the number of “Likes” on the Hawks’ homepage to over 95,000 people by next

year. Currently, the number is just under 89,000. For Twitter, the goal is to increase the number of

followers of the Hawks’ official page to over 25,000 next season as well; it currently stands at over

19,000 followers. These goals were chosen because of the connection our target market shares with

social networking sites in today’s society. Nearly all kids have a Facebook or Twitter account they use on

a daily basis. This will better connect to their favorite players and team so they are up to date with the

Hawks latest news. In order to continually increase these numbers, both Twitter and Facebook will have

to be maintained daily to keep the fans interest. These goals can be measured by going to the official

Twitter page and Facebook page of the Atlanta Hawks.


#3

The final goal of the Hawks promotional plan is to increase overall attendance. The goal is to

increase attendance of home games by the end of the season to over 16,000 fans on average. The team

is hoping to draw out specifically the family demographic. The main reason for this goal being directed

at the family demographic is because if the franchise is able to increase family’s gate receipts at, it will

increase figures in other areas as well. A typical family has a 3-4 members so if the Hawks are able to

draw out all of them rather than just the parents, not only will gate receipts increase, but also the

merchandise and concessions revenue. The current average for home games is 14,613 which ranks 24 th

in the league. If the Hawks can increase attendance in the last half of the season to over 17,500, the

Hawks can meet there goal of 16,000. This increase would place the team in the middle of the pact for

attendance rather than in the lower echelon of the league. This will encompass many different ideas to

help draw out fans such as family night, drawings for family’s to win a free pizza, a child to win a free

jersey, and other various giveaways. This idea will be measured by asking fans to fill out surveys after

attending games and also by online profiling. It will also be important to count gate receipts and ticket

purchases; meaning if tickets were bought in sets of 4 or 5 versus just 2.

Promotions

#1: Leveraging Joe Johnson’s brand

The first objective of the Atlanta Hawks was to increase Joe Johnson’s jersey sales to our target

market. Johnson’s jersey sales will be our primary focus and will target the younger aged generation.

The Hawks are planning to advertise his jersey anywhere and everywhere possible in Atlanta’s

community. When commercials for Hawks’ games are shown on television, a young boy/girl will be seen


wearing the star player’s uniform. This will connect other youth with this child on TV and entice them to

want a Joe Johnson replica jersey.

This idea is different because it is solely focusing on capitalizing on Joe Johnson, not the entire

team. The organization is choosing to focus on the star player and communicate his brand with the

youth market. It slightly models the Cleveland Cavaliers past advertising with Lebron James. James was

without a doubt the face of the team and had one of the most popular selling jerseys while he was in

Cleveland. The city adored him and rallied around him; Atlanta will be trying to capture that same

excitement with Johnson in Atlanta.

The visual aid being used is centering TV commercials on kids who are wearing Johnson’s jersey.

It would include the kids playing the game for fun and with the game being won on a shot by a little

boy/girl wearing Joe Johnson’s jersey. This

will hopefully connect to the youth and also

show that wearing Johnson’s jersey is a sign

of a “winner”.

This idea falls under the

advertisement category. Advertising was

chose because in order to boost jersey sales

to our target market, it’s critical to find a way to relate to them and connect with them, specifically

through technology. Because young kids spend so much time in front of a TV or computer screen, it is

important to reach them through those means. This will impact the target market by compelling them to

desire a Johnson jersey. They will associate winning and being “cool” with wearing Johnson’s jersey. This

idea is a legitimate possibility for the Hawks. A possible downfall of this idea is kids not making the

connection of winning and “cool” to his jersey. Another weakness could be how easily TV commercials

Figure 11: Visual Aid: One frame of Hawks new commercial


are dismissed. There’s an overwhelming amount of advertising on television that it is very easy for

anyone, especially young kids, to ignore any given commercial if it doesn’t instantly grab his/her

attention. But a strength of this idea is it has opportunity to reach more than just the target market.

Teenagers and young adults may see the ad and feel as if they want to own a Johnson jersey.

Additionally, a strength would also be the extra exposure the Hawks and Johnson would receive from

these commercials. It may increase awareness of the team to fans who have maybe lost touch with the

organization and reel them back into the excitement of Hawks basketball.

#2: Networking the Hawks

The second objective of the Hawks promotional campaign is to increase awareness of the team

on Facebook and Twitter. This idea will be directed at all people in the Atlanta area who have either/or

of the previously mentioned social networking sites. Even more specifically, the Hawks are aiming to

target the younger population again to attract their interest since they are the primary users of

Facebook and Twitter. The idea for this plan is to provide benefits for people on Facebook and Twitter

who help generate interest in the Hawks. For Facebook, whenever a person is able to get 15 of their

friends to “Like” the Hawks official Facebook page, he/she will be entered into various drawings held at

the end of each month. First prize will be 4

tickets to a Hawks home game with food vouchers

and parking accommodations. Second prize will be an official NBA game ball signed by the Hawks roster.

