Northwestern (finally) steps up to market their program

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GoAUpher

GoAUpher

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A little OT, but thought some might be interested in how another B10 school that has had trouble with marketing is tackling the problem. I'm not saying the U is as bad as the Wildcats (they just hired a full time ticket sales staff...I mean, WTF?). But there seems to be a consensus here that the U could be doing a better job with ticket sales/marketing so I thought this might generate some discussion. Anyway, the links:
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/14001/northwestern-starts-major-marketing-push
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/spr...oney-into-chicago-ads-gameday-experience.html
http://www.laketheposts.com/2010/06/seismic-day-nah-already-happened.html
 

I wonder what the "resistance" from the city of Evanston that was mentioned in the ESPN article entails? I made my first trip to NW last season and was shocked at the lack of enthusiasm on campus for gameday.
 

It will be tough. Aside from having a small scattered alumni base... Chicago is a pro sports city first and foremost.
There are college football people there, but Notre Dame, Illinois, wisky, Iowa, and Michigan all have a strong presence there.
 

Arguably the best road game I've been on. I've been to Iowa twice, Wisconsin twice, Michigan once.
Endless hotel options.
Endless bar options.
Endless dinner/food options.
TWO AIRPORTS!
No need to rent a car.

Iowa on the otherhand is the total opposite of the above, especially with the hotels. Have they remodeled or built a new hotel in Iowa City within the past 35 years?
 

GoGophers2005 said:
Iowa on the otherhand is the total opposite of the above, especially with the hotels. Have they remodeled or built a new hotel in Iowa City within the past 35 years?
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If it's possible, I think Illinois is worse for hotels.
 


MrGopher said:
It will be tough. Aside from having a small scattered alumni base... Chicago is a pro sports city first and foremost.
There are college football people there, but Notre Dame, Illinois, wisky, Iowa, and Michigan all have a strong presence there.
Click to expand...

That's why I'm interested to see what their new guy can do. Like the articles said, he turned out the fans for an Arena league team that played in a dump in a pro-sports town. I'm also interested to see what works (if anything) for Northwestern as they are the closest parallel to the U in terms of city environment and I suspect similar strategies could work here.
 


I've heard during a football broadcast that every school in the Big Ten with the exception of Penn State has more alumni in the Chicago area than Northwestern. That makes establishing a following very difficult. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and never heard about Northwestern football until the Rose Bowl season. It's hard to go head-to-head with the Bears. They are the one team that unifies the city.

Evanston is a very wealthy community with a football stadium in the middle of a neighborhood. I would imagine those people are thrilled with the lack of enthusiasm for Northwestern football since it keeps people out of their yards.
 

gophmeister said:
Oh no, I'm thinking about going there this year.
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I would suggest finding a hotel ASAP. I booked a month ago and am out by the interstate. Even the terrible Red Roof Inn I stayed at in 2008 was sold out.
 



Northwestern shouldn't need to market their program at all.

According to the opinions of many on this board - 3 BT titles in 15 years, a rose bowl appearance, 9 wins two seasons in a row, and several NYD bowl game is all it should take to make a program wildly successful. Win and the fans will follow, many seem to think. Hmmm, that didn't seem to work for NW.

Wait - now the problem is marketing? Of course! That's all it takes! Nope, probably not.

Wait - maybe combining the recent winning with marketing??? GENIUS! I'm sure now they will go from 25,000 fans a game to 40,000 (and the 25,000 includes fans from other BT schools which always come out in droves to Evanston, like Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio State). Check back at the end of the year for the NW marketing efforts. It will probably not make much of a dent in the empty seats.

Here's the reality. Chicago, like MPLS, is a pro sports market. Unless you go or contend for a Rose Bowl every year people are not going to care.

Luckily we don't have a Notre Dame to contend with here, nor a University of Illinois down the road. But we do have the Vikings - and they are an obstacle in our way.
 


josh087 said:
Northwestern shouldn't need to market their program at all.

According to the opinions of many on this board - 3 BT titles in 15 years, a rose bowl appearance, 9 wins two seasons in a row, and several NYD bowl game is all it should take to make a program wildly successful. Win and the fans will follow, many seem to think. Hmmm, that didn't seem to work for NW.

Wait - now the problem is marketing? Of course! That's all it takes! Nope, probably not.

Wait - maybe combining the recent winning with marketing??? GENIUS! I'm sure now they will go from 25,000 fans a game to 40,000 (and the 25,000 includes fans from other BT schools which always come out in droves to Evanston, like Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio State). Check back at the end of the year for the NW marketing efforts. It will probably not make much of a dent in the empty seats.

