By Patrick Bohn
As the fall sports season kicks off on college campuses around the country, athletic departments are kicking into high gear. In this blog, we look at several schools that are unveiling marketing campaigns in a effort to promote their teams, and how one university found a uniform change created an unexpected social media storm.
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While the University of Oregon usually dominates the world of out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to uniform design, last week, the University of Maryland stole the spotlight from the Ducks and made the Terripans one of the hottest topics in all of college sports.
For their season-opening football game against the University of Miami last Monday, Maryland unveiled new jerseys and helmets, modeled after the state flag. The unorthodox design got mixed reviews, but created an undeniable buzz around the program and school.
According to ESPN, the phrase "University of Maryland" was the second-most searched term of the day last Monday, and the school's athletic Web site saw a 50-percent spike in traffic. "There's a ton of value, especially when you talk about building the brand," Shawn Nestor, Maryland's Associate Media Relations Director for Football told ESPN.com. "And it's the whole University of Maryland brand, not just football. It gives us a stronger line with the fan base."
The University of Alabama-Birmingham is reaching out to its fan base by encouraging attendance and offering incentives for going to games. The school recently launched a "Rewards Program" which allows students and faculty the ability to accrue points for attending Blazer athletic events.
As program members attend more events, they win prizes such as UAB Rewards Program shirts and hats. After accumulating enough points, individuals are entered into a grand prize drawing, scheduled to take place during the 2012 football season.
Louisiana State University is taking a different approach to a rewards program when it comes to women's basketball. Rather than offering individual fans who purchase season tickets with a reward, the school will give all season-ticket holders a reward if the total number of tickets sold reaches a certain level.
If the school sells 2,500 season tickets for the upcoming season, all season-ticket holders will receive an LSU blanket. If the total reaches 3,000, they will all receive a replica jersey of player Sylvia Fowles. "Our goal is to make the PMAC the most intimidating place to play in America," Head Coach Nikki Caldwell said on the school's Web site. "We have invigorated excitement back into the program and we want everyone in the community to jump on board."
What's in a name? At Western Michigan University, the athletic department is going to find out after fans were given the opportunity to name the horse that will lead the football team onto the field. The school has suggested several football-themed names such as "FleaFlicker," "NoHuddle" and "Touchdown," but fans are encouraged to write in with their own suggestions.
The school is offering incentives to increase voting. Any fan who casts a vote is eligible to win a prize pack and have their photo taken with the horse prior to the school's home opener.
Last season, Northwestern University launched a full-scale marketing assault on Chicago, as the athletic department developed a sales and marketing department. One of the department's first goals was to increase attendance at football games. Armed with a tagline of: "Chicago's Big Ten Team," the school saw season ticket orders jump 40 percent.
This year, the focus has been on quarterback Dan Persa. The Wildcats have begun a Heisman trophy campaign, called "PersaStrong" for the signal-caller, who can reportedly bench-press 350 pounds. As part of the campaign, the school erected billboards and sent eight-pound dumbbells to 70 media members.
Shifting from the gridiron to the ice, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell men's ice hockey team announced the start of its "All In" campaign. A major part of the program is a challenge issued to by the team's head coach to current season-ticket holders. Each is being asked to refer a friend or family member to buy tickets to a game. A successful referral will earn the fan a hooded sweatshirt.
The school is also hosting "Bring-a-Friend" night on Nov. 5. Season-ticket holders are being encouraged to bring someone who has never been to a River Hawks game to the arena.
Patrick Bohn is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.