Dave Lee can't stop talking about Gopher football... attendance.

[GoAUpher]

Since it isn't all that complicated why don't you explain to us what the difference is, and what that flawless marketing strategy would be.

Of course marketing is complicated. But his point was that there is a difference between putting butts in the seats and doing so while building long term loyalty. The latter is much harder than the former but the latter is also extremely important if you want to avoid large bandwagon swings in attendance. You have to do both (especially in a metro market with the Big 4 pro sports). The U hasn't shown much interest in the latter as far as I can tell and has been less then impressive at times when it comes to the former.

 

[Rosemountian]

I don't mean to be negative about your marketing theories, but you can't really skip from bandwagon right to loyalty. You aren't going to create a lifelong fan with an advertising campaign unless you have mastered hypnosis or something.

You get the marginal fans in the seats, you make their experience great so they come back. Over time you build loyalty. You can't advertise to anything other than the margin. Well you can, but they are already going to the games. I honestly don't know what you are trying to say they should be doing. It makes no sense.

 

[Schnauzer]

Of course marketing is complicated. But his point was that there is a difference between putting butts in the seats and doing so while building long term loyalty. The latter is much harder than the former but the latter is also extremely important if you want to avoid large bandwagon swings in attendance. You have to do both (especially in a metro market with the Big 4 pro sports). The U hasn't shown much interest in the latter as far as I can tell and has been less then impressive at times when it comes to the former.

EXACTLY! I totally understand what Goldmember was getting at and I am going to guess that '19' did too, but chose to go the Richard route.

You build on his point very well.

 

[GoAUpher]

I don't mean to be negative about your marketing theories, but you can't really skip from bandwagon right to loyalty. You aren't going to create a lifelong fan with an advertising campaign unless you have mastered hypnosis or something.

You get the marginal fans in the seats, you make their experience great so they come back. Over time you build loyalty. You can't advertise to anything other than the margin. Well you can, but they are already going to the games. I honestly don't know what you are trying to say they should be doing. It makes no sense.

The bold is totally true. I guess in my mind marketing isn't just TV ads or billboards. Those are the things you do to get the casual fan in the seats. But marketing the program goes beyond that. Gameday experience, be it at TCF, in the tailgating lots, in a campus area bar, at the band pregame show, etc all play into it. Student experiences play into it. Building a fan based that is willing to ride out hard times or weather takes many pieces, of which a winning program is a big one. But the U seems to be working with a plan that is a combo of "winning cures all", "if you build it...", and...well, I'm not sure what the 3rd part is. To me there is not a concerted effort to sell the product to casual fans in a way that makes it stand out (team quality aside) in a crowded sports marketplace. And if they manage to get the fans in the door there is not a concerted effort to offer reasons outside the product on the field or prexisting ties to the U (of one kind or another) to make them more likely to keep coming back.

In advance of the kind of winning season that fills the bandwagon on it's own, the goals should be twofold: 1) Butts in the seats, 2) Build an experience that will pay dividends once the winning starts. It's likely that #2 might not really pay off until the team is much better. But in the meantime what it would do is 1) cement the relationship with your established and more long term customers and 2) have the groundwork in place so that folks jumping on the bandwagon can immediately see the benefits.

 

[maroonfive]

The coverage on KFAN is much better than on WCCO and Dave Lee is the absolute worst announcer ever. He really is not even qualified to do high school football on the radio.

 

[Maximus]

The bold is totally true. I guess in my mind marketing isn't just TV ads or billboards. Those are the things you do to get the casual fan in the seats. But marketing the program goes beyond that. Gameday experience, be it at TCF, in the tailgating lots, in a campus area bar, at the band pregame show, etc all play into it. Student experiences play into it. Building a fan based that is willing to ride out hard times or weather takes many pieces, of which a winning program is a big one. But the U seems to be working with a plan that is a combo of "winning cures all", "if you build it...", and...well, I'm not sure what the 3rd part is. To me there is not a concerted effort to sell the product to casual fans in a way that makes it stand out (team quality aside) in a crowded sports marketplace. And if they manage to get the fans in the door there is not a concerted effort to offer reasons outside the product on the field or prexisting ties to the U (of one kind or another) to make them more likely to keep coming back.

In advance of the kind of winning season that fills the bandwagon on it's own, the goals should be twofold: 1) Butts in the seats, 2) Build an experience that will pay dividends once the winning starts. It's likely that #2 might not really pay off until the team is much better. But in the meantime what it would do is 1) cement the relationship with your established and more long term customers and 2) have the groundwork in place so that folks jumping on the bandwagon can immediately see the benefits.

Could you add some more generalities?

 

[station19]

EXACTLY! I totally understand what Goldmember was getting at and I am going to guess that '19' did too, but chose to go the Richard route.

You build on his point very well.

There's been a lot of 'talk' about marketing and tickets on GH. Since the statement was ....."not really that complicated" I was looking for some specifics.

 

[GoAUpher]

Could you add some more generalities?