Here's the reality. Chicago, like MPLS, is a pro sports market. Unless you go or contend for a Rose Bowl every year people are not going to care.

Luckily we don't have a Notre Dame to contend with here, nor a University of Illinois down the road. But we do have the Vikings - and they are an obstacle in our way.
Click to expand...

The big difference between the Gophers and Northwestern is that the U has a large number of alumni based in the Twin Cities, something Northwestern will never have in Chicago. Given similar results to Northwestern on the field, I have no doubt Gopher football would be far more popular than it is today, but it will never be as popular as college football is in markets that do not have professional sports.
 

josh087 said:
Here's the reality. Chicago, like MPLS, is a pro sports market. Unless you go or contend for a Rose Bowl every year people are not going to care.
Click to expand...

It's also an elite private school. People don't have the feeling of ownership of the University like they do with U of I.
 



Northwestern really is an odd duck in the Big Ten. The other schools are huge public schools, Northwestern is small and private. Northwestern draws from all over the country. The other Big Ten schools, while they do get a number of students from all over the country, much more of their students are local.

Still, even a small private school can appeal to the community, they just have to find a way to connect with the community more. The more a school is a bubble isolated from its community, the less the community will pay attention to it.
 

Why does Northwestern need marketing?

They've got a stadium full of fans.

northwestern-fan.jpg
 


I can't take credit for it. It was created by an unmentionable blog that's usually quite hillarious. They refer to Northwestern as "jNWU' or justNorthwestern.
 

NateDawgUM said:
It's also an elite private school. People don't have the feeling of ownership of the University like they do with U of I.
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Fair point about the fanbase - they also have a large number of foreign students that will be slower to adapt american football - so they aren't ever going to be 100K strong in the seats - but with their recent success on the field and #3 media market they should attract more than 20-22K per home game.

But the U of M with its enrollment numbers and alumni has the potential for much, much bigger crowds and fan support.
 

It definitey is a huge disadvantage being in such a small rural area with such a small media market.

Seriousely, they could be about the 10th most popular fall sport in the area and they should sell out. It's frikken Chicago not Madison.

Pathetic if you ask me, any excuse is just that.

Same is true here, and we're a much smaller market than Chicago.

If you win it just takes less marketing, but we're the biggest college game in the entire state.

Northwestern is the biggest in Chicago. If you say that's not enough of a fan base to draw from, you're telling me College football isn't a sellable product.
 

What you're saying totally makes sense - but that's the impact the Pro Sports Market, particularly the NFL, has on teams like the Gophers. Yet people underestimate it all the time - "No, if the Gophers start winning more, they would get the fans." The truth is that they will get fans that only care about following a winning team - not the true fans like you and I, which are the fans that programs need. As soon as the big winning stops, the fan support goes right away with it.

Because of this - winning for a season or two is not the long term answer, because it doesn't get you the true fans.
 

I totally agree.

I'm not sure why the U of M, with what I imagine is one of the best biz programs in the world, doesn't want to do basic product marketing. Seriously, they can't solve this riddle and they want to impress the world with their business acumen?? Northwestern too.

Boggles my mind.
 

The U could stand to have better communication. It does seem that the different parts of the athletic department don't communicate well. It seems that e-mails get ignored. I do have to say this for Maturi, he responds to e-mails. But I shouldn't have to e-mail his office to get a question answered. Sometimes you send an e-mail, but aren't sure if you have the right department. They should forward it to the right department instead of ignoring it.

It may seem like a small thing, but I am signing my daughter up for Goldy's Kids Club for the first time. There is a PDF file to join on GopherSports.com, but it still says 09-10. The first games of the Gopher season start three weeks from today. I've e-mailed them but it's been ignored. It would take about 5 minutes to update the PDF. It just seems to indicate that the marketing just isn't all that high a priority.
 

Good for Northwestern. Frankly, I think it's sad that the seats there don't sell themselves. You rarely hear about off the field problems, the teams have played good football, and I think Pat Fitzgerald is a class act.

I think the situation is much different in Minnesota.

If the Gophers could put together 3 consecutive 8+ win seasons that include occasional wins over Iowa and Wisconsin, the fans will come.

It's not that Minneapolis is a pro-town--- it's that Minnesota only shows up for a winner. Need proof? Look to the U's hockey and basketball teams--- in Monson's final season and Molinari's only season The Barn was empty.
 

wels0081 said:
Good for Northwestern. Frankly, I think it's sad that the seats there don't sell themselves. You rarely hear about off the field problems, the teams have played good football, and I think Pat Fitzgerald is a class act.

I think the situation is much different in Minnesota.

