05-18-2011, 11:46 AM
First, I\'m really glad that Stanford hired you. This season represents an exceptionally rare opportunity for Stanford to market the football program. We are coming off a 12-1 season, we have the Voldemort Trophy favorite and the odds-on #1 overall draft pick at QB, and we will be in the top 10 pre-season. The Bay Area likes a winner. In terms of marketing, the next several months are critical.
A few suggestions:
1) Send ticket information to all Stanford alumni - both undergrads and grad students - who live within 90 miles of campus, even if they\'ve never been season-ticket holders. Stanford alums are going to remain the core of the fan base. Marketing that\'s targeted toward them is going to have the highest success rate.
2) Find ways to target Bay Area football fans. This may involve ads on the web site of the Chronicle and Mercury News sports sections. It may involve outreach to families through youth football leagues. It may involve ads in the programs at high-school football games. I\'m sure there are many other possibilities.
3) Good word-of-mouth is perhaps the best way to sell a product. So offer a 10-percent discount on their tickets to existing season-ticket holders who make a referral that results in season-ticket sales.
4) Continue the effort to become more visible in the Bay Area sports media. David Shaw is a good interview. Get him out there as often as possible on KNBR and other local news outlets. It will also be important to publicize the fact that this is not a one-man team. Let\'s see stories about Stepfan Taylor, Anthony Wilkerson, Jonathan Martin, David DeCastro, Zach Ertz, Shayne Skov, Chase Thomas, Delano Howell and Michael Thomas. Some of these guys may leave for the NFL after the 2011 season, but some of them will be back, and those returners will be the face of the program in 2012. If Andrew Luck gets all the publicity in 2011, it will be much harder to market the team in 2012.
5) If all else fails, devise giveaways for the San Jose State, UCLA, Colorado, and Washington games. I have no doubt that the Oregon, Ca.l, and Notre Dame games will sell out. But it is imperative that we fill the stadium for every game this season. The best way to fill the stadium is not by lowering ticket prices - which cheapens the product you\'re selling - but by offering an enticement. So an Andrew Luck bobble-head seems like a no-brainer as a giveaway for one of these games, assuming that lots of seats remain unsold by early August. You could give away a Stanford mini-football at another game. I have no idea if there\'s a lot of precedent for giveaways at college football games - obviously this is most common in Major League Baseball - but I don\'t see why you can\'t do it.
The bottom line is that scarcity creates demand. If it becomes hard to get a ticket to Stanford football games this fall, there will be more demand for tickets prior to the 2012 season.
Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!
A few suggestions:
1) Send ticket information to all Stanford alumni - both undergrads and grad students - who live within 90 miles of campus, even if they\'ve never been season-ticket holders. Stanford alums are going to remain the core of the fan base. Marketing that\'s targeted toward them is going to have the highest success rate.
2) Find ways to target Bay Area football fans. This may involve ads on the web site of the Chronicle and Mercury News sports sections. It may involve outreach to families through youth football leagues. It may involve ads in the programs at high-school football games. I\'m sure there are many other possibilities.
3) Good word-of-mouth is perhaps the best way to sell a product. So offer a 10-percent discount on their tickets to existing season-ticket holders who make a referral that results in season-ticket sales.
4) Continue the effort to become more visible in the Bay Area sports media. David Shaw is a good interview. Get him out there as often as possible on KNBR and other local news outlets. It will also be important to publicize the fact that this is not a one-man team. Let\'s see stories about Stepfan Taylor, Anthony Wilkerson, Jonathan Martin, David DeCastro, Zach Ertz, Shayne Skov, Chase Thomas, Delano Howell and Michael Thomas. Some of these guys may leave for the NFL after the 2011 season, but some of them will be back, and those returners will be the face of the program in 2012. If Andrew Luck gets all the publicity in 2011, it will be much harder to market the team in 2012.
5) If all else fails, devise giveaways for the San Jose State, UCLA, Colorado, and Washington games. I have no doubt that the Oregon, Ca.l, and Notre Dame games will sell out. But it is imperative that we fill the stadium for every game this season. The best way to fill the stadium is not by lowering ticket prices - which cheapens the product you\'re selling - but by offering an enticement. So an Andrew Luck bobble-head seems like a no-brainer as a giveaway for one of these games, assuming that lots of seats remain unsold by early August. You could give away a Stanford mini-football at another game. I have no idea if there\'s a lot of precedent for giveaways at college football games - obviously this is most common in Major League Baseball - but I don\'t see why you can\'t do it.
The bottom line is that scarcity creates demand. If it becomes hard to get a ticket to Stanford football games this fall, there will be more demand for tickets prior to the 2012 season.
Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!