SMT110 Final Review
Project Management
"the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project" (Project Insight, 2017, para. 1); this project management approach certainly makes sense in the planning and operations of an event, and can be implemented through the use of a Gantt chart.
Sport Events
(non tenant); must be booked around primary tenants; examples include AAU basketball tournaments or high school all-star games
No matter what their job title, facility managers need to master a set of managerial skills that the IAVM refers to as core competences (Russo, Esckilsen, & Stewart, 2009):
-Administration (people and organization) -Sales and marketing (selling time and space and event activity -Fiscal management (financial performance) -Facility services and operations (physical plant and event management) -Leadership and management
There are typically three structural ways that sport analytics will be implemented into the day to day processes of an organization:
-Analytics Center of Excellence (ACE) - all analytics personnel are grouped together fulfilling tasks across multiple departments (Alamar, 2013) -Decentralized Structure - individual analytics employees are embedded into each department to help address the needs of, say, the coaching, scouting, and front office groups separately -Hybrid Structure - first two approaches are blended to maximize the benefits of each
Thinking of the sport analytics eco-system in terms of two groups:
-Analytics Vendors and Analytics End Users -Vendors provide solutions and services to the end users for different application areas -Today's vendors consist of companies including IBM, SAP, SAS, STATS, and Opta - these technology and data providers create proprietary tools, systems, and models that provide end users with a competitive advantage in a given business area -End users are more recognizable to the average sports consumer, and adoption within this group is expanding rapidly
Nearly all events must attend to a variety of critical functions, including:
-Finance/budgeting -Risk management -Tournament operations -Registration -Volunteer management -Event marketing
Based on a point system, four levels of LEED certification are possible:
-Platinum -Gold -Silver -Certified
The definition of sport analytics underscores the three basic components of a sport analytics program, as applied to teams, leagues, and a variety of sports industry stakeholders:
-data management -predictive models -information systems (Alamar, 2013)
Performance-Based Metrics include...
-earned run average (ERA) -wins above replacement (WAR) -defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA, used in the NFL), and analytics
Facility managers need to focus on several aspects of marketing, including...
-marketing new facilities -securing anchor tenants -attracting events -developing relationships (Fried, 2010).
In developing a registration system, event managers must consider the following items:
-number of participants who will be registering -information that needs to be collected from or disseminated to the participants (waiver forms, codes for sportsmanship conduct, inclement weather policy, event schedule) -registration fees that must be collected -whether identification is needed (regarding age limitations) -whether information will be collected manually or via a computer system -whether the event involves minors, who require the signature of a parent or guardian on a waiver form
Event Marketing - event marketers must focus on nine areas:
-sales of corporate sponsorship -advertising efforts -public relations and media activities including social media -hospitality -ticket sales -broadcasting -website development and management -licensing/merchandising -fundraising
The post-event stage consists of the activities surrounding the completion of an event; areas covered during the post-event stage include the following:
-tear-down of the venue -storage of equipment and supplies -trash pickup and disposal -return of borrowed equipment, sponsorship signage, and other items -final financial accounting regarding expenses relative to the operations portion of the event -thank-you notes or appropriate forms of recognition to appropriate constituencies who assisted in the tournament operations area
The facility manager needs to account for...
-the location of the venue -the types of events that best fit the community and culture of the facility -the means by which those events will be produced
Segments of Sport Analytics
-ticketing -sales -scouting and development -corporate sponsorship -customer relationship management (CRM) -finance -event management
Sport sponsors utilize hospitality for a variety of reasons, including the following:
-to reward and build relationships with current customers -to generate business from new customers -to reward employees for good performance -to reward suppliers for excellent sales
Items that should be addressed in the pre-event planning stages include the following:
-venue plan and layout -equipment and facility needs -schedule of activities -sponsorship needs -signage commitments and locations -food and beverages -merchandise sales -media concerns -promotional activities and needs -transportation concerns -housing of athletes -staff communication -personnel responsibilities -lines of authority -security issues -ADA requirements -policies to address other legal concerns such as alcohol use -crowd control
This cleaning process consists of three steps:
1) Data Standardization - where all information and data are organized in a common format with a standard set of definition 2) Data Centralization - where all organizational data are stored in a central location 3) Data Integration - where data are merged to maximize value to the organization (Alamar, 2013).
