Be a Part From the Start

[Captain Kangaroo]

Do all these University types just copy each other? Does anyone have an original idea anymore?I can't wait until the Indiana opener in 2009. Maybe someone will come up with something clever like giving everyone white shirts to "white out" the Hoosiers? Be a Part, "Ventura Style"Be a Part, "Happy Valley" Style

[GP1]

Do all these University types just copy each other? Does anyone have an original idea anymore?

I've been saying it for years on this board. As it relates to college athletics, the answers to your questions are yes to question #1 and no to question #2. In fact, college athletics marketing is so void of any original thinking or creativity that many schools have move to ISP to market for them so they can have some level of professionalism in their marketing and sales.The only thing people in athletics marketing are really good at is promoting themselves. We had a marketing director for a while at UofA who produced a steady decline in ticket sales annually and because he was nice to everyone, everyone thought he was some sort of marketing genius. In the world I work in, a steady decline in sales gets one fired and not loved. It's amazing what people will fall for.

[zen]

:zzz: It's not hard to be cheesy"be a fan, when it began""say you were here, not the armchair"personally, I think it would be catchier if it was just "a part from the start" or "a part of it from the start of it"psychologically speaking, it's not an invasive command (because it lacks the verb) like "be a part of it", which is basically saying to people "join up, we need you. (we're desperate)"."apart from the start" implies, don't miss the boat. Others are doing it.

[zippyrifle32]

yeah it's the same catch phrase, but it's for different events. the reality is they need something short and sweet to get people to be excited and feel a need to go. be a part from the start taps into those aspects. What about "roo town" or "this is your... (team, stadium, etc)"?

[Zip N' Dots]

yeah it's the same catch phrase, but it's for different events. the reality is they need something short and sweet to get people to be excited and feel a need to go. be a part from the start taps into those aspects. What about "roo town" or "this is your... (team, stadium, etc)"?

I don't mine 'be apart from the start' I hate the other ones you mentioned which were already used by the athletics marketing team. 'Roo Town' doesn't work because we're a city, so it doesn't make sense IMO, and 'this is your team' just doesn't get the job done. I mean who says it's my team? Are you telling me that because I live in Akron I have to root for them, I say bite me, I choose who I root for!You want people to show up to the inaugural game and to buy season tickets and to continue coming you are going to have to do a hell of alot better then mediocre one liners. Let's try and get creative for a minute, Off the top of my head:The count down on the stadium site, why is that not on the university homepage or even better on ohio.com? and when you click the link it takes you right to an online form that you can fill out and send elctronically to the ticket office.Offer New Alumni a discount, I mean they are trying to get on their feet, why not offer them a rate that increases to the normal rate over a 5 year period as long as they keep buying year after year. This way they won't feel as strapped for cash. How about a 'Refer A Friend Program', this will get current season ticket holders out there selling for you. Every person they bring in they get $10 off of there season ticket price. And yes they may get theres down to $0 but who cares they just brought in 10 new season ticket holders.that's it, more work to do, peace you sexy zip fans you!

[zippyrifle32]

i dunno, the way i see it is by constantly saying "this is your team" people start to believe it. it gives people a sense of ownership and like they're a part of something which then instills a sense of pride and support. that is what this city needs after all. people ask why should i support the zips? well it's your team. just my opinion.

[zen]

i dunno, the way i see it is by constantly saying "this is your team" people start to believe it. it gives people a sense of ownership and like they're a part of something which then instills a sense of pride and support. that is what this city needs after all. people ask why should i support the zips? well it's your team. just my opinion.

I dunno, I tend to agree with Zip N' Dots on that one.I guess different people have different psychological makeups, but I think some people naturally rebel against advertising slogans. If I wasn't already inclined to favor the team and I saw the slogan "this is your team", my mental response would simply be, "no thanx, you can keep it"

[Bleacher Bum]

How about a 'Refer A Friend Program', this will get current season ticket holders out there selling for you. Every person they bring in they get $10 off of there season ticket price. And yes they may get theres down to $0 but who cares they just brought in 10 new season ticket holders.

