This article will explore a sports related organization or team and its history and functions using management principles to analyze the functions that the organization performs as well as 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 along with their market segmentation and identification of Boston Celtics fans. The goal is not only to provide knowledge of the Boston Celtics and their business, but also to demonstrate the use of sports management principles in relation to the results of this class as well as outside sources to integrate them into an industry sports. The principles used throughout this dissertation are 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 Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in the Boston, Massachusetts area and associated with the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team currently competes in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are known for being one of the most successful franchises. In total, from 1957 to 2017, the Celtics have won more than 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 the first four seasons. As a result, the franchise hired Arnold "Red" Auerbach in 1950. Under Auerbach's reign, the Celtics won their first title in the 1956-57 season against the St. Louis Hawks. The Celtics also won eight consecutive titles in the 1958-59, 1965-66, 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons. Many Hall of Famers, including Ed Macauley, Bob Cousy, Frank Ramsey, Bill Sharman and many others, were on the Celtics team during this era. Around 1978, Irv Levin, owner of the team at the time, wanted to move the franchise to California, but this transaction was blocked by the NBA. During the same year, the Celtics acquired a new player, Larry Bird, who would have a great impact on the team as well as NBA history. The rivalry between Magic Johnson of the Lakers and Larry Bird of the Celtics had brought new attention and popularity to the NBA. This rivalry continued to the NBA Finals five times in the 1980s and in those consecutive years, the Celtics won NBA championships in the 1980-81, 1983-84, and 1985-86 seasons. During the 1990s, the Celtics had come to a halt and began experiencing a playoff drought. For six straight years, the franchise had started losing in the early rounds, but heading into the 2007-08 season, it managed to pull off 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 a 42-win improvement. 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 their conference and faced each other again, but this time the Lakers took the upper hand. “As the Celtics veteran squad aged, the team hadless success on the ground. Allen left in free agency in 2012, and the team traded Garnett and Pierce after the 2012–13 campaign in an effort to spur a rebuilding process focused on young players. That effort paid off much quicker than many observers expected, as the Celtics returned to the play-offs in 2014-15. The team added point guard Isaiah Thomas during that season, and he became an All-Star, leading the team to the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2016–17” (“Encyclopædia Britannica Editors,” 2017). Unfortunately, the team was stopped in its tracks by the Cleveland Cavaliers and lost four to one 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 as well as merchandise such as clothing, hats, jerseys and other collectibles. Ticket prices for these games can range from $30 to thousands of dollars. Clothing can range from $10 to $150, team jerseys can range from $20 to $300, and collectibles can also range from $10 to thousands of dollars. The Celtics have little promotion because they tend not to spend a lot of money on marketing. Social media platforms and television are the main source of promotion, as well as their own NBA 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 would think that one of the most popular sports teams in basketball would require more social media effort, Springer joked that even though the brand is a big 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 of the Celtics 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 merchandising. The Celtics' weaknesses are that they haven't been as successful over the last 10-15 years and their fan base isn't. on a global scale. The franchise has been able to recognize fan identification, but it has not been able to incorporate segmentation within its fan base. “Fan identification is defined as the feeling of unity or belonging to an organization” (Masteralexis, 2015). If a fan identifies more with the team, then they will be more compelled to create a long-term relationship with the team, which seems to be instilled in the older generation, but not the younger generation. “Unlike mass marketing, When an organization markets its products to all possible consumers in the market, segmentation involves identifying subgroups of the overall market based on various factors, including age, level income, ethnicity, geography and lifestyle trends” (Masteralexis, 2015). Their target group is men aged 10-60 residing in New England and their segmentation is based on all basketball fans. His fan identification is perfect, as men traditionally and predominantly dominate the entertainment industrysporty. 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 leverage part of the strong emotional connection between a fan and their sports team through sponsorship” (Masteralexis, 2015). The Celtics were able to secure sponsors such as JetBlue, New Balance, General Electric and many other sponsorships. The Celtics are under pressure to try new market strategies to increase attendance and attract more fans to games. One tactic used in 2003 was to hire a gymnast to act as a mascot and perform acrobatic stunts and dunks during breaks. Three years later, they had also added a dance team and revealed an alternate gray uniform, which was criticized by sportswriters, but loved by its younger fans. They have also taken the initiative to offer promotional offers such as discounted tickets through Groupon. "New fans include Alessandra Piotti, 22, of Boston, who was looking for a Kelly Olynyk T-shirt at the TD Garden pro shop Tuesday. She said she appreciates the Celtics' history, but also applauds the efforts to increase the entertainment factor. “I’m not offended by things like that,” she said” (Borchers, 2015). focusing more on the younger and upcoming generation of fans the franchise has recognized fan identification, segmentation could use some improvement The Celtics usually play their home games at Boston's TD Garden Arena and Boston is also known for. Being a college town, the franchise can capitalize on the student population and encourage them to attend the town's sporting events. The target market would be young adults aged 18 to 25 who attend college in the city. city ​​limits. Segmentation is done by age, geographically and psychographically. There is certainly a demand within the 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 train at the Rodgers Recreation Center on the Salve Regina campus. In college, many fans who lived on campus, off campus, and even further afield came just to get a glimpse of the team. Many fans took photos and videos of the players as they entered the leisure center wearing the colors green and white. “I'm a huge Celtics fan, I was always raised as a Celtics fan and I felt like I needed to see them,” said Matt Kelly, a freshman from Thompson, Conn. who wore a No. 7 Jaylen Brown jersey. “I think it’s so cool. It's not a big school, maybe like Boston University, somewhere you would expect them to attend. It’s a very small school, and I think it’s cool to have this opportunity to see them” (Barrett, 2017). Not only did local fans who lived on or near campus come to watch, but fans from far away, such as Milford, New Hampshire 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 institution, they could occasionally practice at an academic institution in Boston. By taking the initiative to practice at colleges and universities in the Boston area, we could help attract the attention of students who attend these schools to gain insight into the players,.