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National Sled Hockey League
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2. National Sled Hockey League
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Table of Contents
About Us………………………………………………………………………….................................................................. 3-4
Roll-Out Strategy………………………………………………………….............................................................. 3
Disability Map by Age.............................................................................................................................. 5
Strategy Statement…………………………………………………………………............................................................. 6
Statement of Purpose………………………………………………………………............................................................ 6
Strategy Activities and Resources…………………………………………………................................................. 7-16
Strategy Wheel……………………………………………………………........................................................... 7-9
Value Proposition…………………………………………………………........................................................... 10
Activity-System Map……………………………………………………….......................................................... 11
Activity Analysis………………………………………………………….............................................................. 12
Strategy Canvas……………………………………………………………............................................................ 13
Tests of Resource Value……………………………………………………....................................................... 14
The 7 Questions Every Business Must Answer……………………………........................................ 15-17
Industry Effects and Positioning …………………………………………………................................................. 18-21
Five Forces Industry Analysis………………………………………………................................................ 18-19
Innovation Game Plan……………………………………………………….................................................. 19-20
Value Net……………………………………………………………………........................................................ 20-21
PARTS Analysis……………………………………………………………............................................................. 21
Synthesis and Summary of Business Strategy………………………………………............................................... 22
Appendix……………………………………………………………………………........................................................... 23-25
Avoiding Bias 12-Question…………………………………………………................................................. 23-24
Any extra documents or figures that support your strategy development……........................... 25
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About Us
The National Sled Hockey League (NSHL) is comprised of four sled hockey teams (The “Core Four”) that spans
across the United States and Canada, with an expected launch date in June 2019. Our primary focus areas are
engagement, community, and innovation.
Strategic Implementation Plan
To begin, our team is launching a three-phase strategic implementation plan to properly and professionally
launch the NSHL. Our three phases include the following:
• Phase One: Organizational Structure
• Phase Two: Preparation and Recruitment
• Phase Three: Marketing the Launch
Phase One: Organizational Structure
From January 2017 to March 2017, we will concentrate on building and cultivating a strong organizational
structure and company culture. In these stages, our main objective is to create a competent support system of
staff and personnel, hiring around ten to sixteen staff members that will focus on different departments such
as marketing, finance, operations, and more. After we fully create our team, we are wanting to develop
relationships with potential sponsors. Our ultimate goal in raising sponsorship capital is to welcome four
sponsors that will fully contribute with our league’s mission in fan engagement, fostering a strong sense of
community, and bridging innovation with sport. Additionally, we aim to institute a lectureship series that will
involve speakers such as innovative sport businessmen and other industry giants with the sole purpose of
well-equipping our staff with the tools to create a winning-culture at the National Sled Hockey League.
As aforementioned, the National Sled Hockey League will hire 10-16 full time staffers that will manage the
entire league, at least for year one. The following positions will be created: Commissioner, Chief Marketing
Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Operations, Director of Player Personnel, Executive Vice President
of Communications, Executive President of Team Marketing and Business Operations, Chief Strategic Officer,
General Counsel, Senior Vice President for Digital Media, Human Resources Director, and six interns. Although
personnel expansion is contingent upon our rate of revenue generation, we intend to hire additional
employees in order to assist our senior management with day-to-day operations as well as execute
organizational tasks with utmost efficiency.
Phase Two: Preparation and Recruitment
From June 2017 to December 2017, our highest priority includes the recruitment of players and the formation
of teams within our strategic geographic regions. Leagues such as the Northeast Sled Hockey League and
Disabled Sports USA are comparable resources that our newly-formed league can utilize in this process. Our
aim is to draft professional athletes that have experience playing for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team,
players in the leagues mentioned above, and any elite amateur athlete who qualifies at our open tryouts.
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Phase Three: Marketing the Launch
The National Sled Hockey League’s niche audience will demand unique content. Thus, we are allocating capital
resources from our budget into a strong digital campaign in selected cities. Our marketing image will feature
our athletes, teams, and overall league. Partnered with our sponsors, we will host local events that will
showcase our cutting-edge equipment. Our potential sponsors, such as Intel, Kraft Analytics Group, and USAA,
will not only provide breakthrough technologies to enhance our in-game equipment, but also financial backing
to subsidize our league through Year 1 and potentially up to Year 3, if need be.
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Strategy Statement and Statement of Purpose
NSHL Strategy Statement:
• The National Sled Hockey League looks to invest in long term strategic partnerships, expand our
market presence, and grow our national fan base amongst disabled and able-bodied communities. By
procuring capital resources and assembling managerial as well as infrastructural support, the NSHL
aspires to enhance the overall sled hockey experience for our athletes, fans, and community members.
