CWU Football Campaign

Winter 2012 1

Work Summary The work below represents a complete marketing and SWOT analysis done for Central Washington Universitys Football program. This work was completed during the capstone class (COM 470) for public relations majors at Central Washington University. Six people worked on this project for a total of three months.

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Table of Contents

Case Description

Primary Research

3-4

SWOT Analysis

4-5

Focus Group Analysis and Plan of Action

5-6

Identification of Publics

RACE Outline

8-14

RACE Discussion and Justification

14-15

Budget

15

In-Kind Donations

16

Calendar

17

Evaluations and Strategies

19

Appendix A- Collateral Pieces

Appendix B- Survey

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Appendix C- PowerPoint

Case Description The Central Washington University football season is held fall quarter from September to November. In the upcoming 2012 season there are five home games scheduled. Tickets are free for students with Connection Cards, and non-students are charged $12 for general admission. Tailgating space is provided outside the stadium for fans, as well as a beer garden inside for fans over 21. This client was in a need of a new campaign design because of stagnating attendance and retention rates and a lack of spirit and participation. We felt this was an achievable campaign for us to accomplish due to our public relations background. In our search for secondary research, we found past seasons statistics on Wildcatcatsports.com, along with schedules, player information, and other relevant news. We also examined their social media presence, and determined that their already existing accounts are outdated. With this initial research, we went on to plan our campaign accordingly.

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Primary Research:

Surveys: We created and distributed a survey to 200 random CWU students, on and off campus. We chose to use surveys as a primary research method because it was an efficient way to collect accurate data within our target audience. The survey was to help us determine the state of student attendance and retention rates during home football games. See Appendix A for survey. The results of our survey indicated that upperclassmen students were more likely to leave during the first two quarters or at halftime rather than staying the entire game. Whereas underclassmen were more likely to stay longer but overall didnt attend as many games. Underclassmen also felt that there was an issue with crowd participation and lack of spirit. After tallying the survey results, we determined that our focus was more on retention and tailgating rather than overall attendance.

Focus group: We created two more focused surveys to be distributed to two separate groups of five to eight people. One group of students over 21 and the other group under 21. This was done to see if there was a correlation between tailgating and retention. After the focus groups we determined that our focus needed to be re-identified in order to focus on the outlined needs of the campaign.

Meeting held with Athletic Department Promotions manager, Josh McCartney. Josh discussed with us the primary focus he would like to see is students participating and being a more active crowd during home games. He also said the Athletic Department wanted to see more school spirit.

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Giveaways have historically been the most effective Public Relations strategies. The biggest obstacle is a lack of resources. His current budget is nonexistent. Attendance is not the largest factor the campaign should be focusing on for next season.

SWOT Analysis for Central Washington Football: Strengths: Survey indicated strong attendance Crowd attends regardless of record Has a large diverse community to appeal to Beer garden Strong alumni community Easy to attend, central location Free for students with Connection Card Weaknesses:

Day and time of game can be conflicting with peoples schedules Lack of school spirit Crowd interaction can be disrespectful Weather huge factor in attendance Many people leaving before game is over Lack of fresh promotional ideas Opportunities:

Capitalize on potential and already existing sponsorships by outside businesses Offer tailgating for all ages Incentives to stay until the end of the game Increased crowd participation and team spirit Promoting good sportsmanship within the crowd so that everyone can respectfully participate Strategic giveaways towards end of game Better overall promotion to bolster school spirit Promotional during game contests team with school clubs

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Social Media Cat Pack club and attendance Threats:

Other CWU events Weather Indifference Lack of interest Scheduling conflict Lack of sponsorship Little school spirit No fan participation

Focus Group Analysis and Plan of Action From our survey results we found that there was strong attendance, however many people didnt stay past halftime. Because of this we are going to focus on getting people to stay the entire game and participate more frequently. People cited various different reasons for why they leave during the game such as boredom especially during halftime, lack of interest in football, or wanting to go eat or drink outside of the stadium. We have discussed different options about how to bolster attendance throughout the game and keep people at the game until it ends. Possible end of game raffles, contests, and other opportunities for free things may keep people interested in attending the full game. We also want to focus on capitalizing the use of sponsors to be able to bring in an opportunity for more giveaways to attract all age levels of students. According to our surveys, there is more attendance with younger students, such as freshmen and sophomores who when they do attend a game they stay until the end more often. Because of this, we are also going to focus on getting more juniors and seniors to go and stay the entire game.