Finally, the third prize will be a free Joe Johnson jersey. Furthermore, for Twitter, a person will be

Figure 12: Photo Credit: facebook.com & twitter.com

Figure 13: Visual Aid: Screenshot of Hawk's Twitter


entered into the same raffle whenever he/she successfully gets 15 new followers of the Hawks official

Twitter page. These giveaways will be held at the end of each month and will have a total of 6 winners

(three for each site). The visual aid example of this plan will be images of desktops of the Facebook and

Twitter pages of fans and the growing number of hits on each site.

This is different than any other promotional ideas because it involves giving away valuable items

for simply browsing the Internet. It generates fan buzz through the means of Facebook and Twitter. This

idea falls in the category of incentives because it is a unique opportunity to connect with the target

market again through the means of technology, but it doesn’t ask them to put forth any money in the

process. It garners interest about the team in a positive way. This idea is very plausible and wouldn’t

cost the organization much in return. A strength of this plan would be tremendous fan/youth interest.

This could be a major promotional idea and wildly popular among Facebook and Twitter users. Another

benefit would be the opportunity for the Hawks to spread their “wings” deep into the social networking

world. Keeping up with the newest technology and networking is critical for businesses and

organizations to stay relevant in this society. A pitfall of this plan could be tracking “Likes” and new

followers. It may be hard to distinguish who the new followers and fans are of the Hawks based on who

suggested them to like their respective pages. Basically, how do we know you convinced these people to

follow the Hawks sites? Another downfall may be the probability of winning. Since only 6 winners will be

announced each month, hundreds, maybe thousands of loyal fans will be empty handed at the

completion of each month when he/she doesn’t receive any prize.

#3: Boosting Attendance

The final plan for the Hawks is to boost attendance figures significantly. This plan will be directed

at all Hawks fans, specially the fans that have multiple members in the family. By attempting to attract

larger groups of people (families), additional revenue will be generated in other facets of the


organization. The main course of increasing attendance will be to have radical atmospherics at the

arena. This will be different than most other atmospherics because they will be worthwhile attractions

and last throughout the end of the game. Additionally, they will increase at the end of the game to

reward the people who stay throughout the entire game. Shooting free shirts out to the crowd, free

pizzas, chances to shoot at halftime for prizes, kids shoot on the court before and after the game, and

contests are some of the atmospherics that will be utilized. The visual aid for this plan will be pictures of

different activities; shooting t-shirts into the stands, half-court shots, etc.

This falls under atmospherics and was chosen for a few reasons. The more buzz around the

team and creation of a positive experience for people, the more successful the Hawks can be in

generating more fans at games. The idea involves the target market by getting them on the court to

shoot around and doing other activities

directly requiring their engagement. This

idea is also plausible for the Hawks. A

possible negative about this could be the risk

of giving fans too much freedom and being

hard to monitor all the different activities. A

positive though could be creating a loyal fan

that repeatedly comes back for these

activities. Another positive may also be the

reaction of the parents of kids who participate in these activities. They may be more apt to spread the

word of how exciting and fun Hawks games are to fellow parents.

Figure 14: Visual Aid: Washington Mystics example of radical atmospherics


References

http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings/_/week/0

http://www.nba.com/hawks/deposit/1112.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Joe-Johnson-to-sign-a-ridiculous-deal-with-the-

A?urn=nba-252877

http://atlanta.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/usa/cities/atlanta-economy.html

http://economy.fizber.com/georgia/atlanta/

http://www.helium.com/items/755232-why-black-athletes-dominate-sports

http://www.nba.com/hawks/history/00400483.html#13

http://www.nba.com/hawks/general_info/staff_directory_001220.html

http://www.philipsarena.com/Content/Default.aspx

http://www.apbr.org/retired.html

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ATL/

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/series?series=atlbos

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/series?series=atlbos

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ATL/

http://www.apbr.org/retired.html

http://www.philipsarena.com/Content/Default.aspx

http://www.nba.com/hawks/general_info/staff_directory_001220.html

http://www.nba.com/hawks/history/00400483.html#13

http://www.helium.com/items/755232-why-black-athletes-dominate-sports

http://economy.fizber.com/georgia/atlanta/

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/usa/cities/atlanta-economy.html

http://atlanta.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Joe-Johnson-to-sign-a-ridiculous-deal-with-the-A?urn=nba-252877

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Joe-Johnson-to-sign-a-ridiculous-deal-with-the-A?urn=nba-252877

http://www.nba.com/hawks/deposit/1112.html

http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings/_/week/0

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