NSHL Statement of Purpose:
• The National Sled Hockey League aims to cultivate a positive environment where differently-abled
individuals can showcase their athletic abilities through an elite, professional sled hockey league that
promotes active fan engagement, a strong sense of community, and a bridge between technological
innovation and sport.
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Strategy Wheel
Content Marketing and Service:
• The Content Marketing Institute describes content marketing as a marketing technique of creating and
distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience
with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
• Our heavy emphasis in content marketing will encourage strong storytelling material, highlighting our
athletes’ background stories, resulting in stronger exposure for our National Sled Hockey League, along
with public exposure to the league.
• The National Sled Hockey League’s games will be leveraged across all social media platforms, ranging
from traditional media such as radio, newspapers, broadcast television, cable television, and billboards
to non-traditional media such as Google Ads, mobile advertising, YouTube videos, and Facebook
Advertisements. With this, we will take advantage of strong content marketing that will emphasize
new experiences and adventurous play.
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Innovation and Technology:
• The National Sled Hockey League will strongly emphasize the trending streaming market. Companies
such as Ustream, YouTube, and Sling TV are players that are open to new content everyday and we
want to take advantage of this exciting market.
o Live Streams will include the following: “Point of Views” (POV’s) from players from both
teams, multiple angles showcasing both the stadium and the field of play, and statistics showing
live-stats along with the score.
o Our interactive audience will have the opportunity to change from screen to screen while
consuming our live-stream.
• Certain NSHL players will be required to place GoPro cameras on their helmets to make a live-stream
possible. Per GoPro.com’s website, Periscope is compatible with GoPro products and we will use this
application to live-stream our events. With over 10 million users, Periscope’s strong brand will
encourage people to tune into our events because of our exclusive content we are offering for our
targeted demographics, which aligns with Periscope’s audience
Consumer Marketing and Social Media:
• In today’s social media experience, the “spur of the moment” is very important for people consuming
content online. For every city, we will research trending topics on Twitter and associate our findings in
relation to our game.
o Example: NSHL will host a game in San Antonio and our team’s task is to relate our game to the
city. We may research local popular restaurants in the city and ask for a promotional
endorsement for our game that’ll be played. We will start promoting about one week in
advance to build-up the game. Once this is accomplished, our graphic design team will place it
on social platforms tailored for residents in San Antonio.
• Social media will spark viral marketing in our selected cities, strongly encouraging people to attend our
events.
Sales and Sponsorship:
• The National Sled Hockey League will showcase our innovative technology found within our players’
equipment from our different sponsorship deals that align with American and Canadian Hockey fans,
technology enthusiasts, and our targeted demographics, such as extreme-apparel companies and
equipment manufacturers.
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Value Proposition
By looking at the value proposition chart, you see plenty of differentiations by the NSHL to create an
advantage as it focuses on doing things different rather than better. The areas that we distinguish and create
the most value through are our tech use, our strong player driven narratives, the fan interaction experience
and our military involvement.
Tech Use: Unlike most professional leagues with traditional TV contracts, NSHL will partner with
YouTube to live-stream our games and tap into new media. Also, players will be decked out in GoPros to offer
point-of-view camera options and a revolutionary viewing experience bringing the fans closer to the action.
Narratives: People cling to stories of overcoming hardship. The stories created by NSHL players’
histories and injuries are ones that offer fan connection through emotional appeal and can provide inspiration
to people and fans throughout the nation.
Fan Interaction: We want our fans to really feel a part of the team and its success. Fans can pick
vote on the team name and logo and design their favorite players sleds. Also, we will have a mobile app that
fans can use to “power up” their favorite teams and give them an advantage over the other team through
extra power plays. This embraces fan interaction—creating a stronger sense of fan connection.
Military involvement: Military veterans and current military personnel is something we are
highly committed to with military personnel holding a strong connection with the disabled community. With
many of our players being of military decent, NSHL will be a proud image and voice for military personnel—
morphing a sense of hope and inspiration to all.