Team owners have traditionally sought lucrative stadium leases that provide revenue from four sources:
1) preferred seating (luxury suites, club seating, and personal seat licenses) 2) parking 3) concessions 4) stadium sponsorship (signage and naming rights)
Theater
A building or outdoor area (amphitheater) that has been designated for plays or other dramatic, comedic, and musical performances that occur on a state; often, they serve as a place for public or private gatherings such as convocations, graduations, and speaking engagements.
Proximity Marketing
A form of location-based advertising powered through data-based profiles, where communication with a consumer is timely, relevant, and personal; it is tech driven and targeted, providing key decision makers with teams, leagues, brands, and stadiums new ways to interact with different types of consumers and personalize the sports experience
Marketing Fund
A pool of money that is reserved from the profits of other shows; the concessionaire and the venue director each agree to a certain share of the percentage of sold goods, and they use the pool to help invest in future programs; the investment by bother parties allows each to earn more money in the future.
Script
A specific, detailed, minute-by-minute (or even second-by-second) schedule of activities throughout the day, including information on the tournament operations responsibilities for each activity; this script provides information relative to (1) the time of day and what is taking place, (2) the operational needs (equipment and setup) surrounding each activity, and (3) the event person(s) in charge of the various activities
Event Director
Acts as the point person for the facility during each show; supervises a full staff of ushers, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and private concert security staff - manages the show from start the finish
Convention Centers
Almost always built and owned by a public entity; they are built to lure conventions and business meetings to a particular municipality and are publicly financed because the rents and fees they charge do not always cover their costs; convention centers are typically located near the downtown districts of large cities; the convention business is very competitive, and municipalities (and states) offer significant financial inducements to convention and meeting planners for the opportunity to host visitors.
Not-For-Profit Event
Another marketing tool is fundraising; fundraising differs from sponsorship in that it does not offer advertising benefits associated with a donation; most often, not-for-profit events center on raising money for some charitable enterprise, such as the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which generates money for breast cancer research
Business Analytics
Applied to strategic initiatives such as ticket pricing, customer relationship management, social media marketing, or facility financing
Player-Performance Analytics
Applied to the more commonly discusses areas of scouting, player development, and the statistical analysis fo in-game strategy
Back-end and Front-end Partner/Platform
Back-end = IBL supplying hardware, software, and information technology services capable of powering the experience and housing data for future analysis Front-end = a team app or league website delivering the benefits of a more connected sport experience Back-end tools usually consist of a server, and application, and a database; these power the data management functions of. given project; what a user interacts with and ultimately communicates through is referred to as the front-end; a website is a good example of a front-end platform, while the server and data-base storing your credit card information and checkout preferences remain out of sight on the back-end
Business Intelligence
Became commonplace and synonymous with the analytics industry after 1988 and the Multiway Data Analysis Consortium, wherein it evolved as a more reliable term to describe projects rich in data storage, analysis, and operations (Better Buys, 2014).
Concerts
Booked, on average, 6 months before the performance date; tours and routings are established, and the dates are promoted after an agreement is reached; timing is critical!!
The subset of sport analytics can be divided into two idea camps:
Business analytics and player-performance analytics
Cause-Related Marketing Efforts
By corporations - another instance in which fundraising may be appropriate (ex. the CVS Caremark Charity Classic is Rhode Island's largest charitable event; it hosts teams composed of one player each from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and PGA Tour Champions players, who take part in a one-day, 18-hole competition)
Sport Property
Can be a person, company, event, team, or play.
Tournament Operations
Can be described as the nuts and bolts of an event; the tournament operations staff stage the event, meet facility and equipment needs, and provide any operational items for the event; TO can be divided into pre-event, actual event, and post-event activities
Volunteer Management
Can be divided into two areas: 1) working with event organizers and staff to determine the areas and quantity of volunteers needed 2) soliciting, training, and managing the volunteers
Marketing Director
Can involve an arena, performing arts center, or other venue; this is one of the more exciting careers in facility management; directors act primarily as in-house advertising agents for the various events booked into facilities
Booking Director
Can land events in several different ways; most concerts and Broadway shows are booked by dealing directly with agents who represent the acts or by negotiating with promoters who rent the facility and deal directly with agents on their own; the booking director may choose to rent the facility to a promoter, to co-promote an event, or to purchase the show directly from an agent
Entertainment Districts
Cities frequently balk at sharing costs of stadium construction, but having cities invest in surrounding the stadium with entertainment venues, hotels, retail, office space, and public transportation can help the team owners achieve greater long-term financial success (Baker, 2015).
