Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Celtic sells numerous products to fans; there is a wealth of merchandise available in the club’s store, it is possible to purchase tours of the stadium, the club also offers an a la carte restaurant and extensive fast food offering on match days. Undisputedly, the biggest selling 'product' is match day tickets for the club’s 60,000 capacity stadium, Celtic Park.

Attendance fluctuates based on a number of factors; the teams on-field performance, quality of opposition and national economic conditions play a huge part on whether or not Celtic Park is at full capacity on a match day.

Effective strategic planning is an ongoing process and this is reflected in the marketing for upcoming games. Due to a tie in a game on Sunday 6^th February, Celtic are now marketing tickets for a previously non-scheduled game, this situation highlights the process of creating and maintaining a fit between objectives, resources and the evolving market opportunities:

Objectives:

• Fill the stadium at price which is appealing to fans and profitable to the club.

Resources:

• A modern stadium with excellent infrastructure & facilities.

• An in-form team; Celtic are currently top of the Scottish Premier League with 53 goals scored.

• Major rival as opposition; the historic Celtic v Rangers match-up is widely regarded as one of the biggest events in world sport.

Evolving Market Opportunities:

• Due to the 2-2 tie with fierce rivals Rangers, a replay of the Scottish Cup game must be scheduled at Celtic Park. This unexpected additional clash between the sides presents an opportunity to maximize attendance and provide a cash windfall to the club.

Conclusion:

Celtic are adopting an aggressive marketing strategy to raise awareness of the fixture and ticket prices as they must work quickly to sell all tickets in less than one month. Typically this is done though internet advertising, email, letters to customers and advertising in the national press. As of today, this marketing campaign has already began and can be seen on the club website.

This particular ‘product’,  Scottish Cup 5^th Round tickets to view Celtic v Rangers on March 2^nd, is being offered at a price of $61 per person in comparison to a common ticket price of $40 for other games. Using the resources available and evaluating the evolving market conditions Celtic will expect to sell all tickets for the game generating roughly $3,660,000 in additional revenue for the business.