Question

How would you go about marketing your community as a sports venue?Please select a community and give specific examples. Do not select a large city that is already an established sports center.

Answer 1

City : Reykjavik

Reykjavik is Iceland's capital and largest city and is said to be among the safest and cleanest cities in the world. (Travelio.net, 2010) (Yunlong, 2007)

Marketing plan :

Location and USP : Reykjavik is a hitherto unknown sports venue and is largely untapped for its competitive sports potential. It has peninsulas, rivers and mountain ranges all of which can be utilised in sporting events. Currently mainly indoor sports are popular in the region however as sports gain a larger audience around the world, outdoor sports can be launched here with near minimal competition.

The largest river of the city is the Ellioaa river is one of the best salmon fishing rivers in the country and would be an ideal location to host salmon fishing tournaments.

For two month in summer (mid May - end of July) daylight is almost permanent as the sun never sets low enough for it to be entirely dark. This would be a great place to sell day-long triathlon competitions that can run nearly 24/7 without need for breaking for the night.

Midnight golf is a unique idea that golf enthusiasts around the world would love to experience. Golf tournaments always attract a rich crowd and adverstises.

As more and more cities become polluted and crowded, Reykjavik with its clear and pristine surroundings can be a sports venue that sportspeople themselves prefer due to its clean air and environment.

Target audience is sports enthusiasts in Golf, triathlons, individual sports of the triathlon, fishing, and includes tourists who want to include an element of sports into their vacations. Primary audience is likely to be European due to the proximity of distance so ease of entry such as allowing visa on arrival for EU passports will help encourage more visitors.

The city has long been ignored in the sports locations of the world and will need to be branded as a sporting venue. To this end, a complete marking strategy should be launched on social media and sporting sites to showcase its unique assets and sports possibilities. Offering up the hugely empty areas around the city to lower-cost/budget sporting events can help increase familiarity of this city as a possible sports venue and help it gain credibility in the international arena.

Offers and promotions : As this is still a relatively unknown place, offering incentives to sports events producers and managers will help get more events located in the city. The tourism department can start to market these new aspects as further reasons to visit Iceland. Bundling sports with tourism can help both initiatives to prosper as more tourists arrive and attend sporting events, and sports enthusiasts arrive and partake in sight-seeing events.

- Advertising and media : Company website and social media campaign - twitter, instagram, facebook; print brochures to be placed in immigration offices, distributed at airports; television ads in relevant shows and in other sports venues; google ads and search optimisation etc.  

- Joint ventures and partnerships : The city administration will need to partner with sporting agencies to ensure they are on the list of possible venue choices. Building a name for the city as a preferred destination for one or more sports can help launch its attractiveness to other sports that need new and exciting venues to launch sports in.

e.g. Association with the Formula 1 group can lead to them building a racetrack and conduct an Icelandic Grand Prix through the pristine and beautiful landscape that is completely different from other europe Grand Prixes. It might even be able to offer itself up as a possible olympic venue in the near future.

References :

Travelio.net (2010) ICELAND AMONG TOP 10 SAFEST COUNTRIES AND REYKJAVíK IS THE WINNER OF TRIPADVISOR AWARDS.

Yunlong, Sun (2007) Reykjavik rated cleanest city in Nordic and Baltic countries. Chinaview.cn