Developing a Marketing Plan for Sunderland Tall Ship Race 2018 Event

This report presents a comprehensive marketing plan for the Sunderland Tall Ship Race 2018, aiming to maximize consumer engagement and revenue. It includes a PEST and SWOT analysis to assess the external and internal environments, followed by a marketing strategy aligned with the event's objectives. The plan outlines a marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) and a timeline for execution. Key recommendations are provided to enhance consumer involvement, focusing on leveraging the event's strengths and opportunities while mitigating potential threats. The analysis considers factors such as political regulations, economic conditions, socio-cultural aspects, and technological advancements in the UK to develop a robust and effective marketing approach.

Running head: TOURISM, EVENT AND HOSPITALITY
Tourism, Event and Hospitality
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author note

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Executive Summary
The purpose of the report is to develop a marketing plan for the management committee of
Sunderland Tall Ship Race event. In this report, a marketing plan will be designed for the
mentioned event in order to maximize the number of consumer engagement and enhancement of
revenue. In order to access the external and internal environment of the event, PEST an SWOT
analysis will be performed. Apart from that, a marketing strategy will be designed to achieve the
aim and objective of the event. Besides that, a marketing mix and timeline will be developed for
Sunderland tall ship race. Finally, the recommendation to maximize consumer engagement will
be provided in this report.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Aims and objective......................................................................................................................3
External analysis......................................................................................................................4
Internal analysis.......................................................................................................................6
Marketing Mix.............................................................................................................................8
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................10
Reference List................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The Sunderland tall ship race is a spectacular event which will take place in the month of
July 2018. The event will start on 11th July and will come to an end by 14 July 2018. The
entertainment and festivities will commence across the event site and ships crews will enjoy
inter-ship sporting activities. As the name of the event suggests, Sunderland Race 2018 will
involve an invigorating voyage. The chief services offered by the mentioned event is Tall ship
racing. Apart from that, other services offered by the management to the local as well as
international guests include entertainment, street theatre and live music, along with inter-ship
sporting activities, parades and carnivals. Within the four day passage will not only provide the
visitors with racing conditions, ideal to explore their existing as well as newly-found sailing
skills but will also create an unforgettable sailing experience along with creating a bond with
crewmates (Masterman 2014). In this report, a marketing plan will be designed for the mentioned
service in order to maximize the number of consumer engagement and enhancement of revenue.
In order to access the external and internal environment of the event, PEST an SWOT analysis
will be performed. Apart from that, a marketing strategy will be designed to achieve the aim and
objective of the event. Besides that, a marketing mix and timeline will be developed for
Sunderland tall ship race. Finally, the recommendation to maximize consumer engagement will
be provided in this report.

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Figure 1: Sunderland Tall Ship Event
Source (Sail On Board 2018)
Discussion
Aims and objective
The aim of this marketing plan is to maximize local, regional, national as well as international
consumer involvement as well as sales in the Sunderland Tall Ship Race event 2018. The
objectives of the mentioned event are as follows:
 To provides the visitors with a remember-worthy experience.
 To increase the stakeholders of the event.

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 To maximize the number of facilities that will be provided to the visitors (Eisen et al.
2012).
 To bring an enhanced sense of community of the local visitors with the help of the event.
External analysis
PEST Analysis
Before designing a marketing strategy it is highly crucial for the management of
Sunderland Tall Ship race to access and analyze the external environmental factor that will
implement an effect on the mentioned event, In order to serve this purpose, PEST analysis of
Hospitality and Tourism industry of UK has been conducted below.
Political Factor
The political condition of the UK is highly unpredictable and the government is
influential in the nation. The government has imposed several rules and regulation on the tourism
industry, especially when it comes to the environmental impact of tourism on the nation.
Moreover, the barrier to new entry in the mentioned market is high (Burden et al. 2012). Hence it
can be understood in order to successfully enhance the popularity of management of the
mentioned event must abide by all the rules and regulation of the government. Since, ship racing
involves several negative impacts on the marine life, the event manager to develop strategies to
minimize the negative impact. Considering the fact that a majority of the citizens of UK are
highly sensitive when it comes to environmental awareness, organizing the event in an eco-
friendly way will enhance the popularity and attract more local as well as international
consumers. Moreover, the nation is currently suffering from the frequent terrorist attack. This
factor will impose a negative impact on the hospitality as well as the tourism industry of UK.