If the Gophers could put together 3 consecutive 8+ win seasons that include occasional wins over Iowa and Wisconsin, the fans will come.

It's not that Minneapolis is a pro-town--- it's that Minnesota only shows up for a winner. Need proof? Look to the U's hockey and basketball teams--- in Monson's final season and Molinari's only season The Barn was empty.
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I couldn't disagree more. Three 8-win seasons in a row, while it would no doubt help some, will make only a minimal impact on attendance. And as soon as another 8 win season doesn't happen - crash. Even if it helps to the degree you seem to think it will - it is not the long term solution we need.

The Barn filling up was Tubby Smith's doing - not winning. The season tickets increased obviously before the team ever played a game with him as coach. Tubby is a legendary coach that was able (by himself) to bring interest to the team again.

It would have been similar to if Steve Spurrier came here instead of South Carolina. THAT would have made Gopher Football interesting, and put butts in the seats before they even took the field. If we can't get rid of the pro sports teams that is what we need to do to get the average fan to at least pay attention.

Because it is a pro sports town, it takes a lot to get the attention of the fans - and a couple "nice 8-4 seasons" isn't going to cut it. Especially when you know that Reusse et. al will drive home in article after article that the 8-win seasons were not even special at all since they were filled with 3 cupcake NC wins and 2 more against BT bottom feeders. "When are the Gophers actually going to win the big games?" they will write.

Lou Holtz was able to do it with his personality. Tubby did it with his pedigree. We need to do that again with Gopher Football. Then the interest comes. Then you couple the wins with the interest. That is the formula for success.
 

For years

For years Loon and Wren had mentioned how we had the most disadvantaged program in the HISTORY of college football. Wren felt Northwestern was a Penthouse compared to us. If anyone can win at Northwestern with those academic standards then it can happen here. Northwestern found a good group of coaches in Barnett, Randy, and coach Fitz. They've had three Big Ten titles in recent history and I'm sure one is on the way with coach Fitz. Good coaches make the difference. Coach Fitz is always quick to point the finger at himself if they lose. I hope Brewster turns out to be the right guy. I like his attitude compared to Mase that we can win Big Ten championships here and National Championships. Now we just need to see better results on the field then the mediocrity we are stuck it. I hope Brewster is the right guy but that will be up to him and his coaches in how they get the kids to perform on Saturdays.
 

josh087 said:
I couldn't disagree more. Three 8-win seasons in a row, while it would no doubt help some, will make only a minimal impact on attendance. And as soon as another 8 win season doesn't happen - crash. Even if it helps to the degree you seem to think it will - it is not the long term solution we need.

The Barn filling up was Tubby Smith's doing - not winning. The season tickets increased obviously before the team ever played a game with him as coach. Tubby is a legendary coach that was able (by himself) to bring interest to the team again.

It would have been similar to if Steve Spurrier came here instead of South Carolina. THAT would have made Gopher Football interesting, and put butts in the seats before they even took the field. If we can't get rid of the pro sports teams that is what we need to do to get the average fan to at least pay attention.

Because it is a pro sports town, it takes a lot to get the attention of the fans - and a couple "nice 8-4 seasons" isn't going to cut it. Especially when you know that Reusse et. al will drive home in article after article that the 8-win seasons were not even special at all since they were filled with 3 cupcake NC wins and 2 more against BT bottom feeders. "When are the Gophers actually going to win the big games?" they will write.

Lou Holtz was able to do it with his personality. Tubby did it with his pedigree. We need to do that again with Gopher Football. Then the interest comes. Then you couple the wins with the interest. That is the formula for success.
Click to expand...

Lou was a short term fix, and once that wore off and he skipped town, the fan base was even more cynical. I realize Brew hasn't won anything yet, but he is at least taking a ground up approach to building a complete program. You seem to favor the Redskins approach of quick fixes. I don't want to build a team through the draft/recruiting, I want to win now with splashy coaches/free agents! Some things just take time. I think Brew made a ton of mistakes, but it seems he's learned from them. Veteran coordinators that are happy to be here. Young up and coming position coaches who can recruit. Lock down the borders as much as possible. Only thing left is to win and this program would be in great shape. If he can't get us over the hump, we're in great shape for the next coach.
 

