This paper will explore a sports-related organization or team, as well as its background history and operation, using management principles to analyze the functions that the organization performs as well as the functions where the organization can make improvements. The example that will be used to demonstrate this will be an NBA team, the Boston Celtics. An in-depth analysis of the organization's marketing tactics and strategies will be discussed, as well as their market segmentation and identification of Boston Celtics fans. The purpose is not only to provide knowledge of the Boston Celtics and its business, but also to demonstrate the use of sports management principles in relation to the results of this class and external sources to incorporate them into the sports industry. The principle used in this thesis is to provide an analysis of the sports team, the Boston Celtics, and demonstrate steps the organization can take to improve. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in the Boston, Massachusetts area and is associated with the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team currently competes in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are known to be one of the most successful franchises. In total, from 1957 to 2017, the Celtics have won over 17 NBA titles. The franchise was founded by Walter Brown in 1946. At that time, the Celtics were part of the Basketball Association of America, which preceded the NBA. During the team's run, they had posted a losing record in their first four seasons. As a result, the franchise hired Arnold "Red" Auerbach in 1950. During Auerbach's reign, the Celtics won their first title during the 1956-57 season against the St. Louis Hawks. The Celtics had also won eight consecutive titles during the 1958-59, 1965-66, 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons. Many Hall of Fame members including Ed Macauley, Bob Cousy, Frank Ramsey, Bill Sharman and many others were part of the Celtics team during this time. Around 1978, Irv Levin, the owner of the team at the time, wanted to move the franchise to California, but this transaction was blocked by the NBA. That same year, the Celtics acquired a new player, Larry Bird, who would have a great impact on the team and the history of the NBA. The rivalry between Magic Johnson of the Lakers and Larry Bird of the Celtics had attracted new attention and popularity in the NBA. This rivalry continued to the NBA Finals five times in the 1980s and in these consecutive years, the Celtics won NBA championships in the 1980-81, 1983-84, and 1985-86 seasons. During the 1990s, the Celtics came to a standstill and began to experience a playoff drought. For six consecutive years the franchise had started losing in the early rounds, but as the 2007-2008 season approached, they were able to achieve the greatest turnaround in NBA history. With the addition of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, the Celtics finished with the best record in the league and an improvement of 42 wins. The Celtics made it to the NBA Finals and faced the Los Angeles Lakers and won their 17th championship title. The following season, both teams won the conference and competed again, but this time the Lakers had the upper hand. “As the Celtics' veteran roster aged, the team had reduced success on the court. Allen left in free agency in 2012, and the team traded Garnett and Pierce after the 2012–13 season in an effort to spur a rebuilding processfocused on younger players. This effort paid off much faster than many observers expected, as the Celtics returned to the playoffs in 2014-2015. The team added point guard Isaiah Thomas during that season, and he began to blossom into an All-Star, leading the team to the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2016-2017” (“The Editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica,” 2017). Unfortunately, the team was held to a four-one loss by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals. The franchise is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The products offered by the franchise are sports entertainment through its games and items such as apparel, hats, jerseys and other collectibles. Ticket prices for these games can range from $30 up to thousands of dollars. Clothes can range from $10 up to $150, team jerseys can range from $20 up to $300, and collectibles can also range in value from anywhere from $10 to thousands of dollars. The Celtics have little promotion as they tend not to spend a lot of money on marketing. Social media platforms, outlets and television are the main source of promotion, as is the NBA's own associated website. These same promotion tactics are also used to distribute and reach fans through online content, social media, television and radio. When analyzing the SWOT analysis for the Boston Celtics, marketing would be the management principle of choice. As previously mentioned, the Celtics tend not to spend a lot of money on marketing. “While you might think that one of basketball's most popular sports teams would require more social media engagement, Springer joked that while the brand is a large global brand, the company is actually quite small. He