I could take quite a bit of time and list all the suggestions that have been given on this board since TCF opened. But I don't have time at this moment for that. Do you honestly think that the department has done all it could do to deliver the best possible gameday experience to fans? Or to do everything it could to sell out the stadium or market the program? If so, could you please explain why things that other universities do (like outbound sales calls, participation in the Big City University summit or whatever it was called, more on campus tailgating closer to the stadium, recent alumni seating, etc) are not needed at MN?

 

[dpodoll68]

I honestly don't know what you are trying to say they should be doing. It makes no sense.

Clearly, he is saying that the U should be convincing current season ticket holders to buy 2 (or 3) seats per person, rather than the customary one. Duh.

 

[husker70]

The coverage on KFAN is much better than on WCCO and Dave Lee is the absolute worst announcer ever. He really is not even qualified to do high school football on the radio.

We Have a Winner!

 

[holereader]

I would be interested to know what the survey results were last year about the radio broadcast. Does anyone remember we took a survey and the majority of us blasted Dave lee. Maybe that feedback was part of the decision to change

 

[diefirma]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - fill empty seats with MN HS football players. They understand the game, they will really enjoy the game, some of them will want to play for the U, some of them will turn into life long fans. Do this year after year and you build a tremendous base. They now bar code tickets so the U could know real time how many U students showed up. If a student is not in the stadium 15 minutes before kick off the seat goes to a HS player. The U would have a good handle on how many no shows on average so they could take advance reservations from outstate schools. Charge a nominal fee $5 or $10 - perhaps peg it to the average price of a movie ticket.

 

[1983]

Schnauzer, I heard the segment on the way to work this morning and boy did Dave Lee sound bitter and unprofessional.

The U clearly made the right move.

Go Gophers!![/QU

say what you want about Dave, he is a first class guy who was treated poorly by the athletic department in regards to his not being asked back to do the play by play. they made a change and like usual did it in a very unproffesional and classless way.

 

[gopherguy05]

Schnauzer, I heard the segment on the way to work this morning and boy did Dave Lee sound bitter and unprofessional.

The U clearly made the right move.

Go Gophers!![/QU

say what you want about Dave, he is a first class guy who was treated poorly by the athletic department in regards to his not being asked back to do the play by play. they made a change and like usual did it in a very unproffesional and classless way.

Really...cause in my world, if you suck at your job, you get fired.

 

[lakesbison]

Dave, Sid and Max are an embarassment to Minnesota, they need to be done.

who the heck listens to radio anymore anyways.

 

[wdgold]

Start winning and people will come, simple as that.

+1, I don't understand why this is so hard to figure out with some people.

 

[wdgold]

This is obviously true, but this isn't the problem.

The problem is that the U has been obsessed with marketing Gopher football to the marginal customer. And these people do exactly what you would expect. They will pay up to face-value for tickets when the team is winning. Nothing more. They become bored and disinterested quickly. And if the team is losing, they ignore the product entirely and cease to be a customer at all.

Winning helps introduce bandwagon customers to the product. But without a flawless marketing and brand strategy, they simply move-anlong with the very first loss. And the cost of marketing to this group is so costly that on the rare occasion you are selling to them, it is usually at a loss.

The funny part is... marketing isn't really all that complicated. You just have to start seeing the difference between a "customer" and merely a "sale".

Win baby Win!

 

[station19]

Dave, Sid and Max are an embarassment to Minnesota, they need to be done.

who the heck listens to radio anymore anyways.

Me

 

[GopherRock]

Bitter, party of two.

Quite honestly, I don't know how Dave Lee does ANY PBP in this town.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

Win baby Win!

Winning isn't a marketing strategy. If it were, there wouldn't be a need for advertising, promotions, videos, graphics, branding, etc. The marketing department doesn't coach or develop the players, call plays on the sidelines, recruit high school players to come play at the U, etc. It's their job to increase fan awareness, interest, sales, and hopefully loyalty to the program for when times are bad. It's their job to make people want to spend their time and money on Gopher Football when there's 12 other sport options let alone everything else available to them. The product on the field is only part of what makes the gameday compelling (albeit a large portion), and marketing needs to fill that gap.

 

[disco]

They did the same thing when they low balled the Twins and they left. They're bitter ex-wives made even more so by how far down they had to reach for their present spouse. Lee read about the attendance Saturday, "See, I told you she was just a slut!"

Wonder how often they call the Football Offices during the middle of the night and hang-up?

Beat me to it. They've done this to the Twins as well as the Vikings when they lost those rights years ago. Now they're stuck with the Wolves - the least popular team in the Twin Cities.

I honestly can't believe they continue to allow Sid on the radio. It's beyond sad to let a semi-sane nonagenarian on a major market broadcast six days a week. It didn't help that Sid was more or less bashing the new stadium when it was being built because it proved him wrong about the Gophers moving to the dome years ago.

