Chicago Bears SWOT Analysis

Strengths 

Rich team tradition 

Chicago Bears enjoys one of the richest team traditions in the National Football league having been established in 1921. The NFL franchise has won nine NFL championships with one Super Bowl that they took in 1985. The Bears hold the record of the most enshrines in the Football Hall of Fame among the NFL franchises and has the most retired numbers of their jerseys. The team has also recorded the most victories in the NFL than any other team or franchise. The team has won nine World Championships, and twenty-seven players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Further, it has thirteen retired jerseys and has over seven hundred victories. 

Great City 

Secondly, the team’s location in the city of Chicago is strength because it enjoys massive support. The franchise was established in Decatur in 1919 but moved to Chicago two years later in 1921. While people enjoy different sports in Chicago like baseball, basketball, and soccer, football remains the most attractive in the city with great fans that throng stadiums in the city to watch NFL games. 

Loyal Fans 

Chicago Bears has one of the strongest fan bases in the NFL League. According to several research studies on NFL franchises, Bears’ fans are ranked among the most loyal at number six (Schmelzer, 2015). The Bears’ fan base is ranked higher than their perennial rivals, Green Bay Packers. In another survey released by the USA Today in 2015, Bears’ fan base was ranked at number seven in the NFL (Chase, 2015). 

Hall of Famers/ well known former players 

As state, Chicago Bears have many well known former players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the United States. The Bear have twenty-seven players in the Hall of fame including thirteen retired jerseys. While the Bears lifted their last Super Bowl title in 1985, their rich tradition, having players in the Hall of Fame and a huge fan base make them serious contenders in the NFL but in most cases is the good team that is always bad without victories (Morrisey, 2017). 

Weaknesses 

Facilities (Small arenas) 

The facilities used by the team are small compared to their competitors like Green Bay Packers and other franchises in the National Football League (NFL). As such, the team does not have enough training facilities to ensure that its players train in the best conditions to motivate them for big games and acquire necessary skills to perform better. The lack of good training facilities implies that the team interacts less with its fans since the amenities cannot allow for halftime and downtime games that activates such interactions (Kane, 2017). The team also does not have facilities to cater for different food vendors so that its fans can have options. Bears have the second smallest stadium in the NFL League, the Soldier Field with a seating capacity of about 61,000 people (DelPietro, 2017). The expansion of Soldier Field can allow it to increase the number of fans coming to get the experience at the stadium. The stadium’s capacity and limited facilities like video boards does not enable it to get more fans and have interactive activities, especially during downtime periods. 

Lack of Interactive activities 

Fans lack interactive activities with players, particularly during downtimes because of the limited facilities at the Soldier Field Stadium during matches. The interactive boards constitute a key component of facilities that allow fans to interact with players and fellow fans during games. The lack of interactive activities implies that fans cannot know Bears’ players, facts related to them, and their contribution to the team’s success. 

Secondary Market ticket sales 

The franchise sells over sixty percent of its tickets to season ticket holders yet this segment now opts for tickets from secondary markets. The option offers affordable ticket to fans who wish to attend Bears’ games. The organization has no secondary market ticket sale option and this makes their tickets more expensive. 

Expensive Tickets and Experience 

Tickets to Chicago Bears’ games are some of the most expensive in the NFL despite the fact that the Bears last won Super Bowl in 1985 and have not been in the playoffs for about ten seasons. Bears’ pricing strategy is that its fans are willing to pay more to watch certain games. However, the cost and expense to the franchise is a costly one. In fact, Bears are ranked as the third most expensive NFL experience where a fan must part with at least $ 613.82 (Scibetti, 2017). The price caters for tickets for two adults, two children, four small drinks, two beers, four hot dogs, two programs, parking, and two adult-sized caps. It follows that we are only compared to New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys yet both franchises have recent winning records and Super Bowl championships. 

Opportunities 

Increased Advertisement 

The Bears have increased their advertisement efforts in a bid to recruit more fans and talent to the team. For instance, Bears started a new “Chicago Style” ad in 2016 using culinary lingo to rally more fans to the franchise despite going for over a five seasons without any postseason berth. Using these ads and others, the team can recruit more fans. For instance, the team’s “Chicago Style” campaign was aimed at ensuring that all should not have a problem being a Bears fan (Spielman, 2016). Last year, Bears used brilliant murals from local artists to get closer to fans while in 2016, the franchise increased advertising at its Soldier Field Stadium in an effort to raise its fans base (Nudd, 2017 & Ecker, 2016). The stadium advertisement will increase the franchise’s presence and revenue streams. Again, the advertisement will allow the Bears to generate millions to improve its capacity and draw in more fans to their games (Dellimore, 2016). It follows that advertisement is an opportunity that Chicago Bears can use to increase their fans and appeal to them despite not having won championships in the recent time. 

