Expert Q&A Done 3. Assume that peace in the MENA region has been achieved. Yes,

Question

Expert Q&A Done 3. Assume that peace in the MENA region has been achieved. Yes, it's a big assumption! Now, prepare a market- ing plan for the Olympic Games in Jerusalem in 2024. See https:/hbr.org/2011/07/bring-the-olympics-to-jerusale for ideas and inspiration. You will find a link to the most recent winning bid by Rio de Janeiro and other materials. See www.Olympic.org for additional information, such as the Olympic Marketing Fact File 2014. Adapted from The Economist, July 20, 1996, pp. 17-19. Also see Mark

Explanation / Answer

Before I start with the answer, I wwould like to mention that as per the widely used marketing book by Philips Kotler, marketing plan is a written document that summarises what a marketer has learned about the marketplace and indicates how the firm plans to reach its marketing objectives.

Thus, the plan has to be concise, measurable, and should be made keeping the consumers of the organisation in mind.

As such, I have gone through all the links mentioned in the question before writing my answer so that I am aware of various policies of IOC, and also get an idea about how the previous Olympics have been marketed, as well as the methods and routes used by countries to raise funds for hosting the games.

The headings in the following marketing plans are generic and form a part of every marketing plan. Hence, you can use those and your own content to prepare any marketing plan in the future.

OLYMPIC GAMES JERUSALEM 2024 - MARKETING PLAN

1. Executive Summary

Olympic games are the largest sporting event on the planet, with more than 10,000 athletes competing in 300+ events, which are attended by hundreds of thousands of tourists, and watched by millions worldwide. Jerusalem as a country holds an important place in the hearts of billions of people around the world, owing to the fact that it has places which are sacred to the Christians (The Church of the Holy Sepulchur - built over the Tomb of Jesus), the Jews (The Wailing Wall being their holiest shrine) & the Muslims (the Dome of the Rock, which is 3rd in line, only after Mecca and Medina, in terms of is importance). These 3 religions combined are followed by 3.5 Billion people around the world. For Jerusalem to be given to host the Olympics is an unprecedented opportunity that can give it the much needed boost to tourism, an uplift to its economy and a chance to ensure the peace in the region becomes a permanent one. If marketed properly to the right audience around the world, in a cost effective manner, this Olympics can bring in revenues that will boost the GDP in both the short and the long term, and help raise the standard of living of the people in the country. The obective of this marketing plan is to document how to go about marketing the Olympics 2024 in order to sell the highest number of tickets and ensure the highest viewership in Olympics history.

MARKETING STRATEGY

2. Target Customers

Given Jerusalem's location in the middle east as well as its religious importance for Christians, Jews and Muslims, it would be wise to decide our target audience on the basis of :

i) geography

ii) faith

i) On the basis of geography: Jerusalem is located in the middle east - a place that holds a mystical value for the fact that it wasn't accessible to the outside world, until recently, owing to the political disturbances in the region, as well as for the fact that it is so popular otherwise - given it's the birthplace of Jesus - the founder of Christianity. It can thus target visitors from all the rich middle eastern countries as well as the high spending tourists around the world (primarily Europe and America; with some parts of Asia such as Australia, China, Japan) who are sports enthusiasts, and have never set foot on Jerusalem which will not just offer a chance to watch the biggest sports event in the world but also visit the other famous spots in the country.

ii) On the basis of faith: Jerusalem has sacred shrines for the Christians, Jews and Muslims. This gives it a great opportunity to target the well over 3.5 Bn people of these faith to invite them to watch the Olympics by appealing to their religisous sentiments by visiting the country or by watching the games online or on television.

Target Group: People from middle east, Europe, America and a few Asian countries(primarily Christians, Jews and Muslims) who are high spending travellers and/or sports enthusiasts, or who spend a lot of time watching sports online or on television.

3. USP

Olympics though itself is a USP as there is no other sporting event that matches it in reach, grandeur or charisma but we can add to this the fact this version will be an even more unique one as it will be held in a place that has thusfar stayed out of bounds of people of various faiths and gives them an oportunity to not only experience the biggest sporting extravaganza but also visit the most important shrines of their faith thus fulfilling their religious/spiritual desires.

4. Pricing & Positioning

By Pricing, we are refering to the prices of tickets as well as memorabilia.

The basic rule folowed while pricing the tickets is to allow as many people as possible to attend the games in the stadium, while the secondary obective is to raise reasonable funds from ticket sales that will contribute in staging the games.

Ticket prices have varied from country to country depending on the inflation levels, economic conditions, local economy (as a maor chunk of the tickets are sold locally). They have varied from 50$ in Brazil to 120$ in London on an average per ticket. Thus, the prices will be determined keeping in mind the factors mentioned above and will be in the range of USD 80 - USD 200 for 1 ticket depending on the event, the seat allocation, the prevailing economic conditions, and the demand.

MARKETING MIX

5. Distribution Plan for tickets

Tickets will be sold via 3 channels:

- Online through the official Olympics website as well as Jerusalem Olympics official page

- at the stadiums/venues

- via tie-ups at 3rd party physical locations; such as the tourist spots in and around Jerusalem, and in other countries in the Middle East. These countries will be decided on the basis of the likelihood of large number of visitor influx.

6. Special Offers

There will be special offers for early birds (with a fixed discount upto a certain date), as well as combo offers for people buying tickets in pairs, groups, as well as for people wanting to visit the games as well as tourist spots in the country.

7. Marketing Materials

The marketing material will primarily include:

- website, print brochures, & catalogs. These will be promoted. distributed and handed out by placing them at strategic locations such as airports, embassies, tourist spots etc. The marketing material shall include details about the country & its history, most famous spots, the games themselves & various promotional offers, giving compelling reasonsto people to attend the games or watch them from home.

8. Promotions Strategy

There will be promotions running on both online and offline channels.

Online: Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, banners on relevant websites, television ads

Offline: Newspaper ads, press releases, hoardings (mostly in the middle eastern countries) and event marketing.

9. Online Marketing Strategy

The online marketing strategies will focus on showcasing the culture and history of Jerusalem via creatives, short videos, documentaries, quizzes, competitions that will position the Olympics as once in a lifetime opportunity to visit a land so deeply engrained in our memories and myth while getting to watch the largest sporting event in the world at the same time.

To target the audience who will be watching the Olympics from home, the strategy will be to get them interested in the games not just by showing the lure of the Olympics (which is a given anyway), but by getting them to associate with Jerusalem and creating a bond in their minds (through short films, relevant endorsements by their famous local athletes, virtual tours of the city) that will make them start associating themselves with Jerusalem and would ensure that they tune in when the Olympics are broadcast.

10. Joint Ventures and Partnerships

We shall also explore partnerships with organizations who themselves have a wide reach(and very importantly, a positive image) and the required resources to contribute financially to the staging of the games, as well as promote it through their marketing reach & acumen. While doing this, one important aspect to be kept in mind is the exisiting sponsorship arrangements of IOC, so that they are not violated in any way. Coca-Cola, for instance is the official non-alocoholic beverages partner of IOC. Thus, it would not be prudent to enter into a partnership with a beverage company for promoting the Olympics.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse E
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.