Inertial Movement Analysis (IMA)
Collects, tracks, and feeds data from wearables to a back-end computer dashboard, where data can be sorted, filtered, and analyzed by managers in search of performance insights
University Venues
Consist of stadiums, arenas, and theaters that operate under different economic factors; the market for university and college venues is generally dictated by the student population; universities and colleges have different geographic locations, but the general intent when selling tickets is to market to the student population; in turn, certain types of events will play better than others
Five-Tool Analytics Profile
Consists of an individual's ability to do the following (King, 2015): 1) Ask the right questions that get at the problem, or objective, the organization wants solved 2) Collect the correct data - clean, complete, and representative 3) Understand statistics sufficiently to model the data properly 4) Interpret the data, sorting out what is likely meaningful from what is not 5) Communicate findings in a way that a given audience can understand and act on
Grassroots Programs
Created by organizations attempting to target individuals at the most basic level of involvement, sport participation
Registration System
Crucial for making a good first impression on the event's clientele
Bond
Defined as "an interest-bearing certificate issued by the government or corporation, promising to pay interest and to repay a sum of money" (Samuelson & Nordhaus, 1985, p.828).
Risk Management
Defined as "the function or process by which [an organization] identifies and manages the risks of liability that rise from its activities" (p. 13); usually this refers to personal injury risk management, although the sport event manager should broaden this definition to also include financial loss, equipment or property damage, loss of goodwill (customers becoming unhappy based on their experience), and loss of market share, to name a few potential risks.
Sport Marketing and Event Management Agency
Defined as a business that acts on behalf of a sport property
Seasonal Events
Defined as events that take place during a specific time frame; summer tours are a perfect example of a seasonal event (country music festivals and touring programs; Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville tour is one of the most heavily attended summer touring events)
Sport Analytics
Definition uncovers both the processes and goals of analytics endeavors: "the management of structured historical data, the application of predictive analytic models that utilize that data, and the use of information systems to inform decision makers and enable the to help their organizations in gaining a competitive advantage" (Alamar, p. 4, 2013).
Stadium
Derived from the ancient Greek state, a site for early Olympic-style athletic competition, such as the early Olympic Games first held in Olympia, Greece
Religious Events
Encompass mass worship; these events are generally booked as a rental with expenses guaranteed; the rental structure is preferred because religious organizations generally do not charge for tickets
Crowd Management Plan
Encompasses categorizing the type of event; knowing the surrounding facilities and environment, teams or school rivalries, threats of violence, and the crowd size and seating configuration; using security personnel and ushers; and having an emergency plan
Integrated Marketing
Entails long-term strategic planning to manage functions in a consistent manner (ex. ticket sales strategies should be developed while considering the potential sales promotion efforts of sponsors; ticket purchases and/or registration should be possible on th website)
Public Relations (PR) or Communications Director
Essential for facilities as they deal with the media on a wide variety of issues; a talented PR or Communications Director can "spin" the news, good or bad, and position a facility in the best possible light
Niche Sports
Examples: Octopush (underwater hockey), ultimate frisbee, quidditch, and chess boxing; these kinds of unique sports appeal to distinct segments of the market, whether defined by age (Millennial generation or Generation Z), or by socioeconomic class, as is seen with the appeal of sailing and polo to those with higher incomes; some niche sports have also been identified as extreme sports (high-octane, on-the-edge types of sporting events)
In-House Agencies
Formation within major corporations of separate departments or divisions dealing with event management
Arenas
Indoor facilities that host sporting and entertainment events; they are usually built to accommodate one (or more) prime sport tenant(s) or to lure a prime tenant to the facility; colleges and universities typically build an arena for their basketball teams and occasionally their hockey teams
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Intent is to prevent discrimination against qualified people with disabilities in employment, public services, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications services
Licensed Merchandise
Items that display an event's name or logo; beneficial in a number of ways, including event advertising and brand recognition as well as a potential revenue source through sales generated
LEED Certification
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - helps facility operators identify green building design, construction, operation, and maintenance; LEED certification includes an examination of the following elements: sustainable site development, water savings, materials and atmosphere, energy efficiency, and indoor environmental quality
Specialized Agencies
Limit either the scope of services performed or the type of clients services (ex. Redmandarin is a London-based sport marketing agency that focuses on advising corporations on how to maximize their involvement with sponsorship opportunities, and offers consultancy services to partners of the Olympic Games (Redmandarin, 2012).
