MLB Team Relocation to Charlotte, NC- A Marketing Proposal

Entering into my final year of W. P. Carey, I decided I wanted my thesis to combine what I've learned over the course of my undergraduate Marketing degree with my passion for baseball. Furthermore, I wanted my thesis to contain both a research element and creative application. I felt the best way to achieve the integration of these goals was to research and then select an MLB team to relocate to a more attractive American market. After performing research to determine an ideal team and city for relocation, I created a comprehensive marketing strategy to best cater this team for its new market. The first half of my thesis focuses entirely on the research required to select an optimal team and attractive market for relocation. I begin my thesis by performing an external analysis of the current MLB landscape. To elaborate, I gathered W-L records and fan attendance records for all 30 MLB teams between 2000 and 2016. I also collected the most recent team revenues and valuations before putting all of this data in Excel to create visual graphs. Using this data, I determine a list of the top 4 most attractive teams for relocation based on consistently poor performance in the metrics I collected data on. After selecting the Tampa Bay Rays as the ideal team to relocate, I then dive deeper into the organization through an internal analysis. Then, I focus on performing an external analysis of the most attractive markets for relocation before ultimately selecting Charlotte, NC as the best city. My research ends with a comprehensive external analysis of the Charlotte, NC market to help in creating a brand that caters to the makeup and culture of the distinct city. My analysis of Charlotte focuses on the city's demographics, population growth, local economy, political environment and trends that could impact target market segments. After performing extensive research on identifying the best team and city for a relocation, I switch gears to developing a comprehensive marketing strategy to best help the team achieve success in its new market. This begins with creating a unifying segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategy to outline the direction the team will take. These strategies place tremendous emphasis on the need for the Charlotte team to create an "irresistible cultural experience" that expands the traditional MLB mold to attract young Millennial fans to games that normally wouldn't be interested in attending games. Next, I begin by developing key elements of the brand including the team name, logos, uniforms, sponsors, and stadium. With the stadium, I even go as far as determining an ideal location along with unique features, such as lawn seating and even local vendors that have appeared on Food Network to add to the cultural experience of the brand. Then, I focus on a unifying initial marketing campaign through TV/print ads, radio ads, social media, and public relations to help the team seamlessly transition into its new home. My thesis ends with recommendations for future steps to take to ensure the relocated organization achieves lasting success in its new city.