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With our focus group surveys we found that upper-classmen hold recreation aside from the game, such as tailgating as a higher priority than staying the entire game. With this we have decided that if we somehow can incorporate a more holistic tailgating approach to get everyone involved as well as keep them entertained we would be able to keep attendance and involvement high. This could happen by pre game rallies to get everyone excited to participate during the game. Another important objective taken from our data is the importance of creating a more spirited atmosphere for fans. People would be more likely to stay at a game if there were activities and events specifically for the fans. Because of this we have thought of numerous activities that would be put in place to help accomplish this, for example the Wellingtons photo contest, and halftime games.

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Identification of potential publics: Central Washington University Community: The students of CWU are our primary focus for this campaign. Students make up the majority of those in attendance at football games. Traditional students average ages range from18-25. Through our research we have found that this group has strong attendance rates, but lack the spirit and participation the Athletic Department would like to see at games. Ellensburg Community: The residents of Ellensburg attend games but not as frequently as students or other members of the CWU community. Their participation is also important in making a game or season successful in terms of spirit in and participation. For this reason, they are our secondary public. Sponsors of CWU Football: These are companies and organizations that donate monetarily and make in kind donations to the program. This is a very small portion of the business community in Ellensburg. The football team, as well as the Athletic Department would like to see an increase in football sponsors. These sponsors could help with more giveaways and opportunities for fan participation. Sponsors are interested in promoting their business but would like to see more recognition, by increasing sponsor awareness; this may also increase overall football sponsorships.

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RACE Outline: GOAL: Increase and secure overall attendance throughout the entire game. Objective 1 :Increase upperclassmens (junior, senior) full attendance throughout the entire game by 10%. S1: Incentives to improve attendance and crowd participation T1: Create Cat Pack o Promote with signs, flyers, table tents around campus in SURC and residence halls Get in touch with publicity center and promotions o Spread with social media, add to Wellingtons facebook, and twitter accounts to get the word out o Cat Pack t-shirts to show they are part of club Use t-shirt as incentive to join club

T2: Designated Cat Pack area at games where students that are part of the Cat Pack spirit club sit specifically. o Show club member spirit, gain crowd awareness of club to bolster club numbers, and create more spirit

T3: Each home game there is one specific give away to add to students collection of CWU to build on each other so that they can show more spirit and participate. Giveaways will be done in the third quarter to encourage retention. o T-shirts: First game regular home game o Glasses: Second game regular home game o Pom Poms: Third game regular home game o Noise Maker: Homecoming game

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T4: March to Tomlinson Stadium, a pep march from the SURC through the dorm areas to stadium w/ marching band, cheerleaders, Wellington. o First 100 people to join in receive a free t-shirt

S2: Half-time games and entertainment to increase retention through halftime T1: CWU has Talent o Prior to games auditions will be held for talented students to show off during halftime, or sing the national anthem. Students will be selected by a team of judges, made from an assortment of students. o Students chosen to perform will get the opportunity during the first five minutes of one home game half time. T2: On-field competitions during halftime o Student vs. Wellington race o Horseshoe game o Kick a field goal o Water pong

o S3: Beer Garden/Tailgate T1: Advertise/Update Beer Garden ST1: Announcements during game ST2: Promote new event of Beer of the Game o Flyers with Iron Horse Brewery Sponsorship o Iron Horse Brewery decides which beer it will be ST3: Purchase a collector mug for the beer and get $2 dollars off your first beer

