Game Plan Marketing

“Get a real Game Plan!” Many sports organisations need more revenue, have weak or ineffective branding, are unsure how to connect with their local community and often struggle to maintain membership numbers. They have a great product, but their marketing sucks! At last there is a book offering practical solutions for small to medium sports organisations that want to punch above their marketing weight. And it doesn’t take a marketing degree or a massive budget. Game Plan Marketing offers a simple 5-Step approach that anybody can quickly and easily implement. In these pages you will learn how to: • clearly identify the best target markets for your club • attract new members, and keep existing ones • project a professional image without spending a fortune • develop a compelling brand message • create effective marketing systems • identify and capitalise on revenue opportunities • make your sports organisation stand out from the crowd.

“Get a real Game Plan!” Many sports organisations need more revenue, have weak or ineffective branding, are unsure how to connect with their local community and often struggle to maintain membership numbers. They have a great product, but their marketing sucks! At last there is a book offering practical solutions for small to medium sports organisations that want to punch above their marketing weight. And it doesn’t take a marketing degree or a massive budget. Game Plan Marketing offers a simple 5-Step approach that anybody can quickly and easily implement. In these pages you will learn how to: • clearly identify the best target markets for your club • attract new members, and keep existing ones • project a professional image without spending a fortune • develop a compelling brand message • create effective marketing systems • identify and capitalise on revenue opportunities • make your sports organisation stand out from the crowd. Ned and I have collaborated on a number of sport and brand projects over 15 years and every time I reconnect it reminds me of why I like working with him! He is a very effective communicator, extremely personable and delivers a professional outcome every time. Matthew Cowling, Sports Management Strategist Ned is an outstanding operator who has a broad and deep knowledge of the sports industry as a whole. He is creative, results driven and engaging. I couldn’t recommend Ned more highly. 
 Nick Mooney, Strategic Manager, School Sport Victoria, Department of Education I have known Ned for over 25 years and in that time can attest to his professionalism, work ethic, integrity and thought leadership. Independent of the issue, Ned possesses higher order problem-solving skills that any business partner will benefit from. Chris Carroll, GM Marketing and Digital, Medibank
 About the Author A former professional athlete, Ned Coten spent 14 years in sports management running professional basketball and football organisations across Australia. A chance meeting led to a subsequent career in brand development, where he worked with and advised household names such as Heinz, Wrigley and Novartis as the Managing Director of Acorn Brand Design. He has advised some of Australia’s leading sports organisations on branding and marketing. Ned maintains his involvement in grassroots sport as the Vice President of Basketball Victoria and advisor to a number of local and national organisations. www.game-plan-marketing.com

Ned Coten is the Managing Director of Game Plan Marketing, a sports brand ing and marketing company located in South Yarra, Victoria. A former professional athlete, Ned was brought up in the WA wheatbelt town of Narrogin, and played Australian rules football, tennis, soccer and basketball before being selected to attend the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra on a two year basketball scholarship, where he represented Australia at international level. While earning a Batchelor of Education degree at Curtin University, Ned played professional basketball with the Perth Wildcats and North Melbourne Giants. He helped found the Goldfields Giants of the State Basketball League, acting as player and General Manager, and has also worked in the sponsorship and marketing area with the Quit program and the very successful Hopman Cup tennis tournament. Ned spent three years as Marketing Manager of the Perth Wildcats, which lead to his appointment as the General Manager of the business in March of 1997. He was subsequently appointed Chief Executive of the Adelaide Force National Soccer League team before being appointed as the CEO of Victoria Titans in Melbourne. In 2005 he was awarded an MBA from UNSW and co-founded Acorn Brand Design. In the following years he oversaw the growth of this business from inception to trusted advisor to a number of Australia’s major multinational consumer brands, including Heinz, Wrigley and Novartis amongst many others. A focus on brand growth and profitability, combined with a natural fascination for strategy and marketing, provides the basis for Ned’s approach to business. His daily activities focus on helping clients develop and implement strategies to ensure achievement of revenue and business targets while also building brand awareness and trust. He has made numerous presentations on these subjects within the education and private sectors, and continues to do so. Ned has been married to Hilary for 18 Years and has two sons, aged 17 and 14. He lives in Glen Iris, Victoria.