|
Update from the President – Expanding into new market areas
As we enjoy the final days of summer and look forward to the franchised sports action of the Major League Baseball’s (MLB) World Series and National Football League’s (NFL) Sunday afternoon football, our own ADA franchise owners are getting their American Dart Leagues (ADL) underway.
It’s been a great summer here at the ADA. Normally we set the ADA on "cruise control", wrapping up spring session activities, starting up summer leagues, finalizing plans for the National Championship and then preparing for the fall American Dart League. However this was not a "normal" summer.
Back in early August we conducted the Summer ADA Basic Training Seminar. Four are scheduled annually at our on site training facility and during this three-day event we conduct the basics of how to develop & then maintain the ADA in new market areas. Most of the training is class room but I’m told the highlight of the seminar is the VIP Tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery followed by lunch at Blueberry Hill (THE place to play darts in St. Louis). At the conclusion of the training a certificate suitable for framing is presented to graduates. Only then are they ready to expand the ADA into their respective markets. This summer’s attendees included new market areas of Lansing, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois with Franchise transfers of existing markets in Bakersfield, CA and Harrisburg, PA.
So what takes place at these seminars? What can be “taught”, after all we’re talking a darts league? How difficult can it be? For starters in addition to profiling existing conditions for each attendees market, we discuss and introduce long-term and strategic planning. If you’ve followed ADA programs reported at this web site it may seem that an operating concept has just popped into the ADA management’s playbook, but nothing could be further from the truth. We engage in careful long-term planning and spend considerable time testing and talking through what we want to happen in the near and not-so-near future.
Historically organized darts has been around the United States for decades. The games played have not changed however just about everything else surrounding our sport has. As our sport moves forward the ADA will continue to make our strategic planning process more transparent to our members and certainly to the areas that we expand into.
The Chicago market is a very good example. The ADA is expanding  there and we have awarded the franchise to Kevin Graham. Over the past 8 years Kevin has done a great job developing the Joliet Franchise (southwest of Chicago) from 22 teams to over 90. We now look forward to working with Kevin to expand to the Cook County market.
This is no easy task. Chicago is huge market. With over 5 million residents and 6000 “on-premise” accounts it will take more than Kevin to develop this area. Currently he is assembling a management team to assist him. Back in Joliet, Kevin has promoted Keith Kinzler as Joliet League Manager to handle day to day operations as he seeks League Managers to assist him in developing the Cook County new market.
Here at the ADA the profile process includes contacting our business partners who will help us introduce to the taverns our product. In return they benefit from the member traffic the American Dart League brings to them. Certainly Anheuser-Busch (AB) is one of them. There are five AB wholesalers in this market and each one has pledged their support. Contacting the existing leagues is an important part of this profile process. I personally contacted Windy City Darters President, Pete Cetera and Karen Huffman from the South Side Dart League informing them of our plans to enter into locations with darts in their markets. We do not want to conflict with the league nights already in place so creating a new member, a new tavern patron, a new beer and a new dart sale is important to all ADA sponsors.
Soft tip darts is not large in Chicago but it does exist and we can’t leave them out. So during a recent trip to Chicago I met with the two amusement operator distributors (they sell the dart machines to the tavern amusement operators) and, they too, have pledged their support of the ADA.
Notifying the Chamber of Commerce (CC)/Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) we are expanding into their market is a very important part of our profiling process. Members invest a lot of money when playing darts so it is the ADA’s responsibility to make these community businesses aware who we are and how we can benefit them. Keep in mind darters spend their discretionary income in places other than taverns!
This business approach paid off big time when the CVB contacted area hotels informing them the ADA conducts weekend Championships. A call from Harrah’s Hotel & Casino ensued seeking additional information. The bottom line, the first $10,000 Great Lakes Region Championship will be held there November 1-4!
The benefits of profiling new markets does not stop there. We welcome our newest sponsor; Beam Global to the ADA sponsorship “family”. Beam Global is headquartered in Cook County and their Sauza Hornitos Tequila brand will be proudly served at the Great Lakes Regional. We look forward to building a positive sponsorship arrangement with Beam Global. Make no mistake about it this new sponsor looks at ADA events as “sampling opportunities” for their brands. If members enjoy Hornitos Tequila they will seek it at their host American Dart League locations and pass the word to team members & friends.
Now, I haven’t lost sight that this all started with the ADA’s Basic Training Seminar. The above simply serves as an example of how the ADA engages in long-term planning and acts on the same basic principles as other businesses when expanding their products into new market areas. Our last Basic Training Seminar (BTS) for this year is scheduled for October 25-26-27 with new Franchisees already enrolled. We are finalizing BTS dates for 2008 and will post them to the web site.
As we introduce the American Dart League to new markets it is important the ADA distinguishes our selves from amateur darts organizations. The ADA is a “for-profit” business. Most darts clubs (including two national organizations) are non-profit. In fact, 86% of English steel tip clubs are managed by unpaid volunteers elected for one or two year terms. This “revolving door” style of management works fine when managing “barroom leagues” in local markets. In fact it is the back bone of organized darts as we know it.
In order for our sport to achieve the respect it deserves. The ADA is the only national darts organization in the country with a nation-wide franchised network. When presenting our business approach to local businesses we are no different to them then other professional sports in America. Think about it…. when you tune into any franchised sport you expect consistent year-round sports programming managed by professionals. Why should it be any different with franchised dart leagues?
The ADA has a national system of dedicated proprietors. These proprietors, or Franchise Owners, operate strictly according to the rules and regulations of the organization, They participate in the planning and execution of new policies and procedures of the ADA for the benefit of the members and the darts community as a whole.
Ok, so when the ADA profiles a new market area the approach is all business, right? Hell, no. When profiling the market the most important part is finding out where the darts action is! During my trip to Chitown Kevin enrolled us both into the biggest draw doubles event in his Franchise market. The venue was Hero’s West, an ADA host location with 12 Galaxy II dart machines. The ‘who’s who” of Kevin’s Franchise membership were there. I immediately recognized many members from the ADA National Championship including Craig Erdy, our Open Singles Champion.
Hero’s West has a great food menu and after an extended dinner meeting with Kevin & League Manager, Keith Kinzler, we arrived at the draw just in time to get started in the first round of competition. I borrowed Kevin’s back up darts and we were underway.
I got a good draw, ADA member Bill Duchaine and a good shot. The format was 501/Cricket/Choice double elimination. After a grueling night Bill & I scratched & clawed our way to the finals and defeated Singles Champ, Craig & his partner Scott Nordstrom (it was Scott & Becky’s wedding anniversary). Special thanks to ADA member & Hero’s West Mgr. Chuck Harris for a great night of darts.
In closing, it’s been one of the busiest summers on record for the ADA and this will certainly continue well into the fall. As we wrap up ’07 & look forward to 2008 we’ll keep you informed on our new projects and more! Between now and then continue to visit the ADA web site for details.
That’s it for now. Here’s wishing you and your team good luck on and off the dart board for the remainder of the summer!
|