They have this. As a season ticket holder from last year, if I get 2 people to sign up for the first year at ICS , I get a free t-shirt. If I get 5 people, I get a t-shirt, hat, and 2 tickets to the last game at the RB.For every new season ticket account referred, my name is placed in a drawing to win an all expenses (travel, hotel and game tickets) paid trip for two to the Sept. 20, 2008 game at Army.That being said...Who still needs season tickets and wants to refer me as their friend?

[g-mann17]

I've like the whole new image that we have tried to create over the past 5 years. The "Fear the Roo" program has sold a lot of shirts. The "Roo Town: This is your team" concept is actually good. Town and City are interchangeable, sorry they just are. Roo City sounds too much like Brew City.Let's face it, marketing is one liners. "Just do it" "Is it in you" "Intel Inside" "Don't Tread on Me" "Liberty and Justice for all" No one remembers "The University of Akron is Northeast Ohio's research university...etc, etc" you remember "Fiat Lux"; you don't remember "The goal of the University of Akron's athletic department is to provide academic and athletic excellence...etc, etc." But "Fear the Roo" works, "Roo Town" sticks with you. But honestly, I would love an Ohio.com buy in. Or a Beacon buy in at all. But for some reason that doesn't happen. Whether that is a lack of winning (despite, rifle, soccer, and basketball and men and women's track (thanks akronad)) or if it's the lack of real local leadership with the paper I really can't say.But this brings up a question I had earlier. How has the new stadium affected season ticket sales for this season. I had no real point, just wanted to ramble.

[akronad]

You forgot to mention track among our winning teams.

[GoZips88]

How about a 'Refer A Friend Program', this will get current season ticket holders out there selling for you. Every person they bring in they get $10 off of there season ticket price. And yes they may get theres down to $0 but who cares they just brought in 10 new season ticket holders.

They have this. As a season ticket holder from last year, if I get 2 people to sign up for the first year at ICS , I get a free t-shirt. If I get 5 people, I get a t-shirt, hat, and 2 tickets to the last game at the RB.For every new season ticket account referred, my name is placed in a drawing to win an all expenses (travel, hotel and game tickets) paid trip for two to the Sept. 20, 2008 game at Army.That being said...Who still needs season tickets and wants to refer me as their friend?

Ya had me right up to '... their friend.' Sorry ...

[g-mann17]

You forgot to mention track among our winning teams.

Good point, the only coverage of that I saw was on GoZips.com.Congratulations again to both the Men and Women's Track teams. 2008 MAC Champions!!!!!Here's a marketing idea for track & cross country "Run with the Roo" or switch out "with" with "like" or drop that all together and do fundraising 10k "Run the Roo"

[GoZips88]

i dunno, the way i see it is by constantly saying "this is your team" people start to believe it. it gives people a sense of ownership and like they're a part of something which then instills a sense of pride and support. that is what this city needs after all. people ask why should i support the zips? well it's your team. just my opinion.

I'm with zippyrifle32 ... U of A is a good school academically and will only grow athletically with OUR support (each new class of students and Akron-area residents and leadership in general). U of A IS in our backyard, warts and all. Seems to me that WOULD make it our team, whether we like it or not. My hope is that someday the indifference we see and feel today locally (current/former students, residents, local newspaper, mayor) will be replaced by an ever-growing sense of pride as zippyrifle32 mentioned. Hopefully we're the ones on the bleeding edge of U of A's academic and athletic growth and those that follow benefit from our persistence, pain, and suffering.Always worth restating ... I think we can all agree that

[zippyrifle32]

You forgot to mention track among our winning teams.

Good point, the only coverage of that I saw was on GoZips.com.Congratulations again to both the Men and Women's Track teams. 2008 MAC Champions!!!!!Here's a marketing idea for track & cross country "Run with the Roo" or switch out "with" with "like" or drop that all together and do fundraising 10k "Run the Roo"

i've seen track members with shirts that say "AKRUN". i asked one of my track friends where they get them because i would like one, but i guess they only do ordering for the team. still, i like the play on words.

[ZipAlumn]

Do all these University types just copy each other? Does anyone have an original idea anymore?

