ATLANTA BRAVES 1

Unit 1 Assignment Case #5 Atlanta Braves

Jacquelyn Layman
Globe University/Minnesota School of Business/Broadview University
MBA
RS600 Research and Business Project Development
Dr. Gregory Coughlin
October 13, 2013
ATLANTA BRAVES 2

Atlanta Braves

Abstract

This paper will discuss the marketing efforts at Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves. In

doing so the key elements of the Turner Field marketing effort will be defined, as well as an

opinion given into what aspect of the planning of Turner Field may have been researched using

secondary data. This paper will attempt to offer insight as to what role business research should

play in sporting organization such as the Atlanta Braves, both in making capital decisions and in

supporting everyday operational matters. Finally this paper will offer suggestions as to what a

potential research design would involve and what data collection and statistical tests, if any,

could be useful in finding whether the stadium has caused employees to be more committed to

the Braves organization than when they were playing in an old-fashioned stadium.
ATLANTA BRAVES 3

The Stadium

Built in 1996 to host the Olympics, Turner Field was converted for baseball after the

completion of the Olympic games. The stadium is home to an amusement park, Turner Beach

which hosts a cabana bar and picnic and lounge seating, the Ivan Allen Jr. Braves Museum &

Hall of Fame which is home to over 600 artifacts ("Turner Field Atlanta Stadium Guide", n.d),

Monument Grove, a statuary park featuring the likes of Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron just to name a

few, Scouts Alley, the Braves Chophouse restaurant, and the Braves Clubhouse store ("Turner

Field - history, photos and more of the Atlanta Braves ballpark", n.d.).

Marketing the Stadium

The marketing effort at Turner Field is genius in that it addresses the key elements in a

successful marketing campaign. First it is themed, baseball themed park at a baseball stadium.

Second it is targeted not at one demographic but at several demographics, each having its own

separate campaign delivered in the proper venue. Third, it is value-added over the competition

giving it a competitive edge as it is a mutli-entertainment complex all for a single entrance price.

Finally it plays on customer experience, which in turn leads to customer loyalty.

Secondary Data

With the emergence of HDTV, and the use of cell phones as primary modes of contact,

the planning of the digital arena and the addition of the four miles of fiber optic cable that is

installed underneath the arena, along with the special boxes that facilitate at times 5,500 cell

phone calls in an hour are most likely to be the product of customer satisfaction surveys and

information drawn from other sources of secondary data. These sources could come from any

number of places including surveys by cellular service providers, cable tv providers, email

questionnaires etc…
ATLANTA BRAVES 4

Business Research

Typical business research is a question and answer arena. It generally starts with

defining the problem or question, planning the research design, sampling, gathering data,

processing and analyzing that data, conclusions and preparing of the report, revise if necessary

(Zikmund, Babin, Carr, & Griffin, 2013). The question that needed an answer in this scenario

was how to either increase customer base or find a way to satisfy current customer base. With

the amount of time fans found themselves standing around from arriving several hours before the

game, the theme park, hall of fame, statuary hall, beach and restaurant would offer increased

earning opportunities and provide entertainment for the fans while they waited for the game to

begin. An answer to the overcooked hot dogs and batting practice came in the form of an 8,000

square foot restaurant and a baseball themed amusement park.

As for whether business research should play a role in either capital decisions or

supporting everyday matters in a sporting organization such as the Atlanta Braves, my answer is

an unequivocal yes. Yes on both points. Business research can provide pivotal insight on many

different issues be it in your personal life, business world or the realm of education. A sporting

organization is just that, an organization and as such must make decisions that best support the

interests of the entire organization. Business research helps eliminate some of the doubt in these

decisions.

Employee Assessment

In considering a potential research design to research if the stadium has caused

employees to be more committed to the Braves organization than when they were playing in an

old-fashioned stadium some of the things to consider would be size of workforce, which in this

case is quite numerous. That being the case, a simple quantitative survey might be in order with
ATLANTA BRAVES 5

answers measured on a sliding scale of agreeability or a numerical satisfaction scale. Things that

could be measured include company working culture, leadership, direction, and staff

development (Morgan, n.d.).

ATLANTA BRAVES 6

References

Morgan, C. A. (n.d.). Employee engagement research - Measuring staff satisfaction. Retrieved

from http://www.b2binternational.com/publications/white-papers/employee-satisfaction/

Turner Field - history, photos and more of the Atlanta Braves ballpark. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/nl/Turner%20Field.htm

Turner Field Atlanta Stadium Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.atlanta.net/sports/turnerfield.html

Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B., Carr, J., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods(9th ed.).

Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781285529073/id/L4-2-19