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Toronto Raptors Brand Audit

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Toronto Raptors – Origins

Brand Inventory

SWOT

Research Hypothesis

Research Methodology

Brand Resonance Model & Laddering Insights

Insights from Survey

Recommendations

Agenda

Toronto Raptors - Origins

1995

Established in1995. One of the

first Canadian teams since

Huskies(1947)

2001

Start of the Vince Carter Era. Enters

first playoffs

Team struggles to perform due to injury woes. Trades

Vince Carter.

2002-06

Clinches a playoff berth for the first

time since 2008

2014

Starts rebranding efforts. Drake joins as brand

ambassador.

2013

2010-12

Beginsteam

rebuilding. Hires new

coach

MLSE purchases Raptors. Starts construction of Air Canada Center for $467M

1998

2007 - 10

Qualifies for the 2008 playoffs

Raptor’s are currently positioned as “Canada’s NBA Team”

Brand Elements

Logos

URLs

Name

2008 - Present2006 - Present

Crowd sourced the name in ‘95 from among - Beavers, Bobcats, Dragons, Grizzlies, Hogs, Raptors, Scorpions, T-Rex, Tarantulas, and Terriers

Hashtags

www.nba.com/raptors/ facebook.com/TorontoRaptorsMain Website Social Media

Consistent Hashtag : #RTZ

twitter.com/Raptors

TV Viewership

In contrast NHL games averaged 1.03M viewers last season. The low Raptors viewership can be attributed to NHL and Blue Jays getting primetime coverage.

Raptor’s games averages 255K viewers on TSN, Up

40%

2013-14

Averaged 177k viewers on TSN and 78K on TSN 2

2012-13

Averaged 713K viewers on CTV

2001-02

Vince Carter Era

Marketing

Social Media & Mobile

• Maintains active presence on Facebook ( 730K likes), Twitter (389K followers), YouTube(13K followers), Instagram (90K followers)

• Released a mobile app in November 2013• Uses Digital ads for ticket sales

Traditional Marketing

• NBA TV produces all Raptors telecasts – aired via TSN,TSN2

• Advertising also through stadium ads • Tickets & Merchandise are mostly sold through NBA.com

website

• Raptor’s Basketball Development engages with the community – includes training camps, basketball clinics and charity events

Events

#RTZ

SWOT

• Huge market of fans and sponsors in Toronto

• Big sponsors in BMO• Owned by MLSE, bringing huge

resources.• World Class stadium in Air Canada

Center

• Lower brand value than other popular NBA teams

• No superstar players• Poor playoffs record• Hard to attract top talent from US – higher

taxes , weather conditions• Very young franchise

Strengths Weaknesses

• Can better attract the casual fans and reward loyalty among hardcore fans

• Enhance social media presence to connect with millennials

• Rebranding to change brand image• Big brand ambassador in Drake• Fastest growing sport in the world

Opportunities

• Lot of substitutes in Toronto based teams – FC, Blue Jays, Maple Leafs

• Highly dependent on team performance

Threats

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Research Hypothesis

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New rebranding efforts in signing up Drake and change in team’s colors and logos is likely to result in an increase its brand awareness especially among millennials & Gen Z

Raptor’s limited digital media outreach and promotion of its community development initiatives is affecting their awareness

Rewarding fan loyalty will likely increase loyalty towards Toronto Raptors among fans

Brand Audit - Research Methodology

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Laddering for uncovering core values

Classification Questions

NBA specific - questions

Brand awareness and competition assessment

Qualitative

Quantitative

N = 6

N = 97

Brand Resonance Model

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Strong associations with Toronto imagery. Uses Raptor’s Logo & player’s images

Disadvantaged. Underperforms.Affordable Team.

Considered to be an Underdog.

Satisfaction from winning.

AttachmentSense of

Belonging & Pride

Only NBA team in Canada. Enjoys high awareness among Canadians in comparison to other professional sports teams

Fans find winning to be of great importance. Associations with

Drake, helps increase perceived performance

LoyaltyDie hard fans consider

themselves loyal

Laddering Insights

Pride

BelongingSatisfaction

Brand Awareness – Canadian Teams

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Raptors Toronto FC Toronto Blue Jays0%

20%40%60%80%

100% 96% 94%

68%

97%

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Raptors Toronto FC Toronto Blue Jays0%

20%40%60%80%

100%100% 92%

54%

100%

All of Canada

All Provinces except Ontario

Bra

nd A

war

enes

sB

rand

Aw

aren

ess

Brand Awareness – Among NBA Teams

Awareness between NBA Teams – All of Canada

New York Knicks

Los Angeles Lakers

Chicago Bulls Boston Celtics Toronto Raptors Miami Heat0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

67%

94% 92%

77%

94%88%

18 to 24 years 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 years 45 to 54 years 55+ years0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%100%

86%

64%50%

Awareness

60%18%

23%

Brand Drake

Drake. Recognition among age groups Raptor’s awareness in this demographic is at 88.6%

Do you think Drake makes for a good brand ambassador for the Team?