Promote Public Relations 

Promoting public relations is one opportunity that the Bears can use to increase the number of fans, especially using key players. The firm needs to collaborate with other firms in social responsibility programs and make their players face of charities. Again, such activities will increase key players’ visibility in the public and expose them to fans. It will craft a new image for the organization and allow it to get more fans from the Chicago. Key players and even those in the Hall of Famers should be incorporated in these corporate social responsibility activities so that they fundraise for charitable courses and initiatives. 

Threats 

Other things to do in Chicago 

Chicago Bears as a franchise in the NFL faces external threats in the industry because of several issues shaping the entertainment industry. Among these are other things that one can do while in Chicago and not just going to watch National Football League games at Soldier Field. Chicago is full of other sporting and tourist activities that include going to the Navy Pier, winter sporting activities, beach sports and soccer. 

Sports establishments 

These sports establishments offer cheaper viewing experiences of other sporting activities and it would not be necessary for fans to buy tickets to the Soldier Field to watch NFL matches. These include sports bars and other entertainment joints. These establishments are competing with teams like Bears in offering entertainment experience to fans. 

At home view technology 

The at home view technology allows people to watch games from the comfort of their homes with advanced viewing experiences than going to the stadiums. These technologies include HD TV, 3D, and 4K. While interactive activities may present better experience for people attending than better TV quality, Soldier Field has not incorporated these activities for persons going to their games. 

References 

Chase, C (2015 September 9) The most loyal fans in the NFL: RANKED. Retrieved from http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/09/the-most-loyal-fans-in-the-nfl-ranked 

Chicago Bears (2017) Chicago Bears Tradition. Retrieved from http://www.chicagobears.com/tradition/index.html 

Chicago Bears (2017) Bears in the Hall; Retrieved from http://www.chicagobears.com/tradition/bears-in-the-hall/dick-butkus.html 

Chicago Bears (2018) Coming to the Game? Retrieved from 

http://www.chicagobears.com/gameday/coming-to-the-game/game-3.html 

Dellimore, C. (2016) Bears Looking To Improve Soldier Field With Revenue From Increase In Stadium Advertising. Retrieved from http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/04/27/bears-looking-to-improve-soldier-field-with-revenue-from-increase-in-stadium-advertising/ 

DePietro, A. (2017 September 5) Ranked: Most (and Least) Expensive Stadiums for NFL Fans to Watch a Football Game. Retrieved from https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/ranked-expensive-stadiums-nfl-fans-watch-football-game/ 

Ecker, D. (2016 September 8) Bears debut new 'Chicago Style' ad campaign. Retrieved from http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160908/BLOGS04/160909928/bears-debut-new-chicago-style-ad-campaign 

Freeman, M. (2016) NFL’s Greatest Franchises Rankings: Fans. Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2662259-nfls-greatest-franchise-rankings-fans 

Kane, C. (2017, November 17) Bears announce Halas Hall overhaul of training facilities. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-halas-hall-expansion-20171117-story.html 

Morrissey, R. (2017 November 18) Morrissey: McCaskeys winning at money, getting blown out at football. Retrieved from https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/chicago-bears-virginia-mccaskey-george-mccaskey-george-halas-john-fox/ 

Nudd, T. (2017, September 26) How the Chicago Bears Got Closer to Fans With These Brilliant Murals From Local Artists. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/creativity/how-the-chicago-bears-got-closer-to-fans-with-these-brilliant-murals-from-local-artists/ 

Rosenthal, P. (2018 January 10) Bears tout history, but glory days are mostly a thing of the past. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-matt-nagy-nfl-history-crutch-halas-ditka-20180109-story.html 

Schmelzer, D. (2015) Chicago Bears News: Fans Among NFL Most Loyal and More. Retrieved from https://beargoggleson.com/2015/07/13/chicago-bears-news-fans-nfl/ 

Scibetti, R. (2017 February) Interactive Analysis of Fan Cost Index. Retrieved from http://www.thebusinessofsports.com/2017/02/14/interactive-analysis-of-fan-cost-index/ 

Spielman, F. (2016) Bears putting finishing touches on Soldier Field ad plan. Retrieved from https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/bears-advertising-plan-soldier-field/