Local/Civic Venues
May have a smaller capacity and are located in towns or small cities; the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, NJ and the Santander Arena in Reading, PA; they have a smaller surrounding population and seating capacity; the venues are able to host large-scale events and concerts but tend to host smaller-capacity events due to artist costs
Metric vs. Analytics
Metric = a standard of measurement Analytics = a continual process deigned by integrating the aforementioned three components to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness
Trade Shows
Mostly multiple-day events held annually in the same location; trade shows work best in convention centers because hotel and exhibition space are specifically intended for that usage, but they can also play in stadiums and arenas that can be converted to accommodate the event
Box Office Director
Must be a patient, understanding individual with a great mind for numbers; must also have good supervisory skills; within most venues, the box office is usually the second largest department, after operations; made up of a combination of full- and part-time help, the box office personnel must be completely trustworthy, because millions of dollars and thousands of credit card numbers flow through the department each year
Wearable Analytics
Provides cutting-edge data and performance insights based on the biometric activity of the user
Beacons
Proximity marketing technology; becomes have been implemented in 93% of MLB stadiums, 75% of NFL stadiums, 53% of NBA arenas, and 47% of NHL arenas to date (Unacast, 2016); these small, portable devices are positioned in key location - fan shop, stadium entrance, 300-level seating sections - and service up a contextual communication relevant to each particular location; gathering data on fan preferences, locations, and past behaviors enables managers to segment their customers, and then retarget specific customers with customized offers, loyalty campaigns, seat upgrades, and event navigation features; beacons represent one of a number of proximity marketing delivery platforms being utilized today, as marketers look to strike a abalone between keeping the sporting experience authentic and fun, while serving up added value to the fan and increasing revenue and loyalty to the organization.
In-Kind Sponsorships
Rarely involve a cash exchange; instead, an event provides the typical sponsorship benefits to a newspaper, magazine, radio station, or TV station in exchanges for a specified number of free advertising spots or space
Cash-Flow Budgeting
Refers to accounting for the receipt and timing of all sources and expenditures of cash; this type of budgeting informs the manager of the cash amount needed to pay expenses at predetermined times throughout the accounting cycle
Hospitality
Refers to providing a satisfying experience for all event stakeholders, including participants spectators, media, and sponsors; most events occur on a regular basis, and providing good hospitality is one way of improving event loyalty
Rightsholders
Rely on the rights fees they receive from broadcasters; in turn, sport programming makes money for broadcasters through the advertising contained in the programs and the distribution fees received from cable and direct-broadcast satellite companies
Ancillary Revenue
Rental is a fixed cost for the venue but it relies on ancillary revenue to help increase the profit margin
Zero-Base Budgeting
Requires a review of all activities and related costs of an event as if it were taking place for the first time; previous budgets and actual revenues and expenses are ignored; all projected revenues and expenses have to be justified prior to becoming part of the overall budget; this type of budget process forces managers to view their event from a fresh perspective, never taking elements for granted and always searching for ways to become more efficient and effective
Soccer-specific stadiums (SSS)
Single-purpose stadiums; SSS have become the legacy of soccer investor Lamar Hunt, late owner of the Columbus Crew
Barnstorming Tours
Spalding's tours were an early example; touring star athletes and teams around the country to promote a particular sport - this soon became an exercise in event management; George Halas, longtime owner of the Chicago Bears, used his star player, Red Grange, to increase the popularity of professional football in the early 1900s (Schaaf, 1995).
Data Management Process
Starts with managing the data available to you, and cleaning those data appropriately.
Facility Financing
Starts with the federal government, which allows state and local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds to help finance sport facilities; tax exemption lowers interest on debt, reducing the amount that cities and teams must pay for a stadium
Operations Director
Supervises facility preparation for all types of events; the director typically spends the lion's share of a facility's annual expense budget on labor, maintaining and repairing all equipment, and purchasing all the necessary supplies (toilet paper, cleaning materials) events require on a weekly basis
Rights Fees
TV and related media pay billions of dollars from the rights to transmit coverage of various events to their audiences; rights fees are a major source of revenue for sport leagues and organizations, and the volume of this revenue has exploded in recent years
Universal Design
The concept is best seen in places such as art galleries, museums, and airports; facility design is essential for accessibility for all regardless of factors such as disability, age, or language spoken
International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)
The professional trade association for the facility management field
One of the most popular extreme sports today seems to be...
