The Empty Stadium: Sports Marketing Case Study
A case-study activity for high school students in which they analyze a struggling professional baseball team's low attendance, high ticket prices, and limited family offerings, then propose marketing improvements. It builds skills in identifying customer needs, evaluating business problems, and proposing financially sound solutions, with guiding questions on target customers, unmet needs, satisfaction-boosting changes, and team revenue benefits.
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use as a 45 to 60 minute small-group activity following an introduction to marketing concepts like target markets and customer needs.
- Discussion question: Who is the Tigers' most realistic target customer, and how would your answer change if you focused on families versus season-ticket holders?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pair them with a peer and have them first list three facts from the scenario (ticket price, attendance, family offerings) before answering the four guiding questions.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to estimate the revenue impact of a proposed family discount, using the $120 ticket price and 40% attendance figures from the scenario.
- Estimated time: About 10 minutes to read the scenario and 35 to 50 minutes for group discussion and written responses.
The Empty Stadium: Sports Marketing Case Study
A case-study activity for high school students in which they analyze a struggling professional baseball team's low attendance, high ticket prices, and limited family offerings, then propose marketing improvements. It builds skills in identifying customer needs, evaluating business problems, and proposing financially sound solutions, with guiding questions on target customers, unmet needs, satisfaction-boosting changes, and team revenue benefits.
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use as a 45 to 60 minute small-group activity following an introduction to marketing concepts like target markets and customer needs.
- Discussion question: Who is the Tigers' most realistic target customer, and how would your answer change if you focused on families versus season-ticket holders?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pair them with a peer and have them first list three facts from the scenario (ticket price, attendance, family offerings) before answering the four guiding questions.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to estimate the revenue impact of a proposed family discount, using the $120 ticket price and 40% attendance figures from the scenario.
- Estimated time: About 10 minutes to read the scenario and 35 to 50 minutes for group discussion and written responses.