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o Mug will have Iron Horse information on it ST4: Add food to menu o Offer more of a selection for alcoholic beverages and bar munchies ST3: Social Media and Advertising o Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, Website ST4: Alcohol deals through Iron Horse Brewery o Sign outside of Iron Horse Microbrewery Dont forget to visit our Beer Garden o Attendee purchases reusable mug/cup, bring to beer garden and receive $2 off first beverage o Deal doesnt begin until midway of game Beer Garden open throughout game, discount after halftime

o New mug/cup sold every home game S4: Contests o ST1: Wellingtons photo contest, post to his official facebook page After post, entered in a competition for best photograph with Wellington Winner receives a coupon/voucher for upcoming home football game o ST2: Have CWU trivia on Wellingtons facebook and twitter accounts Each week during the season trivia will be posted and the first person with the correct answer will get a coupon for the Wildcat Shop and an opportunity to be a contestant in one of the half time games Objective 2: Increase Underclassmen Attendance by 5% from last seasons attendance. S1: Incentives to improve attendance and crowd participation Cup shows logo of sponsors but different emblem

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T1: Create Cat Pack o Promote with signs, flyers, table tents around campus in SURC and residence halls Get in touch with publicity center and promotions o Spread with social media, add to Wellingtons facebook, and twitter accounts to get the word out o Cat Pack t-shirts to show they are part of club Use t-shirt as incentive to join club

T2: Designated Cat Pack area at games where students that are part of the Cat Pack spirit club sit specifically. o Show club member spirit, gain crowd awareness of club to bolster club numbers, and create more spirit

T3: Each home game there is one specific give away to add to students collection of CWU to build on each other so that they can show more spirit and participate. Giveaways will be done in the third quarter to encourage retention. o T-shirts: First game regular home game o Glasses: Second game regular home game o Pom Poms: Third game regular home game

T4: March to Tomlinson Stadium, a pep march from the SURC through the dorm areas to stadium w/ marching band, cheerleaders, Wellington. o First 100 people to join in receive a free t-shirt

S2: Half-time games and entertainment to increase retention through halftime T1: CWU has Talent o Prior to games auditions will be held for talented students to show off during halftime, or sing the national anthem.

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Students will be selected by a team of judges, made from an assortment of students.

o Students chosen to perform will get the opportunity during the first five minutes of one home game half time. T2: On-field competitions during halftime o Student vs. Wellington race o Horseshoe game o Kick a field goal o Water pong S4: Contests o ST1: Wellingtons photo contest, post to his official facebook page After post, entered in a competition for best photograph with Wellington Winner receives a coupon/voucher for upcoming home football game o ST2: Have CWU trivia on Wellingtons facebook and twitter accounts Each week during the season trivia will be posted and the first person with the correct answer will get a coupon for the Wildcat Shop and an opportunity to be a contestant in one of the half time games. Objective 3: Increase fan participation during games S1: Incentives to improve attendance and crowd participation T1: Create Cat Pack o Promote with signs, flyers, table tents around campus in SURC and residence halls Get in touch with publicity center and promotions

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o Spread with social media, add to Wellingtons facebook, and twitter accounts to get the word out o Cat Pack t-shirts to show they are part of club Use t-shirt as incentive to join club

T2: Designated Cat Pack area at games where students that are part of the Cat Pack spirit club sit specifically. o Show club member spirit, gain crowd awareness of club to bolster club numbers, and create more spirit

T3: Each home game there is one specific give away to add to students collection of CWU to build on each other so that they can show more spirit and participate. Giveaways will be done in the third quarter to encourage retention. o T-shirts: First game regular home game o Glasses: Second game regular home game o Pom Poms: Third game regular home game

T4: March to Tomlinson Stadium, a pep march from the SURC through the dorm areas to stadium w/ marching band, cheerleaders, Wellington. o First 100 people to join in receive a free t-shirt

S2: Half-time games and entertainment to increase retention through halftime T1: CWU has Talent o Prior to games auditions will be held for talented students to show off during halftime, or sing the national anthem. Students will be selected by a team of judges, made from an assortment of students. o Students chosen to perform will get the opportunity during the first five minutes of one home game half time.