added, “We spend millions of dollars on athletes, but not on marketing” (Dragon, 2013). One of the strengths is that the Celtics have a huge and loyal fan base. The franchise is also the most successful team in NBA history. , they have world class players, they have a healthy rivalry with the Lakers, and they have great broadcasting and merchandise. The Celtics' weaknesses have been that they haven't been that successful in the last 10-15 years and their fan base isn't. Globally The franchise has been able to recognize fan identification, but has not been able to incorporate segmentation within its fan base. “Fan identification is defined as the sense of unity or belonging to an organization” (Masteralexis, 2015). If a fan identifies more with the team, then they will be more obliged to create a long-term relationship with the team, which seems to be instilled in the older generation, but not in the younger one “As opposed to mass marketing, where a "Organization markets its products to every possible consumer in the market, segmentation involves identifying subgroups of the overall market based on a variety of factors, including age, income level, ethnicity, geography and lifestyle trends" (Masteralexis, 2015). Their target group is males between the ages of 10 and 60 who reside in New England and their segmentation is based on all basketball fans. His identification with fans is spot on as they are traditionally male and mostly dominate the sports entertainment industry. It is also important to establish fan identification so that the organization can acquire sponsors for sporting events. “Ideally, a sponsor will be able to tap into some of the strong emotional bond between a fan and their teamsports through a sponsorship” (Masteralexis, 2015). The Celtics have managed to get sponsors such as JetBlue, New Balance, General Electric and many other sponsorships. The Celtics are under pressure to try new marketing strategies in order to increase attendance and attract more fans to games. One tactic used in 2003 was hiring a gymnast as a mascot and performing acrobatic stunts and dunks during breaks. Three years later they had also added a dance team as well as revealing an alternate gray uniform, which was criticized by sports writers. but loved by his younger fans. They also took the initiative to run promotional offers such as discounted tickets through Groupon. “Among the new fans is Alessandra Piotti, 22, from Boston, who was looking for a Kelly Olynyk T-shirt at the TD Garden pro shop on Tuesday. He said he appreciates the Celtics' history but also applauds efforts to up the entertainment factor. “I don't take offense to things like that,” he said” (Borchers, 2015). As the older generation of fans begins to die out, the franchise needs to focus more on the younger, future generation of fans. Although the franchise has recognized the l fan identification, segmentation could be improved. The Celtics usually play their home games at TD Garden Arena in Boston and Boston is also known for being a college town. Due to the location, the franchise can take advantage of the college student population and encourage her to attend sporting events in the city. The target market would be young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 attending university within the city limits. Segmentation is done by age, geographically and psychographically. There is definitely a demand within the university student community to be able to see their favorite players and attend sporting events. For example, when the Boston Celtics traveled to Newport, Rhode Island to practice at the Rodgers Recreation Center on the campus of Salve Regina University, many fans who lived on and off campus and beyond came just to check out the team. Many fans took photos and videos of the players as they entered the recreation center and wore the green and white colors. “I'm a huge Celtics fan, I always grew up as a Celtics fan and felt like I needed to see them,” said Matt Kelly, a freshman from Thompson, Conn., wearing Jaylen Brown's No. 7 jersey. “I think it's fantastic. This is not a big school, maybe like Boston University, somewhere you would expect them to go. This is a small, tiny school, and I think it's nice to have the opportunity to see them” (Barrett, 2017). Not only did local fans who lived on or nearby campus come to watch, but fans who traveled from as far away as Milford, New Hampshire also came to see the team. Some of these fans also believe that Boston will benefit from the Kyrie Irving trade. Instead of always practicing at their own facility, they could occasionally practice at a university facility in Boston. Implementing a practice initiative at colleges and universities in the Boston area could help get the attention of students who attend these schools to check out the players and make them feel more obligated to attend games, thereby increasing the tickets. sales. Another initiative to attract college students to attend Celtics sporting events is to incorporate their discounted promotional offers towards students. Using their student card they will be able to purchase tickets at the entrance at a discounted rate. If they order tickets online, they can enter.