 

[wdgold]

Winning isn't a marketing strategy. If it were, there wouldn't be a need for advertising, promotions, videos, graphics, branding, etc. The marketing department doesn't coach or develop the players, call plays on the sidelines, recruit high school players to come play at the U, etc. It's their job to increase fan awareness, interest, sales, and hopefully loyalty to the program for when times are bad. It's their job to make people want to spend their time and money on Gopher Football when there's 12 other sport options let alone everything else available to them. The product on the field is only part of what makes the gameday compelling (albeit a large portion), and marketing needs to fill that gap.

I guess I'm a simple man.

 

[tjgopher]

say what you want about Dave, he is a first class guy who was treated poorly by the athletic department in regards to his not being asked back to do the play by play. they made a change and like usual did it in a very unproffesional and classless way.

Tell us more. What did they do that was classless and unprofessional?

 

[1gophergnu]

Does the U still do a band day, and hs football day where outstate schools can bring their band or team to a game? That is how I got hooked on being a fan. Coming to the game as a freshman from a small town was a great experience and gave me a desire to see more games in person. Maybe the U could set aside a couple of thousand tickets in the student section and discount them to different high schools till the demand for student tickets increases till they need them. I would rather see a bunch of different high school letter jackets filling up the student section than a bunch of ugly red or black clad drunken fans from our rivals.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

I guess I'm a simple man.

Then the athletic department should fire every person in the marketing and gameday operations groups as they surely don't do anything to bring in the people and create a fan base (at least in theory).

Yes, winning obviously will bring people. But it will ONLY bring people who only want to watch a winning team. They will be gone the season or game they show that is no longer the case. Marketing needs to make the game a fun place to be, make sure you keep a constant stream of interested people, and continue to re-invent the "value" of going to a Gopher game relative to other sports.

Also, if you're such a simple man, explain to me why it's been 45 years without us being able to "just win baby" - if it were so simple, why hasn't it happened by now? I truly think Kill has the program headed in the right direction, but the university can't afford to have fewer season and student ticket holders each year. If Kill doesn't work out, what do we do for the NEXT 4 years while someone else gives it a try?

 

[RodentRampage]

say what you want about Dave, he is a first class guy who was treated poorly by the athletic department in regards to his not being asked back to do the play by play. they made a change and like usual did it in a very unproffesional and classless way.

Nonsense. He was not treated badly at all. He's not entitled to doing the play-by-play for the Gophers. He may have been a first class guy, but the play-by-play is much better now. There was nothing unprofessional or classless about it. They didn't frogmarch him out of the press box, they just changed stations.

 

[supadupafly]

The coverage on KFAN is much better than on WCCO and Dave Lee is the absolute worst announcer ever. He really is not even qualified to do high school football on the radio.

no kidding. i listened to dave lee do part of the eden prairie vs. wayzata state championship game on kstc 45 last weekend. and all i heard from him was "ah", "ah", "ah" nearly every other word. terrible experience. it is such a chore listening to him call sporting events. the guy is a hack who fell into his gig with WCCO and gopher football when dave christensen retired after 50 or so years.

 

[GopherVotary]

the guy is a hack who fell into his gig with WCCO and gopher football when dave christensen retired after 50 or so years.

Ray was better than Dave.

 

[wdgold]

Then the athletic department should fire every person in the marketing and gameday operations groups as they surely don't do anything to bring in the people and create a fan base (at least in theory).

Yes, winning obviously will bring people. But it will ONLY bring people who only want to watch a winning team. They will be gone the season or game they show that is no longer the case. Marketing needs to make the game a fun place to be, make sure you keep a constant stream of interested people, and continue to re-invent the "value" of going to a Gopher game relative to other sports.Also, if you're such a simple man, explain to me why it's been 45 years without us being able to "just win baby" - if it were so simple, why hasn't it happened by now? I truly think Kill has the program headed in the right direction, but the university can't afford to have fewer season and student ticket holders each year. If Kill doesn't work out, what do we do for the NEXT 4 years while someone else gives it a try?

Forgive me if I am misunderstanding you, but are you saying that there is a way to market a team that will keep the seats full no matter what the win/loss record is?
There is always going to be a percentage of fans that are on the fence and ready to jump as soon as they start losing no matter what the marketing strategy is and how well they implement that strategy. Having said all this I have been following this team since the 70's and have NEVER! jumped off the bandwagon. I for one will never give up my season tix and will always be at every game that I can no matter how many games they win or lose.

 

[GoAUpher]

Forgive me if I am misunderstanding you, but are you saying that there is a way to market a team that will keep the seats full no matter what the win/loss record is?
There is always going to be a percentage of fans that are on the fence and ready to jump as soon as they start losing no matter what the marketing strategy is and how well they implement that strategy.

Of course this is true. The idea is to minimize the bandwagon nature of the fanbase or (in the ideal scenario) to build up the demand enough so that a breakthrough season can hopefully get you to the point that a wait list can be created to better sustain attendance as interest from fence sitters begins to wane (another in the line of simple ideas that the U failed to implement when TCF opened).