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Figure 2: Tall Ship racing
Source (Sail On Board 2018)
Economic Factor
Being a developed country, the economic condition of the majority of residents is stable.
However, due to resent inflation, the economic condition of the nation has gone through a major
deterioration. The economic slowdown has adversely affected the creation of jobs in the country.
Lack of job opportunity, in turn, has imposed a negative impact on the hospitality and tourism
industry of UK (Plante et al. 2014). The financial crisis will alleviate the interest of the local as
well as regional residents to attain events and other entertainment programs.
Socio-cultural Factor

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The society of United Kingdom is multicultural. As a result of this, cultural diversity
prevails in the country. This factor imposes a positive impact on the hospitality and tourism
industry of UK. Due to high cultural diversity, the cultural competence of the residents of UK is
higher. Due to this fact, there is a minimum amount of risk when it comes to cultural intolerance
suffered by international visitors in the UK. Apart from that, the population of UK is an ageing
population. As a result of this, the workforce of the Country is shrinking (Aapro et al. 2014).
Apart from that, the people of UK are highly culturally inclined. This inclination towards
celebration as well as the preservation of culture does impose a positive impact on the hospitality
and tourism industry of UK.
Technological Factor
Being a developed country, Australia is highly advanced in technology. The nation has
one of the most telecommunications infrastructures across the world. In the UK, an average of
than 83 billion Euros was made by telecom network and broadcasting services. More than 83.6
percent of the total population in the UK has access to various popular social media platforms
(Yeoman et al. 2012). This technological advancement of the nation does impose a positive
impact on the hospitality and tourism industry of UK. While social media platforms will help the
management of the Sunderland Tall ship race Event to reach out to a huge amount of consumers
for promotion and marketing purposes, the availability of technically advanced machines to the
suppliers as well as to the stakeholders of events will help the management to ensure the huge
success of the event.
Internal analysis
SWOT Analysis

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In order detect as well as eradicate the loophole of the event, it is highly crucial for the
management of Sunderland Tall ship race event to under an analysis of their internal
environment. In order to serve this purpose, a SWOT analysis has been performed in the
paragraph below.
Strengths
1. Considering the fact that the Tall ship racing is a highly popular recreational activity in
the UK, the Sunderland Tall Ship racing Event is expected to attract a large group of
local and regional visitors (Preston 2012). Along with the race, the event will also include
music, dance and another form of entertainment which will attract both local, regional,
national as well as international visitors.
2. Since the mentioned event involves a good number of entertainment facilities along with
racing, a good number of local as well as international stakeholders will show interest to
take part in the event (Jones 2017).
3. Being an event that involves a highly popular water sport of UK, the number of a
potential investor is high.
4. The competition will bring back participating teams back in each season.
5. The event will act as an agent for enhancement of the cultural bond.
6. Finally, the event will enhance the political as well as the social relationship between the
participating countries.
Weaknesses
1. A good number of international travelers are unaware of the concept of tall ship racing.

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2. Limited market segment as it caters only to primarily coastal areas and tourist
destinations (Andersson, Getz and Mykletun 2014).
3. The inexperience of the event management team can be considered as another weakness
of the Sunderland Tall Ship Race event.
Opportunities
1. Considering the fact that, tall ship sailing does not involve any motor or machines, the
event is eco-friendly (Getz and Page 2016). This fact can be used in the form of
promotional activity by the management of the event.
2. In order to enhance the capital needed for organizing the event, the management of the
Sunderland Tall ship Event can opt for the joint initiative with the government of UK.
3. Considering the fact that the UK is a technologically advanced country, the management
can opt for online promotion of the event along with surveys and campaigns organized
offline. Online promotion of the event will not only attract a huge number of international
visitors but will also act a cost-effective way of promotion for the management (Smith
2012).
Threats
1. As discussed earlier, the financial condition of the residents of UK has deteriorated due to
inflation. As result of this, the interest of local individuals to attend an entertaining event
like the mentioned one has also got reduced.

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2. Being a country with an aging population, the cost of labor is high in the UK. This factor
can be considered as another threat to the mentioned event management (Hooley, Piercy
and Nicoulaud 2012).
3. Lack of involvement of the local authorities can be considered as a major threat for
Sunderland Tall Ship Race Event.
Figure 3: Tall ship racing
Source (Sail On Board 2018)
Targeting and Segmentation of Tall Ship Racing
Segmentation
Identification of the target consumer for the Sunderland tall ship racing event is highly
crucial in order to enhance the consumer base of the event. Having clear targets helps in

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choosing correct strategy, promotion, price and place. In order to select the target consumers of
the global market of water sport event, the management should follow both demographic as well
as Economic segmentation (Baker 2016). While the demographical segmentation includes
differentiating the consumers on the basis of age and gender, the economic segmentation
includes differentiation of the employees on the basis of monthly expenditure.
Targeting
The target consumer of the mentioned event includes sports enthusiastic of the age range 20 to
40 years. When it comes to finantial condition of the consumers, the chief target for the event is
consumers who belong to the middle class as well as the upper middle class of family.
Marketing Mix
The four P's of the Marketing mix, namely, product, price, promotion and place is used to
develop an effective marketing strategy for various promotional activities like festivals, sports
events as well as concerts (Getz 2013). In order to serve this purpose, the 4 P marketing mi of the
Sunderland Tall Ship Race event has been performed in the paragraphs below.
Product
In spite of the fact that the centre of attention of the mentioned event is tall ship racing,
the mentioned event also involves both land entertainment as well as on voyage pleasure. While
the land event will involve parades, various kinds of carnivals, food stalls offering food from
both local as well as international cuisines as well as music and dance concerts, throughout the
sea voyage consumers will be offered entertainment service in the form of dance and singing
performance (Shank and Lyberger 2014). However, the real stars are the ships and corporate