I've been saying it for years on this board. As it relates to college athletics, the answers to your questions are yes to question #1 and no to question #2. In fact, college athletics marketing is so void of any original thinking or creativity that many schools have move to ISP to market for them so they can have some level of professionalism in their marketing and sales.The only thing people in athletics marketing are really good at is promoting themselves. We had a marketing director for a while at UofA who produced a steady decline in ticket sales annually and because he was nice to everyone, everyone thought he was some sort of marketing genius. In the world I work in, a steady decline in sales gets one fired and not loved. It's amazing what people will fall for.

What is constantly amazing me is that a University that offers degrees in Business and Marketing can have a "three steps behind" Athletic Marketing Dept. Why can't we use some of the talent in the College of Business or isn't it any better? This is not only a slap at out Athletic Marketing Dept., but it also calls into question what kind of Marketing Degrees our College of Business is offering. :rolleyes:

[Bleacher Bum]

Ya had me right up to '... their friend.' Sorry ...

Haha. Jerk.

[Blue & Gold]

Frankly, the whole, "This is your team," concept is absolutely crucial. It's basically our entire argument as to why people should root for UA as opposed to rooting for Columbus State. Heck, if I can just arbitrarily pick who I root for (like 99 percent of NEOhio frontrunners) then I may as well be an OSU, USC or Florida fan! But no, I'm from Akron so they are my team!

[Zip N' Dots]

How about a 'Refer A Friend Program', this will get current season ticket holders out there selling for you. Every person they bring in they get $10 off of there season ticket price. And yes they may get theres down to $0 but who cares they just brought in 10 new season ticket holders.

They have this. As a season ticket holder from last year, if I get 2 people to sign up for the first year at ICS , I get a free t-shirt. If I get 5 people, I get a t-shirt, hat, and 2 tickets to the last game at the RB.For every new season ticket account referred, my name is placed in a drawing to win an all expenses (travel, hotel and game tickets) paid trip for two to the Sept. 20, 2008 game at Army.That being said...Who still needs season tickets and wants to refer me as their friend?

lol, that's great news that they have the 'refer a friend' program! But the incentives that you mention suck IMO, I have probably about 40 Akron T's and 3-4 hats, give me discount on my tickets, something that goes back in my pocket. And the funny thing is I have been a season ticket holder for going on 5 years now and I haven't heard of this program which is kind of BS but I say Good Day!

[akronad]

I received referral info in the packet along with my renewal info for season tickets.I just letft the Univ. and renewed for the next 2 years.GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ZIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zipper]

I like the "our town" theme. We're always fighting city hall (literally - hah!) when it comes to people around here seeing Akron as their hometown university. It's not like it's the theme for all time, but it's good for now to remind people.Fear the Roo, while obviously copied, was the best marketing campaign for UA in maybe ... ever. I remember that year that Akron won awards for that marketing campaign, so the "marketing genius" (UAM) might have implemented it differently from Maryland. GP, you have it in for Waddel, why I don't know. Did he give you a wedgie one time or something? I work out of town all the time now, and I'm in Cincy a lot and was in a bar once time talking about the Akron people who are down there now. They think the marketing, which I assume is under Waddel, is great and they really praised him. I just always feel the need to defend the guy after GP1 gets done ripping him. I thought the marketing under that regime was actually much better than now, but maybe that's just because it was such a huge upgrade at the time.One thing I hesitate to report, but it's true, is that when MT was here they had auditors at the gates with clickers making sure they didn't over-represent the actual attendance. I asked one of the clicker people about it and they said they didn't want to get caught exaggerating attendance, especially with those possible reforms of not staying division 1a if you were under some number of attendance. And I know we're stretching the numbers again now. So GP, while the numbers might have appeared to go down, they probably were even up. Just to be fair.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Frankly, the whole, "This is your team," concept is absolutely crucial. It's basically our entire argument as to why people should root for UA as opposed to rooting for Columbus State. Heck, if I can just arbitrarily pick who I root for (like 99 percent of NEOhio frontrunners) then I may as well be an OSU, USC or Florida fan! But no, I'm from Akron so they are my team!