Section2 said:
Lou was a short term fix, and once that wore off and he skipped town, the fan base was even more cynical. I realize Brew hasn't won anything yet, but he is at least taking a ground up approach to building a complete program. You seem to favor the Redskins approach of quick fixes. I don't want to build a team through the draft/recruiting, I want to win now with splashy coaches/free agents! Some things just take time. I think Brew made a ton of mistakes, but it seems he's learned from them. Veteran coordinators that are happy to be here. Young up and coming position coaches who can recruit. Lock down the borders as much as possible. Only thing left is to win and this program would be in great shape. If he can't get us over the hump, we're in great shape for the next coach.
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I think we're talking about different things. I am all for the big ten style of play with a solid offensive line, a foundation of the running game, and the ground-up approach to building a team through young position coaches who can recruit. Count me in.

But to really take our program to the next level (and to increase the budget at the same time) we need the fans. This thread is about NW unable to get fans DESPITE the fact that they have had even more success than us over the last 15 years, AND have a bigger media market to draw from.

We can't be afraid to hire great coaches who can invigorate the fans in this town because they might leave after a couple of seasons. It's not a quick fix when you're unable to control who you pick for your team - so your argument of drafts and free agents doesn't make sense at all. The Gophers can't bring in a Brett Favre-like player who will draw all of the average Joes and Janes to the TV set. I don't necessarily want a flashy coach - but I want a good coach who will captivate fans. The perfect example is Tubby - a great coach who got people excited about the team again. That's what we need for Gopher Football. Otherwise, unless we win or seriously contend for a BT Title year-in-and-year-out, the vast majority won't care.

You also talk about locking down borders - but it has been proven year after year that most of the 4 & 5 star MN HS recruits only care about the NFL, because that is all that people care about in the state where they have spent their whole life. We need those types of recruits. The 2 and 3 star MN kids (please save your Eslinger and Decker exceptions to the rule) aren't going to elevate us to a BT Title. If John Clay lived in MN - he would have never stayed home. But since he grew up near Madison, he had an affinity for the Badgers - just like the rest of the state does. You could spend every waking moment recruiting these kids with the best recruiting coaches in the country and it wouldn't make a lick of difference. Locking down the borders has as much to do with how popular your team is with fans as it does with who is the best recruiter.
 

josh087 said:
I think we're talking about different things. I am all for the big ten style of play with a solid offensive line, a foundation of the running game, and the ground-up approach to building a team through young position coaches who can recruit. Count me in.

But to really take our program to the next level (and to increase the budget at the same time) we need the fans. This thread is about NW unable to get fans DESPITE the fact that they have had even more success than us over the last 15 years, AND have a bigger media market to draw from.

We can't be afraid to hire great coaches who can invigorate the fans in this town because they might leave after a couple of seasons. It's not a quick fix when you're unable to control who you pick for your team - so your argument of drafts and free agents doesn't make sense at all. The Gophers can't bring in a Brett Favre-like player who will draw all of the average Joes and Janes to the TV set. I don't necessarily want a flashy coach - but I want a good coach who will captivate fans. The perfect example is Tubby - a great coach who got people excited about the team again. That's what we need for Gopher Football. Otherwise, unless we win or seriously contend for a BT Title year-in-and-year-out, the vast majority won't care.

You also talk about locking down borders - but it has been proven year after year that most of the 4 & 5 star MN HS recruits only care about the NFL, because that is all that people care about in the state where they have spent their whole life. We need those types of recruits. The 2 and 3 star MN kids (please save your Eslinger and Decker exceptions to the rule) aren't going to elevate us to a BT Title. If John Clay lived in MN - he would have never stayed home. But since he grew up near Madison, he had an affinity for the Badgers - just like the rest of the state does. You could spend every waking moment recruiting these kids with the best recruiting coaches in the country and it wouldn't make a lick of difference. Locking down the borders has as much to do with how popular your team is with fans as it does with who is the best recruiter.
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My point being, we have an extremely cynical fan base. We only need to win. Flashy coaches aren't going to change anything. I know you say you don't want flashy, but rather a good coach who captivates fans. Who is that though? Would Troy Calhoun captivate fans? no. Only a Kiffin type hire would create buzz, and that's what I mean by flashy coach. The closest correlary to Tubby would be Phil Fulmer. Again, I don't think he's packing the house. So we agree this is all about building a winning program. And I think we really are. I don't know if Brew is the guy to translate that talent increase into wins, but he's doing everything else the right way.
 

Section2 said:
Only a Kiffin type hire would create buzz, and that's what I mean by flashy coach.
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But what kind of buzz? Would it equal more interest? If we hired Leach TCF we would have 100% renewal and probably every student ticket would be sold immediately upon offer. However, I think he's too controversial. Someone like Fulmer would be a push. I think naysayers would have enough ammo to poke holes in any hype he'd create despite his success at Tennessee. Calhoun or the guy from Navy would mollify the season ticket base and create interest among disaffected fans.
 

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