Florida Citrus Sports' Marketing Strategy 

About Florida Citrus Sports:

• 64-year-old not-for-profit membership organization
• Dedicated to increasing community spirit and pride, promoting tourism, stimulating economic development and ultimately benefiting charities, educational institutions and the quality of life in Central Florida through its four signature events
• Offers free summer camp for disadvantaged youth in the Central Florida area
• Puts on two major bowl games each year (The Capital One Bowl and the Champs Sports Bowl)
• Other events include: the Orlando Citrus Parade (December 30^th each year, televised nationally and viewed by over 2 million people; Has been around for about 30 years) and the OUC Half Marathon and 5K (first weekend of December at Lake Eola park; over 3500 runners participate; Has been around for about 30 years)

Memberships:

• FC Sports has more than 1,000 members and the organization is still growing
  • Reasons Members Get Involved:

1. Love and passion of college football
2. From a networking standpoint
3. Charitable component

• There are 12 or 13 different membership levels (starting as low as $100/$200 to more expensive)
• Anybody can get involved
• There are personal and corporate memberships

Benefits of Being a Member of FC Sports:

• Scouting a college football game – 2 representatives are sent to represent the Central Florida Community at every home game
• Each week, 20-30 scouts are out on the road
• Scouts vote on the 4 teams who come to the bowl games
• August 4^th and 9th, 2011: Scout School
  • 92% of last year’s members already renewed
  • There are already over 150 new members
  • Completing Scout School is necessary to participate in the scouting process.  The class is typically only 1 hour long.

The Cox Media Group and FC Sports Marketing Partnership:

• During Bowl Week:
  • Cox Events Group helps with the execution and management of Fan Fest for the events
  • Each event brings 10’s of thousands of fans
  • This partnership has been occurring for 4 or 5 years now
• Radio advertising
  • Advertisements run on the Cox Media Group radio stations in the months of November and December promoting the games and general ticket purchases
  • FC Sports works with many Cox Media Group locations throughout the state of Florida

• Cox Media Group’s Marketing Strategy Model:
  • Cox Media Group provides FC Sports with marketing insight
  • Since FC Sports is a not-for-profit organization, getting marketing insight can be expensive; however, Cox Media Group provides this service for FREE