ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT, GWALIOR

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

FUTSAL ARENA @ GWL

FINAL REPORT SHOWCASING MARKETING PLAN OF FutLoose Sports

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

2016IPG-024 DR. Arun Kumar

2016IPG-066

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FutLoose Sports is a hypothetical sports development start-up originating from Gwalior,

Madhya Pradesh. It is set up by two entrepreneurs who were inspired by the dearth of

football playing facilities in the city of Gwalior. The owner-directors, both aficionados of

sports, recognized this void in sporting facilities. Further research revealed staggering

observation, there is an alarming drought when it comes to sporting facilities, as compared

to the population, in urban areas.

The solution - a world class sports facility within the city overcoming the commercial,

infrastructural, real estate, and legal limitations that is open for all.

Founders of HotFut, a well established sports infrastructure company, are our angel

investors as well as dear friends. Upon successful deployment of the first futsal arena in

Gwalior, FLS plans to enter the domestic market by:

1. Expanding the futsal arena @ gwl by launching additional facilities

2. Introducing futsal arenas in other cities of MP

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Situation Analysis

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 1.1. Customers

1.2. Competitors

1.3. Company

1.4. Context

2. SWOT Analysis

3. Mission

4. Practicalities and Issues

5. Objectives)

6. Marketing Strategy

7. Positioning

8. Marketing Mix

9. Budgeting and Financial Projections

10. Monitoring and Evaluation

11. Future Improvements

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SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
The following table showcases population of Gwalior district and its distribution*:

S.No. Particulars Value

1. Area (in sq. Km.) 4,560.00

2. Total Households 383,845

3. Average Household size 5

4. Total Population of Gwalior district 20,32,036

5. Total Gwalior UA population 11,17,740

*District Census Handbook: Gwalior (2011), http://www.census2011.co.in/census/metropolitan/245-gwalior.html

Owner-directors of FLS analyzed the situation using 4C framework:

1. CUSTOMERS: FLS is entering its first year of operation. Our potential customers are

the Gwalior UA population of ages 4+. Demographic and psychographic

segmentation helped in understanding: core values; lifestyle, interests and priorities

of target audience. This highlighted the absence of dedicated sports facilities for

local commune. Children and teenagers are expected to be more enthusiastic and

participative compared to working class as the latter could play primarily during

weekends.

2. COMPETITORS: As far as our initial area of operation is considered, we don’t have

any established brand or competitor operating in Gwalior (Gird) or Gwalior District.

Arm’s length price can be neglected. As a result, our competitive advantage is our

unique service to the society and assured access to pleasant adobe of futsal where

all are equal and all have something in common.

3. COMPANY: FLS is a partnership venture and has total investment of INR 50,00,000

(INR 35,00,000 from angel investors and INR 15,00,000 from personal Savings). Our

angel investors are big players in the game and have well established futsal arenas

in each of the metropolitans of the country. We expect to flourish in the niche

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 market and subsequently expand our reach and target remaining tier II cities of the

state.

4. CONTEXT: India is a country where every household has a cricket fan. No wonder it

is considered as a religion. On the bright side, continuous efforts have been made to

uplift other sports by raising the bar higher with every initiative taken by financially

strong brands. Irrespective of being the first edition of the ‘Premier Futsal’, a

tournament dedicated to futsal which was accompanied by national and

international celebrities, it was watched by 1.3 crore viewers. This ongoing craze of

football should not be mistaken as a fed.

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Weaknesses
● Strong budget ● High risk
● Guidance from experienced players ● FLS holds lack of experience in the
of the market field of sports infrastructure and
● Surplus of financial resources development
● Negligible competition ● The city greatly lacks IT hubs and
● High competitive advantage business parks

Opportunities
● First futsal arena of Gwalior
● Significantly increase brand
recognition market share at state-
level
● Attract sponsors for any future
competitions organised by FLS
● Fairly obvious need of lavish sports
facilities
Threats
● New entrants to the market
● Cost of initial investments
● In case things go south, all expenses
go down the drain
● Possibility of working class not
considering it as a recreational
activity
● Mediocre engagement

MISSION
“Our mission is to educate, empower and uplift people through high-quality and world-class

sports facilities”

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PRACTICALITIES AND ISSUES
Considering a highly populated nation like India where the population is approximated to

be more than 1.3 billion, only a mere strength of 15 million to 20 million people have

genuine exposure to sports related organised activities and top-quality facilities.