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T2: On-field competitions during halftime o Student vs. Wellington race o Horseshoe game o Kick a field goal o Water pong

S4: Contests o ST1: Wellingtons photo contest, post to his official facebook page After post, entered in a competition for best photograph with Wellington Winner receives a coupon/voucher for upcoming home football game o ST2: Have CWU trivia on Wellingtons facebook and twitter accounts Each week during the season trivia will be posted and the first person with the correct answer will get a coupon for the Wildcat Shop and an opportunity to be a contestant in one of the half time games.

RACE Discussion and Justification: The strategies presented in our RACE outline are ways to increase the attendance, retention and participation of the students at Central Washington University football games. It is our goal create more attendance and retention but take that a step farther than that and have the students get involved, and be more spirited as fans. Our idea of the Cat Pack club is one of the best ways to reach a diverse community of students and bring them together to create a solid base of student fans enthusiastic to participate. Our surveys help to guide our strategies and tactics. Our original goal changed through our research process as we began to realize the true needs of the athletic department. Once we

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realized the needs we reassessed and refocused our focus groups to better serve our Central Washington University student community. Aside from the Cat Pack, we have put in a variety of other ways to get students involved. Contest ideas such as Wellingtons facebook photo contest, CWU Has Talent, and halftime games are a way to get different groups of students involved with some element of CWU football. All age levels of students have several new opportunities to get involved other than simply watching the game from the stands. Our goals are to create a positive, respectful and fun atmosphere for all of the CWU community. By partnering with the Iron Horse Brewery as a sponsor for the beer garden we can use their name as promotion of the beer garden and bring in more students over the age of 21 who are outside of the stadium tailgating during the game. Also this can help bring in more of our secondary audience, the Ellensburg community.

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Budget:
$3500/2012 Season

Observer Newspaper Price Occurrence Total $500

Half Page $250

Quarter Page

Run Once $1,250

Run three times

The Pulse Online Magazine Price Occurrence Total:

3x3 Advertisements

$150 Run once $150

T-Shirts Price

CWU Football T-Shirt $8/shirt

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Amount Total

250 shirts $2000

Total Estimated Cost For Season $3,400

In-kind donations: T-shirts from sponsors with sponsored business insignia Concessions stand discount coupons to hand out for people who win in contests Souvenir cups to be used for Beer of the Game promotion with Iron Horse Brewery

Calendar: Spring Quarter 2012 (April-June) April 1: Secure by this date who is going to maintain all social media accounts, if no one is presently in charge appoint someone from our campaign to take over. If someone is already the account manager, make sure we establish a partnership with this person and ensure they are jump-starting the accounts by tweeting daily and posting statuses on facebook.

April 1: Make sure there are available check-ins for CWU football on foursquare. May 1: Begin strengthening social media accounts, gain new friends of Wellington on facebook as well as followers of twitter accounts such as @cwu_football and @WellingtonCWU to gain awareness of the upcoming season in the fall of 2012. It may take awhile to gain the amount of followers and friends wed like so starting this early in the quarter prior to the season can help bolster our numbers.

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May 1: Launch idea of Cat Pack spirit club for next year, keeping people informed and updated about what the club is, what they do and how to get involved. Also launch a twitter account to give updates about the club, @CatPackSpirit

June 1: Evaluate social media accounts popularity and continue to add new followers to get the message out.

June 1: Have strategic plan set in place of when and where we plan to advertise new events as well as prepare all materials to be ready to be distributed in early fall 2012.

Summer Quarter 2012 (June-August): Promote throughout the summer for the upcoming season by adding a countdown to social media accounts, use hash tags on twitter to be used to trend and easily follow. Continue to prepare advertising materials, finalize what will be used and how it can be used most effectively. Have advertisements up in Residents Halls encouraging incoming students at orientation to participate in new activities such as the March to Tomlinson Stadium, half time games, etc. Fall Quarter 2012 (September-December) Week of September 17, 2012: Prepare for launch of ad campaign throughout campus, such as campus ads, SURC table tents First week of class: Student Intranet posting, Cat Pack signups begin Week prior to first home game: get everyone involved knowing that new events are being held, making when and where info very available easy to spread by word of mouth. Sunday before first home game: Begin airing Meet the Team videos online on YouTube, one per week of each home game.