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Activity Analysis
Year One: The NSHL average ticket price is
going to be approximately twelve dollars and
we expect about two dollars of profit per
ticket. With these guidelines, we did a cost
analysis for the price of our ticket. The break
down of our cost analysis indicates the areas
in which we can identify options for how the
customer willingness to pay can be increased
while maintaining a constant or lower level of
costs. Compared to other leagues, our cost
distribution is likely much different because
our players will not be paid high salaries and
our employees will not be compensated at a
rate equivalent to those working for
mainstream sports leagues. Instead, we will be
re-allocating a portion of those funds towards
financing cutting-edge, in-game technologies, such as our streaming services, GoPro entertainment, and our
efforts in showcasing narratives that will be playing during the game and posted online for the public.
Unfortunately, the primary cost drivers for the industry include the high player salaries and so we will have to
implement lower salaries during our first few seasons in order to prioritize obtaining more fans and
customers. However, as we see with the graph below, we plan to redistribute those assets as customer
willingness to pay rises.
Year Five: By year five, we plan to
continue with our objectives but with an
increase in the ticket price, which will trickle
down into funds that will then transfer into
an increase in our players’ salaries. We will
shift the league's from internal investment to
retention of profit, which will hopefully allow
the league to become a viable career path for
prospective players and thus, further
attracting elite talent and fan interest in the
league as well as the sport. All of this will
drive the customer willingness to pay up and
the cycle will continue.
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Tests of Resource Value
Summary:
The three strategically valuable resources that give NSHL a competitive edge are seen in the resource value
chart: strategically chosen locations, being the first professional sled hockey league and having strong player
narratives. Each resource stands up to the five value tests and our strategic implications shows how we wish
to invest, upgrade and leverage these resources.
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The 7 Questions Every Business Must Answer
1. The Engineering Question: Can you create breakthrough technology
instead of incremental improvements?
• In order to implement our strategy of technological integration, we fully intend to construct an
amalgamate of on-ice/off-ice “gamification”, fan engagement, and new media streaming. In the
process of establishing our fan base for the “Core Four”, we can expect to see attendance initially
outpace viewership as we continue to expand our market presence within our chosen geographic
locations. Therefore, before immediately – and possibly prematurely – approaching large networks for
potential air time, NSHL games can be live streamed through an ever-growing sports media platform
on YouTube. As the premier video-sharing website, YouTube is continually revolutionizing the concept
of uploading original content, but is relatively under-utilized in regards to live streaming American
sports. Thus, occupying this online platform yields an upside potential that could not only be
advantageous in the interim, but also, as the league progresses, could become a long-term investment
alongside obtaining broadcasting network contracts. Additionally, as aforementioned, we plan on
actualizing an innovative concept of merging in-game and post-game fan experiences through the
usage of GoPros to showcase individual players’ POVs and the creation of a proprietary app that allows
fans to design and vote on team names, logos, and uniforms; select their favorite teams/players for
upgrades in equipment and apparel; and “powering up” the teams of their choice. If we can
systematically introduce these technologies as meaningful components of our league, we can
incentivize fans to interact more pro-actively with teams and players.
2. The Timing Question: Is now the right time to start
your particular business?
• This would be the most opportune time to establish the NSHL for a
multitude of substantial reasons, including: the unprecedented rate of
growth in participation amongst recreational and competitive hockey
leagues across the U.S.; the upward surge of sled hockey participants
that are training in preparation for the upcoming 2018 Winter
Paralympic Games; and the attention/interest garnered from current
and new fans as a directly proportional result of this increase in
participation. With this in mind, we have chosen to act quickly and
decisively to seize this worthwhile opportunity.
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3. The Monopoly Question: Are you starting with a big share of a small
market?
• Although sled hockey is definitely considered a sport within a niche market, there is currently no
professional sled hockey league in the United States. As the only competitive, non-club league, it is
true that we have a “big share” of a smaller market; however, the possibilities of market expansion are
limitless. The strategic elements of our business model invite opportunities for developing and growing
not only our particular league, but the network of sled hockey and disabled communities within the
U.S. and Canada.
4. The People Question: Do you have the right team?
• Amongst our visionary team of sport management executives, we also have a not-so-secret weapon in
Jen Lee, a Paralympic sled hockey player with years of experience under his belt as well as numerous
accolades to show for it. Furthermore, our group represents a diverse array of backgrounds in sports,
national origins, and organizational capabilities, allowing for diversity of opinion and a harmonious
consortium of unique ideations, perspectives, and human capital. We are not only the right team for
this job, but the best team for this job.
5. The Distribution Question: Do you have a way to not just create but
deliver your product?
• In addition to courting significant sponsors such as Intel, MIT, and USAA (amongst others), our plan to
sell and deliver our product to customers is of as equal importance as generating sponsorship capital.
