Good Day all, I'm looking for some great ideas on how to attract a University Football Program to our radio station! This is going to be an iconic move for them and our entire community and radio listeners as I attempt to lure that program to buy air time, ticket give-a-ways, event sponsorship's on KOFH Maxima 991FM Today's hits in Nogales, AZ. By doing that I want to promote the University so our future generation is influenced to conitnue higher learning, getting involved in sports programs, etc... Higher learning means our kids have a future and become strong leaders in our communities for years to come. So I'm asking RSC, if any of you have had experience in dealing with such a client. Please don't hesitate to shoot ideas this way, Thank you and GOD bless you all...
We are located in a college town with a tier 3 university. It has a lackluster athletic program - except for hockey, which has had national standing, a situation that will change with the formation of the Big 10 Hockey program which excludes our university.
We have found little success with the college broadcast and dropped it 4 years ago after 10 years, expanding the coverage of local high schools. It was a financial decision.
Before you launch into this consider:
1. how many graduates live or do business in your listening area - those businesses will be the core supporters for you
2. what support will you get from the university athletic dept - are you selling against them as they go out and hit those core supporters for stadium/arena signage, sponsorships and program ads? Will they include your broadcasts as part of their advertising pkg? Will they provide a contact list of supporters, alumni? Will they provide season tickets for you to give to those advertisers you sell? A hospitality suite for you to entertain station clients?
3. what attendance does the university have at their athletics events? This is a gauge of the community support you can expect from the business community. This can also be a selling tool.
4. the university will undoubtedly ask for an interview show - likely broadcast from a local watering hole. It's a favorite thing of college athletics.
There are several models for university broadcasts. We tried for years with the idea that the university sells what they sell and we sell the broadcast - really no help from the school. We provided unlimited access via a report and AMD interviews, and for years provided the on-air play by play talent, the board ops and paid the conference fees. The last few years, at our request, the university provided the play by play (problematic talent) and paid the fees. It did not change the economic issues for us. We proposed that it switch to what several other colleges in the conference had and Don Canham at Michigan developed so successfully - the university purchase the airtime for games and are entirely responsible for filling the airtime. When you think about it, they are in a much better position in most situations to sell their own program to their own alumni and supporters. They declined.
Diane,
Thank you for the advice... I was on the phone with one of the assistant Media Coordinator's yesterday. And, it seemed to me like the University expects a lot out of our radio station. We are a musical formated radio station and are not ready to convert it to a sports radio for the Football program. We are looking for monetary support from this University and will do half trade for a suite, tix, weekly interview as added value and event sponsorship in our area. I'm going to give it my best shot...
Diane gave you great advice. Keep in mind that the goal of the university is to sell more tickets to help fund the althletic budget. Whatever you propose as a station, keep that in mind. If you're not driving ticket sales, whether season or individual game promotion, you're not really fulfilling their need.
Make sure it's at least a 3 year deal with a 3 year option since you will have to invest considerable time, talent and money to re-brand the product with your station. I would restrict their ability to partner with other stations as well. After all, if they have money to spend they should be spending it with you first. Make sure you get a substatntial part of their season ticket buy.
Like Diane said it would be much better for the unviversity to buy the time from you and use that inventory as part of big sponsorship packages for the school. Don't allow the school to include part of the air time in sponsorship packages and you sell part.
This has potential for being a ratings killer. We have an AM/FM newstalk and moved the sports programming to that - music listeners find the invasion of their format disconcerting. If football season will take you into a ratings period and you have only the (1) music formatted station, think twice about this. You need to make some genuine money or it will not be worthwhile. Fortunately college football is normally Sat afternoon or early evening and lasts only 10 weeks. We tried the basketball, too - which will probably be the next approach to you from the college. Mens and womens basketball. This will absolutely kill your listenership and will run weekday evenings as well as weekends.
In our situation, as yours intimates, the college athletic people simply don't get the economics. They believe they are handing you a gift to enhance your programming and attempt to design the flow of any actual revenue to themselves. It begs the question: if programming the college athletics is truely the gift they believe it is, has the value they believe is has - why are they unwilling to purchase the airtime and sell the sponsorships themselves? They know darn well what a hard sell and consumption of time and resources it actually is....