Ultimate Fighting Championship Mixed Martial Arts (UFC MMA)
Descriptive Analytics
Uses data aggregation and data mining to provide insight into the past and shed light on what has happened (Halo, 2016).
Predictive Analytics
Uses statistical models and forecasting techniques to understand the future and answer the question, "What could happen?"
Variable Ticket Pricing vs. Dynamic Ticket Pricing
Variable Ticket Pricing = the concept of tiered pricing; not every game is created equal, so why should the prices always be equal? teams variably price their games and create tiers, or groups, of similarly priced inventory; this does not always mean the price goes up - in fact, oftentimes teams will lower prices on historically low-attended events to try to increase demand and fill seats Dynamic Ticket Pricing = takes into account the cost of a game on the secondary market (StubHub) in the lead-up to a single game; hypothetical demand for an event may be understood by the event organizer in the preseason, but s we get closer to game time and actual demand becomes clearer, analytical adjustments can be made to pricing to maximize revenue ro attendance; in this way, the price is dynamic, in that it shifts constantly
Metropolitan Facilities
Venues located in large cities such as MSG in New York, the Wells Fargo Center in Philly, and the Staples Center in LA; generally referred to as a must play based on the size of the potential audience
Harry Davis
Westinghouse Electric Company executive, whose company had a warehouse full of WWI surplus radio receivers; perhaps, he reasoned, if a wireless station broadly transmitted entertainment and news programs every day on a fixed radio frequency, people would buy his receivers, tune into the specific frequency, and listen.
True personalization can come only with...
data collection and better understanding of a typical consumer.
Convocations
includes graduations and speaking engagement; these are great ways to get community involvement and interaction with the venue; venue managers generally approach these types of events with the understanding that graduations happen in the spring and weather conditions may present certain challenges to hosting them outside; another plus is the capacity of the venue and the graduates' ability to have additional tickets for friends and family
The radio business grew dramatically during the 1920s; national broadcasts became feasible by linking individual stations via telephone wires to create...
networks that allowed multiple stations to broadcast the same program; this enabled the first nationwide sport broadcast in 1926 - a heavyweight championship boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney
Ticket Rebate
part of the surcharge that consumers must pay when they purchase a ticket to an event; this additional fee is structured based on the ticket price, and it is returned to the facility or venue as a result of the sale
Full-Service Agencies
perform the complete set of agency functions discussed in the previous section; although a number of firms fall into this category, the largest are WME/IMG (now under the brand Endeavor) and Octagon
The facility in which a professional sport team plays has the most significant impact on its profitability and is often the...
primary consideration in choosing to remain or move to a new location.
Family Events
products geared toward the toddler through the "tween" markets; often these are acts produced from TV or movie programs that are run on mainstream TV or in movie theaters (Sesame Street, Nickelodeon, and Disney)
Sport marketing and event management agencies were typically established to...
represent the legal and marketing interests of athletes.
Early stadiums saw professional baseball and football teams sharing the
same facilities.
Gantt Chart
shows the activities, tasks, and events that need to occur associated with an event displayed against time; these charts can also utilize color coding to show which functional area (marketing, registration, volunteer management) is involved in each activity being charted; historically, Gantt charts were kept by hand, but today project management software is available to help organize and track various activities associated with an event from the pre-planning phase through post-event wrap-up (Gantt.com, 2017).
The sport industry and the broadcast media are allied in a...
symbiotic relationship; it is a relationship that produces valuable, compelling programming content that has become an essential element of the worldwide sport industry.
Just because two variable have a statistical relationship, or correlation, to eachother, it does not mean that...
the month of the game has any reliable effect on attendance (could be due to weather, team performance, opponent, promotional activity, or the fact that the September game fell around Labor Day weekend, when Chicago-area consumers travel)
Budgeting
the process of developing a written plan of revenues and expenses for a particular accounting cycle; for events, an accounting cycle is usually the time period necessary to plan, organize, and operate the upcoming event.