We expect our deliverable to be ready for its inaugural season in Spring 2019, with a primary
concentration on structural preparation, logistical groundwork, and marketing in 2017 to early 2018;
instituting open tryouts beginning in June 2018 (coupled with continuous marketing); and debuting a
competitive pre-season against national club teams by January of 2019. At that point in our
development process, our “Core Four” teams, players, and founding members should be equipped
with an adequate organizational architecture to allow for a coordinated, successful launch of our
league, as well as the cohesive operation of our league for years to come. We want the fan experience
to reflect what fans truly want, thereby enabling us to deliver the best possible product to our target
market.
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6. The Durability Question: Will your market position be defensible 10 and 20
years into the future?
• Although the premise of our National Sled Hockey League rests upon the firm notion that we will not
only be the first to market, but rather, the only product offering within the market, we will not fail to
anticipate impending competition from the emergence of other professional sled hockey leagues.
Regardless, the significance of our status as the first and only product offering cannot be overlooked;
newly established leagues face a bounty of obstacles with financing a national enterprise, most
especially with the procurement of sponsorship capital (and other avenues of revenue) that are critical
to the establishment, implementation, and maintenance of state-of-the-art sled hockey teams. This
barrier to entry transcends simply acquiring monetary prerequisites; by our strategic approximation, in
ten to twenty years, our league will have secured its dominant position and steady fan loyalty amongst
communities in our deliberately chosen geographic locations.
7. The Secret Question: Have you identified a unique opportunity that others
don’t see?
• In today’s progressive era, our socio-political climate has induced a more contemporary and tolerant
infrastructure of support for unconventional competitive endeavors and sporting activities, such as the
unique sport of sled hockey. Our dynamic and forward-thinking culture demands that the underdog be
championed, that the unlikely victor be celebrated, that the differently abled be emboldened. Disabled
players are not only the athletic heroes of this narrative, but also the paladins of diversity in mobility;
the personification of how intolerance has evolved into embracement; and the embodiment of
perseverance and the enduring strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Passivity or failure
to act upon this opportunity would not only be a disservice to the accepting disposition of this
increasingly modern age, but also a detriment to the innovation and technological integration that can
emerge from this one-of-a-kind conceptualization, the National Sled Hockey League.
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Porter’s Five Forces Industry Analysis
Power of Buyer: There is a moderate to low power of buyer. Since we are the first and only professional
sled hockey league, our industry products are differentiated from everyone else—creating a lower power of
buyer. With this said, being located in major cities, some potential buyers could see other entertainment
options throughout the city as an alternative, thus increasing the power of buyer.
Power of Supplier: There is a moderate power of supplier. The NSHL is a young, new company, making
its brand smaller and less known—causing a lower power of supplier. Still though, the NSHL is the only
supplier of professional sled hockey, giving it power over its potential buyer.
Threat of New Entrant: There is a low threat of new entrants. With our strong sponsorship backing,
this creates a healthy initial base capital for our new league to thrive upon. Anyone who wishes to enter will
be at a monetary disadvantage—fighting an uphill battle. Also, since we are the first to market in this
industry, we will collect the best pool of sled hockey talent before any potential threat can enter.
Threat of Substitutes: Similar to the power of buyer, there is a moderate to low threat of substitutes.
From a disabled sports standpoint, since there is only one other professional disabled sports league (NWBA),
the threat of a substitute from a disabled sports standpoint is low. Once again, though, with being located in
major cities, the potential for other entertainment options to trump NSHL games is possible, thus raising a
threat of a substitute.
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Established Rivals: Since we are the pioneers for professional sled hockey, the established rivals in the
industry would be low. Club sled hockey teams could be considered rivals by some, but they do not operate at
the same capacity as we do.
Innovation Game Plan
Innovation Game plan
Picking Your Playing
Field
Our core business model is an elite professional sports league with the best
athletes in the world playing sled hockey. Players will be slightly differed from
a traditional league as it will feature disabled athletes only.
Identify Success Criteria
Our success will be based off the narratives driven by our players, the
technology and sponsorships we introduce and allow into our league, as well
as the pure enjoyment of watching a high intensity sport like sled hockey. Our
target market will be able to identify with our product and find value in
consuming it.
Develop Innovation
Strategy
The opportunity we are creating will match our success criteria because we are
producing a linear product that matches those who will want to watch. We are
starting in large hockey communities with known populations of disabled
athletes and communities that have people already supporting of the sport.
We also plan to innovate the professional industry by being a big player in
partnering with technology and medical companies to show the progress and
capabilities of future disabled athletes. Also along the criteria we will allow the
player to show their stories and drive narratives of the players to allow fans to
closely relate and get behind certain players.
