Marketing research focus group project

The Winnipeg Goldeyes previously played in the Northern League and now play in the American Association, where they were named the American Association organization of the year for the 2011 season (source: www. goldeyes. com –> NEWS –> News Releases –> Goldeyes selected organization of the year), as award they previously won in the Northern League in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009. Furthermore, Goldeyes average game attendance was higher than all independent professional baseball teams for the 10th time in 11 seasons and the Goldeyes led the American Association league in total attendance (source: www. goldeyes. com –> NEWS –> News Releases –> Goldeyes tops in attendance again). While changes are required, it is important to recognize these accomplishments.

Objective 1: To better understand what factors motivate the decision to become a Winnipeg Goldeyes season ticket holder (subsequently referred to as a ‘season ticket holder’) or a purchaser of Winnipeg Goldeyes regular tickets or mini-packs (subsequently referred to as a ‘non-season ticket holder’). The significantly larger cost associated with becoming a season ticket holder, relative to that which is associated with becoming a non-season ticket holder, necessitates that further investigation into what motivates the aforementioned decisions be conducted. Winnipeg Goldeyes season ticket purchases provide a valuable source of predictable income for the Winnipeg Goldeyes, since season tickets are prepaid in full.

Objective 2: To better understand what factors motivate the decision to attend or not attend a Goldeyes game for which game tickets have been purchased for both season ticket holders and non-season ticket holders. Season ticket holders have, with their purchase of season tickets, essentially purchased a regular ticket for each Winnipeg Goldeyes home game in a particular location (section, row, seat). Viewing season ticket purchases this way allows for the comparison between season ticket and non-season ticket holder’s subsequent game attendance to be made and for further probing into the motivations behind each group’s decision to attend or not attend the game.

Objective 3: To better understand how season ticket holders differ from non-season ticket holders, in particular, with respect to their propensity to purchase memorabilia and concessions when they attend a Winnipeg Goldeyes game. Season ticket holder concession and memorabilia purchases provide a large opportunity for revenue growth, as does an increased understanding of what motivates non-season ticket holders to make concession and memorabilia purchases (especially families).

Objective 4: To better understand what competing entertainment is being consumed by season ticket holders and non-season ticket holders. Recent years have seen Winnipeg Goldeyes game attendance drop. This trend is not a sustainable long term option for the organization and is believed to result, at least in part, from increasing availability and increased interest in alternative forms of entertainment offered in the City of Winnipeg and surrounding areas. Goldeyes baseball tickets are offered at a significantly lower price-point than Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Winnipeg Jets tickets, two alternative sporting events.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball also happens to be prime camping season and many non-sporting events are offered throughout Winnipeg as well, such as the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Relevant Segments and Relevant Groups: The six relevant market segments are: 1. season ticket holders 2. non-season ticket holders 3. non-season ticket holders who purchased season tickets at least once in the past five years 4. parents with children who attend games as a family 5. employers who at present regularly provide their employees with Goldeyes game tickets as a job perk, bonus, reward, or as some other means of acknowledgement 6. employers who in the past regularly provided Goldeyes tickets for their employees as a job perk, bonus, reward, or as some other means of acknowledgement.

In total, we require 64-80 participants. We require 8-10 participants for each of two season ticket holder groups and 8-10 participants for each of two fundamentally distinct non-season ticket holder groups, with the second of the non-season ticket holder groups being exclusively comprised of individuals who have purchased season tickets at least once within the past five years (subsequently referred to as ‘previous season ticket holders’).

We further require that 16-20 participants be parents with children who attend games as a family; be they season or non-season ticket holders, provided they satisfy the non-season holder criteria outlined in the Recruiting Guide (ideally, they would be season ticket holders). Participants in the latter group must be able to attend with their spouse and he/she will be required to also serve as a group participant. The participating parents shall be split into two groups of 8-10 individuals, each comprised of 4-5 couples )(these last two groups shall subsequently and collectively be referred to as ‘families’).

Lastly, we require 8-10 employers who at present regularly provide their employees with Goldeyes game tickets as a job perk, bonus, reward, or as some other means of acknowledgement (subsequently referred to as ‘supporting employers’) and 8-10 employers who in the past regularly provided their employees with Goldeyes game tickets as a job perk, bonus, reward, or as some other means of acknowledgement (subsequently referred to as ‘past supporting employers’). These last two groups are not referred to in the

Recruiting Specifications below, since the possible employers are already well-known to Winnipeg Goldeyes Management and we shall go about recruiting representatives from the respective organizations who are, themselves, authorized to disburse Winnipeg Goldeyes tickets to staff (which is to say that they are themselves functioning in a decision-making capacity in their organization) (source: http://goldeyesbaseball. blogspot. com/2010/02/feb-16-office-blog-taylors-2010-ticket. html ).

We have chosen to design the focus groups around individuals who have previously attended at least five Winnipeg Goldeyes games in the past year (with further constraints being listed in the ‘Recruiting Specifications’ section which immediately follows). Our rationale is as follows: ” If everyone has gone to at least X games, then clearly it was ‘worth it to attend a Goldeyes game’ for all participants at some point.”

This rationale is applied literally when examining previous season ticket holders and past supporting employers, however it can also be understood in such a way as to apply to all groups upon which our research is being conducted if we interpret ” worth it to attend a Goldeyes game for all participants at some point” to include those for whom it was ‘worth it’ in the past and is ‘worth it’ now. A representative sample from the City of Winnipeg and surrounding areas is not ideal in this case due to the disproportional percentage of Winnipeg Goldeyes income derived from a small percentage of loyal supporters. It is from these loyal supporters and from individuals who in the past were loyal to the Winnipeg Goldeyes Baseball Club that we are most interested in hearing from.