Partner Article

Vipers bite back with business school help

Newcastle ice hockey stars, the Mincoffs Vipers, have this week revealed a revamped and revived image campaign to combat the effects of the credit crisis.

Traditionally when the economic climate dips, the leisure and entertainment industry is the first to suffer. To counter this, the Mincoffs Vipers sought marketing advice from a group of students at Newcastle University Business School.

As part of the MBA programme, students from Newcastle University Business School got under the ‘skin’ of the Vipers and conducted strategic research into the organisation’s Marketing Plan, from which they produced a detailed recommendations document.

One of the main areas highlighted in the report was the importance of opening up new markets by appealing to families and younger children.

Jamie Longmuir, Marketing Manager for the Vipers said: “The Vipers are very much part of the entertainment and leisure industry, gone are the days where spectator sports are just for men to get together to meet up after work and catch up whilst watching a match. The industry and the Vipers are very family orientated and compete not just with other sporting clubs in the city but with cinemas, shopping centres, ten pin bowling and other activities where families want to spend their free time together.”

Andrew Simpson, Director of Executive Programmes said: “We actively encourage our students to go out and complete projects with businesses where they can make a real difference. It benefits both parties involved as students gain the opportunity to learn more about an organisation and the organisation benefits from the high calibre work our students produce for them.”

The new promotional literature, set to go out to schools in the next two weeks, will reach over 12,000 families in the North East of England throughout October and November.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .