Big City Marketing Summit (FBS)

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Gopher07

Gopher07

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Article from ESPN outlining the "Big City Marketing Summit" called together by one of South Florida's associate ADs: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=6676377

I'm surprised to see that Minnesota was not in attendance. Some interesting tidbits in the article, including info about "Aspire":

In 2009, Hogan said, Georgia Tech had run out of ideas about how to fill 55,000 seats at Grant Field.

"We had tried just about everything we could think of," Hogan said.

Hogan read a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about how a former executive with the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers, Bernie Mullin, had started a company, Aspire, to telemarket ticket sales and done wonders for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hogan called Mullin, and Georgia Tech soon hired Aspire.

The company installed 14 sales agents in the athletic department. They call -- and call and call -- from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. In two years, Aspire has generated $2.5 million in new season-ticket revenue. Aspire's commission is 34 percent. That's a healthy cut but Hogan said Georgia Tech couldn't be happier.

"The training, extensive training, on how to engage the customer and close the deal -- we just don't have that kind of long-term expertise," Hogan said. "If you try to hire a long-term employee and they're not producing, you can't get rid of that person in a state system. If Aspire hires them and they're not producing, they're gone."
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Where was Joel?

Half of this board is convinced that the arrival of the Vikings coinciding with the last national championship is not random. Apparently Joel disagrees.
 


I read this and thought we may have attended, we didn't. Maybe they have some master plan they're stuck too. I guess we're just more of a win and they will come crowd because hockey and basketball have/do have good crowds.
 

dpodoll68 said:
*Gross exaggeration alert*
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Fair enough. Perhaps less than half but certainly more than a few.

I just would have liked to see the U participate in something like this. I'm sure we would have had some useful advice for others like providing the background on the switch to KFAN. But others certainly would have had ideas for us too. I'd bet nickels to dollars that the topic of how to steal market share from the NFL in the event of a work stoppage came up. Would have been nice if we were listening.
 


badgergopher said:
I just would have liked to see the U participate in something like this. I'm sure we would have had some useful advice for others like providing the background on the switch to KFAN. But others certainly would have had ideas for us too. I'd bet nickels to dollars that the topic of how to steal market share from the NFL in the event of a work stoppage came up. Would have been nice if we were listening.
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No doubt. Does anyone know if it was a case where the organizer only invited certain schools, and the U just slipped their minds? Or did the U actively choose not to participate? If the latter, that is a ridiculous course of action on their part.
 

According to the comments section plenty of other people wonder why Minnesota wasn't there.
 

Cliff Notes: I have no idea why Minnesota would not be in attendance.

California or Stanford could be considered missing from this conference, but Minnesota not attending is interesting, to say the least. I would think that only good would come from a conference like this, the opportunity to bounce ideas of other universities in similar situations.

Having that direct competition for potential fans is a definite problem, but it isn't insurmountable. In 2010, the highest attended FBS school that is based in a metro area that also has an NFL team was Washington, averaging 66,264 per game. California comes in second, averaging 57,873. Miami in third, with 52,575. Pittsburgh comes in fourth a few hundred behind, followed by Minnesota.

*Caveat to the previous paragraph: Yes, I know that the attendance numbers are on tickets sold (or in some cases, given away). I can't account for these very well, and I would believe other school do this as well.

Now how does one correct this problem? Even if they have a master plan, I would be poor form to not look into improving their plan. Winning cures a lot, but it won't cure everything. Stanford was 12-1, yet averaged only 40k a game (yes, a private school & not exactly the metro). The top attended team of this list, Washington, didn't even host their rival this season (though hosting Nebraska and a hot Stanford team doesn't hurt).

I don't understand why Minnesota skipped this conference. But I'm just a regular guy posting online.
 

Our marketing will be just fine....as soon as Pat Forciea is out of jail!

"SKI U MAH MY FRIEND.......SKI U MAHHHHHH!"
 



dpodoll68 said:
No doubt. Does anyone know if it was a case where the organizer only invited certain schools, and the U just slipped their minds? Or did the U actively choose not to participate? If the latter, that is a ridiculous course of action on their part.
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I found this in Maisel's chat wrap:

Maisel: "Oddly enough, the people at USF told me that the only school invited to this summit in February that did not respond to the invitation was Stanford. So, maybe they know something everyone else doesn't."

Guess it doesn't say anything about if Minnesota was invited or not....common sense would have to be that they would have been invited, no?
 

Winning takes care of many issues. I can remember a few years ago when we were doing well under Mason one year. Place was almost sold out, but then the famous melt down in the 4th quarter to Michigan and then another lost later.

No, I don't think it was necessary to have someone there to learn. Minnesota is a great place to live with many options for entertainment. Once we start winning the people will come. Thats why we have so many people living here from Iowa and Wisconsin. Nothing to do there and good job opportunities here.
 

GopherInWI said:
Now how does one correct this problem? Even if they have a master plan, I would be poor form to not look into improving their plan. Winning cures a lot, but it won't cure everything. Stanford was 12-1, yet averaged only 40k a game (yes, a private school & not exactly the metro). The top attended team of this list, Washington, didn't even host their rival this season (though hosting Nebraska and a hot Stanford team doesn't hurt).

I don't understand why Minnesota skipped this conference. But I'm just a regular guy posting online.
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Fortunately and unfortunately for us, Minnesota is a heavy bandwagon state. If you present a winning team, they'll show up. But at the first sight of losses, they'll flock to something else. When our teams are in playoff games, or just very important games in general, the fans will show up. If the Gophers were 12-1 last year, we would easily sell out and soon would come the requests to expand just cause of that one season (which would be silly, but it would happen). There's just too many options in this state to be a loser and expect people to show up, basically.

I definitely would have liked Minnesota to be there, and it doesn't make sense to me that they weren't really, but I'm not too alarmed. Our issues go beyond just another NFL team around as well. We have all the sports, plus we have an extremely diverse entertainment options outside of sports. We're just not gonna be that place where you can lounge around .500 and expect a rabid fan base. But at the same time, you catch one of those BCS bowl type seasons, and they'll flock in.
 

I guess Washington is in the same boat as us, they're in a city with NFL, MLB and a really well-attended soccer team (I'm not joking ... last year they pulled in 36,000 a game) and their metro area is roughly the same size. Plus they have all that "diversity of entertainment" thing as well. They've grabbed 66k, 64k, 64k, 68k, and 57k per game over the past five years (2006-2010) with 7-6, 5-7, 0-12, 4-9, and 5-7 records respectively. We should be able to match that demand, or at least come close, even with our recent records.

Note: I realize we're capped at 50,000 with the new stadium, so we're always going to be lower, but if Washington can pull 57,000 in a bad attendance year I feel like we should expect something similar (full stadium + 5,000 waiting list). I do wonder what, if anything, they're doing differently that they can get those numbers in a fairly similar situation to our own. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part or maybe I'm missing a big obvious difference.
 



Gopher07 said:
I guess Washington is in the same boat as us, they're in a city with NFL, MLB and a really well-attended soccer team (I'm not joking ... last year they pulled in 36,000 a game) and their metro area is roughly the same size. Plus they have all that "diversity of entertainment" thing as well. They've grabbed 66k, 64k, 64k, 68k, and 57k per game over the past five years (2006-2010) with 7-6, 5-7, 0-12, 4-9, and 5-7 records respectively. We should be able to match that demand, or at least come close, even with our recent records.

Note: I realize we're capped at 50,000 with the new stadium, so we're always going to be lower, but if Washington can pull 57,000 in a bad attendance year I feel like we should expect something similar (full stadium + 5,000 waiting list). I do wonder what, if anything, they're doing differently that they can get those numbers in a fairly similar situation to our own. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part or maybe I'm missing a big obvious difference.
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Exactly. Winning cures a lot of ills, but the point is that you still need to be able to draw when you aren't winning. And that's what the U stood to learn from other schools who have success doing just that. Hell, Northwestern's current AD could teach a clinic on how to market in a large city. The moves they've made over the last year have been very solid.
 

Hopefully if nothing else they talked to folks who did attend to learn whatever they could after the fact.

I hate to say it, but I don't see Maturi skipping this unless he physically couldn't make it and didn't have anyone he could send in his place. I haven't been the happiest with a lot of his decisions, but he isn't a baffoon. He may hate the business side of the AD, but he knows the more money the AD brings in the easier his job is. If he thought there was a snowball's chance in he|| of learning something that increased revenue I am fairly sure he would have attended if at all possible, assuming he was invited.
 

Gopher07 said:
I guess Washington is in the same boat as us, they're in a city with NFL, MLB and a really well-attended soccer team (I'm not joking ... last year they pulled in 36,000 a game) and their metro area is roughly the same size. Plus they have all that "diversity of entertainment" thing as well. They've grabbed 66k, 64k, 64k, 68k, and 57k per game over the past five years (2006-2010) with 7-6, 5-7, 0-12, 4-9, and 5-7 records respectively. We should be able to match that demand, or at least come close, even with our recent records.

Note: I realize we're capped at 50,000 with the new stadium, so we're always going to be lower, but if Washington can pull 57,000 in a bad attendance year I feel like we should expect something similar (full stadium + 5,000 waiting list). I do wonder what, if anything, they're doing differently that they can get those numbers in a fairly similar situation to our own. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part or maybe I'm missing a big obvious difference.
Click to expand...

But are Washington fans/residents as bandwagon and frontrunning as Minnesota fans/residents? LOL I'm serious, we are so fickle. There's not a ton of loyalty around here to any team except MAYBE the Vikings and even then, you see how fans fall off after just one bad year.

That's why the Gophers (and for kicks the Wolves) would be well served to make a surge this year toward winning, as the landscape is a little sparse in that regard right now. It'd be a good chance to draw in some new fans and hopefully get a few of them to stick.
 

Monty519 said:
But are Washington fans/residents as bandwagon and frontrunning as Minnesota fans/residents? LOL I'm serious, we are so fickle. There's not a ton of loyalty around here to any team except MAYBE the Vikings and even then, you see how fans fall off after just one bad year.

That's why the Gophers (and for kicks the Wolves) would be well served to make a surge this year toward winning, as the landscape is a little sparse in that regard right now. It'd be a good chance to draw in some new fans and hopefully get a few of them to stick.
Click to expand...

I think it's true in more markets than you think; the Mariners attendance has been dropping, the Blackhawks were hemorrhaging fans prior to the lockout, the Bucks do marginally better than the T'Wolves in paid attendance. Pro sports fans in a lot of places are fickle.

HOWEVER, there is (I think) a loyalty issue, like you point out, and many colleges have an easier time with it than the Gophers do - even some in major cities. I think that's the major issue. There's not enough "Minnesota pride" when it comes to the ol' Alma Mater.

I wonder what it would take to comp UMAA memberships for all grads. Even if it's just like ... 10 years. Then do something where if you donate, you move up in terms of perks. It's a good way to keep the school "top of mind" for alumni. I think when you graduate from Michigan you're automatically in the alumni association, and I know that it works that way at Boston U as well. It means I get mail about the school, fund drives, etc. but also means that there's a constant stream of communication.
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
He may hate the business side of the AD, but he knows the more money the AD brings in the easier his job is. If he thought there was a snowball's chance in he|| of learning something that increased revenue I am fairly sure he would have attended if at all possible, assuming he was invited.
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This is the problem though. It's hard to make more money for the department when you refuse to engage in the business side of things. I hate vegetables but I know how important they are to my health and how being healthier makes everything easier. Yet I still don't eat a lot of vegetables. That is a strained analogy, but I think it illustrates what I'm trying to say. If you hate a primary portion of your job it is unlikely that you'll be able to perform those functions at the highest level possible (or needed). Not impossible, just unlikely.

So yea, I could see him missing opportunities to improve his "business" if he loathes that part of his job.
 

I just got a tweet back from Ivan Maisel and he said that the meeting was throw together in 3 weeks and Minnesota already had scheduling conflicts.
 

CrocShots said:
I just got a tweet back from Ivan Maisel and he said that the meeting was throw together in 3 weeks and Minnesota already had scheduling conflicts.
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Ok, I get this...to a point. But seriously...there wasn't ANYONE they could send? Meeting minutes only get you so far.
 


Pathetic! They could send an intern to take notes at this conference if they had to. BS
 

Maturi probably thought it was about marketing beer and no way the UM would be associated with that!!
 

I have a buddy who is a fellow alum who actually emailed Joel Maturi about Minnesota's lack of attendance at this conference.

Here is his response:

I do know that our Marketing and Ticket people do attend sessions regarding
this topic. Which ones they choose to attend I honestly cannot answer. I
do know that they work at being creative, share with their counterparts in
the Big Ten and elsewhere and are meeting this summer to plan to increase
attendance and sales in all of our venues.

Joel Maturi
 

wels0081 said:
I have a buddy who is a fellow alum who actually emailed Joel Maturi about Minnesota's lack of attendance at this conference.

