GoRamblers wrote:
I came across some information. Thought you all might find it interesting.
This year, UIC's athletic department spent over $156k on advertising. Of that, $107k was attributed to the men's basketball team. That includes $25k to ESPN, $10k for CTA ads, $55.5k for billboards and $11k for bus wraps.
What did this get them? An increase in attendance of 1,889 (up to 47,492 this year from 45,603 last year)
The amount of money sounds fine. Events need promotion. But I'd forget the billboard and put $55.5k on online ads. I'm not a fan of bus wraps (unless you can show me data to prove me wrong), but I do like CTA ads (inside buses/trains). I'm not sure if the $25k ESPN money was for ESPN3 broadcasts, which would have been similar for us this year.
If it were me, I'd do direct mail (probably a large postcard with some schedule info) to households in the 60626 and 60660 zips, putting any available filters on it-- sports fans, income in a range, etc. Maybe you've got 15k households in two zips that fit the criteria, and if you do a series of mailings at .42 a shot (printing, postage, and other costs), that's about $19k. A good expected return on direct mail is about a 2.5% conversion rate-- 5% is exceptional, and 1% the low end. I'm not sure about the efficacy of web ads, but I'd like to put a significant amount into testing it.
Something else I would do, which I didn't hear much of AT ALL, is the kind of advertising on the broadcast games that pro sports teams do. We've definitely got the avails and the in-game mentions. Why not "Tickets are still available for the Creighton game on December 5. Come out to Gentile Arena for a non-conference game, and every group of four gets a free T-Shirt." Or "Visit Gentile Arena for the game against Cleveland State Wednesday night, Dec. 16, and with every two tickets you buy at the regular price, you'll get two available general admission tickets to a game of your choice." There needs to be several generic :30 video spots promoting game days and attendance in general.... one spot could be a person excited all day at work for a night game, and annoying their co-workers. Another spot could be a person in a suit putting on maroon/gold face-paint at the end of a work day and riding the L to Loyola for the game. There could be one of kids going to the game. And we need Rogers Park/Edgewater man on the street clips (guy at a convenience store cash register, girls walking on Sheridan Road, couple coming out of restaurant, man unloading boxes from truck, people paying fare at CTA station, all saying "It's game day!" or "Let's go Ramblers!"). Each of the ads can be recycled in other media (inside arena, social media, email marketing, etc.)
And then there's radio. I really think we need to get back on radio, even if it's on a lower-power station combined with internet.
The problem is, we've done little or nothing in this area for years, and it's a major part of doing business. We just made a move to a new league, won 20+ games and a post-season tournament, and attendance went
down. It's something that needs to be done ASAP, and sustained for 3-5 years before we're seeing a 70% capacity average. Only then are we likely to see big gains from winning seasons, reliable revenue (tickets, merchandise, tv/radio ratings to attract advertising, more and higher donations, etc.), and actual demand to get into games.
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