Preferences for Standalone Vs. Co-branded Drake Merchandise

70%

30%Yes

No

I Don’t Know

Standalone Merchandise

Co-BrandedMerchandiseWith Drake

43%

58%

Name & Logo

80%

20%

Do you like the current team name?

I like the current team name

I want a complete change in name

Do you think the Raptors need a change in their logo?

Which Logo do you prefer?

Yes

No

1 2 30%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

15%

68%

18%

Community Engagement

Awareness of Raptor’s Community Partnerships

Raptors are not sufficiently promoting their community events currently

Player attending charity events

Mobile Fan Zone

Raptors Shape Up

Raptors BasketBall Academy

Raptors Clinics

I haven't heard of any of them

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

17%

14%

3%

6%

4%

69%

Awareness

Awareness

Digital Media

Official NBA/Raptor's website

Social Media - Facebook/Twitter Feed

Raptor's Mobile App

TV channels

News Websites

Other

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

40%

28%

0%

58%

33%

3%

985K Likes722K Likes742K Likes

How do fans follow developments?

19M Likes

40%

28%

33%18%

68%

15%

Loyalty

Do you think Raptors lacks a loyalty program?

Would you like the Raptor’s to reward you for your loyalty?

YesNo

May be Yes

I don’t care

No

Loyalty among Casual and Die-Hard Fans of Raptors : Given a choice to attend a final game which team would you pick?

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto FC Toronto Raptors

Toronto Blue Jays

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50% 45%

2%

33%

19%

Among Casual Fans

Toronto M

aple Leafs

Toronto FC

Toronto Raptors

Toronto Blue Ja

ys0%

30%

60%

13%0%

75%

13%

Among Die-Hard Fans

Boss

Leader

Determined

Underdog

Winner

Acheiver

Underrated

Losers

Failures

Disadvantaged

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

3%

3%

45%

55%

10%

10%

43%

30%

30%

38%

Word AssociationsWe asked respondents to pick the words that best described the raptors team

Recommendations

Better Utilize Drake

Launch a Co-Branded Merchandise Line

Promote Drake Night in major cities outside Toronto

Jersey

T-Shirt

Raptor's Hat/ Cap

Tank Top

Accessories

Sporting Goods

Other

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

13%

23%

15%

3%

3%

0%

0%

Currently Owned Merchandise

1 2

Objective: Build Brand Associations with Drake to increase Awareness

Close Gaps in Digital Strategy

Build Mobile Engagement

• The next generation will be accessing most of their content via smartphones

• Get fans to download app, and then monitor engagement

Better PromoteCommunity Events Online

• Promoting community initiatives can help attract new fans and increase awareness

1 2

Objective: Increase Engagement among Millennials & Gen -Z

Your name on the Wall of Fame

Private Reception

Exclusive Merchandise

Exclusive Seats

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6.235.73

4.63.633.45

2.92.75

Preferences for Rewards

Launch a Test Loyalty Program

Tie Experimental Loyalty Program to Raptor’s Mobile App

• Offer Exclusive Merchandise and Discounted Beers using iBeacons installed at strategic locations

Loyalty Program

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Objective: Increase Loyalty among Casual and Die-Hard fans

Questions?

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Raptors Reach using Facebook Ads– North America

Reach : 620K

340K

Reach : 2.2M

Ontario

75% of Raptor’s fans on Facebook are Millennials or from Generation Z

13%

38%23%

13%

9%4%

Raptors - Canadian Reach

13- 17

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55+

65% of users on Facebook belong to the 13 – 34 age group

Appendix: Brand Value Comparison

Team Value: $520MRevenue: $149MAverage Ticket Price: $55

#18#1

Team Value: $1400MRevenue: $287MAverage Ticket Price: $125

Team Value: $780MRevenue: $190MAverage Ticket Price: $56

#5

9.9%11.6%13.5%

Forbes calculates Brand Value as revenues from sponsorships, naming rights, local media, tickets and merchandise that are not attributable to market demographics and league.

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Appendix: Five Forces

Industry Rivalry• Highly competitive • 30 teams vying for

limited pool of fans, sponsors & licensees

New Entrants•High fixed costs for setting up a team•Needs NBA approval

Buyers• Commodity like product -

Fans, corporate sponsors as well as media holds a lot of power

Suppliers

• Few superstar players, but relatively low power among rest

Substitutes

• Very low switching costs for the casual fan

• Competes with NHL, MLB & NFL

High

LowMedium