I agree with you 100%. I remember a couple years ago Tyrell Sutton complained in the ABJ that "My hometown team didn't even recruit me!" I was shocked that no Zips coach bothered to pick up the phone and at least offer a recruiting visit. Reading further down the article, I saw that Tyrell was talking about the Buckeyes, not the Zips.The Zips need to find a place in the local people's minds and hearts. For the better part of two and a half decades the football program has been invisible. The teams have been bad, the facilities terrible and the marketing 4th-rate. That all needs to change. Making the team competitive is tough. And overcoming 25 years of futility doesn't happen overnight. Is JD the answer? I don't know. I'll have a better idea after this season is complete. He's won a championship and beaten NC State. But stumbling out of the gate with some overall bad recruiting classes, highlighted by the the inability to recruit a stud QB, makes his 5th season a highly critical one. He needs to take a step forward after two successive "down years."The facilities are now unreal. UA couldn't physically do a better job of setting the table for success. The campus takes quantum leaps forward in beauty seemingly weekly...the football practice facility is top-notch and the new stadium will be state-of-the-art.The Marketing? I'll accept an improvement from 4th-rate to 3rd-rate. The stuff I've seen lately is "ok." But having a new stadium to pimp means even the worst Marketing Department can't screw it up."Roo Town -- This is Your Team" is a decent first step. The "Roo" thing seems to be a winner, so why not ride it? The fact that Akron is a Buckeye's town...can that change? Yes. It won't ever change 100%, but UA can gain a place in local folks hearts by following the three things mentioned above. Look at the Zips hoops team. There are a lot of little kids growing up right now who are Zips fans first and foremost. 10 years ago they would have been die-hard Buckeye fans.Youngstown people are just as big a fans of OSU as Akronites. Yet if you go to Youngstown, you feel and see a lot of "Youngstown Pride" (not the old WBL team either). Akron people are Cleveland wannabees...Columbus wannabees...and who can blame them? Their home town, and their home town University really haven't done all that much to merit any "love" since rubber ruled the town. That's changing, and at a breakneck pace."There are those who look at things that are, and ask 'why?' I prefer to look at the things that aren't and ask 'why not?"'God Bless Proenza, and God Bless the new stadium!! The face of Akron is forever changed.

[Zipsrifle]

I for one LOVE the countdown idea. Aren't we gonna have a MONGO, double sided scoreboard at the new stadim that should be visible from Rt. 8??? Put that damn thing up NOW and lets get the Countdown clock STARTED!!!As for getting people in the area to follow Akron....we need to win. Marketing is only going to take you so far. A new stadium is only going to take you so far. Nobody likes to lose and not have a chance at being "The Best". Akron fans, indeed MAC fans in general have a MUCH thicker skin than the average American Sports Fan. Nobody likes to go to the water cooler and have to talk about how they lost week after week, or how they just can't seem to beat a Big 10 team. It's MUCH MUCH EASIER to root for a winner.....to help you feel like a winner. A winner sells newspapers and people watch your newscast. Does our marketing need help, yes. Is it much better than it used to be...yes. I still don't understand the huge banner on the fieldhouse that nobody can see??? Put the thing on Bulger or the Polymer building if you are going to spend money on a banner that big!!!

[ZippyAlum]

I think they should have a huge countdown billboard too but not say what it's for. Let people wonder and try to figure it out. It could flush the countdown in yrs., then months, then days, then minutes, then seconds. Maybe do a take off of FEAR THE ROO. Like "Fear it! It's coming!" "Change happens!" "This TOWN will never be the same!" "Roo the day." Have the clues get closer and closer to giving the meaning of the billboard away. Don't give it to them all at once. Build some anticipation.

[Zipsrifle]

So how long would it take someone, to look at the countdown, and then figure out what date it will end, put 2 and 2 together and figure out it has to do with the stadium. My guess is about 10 minutes. I do like the idea of purchasing billboards throughout NE Ohio wih some of those teasers. Put a website at the bottom. This may be a better approach as my guess is that bout 90% of the people in NE Ohio have no idea that Akron is building a new stadium. Some of them will go to the website. The website would have to be different than what is on gozips.com. Put together some kick@$$ video, like the Akron Psyche video, that plays as soon as they log on with snippets of some of some of the amazing Akron FB moments in the past few years (Dom's catch MACC, Win vs Marshall and storming the field, etc. Slap in a few of the shots of the stadium in the middle, and then at the end have a computer generated panoramic of a sold out ICS with the crowd going wild on opening day. YEA,I think that would be awesome!