Here is his response:

I do know that our Marketing and Ticket people do attend sessions regarding
this topic. Which ones they choose to attend I honestly cannot answer. I
do know that they work at being creative, share with their counterparts in
the Big Ten and elsewhere and are meeting this summer to plan to increase
attendance and sales in all of our venues.

Joel Maturi
Click to expand...

Oh for the love of...and this is the problem laid bare. The AD and his department should be overseeing the marketing and ticket sales of the U's teams. Not saying Maturi should be managing them directly (he shouldn't), but given that the revenue generated by both are a huge part of his budget, maybe he should be guiding them to make good decisions or hiring someone to do that. But I guess that falls into the "business" side of things (facepalm). It's possible that this could also be a failing of organizational structure. But if true that also means that Maturi should be working to fix it. When Northwestern needed a boost in marketing and ticket sales, it was their AD Jim Phillips who went out are hired the marketing/sales guy (Mike Polisky) who is turning things around for them. (http://nusports.cstv.com/genrel/061010aab.html)

I strongly urge everyone to read this post from the Ole Miss blog Red Cup Rebellion and tell me if you don't get a familiar feeling...
http://www.redcuprebellion.com/2011...-most-nonsensical-thing-ive-ever-submitted-to

Then read this post from the Michigan blog Maize and Brew (which comments on the RCR post) to see the perspective of someone who has an AD who gets his job description...
http://www.maizenbrew.com/2011/6/20...e-brandon-and-the-state-of-michigan-athletics

Leadership starts at the top. And responses like this (combined with the near constant "I hate that college sports are a business now" comments) leave me VERY convinced that Maturi is not a good BCS school AD from a leadership perspective.
 

I think you have some good points- GoAUpher

Part of this too might have something to do with ESPN covered just one of these conferences. There may have been others that Minnesota attended that weren't highlighted by the "worldwide leader"...

That said, I don't know if Southern Florida has a lot to offer us in terms of tips on increasing ticket demand and revenues.
 

wels0081 said:
I think you have some good points- GoAUpher

Part of this too might have something to do with ESPN covered just one of these conferences. There may have been others that Minnesota attended that weren't highlighted by the "worldwide leader"...

That said, I don't know if Southern Florida has a lot to offer us in terms of tips on increasing ticket demand and revenues.
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Southern Florida may not, but by reading the 3 entries thus far it would seem that SMU, Georgia Tech, and Washington all do. And its definitely clear from the past year that Northwestern does as well. There are several ideas/themes found in this article that the U has either A) not tried or B) isn't implementing well.

Here is something I found interesting in the first article from tWWL in this series:
"College athletics is always slow to move in certain phases," Georgia Tech associate athletic director Wayne Hogan said. "We have a herd mentality. We do things because we've all always done them that way."
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That seemingly sums up the U's approach to things. The new ideas they implement aren't especially creative or innovative (see: seat licenses/required donations). And they seem to be missing what is a consistent theme found by departments who are listening to their fan bases...emphasize the collegiate atmosphere more and reduce the ad-driven pro style game day experience.

I know the U can't go cold turkey on some of what they do because of the revenue it generates. But if they truly want to improve attendance, revenue, fan experience, market share, etc the dept needs to start being WAY more creative and aggressive (in a positive way) in their marketing, ticket sales, promotions, and fan relations.
 

Ugh...ok so my annoyance is starting to boil over. Apologies to all!

wels, you do bring up a good point that we don't know what other avenues the U has been taking. My frustration with granting this point stems mostly from the fact that if they are attending other events they obviously aren't learning or applying what they've learned.
 

GoAUpher said:
Ugh...ok so my annoyance is starting to boil over. Apologies to all!

wels, you do bring up a good point that we don't know what other avenues the U has been taking. My frustration with granting this point stems mostly from the fact that if they are attending other events they obviously aren't learning or applying what they've learned.
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I agree. The marketing of Minnesota athletics is and has been poor for a long time. The 'we've always done it this way' mind-set seems to be quite entrenched. I really hope the next AD will be bold enough to change this culture.

Things like slashing student season-ticket prices and having a recent grads section at reduced cost need to be implemented for the long-term. And even simple things like GT's telemarketing plan seem like they couldn't hurt.
 

howeda7 said:
Things like slashing student season-ticket prices and having a recent grads section at reduced cost need to be implemented for the long-term.
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They will not do that because in their short sighted mind they could have sold them to somebody who will pay for it at regular price.
 

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