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First home game day: Pregame pep rally to show off and inform about all the new events and promotions being held before and during each home game.

Week following first home game: Start Wellingtons facebook photo contest Throughout season: o Countdown tweets for each game; social media campaign continues to gain momentum. o Select winners of photo contest each week following a home game, post to Wellingtons facebook. o Informally monitor attendance, crowd participation and spirit at games

Evaluation Strategies: Objective 1: Increase upperclassmen (junior, senior) full attendance throughout the entire game by 10%.

Post campaign survey of upperclassmen, giving them questions about their attendance last year versus the current season Open ended questions to see attitudes on new events, also how attitudes about old events have possibly changed due to new promotion strategies Team with Wildcat Tickets to see if ticket sales increase in this particular class grouping Put together post campaign focus group to discuss in detail the same topics we discussed in the pre evaluation focus group. Do you follow any football or CWU twitter accounts? What about Wellingtons facebook Have you heard of Cat Pack? If so how? If yes, did you participate in the Cat Pack? What do you think of the new events?

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Have a post season meeting with the athletic department to see how they viewed the season in terms of success and attendance rates Measure twitter followers and Wellingtons facebook friends as a way to evaluate social media awareness and attention success Number of views and likes of Meet the Team videos on YouTube to be linked to other social media accounts (facebook, twitter) that will be put up weekly Number of participants in the Wellington facebook photo contest Number of participants in Cat Pack, peoples awareness of this football spirit club

Objective 2: Increase Underclassmen Attendance by 5% from last seasons attendance

Post campaign survey of underclassman Focusing on their views of the newer pregame events put in place to help increase attendance in their age range Do you follow any football or CWU twitter accounts? What about Wellingtons facebook Have you heard about Cat Pack? If yes, how so? Team with Wildcat Tickets to see if ticket sales increased in this particular class grouping Put together post campaign focus group to discuss in detail the same topics we discussed in the pre evaluation focus group. Have a post season meeting with the athletic department to see how they viewed the season in terms of success and attendance rates Use twitter followers and Wellingtons facebook friends as a way to evaluate social media awareness and attention success Number of views and likes of Meet the Team videos on YouTube to be linked to other social media accounts that will be put up weekly Number of participants in the Wellington facebook photo contest Number of participants in Cat Pack, peoples awareness of this football spirit club

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Objective 3: Increase fan participation during games

Meet with Athletic Department to discuss how they view the success of new ways to increase fan participation Surveys to students about increased participation Surveys to football game staff to see their views on fan participation Count Cat Pack attendance during games Count fan participation and involvement in sponsored events, games, and contests Number of fans taking part in pregame rallies such as the Spirit Walk to Tomlinson Stadium

Appendix A: Included in the collateral packet: Example Brochure: These brochures are going to be passed out throughout the SURC and put on the tables to highlight the new events associated with football games.

Meet the Team story board idea for a video: There will be a contest where students are asked to submit questions they want to ask the football team. Once the questions are selected we would interview the team individually and ask them the questions. This would be a promotional video placed on Wellingtons facebook, twitter accounts and other social media outlets. The purpose is to make the students get involved with the team so that they know who is playing during the games.

Press release: General Press Release about the Cat Pack and the new March to Tomlinson Stadium that will occur before every home game next season. o The point of this would is to involve students living in the dorms, showing them an easy way to get involved and show school spirit. Social Media accounts:

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The social media accounts for CWU football are lagging and need updates. We took screen shots of the current twitter and Facebook accounted, they are followed by ways to update them to become a success promotional tool.

Flyer schedule: o A flyer that shows the current seasons schedule to be added to orientation packets and to be put up on poster boards on campus.