Corporate Social Responsibility is gaining importance as a marketing and communication tool for professional sports organizations nowadays. In societies packed with different possibilities and alternatives to professional sports, organizations get involved more socially and community-based, aiming to enlarge their fan base and to build a favourable reputation.
By coining vitally important bonds and creating valuable content by raising awareness for social needs, sports teams enhance awareness and ingrain themselves into a city or region. It is not unusual that professional sports organizations nowadays follow the device: 'doing what is expected by the society'. Indeed, societies expect proximity and demand that professional sports franchises 'pay back' the society for being a loyal supporter through
donations, creating awareness for charitable causes or player appearances.
The example of the Toronto Marlies Hockey Club demonstrates that not only large or global business enterprises have a broad CSR scheme in place, but also sports franchises deal with socially responsible acting in different areas. Representing an unique example due to the ownership situation and geographical placement of the franchise the Marlies accomplish all five areas CSR is served in today, although only the area 'community activities' is served by the Marlies organization semi-independently. As property of the MLSE, the Toronto Marlies moreover contribute mainly to the activities of the 'MLSE TeamUp Foundation' and execute the overrided MLSE CSR scheme.
According the results of the SWOT-analysis, improvements regarding their social activities scheme suggest to consider females within scope of support as well as following politically addressed community activities. In addition to that, a broader employee welfare concept benefits the reputation of the Toronto Marlies within the MLSE organization as employees seeing the Marlies only as a diving board. Last but not least, using university research through their internship program provides the possibility to know current developments in marketing, branding and CSR from first hand which can be used as an advantage towards the other six professional sports organizations in Toronto.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Brand and brand building in professional team sports
- Definitions
- Importance of a brand for sports teams
- Brief overview and history of professional team sports in North America
- Unique characteristics of the North American professional team sports system
- Benefits of a strong sports team brand
- Building a sports team brand - The Ottawa Senators approach
- Summary
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Corporate Social Responsibility in corporate businesses
- Definitions
- Benefits and criticism
- CSR and brand building
- Four ideologies
- Geographic levels
- Points to consider when establishing a CSR program
- Corporate Social Responsibility in professional team sports
- History of CSR in professional team sports
- Obligations for a social engagement
- Advantages and possibilities
- Summary
- A practical analysis using the example of the Toronto Marlies
- Approach of the analysis
- The SWOT-analysis
- Overview and definition
- Internal environment
- External environment
- The SWOT-analysis of the Toronto Marlies
- History and ownership of the franchise
- Internal environment
- External environment
- Presentation of the results in a TOWS-matrix
- Suggestions for improvement
- Summary and predictions
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This study aims to analyze how sports teams in North America can use Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to build their brand. The thesis focuses on the Toronto Marlies, a minor league hockey team, and their social activities scheme. Key themes of the thesis include:- The role of branding in professional sports
- The importance of Corporate Social Responsibility for organizations
- The integration of CSR into brand building strategies
- The application of CSR in professional sports organizations
- A case study analysis of the Toronto Marlies' CSR scheme
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter delves into the concept of brand and brand building in professional team sports. It defines brand and its importance for sports teams, providing a brief overview of the history of professional team sports in North America and their unique characteristics. It then explores the benefits of a strong sports team brand and analyzes the Ottawa Senators' approach to brand building. Chapter 2 examines the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It explores CSR in corporate businesses, defining it, discussing its benefits and criticisms, and explaining how CSR can be integrated into brand building. Furthermore, the chapter discusses four ideologies and geographical levels of CSR, along with key considerations for establishing a CSR program. It then transitions to CSR in professional team sports, outlining its history, obligations for social engagement, and advantages and possibilities. Chapter 3 delves into a practical analysis of the Toronto Marlies' CSR scheme. It outlines the analysis approach and conducts a SWOT analysis, outlining both the internal and external environments. It then presents the results of the analysis in a TOWS-matrix and concludes with suggestions for improvement.Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The thesis focuses on the key concepts of brand building, Corporate Social Responsibility, professional team sports, and the Toronto Marlies. The analysis explores the intersection of these concepts and examines the implementation of a CSR scheme within a professional sports organization. Key terms include SWOT analysis, TOWS-matrix, brand strategy, community engagement, and social responsibility.- Citar trabajo
- Marcus Grosche (Autor), 2011, Sports Team Branding through Corporate Social Responsibility in North America, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/230535