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clients can give their guests the chance to take to the waves with a Tall Ship voyage through the
mouth of the River Wear and into the North Sea.
Price
Considering the fact that the event has been organized under the initiative of the
government of UK, the chief purpose of the event is to promote Tall Ship racing in the
international world of water sports as well as to promote the cultural heritage of UK (Baker
2016). No entry fee will be charged from both the local as well as international visitors. While
for public access will be allowed at a set time throughout the event, consumers will be offered a
package price for the cruises starting at £99 per person for short cruises and £159 for longer
cruises and the Parade of Sail. Along with that consumers will also be provided with the
opportunity to through cruise party at the cost of 99 Euro per person.
Promotion
One of the most effective ways to promote the event is through social media platforms.
Considering the fact that a majority of the local, as well as international consumers of the event,
are available online, promoting the event through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram will help the event manager to reach a huge number of consumers at the same
time (Andersson, Getz and Mykletun 2014). Moreover, this promotional method will also
facilitate direct communication of the consumers with the event managing committee. Along
with online promotion, several campaigns should be held in order to make the local consumers
aware of the event. Discount coupons should also be introduced.
Place

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The place chosen for the above-mentioned event is Sunderland, a port city located in
England. The location is appropriate for the event due to highly favourable weather and
availability of all the facilities required for the event. The completion will be held between four
cities of UK namely, Sunderland, Esberg, Stavanger and Harling.
Timeline
1-2 months 1 months 3 months
PEST
SWOT
Marketing Mix
Recommendation
1. In order to attract international consumers, online promotion should be done by the event
management committee. As being discussed earlier, social media platform should be used
for promotional purpose. Discounts for consumers who will book the cruise online should
be offered. This will ensure a huge amount of consumer involvement.
2. Event managers should involve in direct communication with the consumers.
3. The official site of the company must comprise of all the details of the event.
4. In order to enhance the efficiency of the event managing committee, effective training
should be provided to the staffs.
5. For promoting in the local environment, celebrity endorsement can be considered as one
of the most efficient promotional strategies.

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Reference List
Aapro, M., Andre, F., Blackwell, K., Calvo, E., Jahanzeb, M., Papazisis, K., Porta, C., Pritchard,
K. and Ravaud, A., 2014. Adverse event management in patients with advanced cancer receiving
oral everolimus: focus on breast cancer. Annals of Oncology, 25(4), pp.763-773.
Andersson, T.D., Getz, D. and Mykletun, R.J. eds., 2014. Festival and event management in
Nordic countries. Routledge.
Baker, M.J., 2016. What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book(pp. 25-42). Routledge.
Burden, A.R., Carr, Z.J., Staman, G.W., Littman, J.J. and Torjman, M.C., 2012. Does every code
need a “reader?” improvement of rare event management with a cognitive aid “reader” during a
simulated emergency: a pilot study. Simulation in Healthcare, 7(1), pp.1-9.
Eisen, T., Sternberg, C.N., Robert, C., Mulders, P., Pyle, L., Zbinden, S., Izzedine, H. and
Escudier, B., 2012. Targeted therapies for renal cell carcinoma: review of adverse event
management strategies. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 104(2), pp.93-113.
Getz, D. and Page, S., 2016. Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events.
Routledge.
Getz, D., 2013. Event tourism: concepts, international case studies, and research. Cognizant
Communication Corporation.
Hooley, G., Piercy, N.F. and Nicoulaud, B., 2012. Marketing strategy and competitive
positioning. Prentice Hall/Financial Times.
Jones, M.L., 2017. Sustainable event management: A practical guide. Routledge.

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Masterman, G., 2014. Strategic sports event management. Routledge.
Plante, J., Kesava Raju, R., Mauro, G. and Nickerson, A., SmartDrive Systems Inc, 2014.
Vehicle exception event management systems. U.S. Patent 8,868,288.
Preston, C., 2012. Event marketing: how to successfully promote events, festivals, conventions,
and expositions. Wiley.
Sail On Board. (2018). The Tall Ships Races 2018 - Sail On Board. [online] Available at:
https://sailtraininginternational.org/event/tall-ships-races-2018/ [Accessed 6 Jun. 2018].
Shank, M.D. and Lyberger, M.R., 2014. Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge.
Smith, A.C., 2012. Introduction to sport marketing. Routledge.
Yeoman, I., Robertson, M., Ali-Knight, J., Drummond, S. and McMahon-Beattie, U. eds.,
2012. Festival and events management. Routledge.