We may be world famous for tourism but are lagging behind in sports infrastructure and

facilities, specially in tier II cities. Although, huge funding and talent have helped in boosting

the status of other sports, specially football and futsal

Futsal is one of the fastest growing indoor sports nationally, while over the past 10 years

the game has been one of the fastest expanding in the world and holds major

competitions. Participation among women is increasing every year. This eases the task of

dual adaptation as the sport has globally gained huge prosperity

Compared to remaining Tier II cities (Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur), Gwalior lacks sophisticated

and civilised aura for football players. Although an institute dedicated to physical education

is already there, its primary focus is to facilitate the struggle of enrolled sportsmen and

sportswomen rather than the local community. Such circumstances: help in value

exploration; provide a tremendous growth opportunity for the business; will assist FLS in

becoming a brand.

Key success factors are: provision of comforting sports abode to enthusiasts; dedicated

rewards for appreciating customer loyalty; reasonable charges for playing on the turf.

OBJECTIVE(S)
1. Provide local urban commune with the luxury of futsal arena

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 2. Achieve a footfall of 1600, 1800 and 2000 for first quarter of operation (May, June,

July)

3. Achieve an average growth in footfall of about 12.5% per month for first three

months

4. Earn ~60% revenue compared to expenses before completing first year of operation

5. Achieve the image of a ‘brand line’ by introducing additional products and services

(basketball half court, merchandise and gymnasium).

MARKETING STRATEGY
Customer focus: with best-quality services and product differentiation;by rewarding

customer loyalty; and by delivering world-class ambience.

POSITIONING
FLS will position itself as a brand that provides world-class sports aura and infrastructure

for the grassroot level public. Customer involvement will help in portraying the idea of “just

play, forget rest”. Our USP is “we’re BEST in quality, because you’re a BEAST on field”.

MARKETING MIX
Considering the 7 P’s of service marketing:

1. PRODUCT: FLS will begin its operation as a sports development company by

introducing two futsal arenas where the players get a chance to play and showcase

their skills on high quality turfs for 90 minutes. These arenas will have netted

premises, drinking water and locker facilities, lights and stands for seating

arrangement of visitors. A maximum of ten players are allowed at once inside the

arena. In addition to this, our aim is to extend the services provided by introducing a

basketball half-court and gymnasium. Merchandises will be provided to achieve

mixed bundling

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 2. PRICE: General per head cost is INR 100. Regular customers may apply for

membership at INR 2,400/month and be a part of ‘FLS Club’. FLS Club will be open

from the month of August. With the launch of additional services, a bundled pricing

will be introduced. All payments will be done through digital transactions,

supporting the ‘Digital India’ initiative.

3. PLACE: Initially our targeted coverage area is Gwalior where locations have been

decided by keeping the target audience in mind. First arena will be located near

Gulmohar City, New Collectorate which is a thoroughly growing urban locality and at

a mere distance of 3 kms from City Centre. Second arena will be located at

Jayendraganj, close to Deen Dayal Mall and is crowded with working class people

and urban households.

4. PROMOTION: Basic promotional route will be outdoor advertising. This will include

several distribution channels like point of sales display at malls, street furniture and

digital billboards. FLS is in touch with some big players of the Sports Blog industry

like Sportskeeda and Indian Football Network. Social media marketing will be

adopted to: promote the services, obtain feedback, inform customers about any

changes or additions in pricing/facilities/services. Fancy numbers for a simple and

unforgettable communication identity are won at online auction.

5. PEOPLE: Human resources are not a problematic issue during the initial phase (first

three months) of operation. Each arena will be taken care of by an ‘Arena Manager’

who will be provided a uniform by FLS. Players will pay under the supervision of the

Arena Manager

6. PROCESSES: All the processes will be carried out under the guidance of our angel

investors, HotFut. These include: purchase of turf slabs; installation of turf slabs;

netting the arena premises; setting up lights; installing goal posts, lockers, water

cooler and stands.

7. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: A futsal arena has a jaunty, sporty and stimulating ambience

which no one can defy. Players who play on dry lands, dusty grounds and concrete

roads get an unexpected adrenaline rush while playing on turf under the lights. FLS

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 promises to match these expectations and provide a hands-on experience of what it

feels like playing under perfect conditions.

BUDGETING AND FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

Assumptions:

1. Arenas will be open everyday from 0900-2100 hrs

2. Average footfall per month after july will be 1300*

3. Ratio of new customer to loyal customer will be 7:3

*Footfall may increase/decrease due to unavoidable external forces (examinations of students, holiday trips of working class, vacations etc.)

Footfall Forecast

Month Footfall Revenue

May 1,600 1,60,000

June 1,800 1,80,000

July 2,000 2,00,000

Cost of single turf slab (grade II artificial turf) : INR 110 per sq ft

Dimensions of arena : 100 ft x 60 ft

Total expenses* : INR 28,00,000 (both arenas)

*Salary of Arena Manager is not considered

Total Expenses Breakdown for single arena

Total turf slab cost 6,60,000

Cost of netting the premises 60,000

Cost of goal post 40,000

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 Cost of lights 50,000

Installation cost (turf, net, goal post, lights, pillars, arena) 2,20,000

Miscellaneous (water cooler, locker, stands, shower rooms, 3,70,000

toilets)

Total 14,00,000

By the end of April 2021, i e first year of operation, revenue earned will be:

1,60,000 + 1,80,000 + 2,00,000 + (910 x 100 x 9) + (390 x 80 x 9)* = 16,39,800

*Memberships will start from August

If a company enters this industry and targets a tier I city, probability is higher to achieve

break-even by 16 months of operation due to: greater degree of urbanisation; abundance

of IT parks and business hubs; denser urban population; more commercial buildings

(arenas at rooftops).

Even after operating in a tier II city, we expect to achieve a break even before the end of

second year of operation and won’t face any operational issue due to financial surplus.

Marketing will be looked after by our marketing team under the supervision of both owner-

directors

Marketing Budget Breakdown

Outdoor advertising (point of sales display at malls, (50,000 + 1,00,000 + 50,000) =

street furniture and digital billboards) 3,00,000

Communication channels 1,00,000

Social media marketing 1,00,000

Total 5,00,000

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

FLS has following measures in mind for monitoring and evaluating the services:

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 1. Customers may take time to adapt to new services. Thus, pressure on price is

anticipated. Although, maintenance costs are negligible and marketing campaigns

are trustworthy. Therefore, we expect potential consumers to seize the opportunity

2. CCTV cameras will be installed in order to keep an eye in case any mishappening

takes place

3. Monthly footfall will be monitored and revenue will be evaluated. After six months,

the arena having lower revenue will be considered for introducing additional

facilities

FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS
1. WEBSITE: Initially bookings will be monitored by Arena Manager. By the end of this

year the official website of FLS will be launched. Further bookings will be done

online.

2. TOURNAMENTS: FLS will organize tournaments classified on the basis of age

groups, colleges, schools, offices, colonies etc. Such events will help in catching the

eye of sponsors. FLS is open to organize any collaborative event.

3. BASKETBALL HOOP: A half court basketball court will be introduced at the lower-

revenue-generating arena site with synthetic turf flooring where customers can play

3-on-3 and even dunk on each other!!! Basket will be movable with adjustable height

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 4. MERCHANDISING: FLS will be launching t merchandise including t-shirts, bracelets,

key chains, bands, football kits etc. FLS club members will become a part of FLS

family through provision of free merchandise

5. FOOTBALL CAMP: In the long run, FLS aims at organizing football camps to impart

wisdom and knowledge of the game to people of all ages as ‘you are never too old

to learn’.

6. SOCIAL MARKETING: FLS will be helping local NGOs to spread awareness about the

importance of physical health, sports and teamwork in life. We will be visiting local

orphanages and provide free mentoring to children. Members of FLS Club will be

their mentors and help them train and develop their game. Our aim is to form ‘FLS

FC’ consisting of underprivileged children which will be entirely sponsored by us.

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