Makos boosted by crowd funding idea

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/sport/10367210/Crowd-funding-bid-to-boost-minnow-Makos

The Tasman Rugby Union have recently come up with the initiative to turn the Tasman Makos attractive style of Rugby into a crowd funding one. The consequences of this initiative will help them compete with the biggest unions in the country financially and on the field competitively.

In 2013 the Makos capped their best season to date by beating Hawkes Bay in the ITM Championship final in what was a very nail biting encounter and as a result have been promoted to the top tier division called the premiership which kicks off against Hawkes Bay in Blenheim next weekend.

Les Edwards, the Commercial and Marketing Manager of the Tasman Makos explained that they were $200,000 short of the maximum salary cap of 1 million that bigger unions such as Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury spend on maintaining their top class squads year in, year out. The chances of the Makos reaching this salary cap are good due to the fact they are on the rise in the ITM Cup and because they now have a solid fan base due to their increased better performances in recent years.

In regards to Marketing, Makos fans in the Tasman region have taken notice of this initiative and have used a Marketing Strategy called public relations in order to help this franchise achieve its Marketing goals. This is a fantastic opportunity to get fans involved in the future of this team which will help them reach the cap, maintain good players and result in more revenue for the team in years to come. Using the website liftoff.co.nz people can donate as little as $5 to the team and those who donate more than $40 will in return receive Makos merchandise. This campaign has a tough but possible target of $50,000 and recently has closed in on S1000.

I suspect that some may think this is an odd way to attract fans due to the fact you are asking for more money from them since the majority of those donating will have already paid for tickets to home games and their sport merchandise. In my opinion though I still believe this is a brilliant initiative that will benefit this franchise for this year and in the seasons to come.

From a Management point of view they have employed clear strategic management processes which in returns fits its financial and fan related goals. The Tasman Rugby Union now need to make sure the team keep performing at a high level so the fan base does not decrease and also keeping their strong core group of players who have helped this team be successful recently

This article analysis shows positive repercussions for the Tasman Makos from a Marketing and Managemnt perspective which will see continued enjoyment of the fans for the foreseeable future.