Execute and Adapt
We know that the challenge for the league is a large one and that we must be
willing to adapt. Therefore, we are starting with a semi-small investment in just
starting up four teams in the northeast where sled hockey has a lot of support.
We plan to learn from year to year and hope to slowly get the game more and
more popular to eventually expand across the U.S. We want to invest in small
endeavors but learn a lot from them and use this to propel our league into
success.
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Identify Target Customers
Are there potential areas in sport that could be consumed uniquely?
Create strategies that will help customers demand
Learn and adapt by taking small steps in your game plan to lead to
Value Net
Customers: Our fans are our customers. Our customers are those that we target and are able to create
value for by providing them with a sports experience that they will find memorable and different from the
traditional pro sports landscape. Using this knowledge, we are shifting our market focus to those cities with
strong disabled community backings already. Besides just the fans, we are also trying to sell our product to
sponsors who will help get our league going. We are getting them to buy in by offering them an event that will
have values to align with their companies’ core competences.
Complementors: In the industry that the NSHL will operating in, the NHL and other disabled sports
leagues such as wheelchair basketball will be complementors to our league. The NHL can be a complementor
due to the fact that is provides the bases for hockey fans and those who enjoy the NHL are more likely to be
able to find viewing the NSHL a more attractive experience. Similarly, things like wheelchair basketball will also
be complementors because it will get a positive image attached to disabled sports that they can be very
entertaining and intense so we may have switch over from other disabled sports.
Suppliers: These are those that will supply us the means to make the league happen. We want to try
target technology and medical companies to make partnerships with as they will have alignment with our
league. We also chose cities that have club sled hockey teams already that currently run on community driven
donations that we can continue to use as an asset when trying to fund our league. We will also give certain
teams advantages whose fans are more passionate and are willing to crowd fund the team through actively
spending money on them.
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Substitutors: The league in the pro sports industry who take away the potential for our league to
succeed. Leagues like the NBA and MLB will not fuel anymore interest in sled hockey because it is not
showcasing disabled athletes or ice hockey in anyway. These options can potentially phase our league out.
PARTS Analysis
Players: As seen in the
value net, those who play in our
industry are those that are
customers (fans), suppliers
(sponsors/donors), substitutes
(other pro leagues), and
complementors (NHL and other
disabled sports).
Added Value: Even though
the NSHL will offer traditional
forms of sport viewing and entertainment, our strategy revolves around adding more value to the fans than
just traditional viewership. We wanted to give them other avenues that they do not commonly have in other
forms of sport by giving them more options for fan interactions, a deep narrative and connection with the
players, as well as partnering with companies that will provide meaningful messages that will appeal to our
target market. Our events will have plenty of these sponsorship activations to allow fans to actually have a
positive and useful time when interacting with advertisement.
Rules: We plan to have the traditional set-up of other leagues with the traditional league system where
teams play each other and players are brought in under contract. However, we will change the rules of the
game a little bit as most other leagues will not rely on crowdfunding to give their teams a competitive
advantage or “boost” by being actively involved with the team.
Tactics: Our tactics will most likely lead to a change in how the game is played for others in the industry.
We will be implementing new operational strategies that will be innovative in opening new doors for how fans
interact with their sports teams, which could cause a change in the business landscape.
Scope: We are expanding the scope of the industry to far reaching limits that could be revolutionary for how
people perceive and react to the word “disabled sports”. We will be adding new scope to the industry by going
out and making a league of all disabled athletes and creating sources of value around them that will eventually
put them in competition with traditional able-bodied sports. This will surely change perceptions on what kinds
of sports can be successful encourage venture capitalists to potentially invest after witnessing the success of
this league.
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Synthesis and Summary of Business Strategy
• To target an industry that does not have a strong successful disabled sports league.
• To market a sport to the disabled communities in the northern states that have strong hockey
followings and already have established club teams that are funded by community donations.
• A secondary market that we are trying to reach would be those involved with the military as they are
more prone to be exposed to those with disabilities.
• Align our partnerships with those target markets, making our sponsors an active part of our league and
to make advertisements relatable to the fans viewing our games.
• To drive home narratives with productions posted online and played during game days.
• Use technology to showcase the capabilities of our disabled athletes and to partner with those that will
show the strides that the companies are making into helping life.
• Encourage fan interaction and donations by providing incentives to those that are invested in our
league such as playing an active role in whether the team does well or not.
