TASK 1
Research for brand modernisation decision making
A research proposal
March 2013
Prepared for: New Forest Recreation Centres

1 Introduction

2 Objectives

3 Research methods

4 Secondary Research

5 Qualitative Research
5.1 Purpose
5.2 Procedure
5.3 Population and sampling
5.4 Reporting

6 Quantitative Research
6.1 Purpose
6.2 Procedure
6.3 Population and sampling
6.4 Reporting

7 Timing

8 Fees

9 Company Information
9.1 Personal CV’s
9.2 Related experiences and references
9.3 Contractual details
9.4 References/Bibliography
9.5 Appendices

1. Introduction
New Forest District Council owns and manages 5 Recreation Centres (NFRC) across the New Forest District in Applemore, Lymington, New Milton, Ringwood and Totton. All centres have modern wet and dry facilities, maintained to a high standard and generating significant levels of income for the Council. At present, the function of the centres is somewhat fragmented with little coordination across the 5 centres, mainly due to the fact each centre is run as a separate business unit. This means that currently each centre manages its own programme of facilities and produces its own marketing material with no synergy between the five sites.
The leisure centre income target is divided into a number of key business areas as shown in Appendix 1.
All of the centres are in relatively rural areas but in or close to main housing conurbations which do vary significantly in size. While their catchment areas potentially include households within a 15 mile drive radius (an analysis of their users shows that over 95% live or work within this range) the catchment in which their marketing is effective does vary from this and is affected by numerous factors. For instance the 15 minute drive time from Totton Health and Leisure will include large areas of Southampton City which will not actually be a very realistic market for them given the range of facilities available in the city, so therefore the City area has not been included. A breakdown of the marketing catchment can be found in Appendix 1.1.
The New Forest District Council’s Leisure Services is currently undergoing a total management restructure, creating a central unit comprising of one Business Development Department, one Operational Department and a central Marketing Department. This new structure will commence from April 2013. It is hoped that the restructure will prove extremely successful with a more standardised, focused and coordinated approach for all five centres.
The benefits of a central Marketing Officer will generate a more coordinated approach where product branding will become streamlined and therefore more effective; economies of scale will become more common with the focus more on a group approach, particularly in the areas of products and promotions. The approach will focus on the centres, not as individual business units but as one service providing a consistent quality product, and corresponding standardised communication to the consumer.
From April 2013 the new modernised Recreational Centre brand will represent a totally different business ethos and will head a family of brands; Group Exercise, The Gym, Healthy Horizons, Swim Academy, Fitness Direct, Holiday Activities, Reflection Sauna and Steam, Courts and Sports. It is now necessary to modernise the brand identity and conduct a programme of market research for this purpose.
Competition
The recreational centres form part of a wider local market and each centre has specific competitors in their catchment area. In all cases these include a combination of public and private facilities; these are shown in Appendix 1.2.
Other competition
Competition is also provided by schools (after school clubs and holiday programmes), village halls (group exercise classes), swimming clubs and sports clubs, and even indirectly by the wider leisure market which includes anything that