Sports events are one venue that advertisers are using to target college students and recent graduates, an audience with money in their pockets and lifestyles that don't always expose them to great amounts of traditional advertising.
For so many college students, fall means football, and to reach them advertisers are placing their logos on the outside as well as inside of college stadiums.
To find out how to get your client’s message in front of a young, upscale, mostly male audience, read on. This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Advertising at college football stadiums.
Who
Van Wagner Sports Group, headquartered in New York.
How it works
Ads are placed on large-scale signage in college football stadiums. Programs range from wrapping the stadiums’ perimeter walls to interior signage.
The Field Goal Net Program was developed specifically for Allstate. The sponsor’s logo appears in the center of field goal nets in 55 college stadiums.
Stadium signage targets the larger television audience beyond the fans in the stands. Creative should be simple, bold and clean, says vice president of sales Bill Barbera. “The larger the better because it’s easier seen on television.”
Scoreboard signage is also available but is less visible to TV cameras than other stadium signage.
Stadium signage is often part of a media mix. Allstate is using its branded field goal nets in conjunction with television, print and online advertising.
“Our print and TV ads include images of the net,” says Allstate director of sponsorship and marketing Pamela Hollander.
Markets
Van Wagner works with 55 college football teams in Arizona, Indiana, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Texas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, New Mexico, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The college football stadium wrap program is available at University of Southern California, University of Texas, University of Miami, University of California, Syracuse University, University of Colorado, University of Iowa, Arizona State and San Diego State.
Numbers
Television audiences are the primary target of football net advertising. Fans tuned in to some part of the Ohio State versus Iowa game on Sept. 30 numbered 7,752,379, according to ESPN stats provided by Van Wagner.
How it is measured
Ticket sales and television ratings are used to measure impressions. The majority of games in stadiums with such signage have some television coverage, Barbera says.
“Many of our advertisers buy a stadium wrap from us because the games are re-broadcast on national highlights shows and sports shows. They can buy an ad for a particular game or team and it can end up running again and again on highlight reels around the country.”
What product categories do well
Categories span products and services that appeal to a young, primarily male audience. Products that do well among a high-end demographic audience, such as grads watching the game on television, include insurance and financial services, Barbera says.
The exclusivity of existing partnership agreements with teams and stadiums rule out competing brands within a category. Alcohol, tobacco and gambling aren’t advertised at college sports events.
Demographics
The primary target is 18- to 34-year-old males.
Making the buy
Planning for next season is underway, though programs can be put in place at any time signage is available, Barbera says. One-of-a-kind programs can also be implemented mid-season.
Who’s already on college football stadium signage
Allstate is currently on field goal nets.
What they’re saying
“A few years ago we found that we were not reaching that elusive young male audience through traditional advertising. They were not watching primetime television as much as they used to, but they were watching college football. They’re very passionate about the sport, and we find that if we can engage them around the sport they’re passionate about that, they put you in consideration when they’re shopping. You start the dialogue and they remember your impact on the game that they love.” – Pamela Hollander, director of sponsorship marketing for Allstate
Web site info
Van Wagner at www.vanwagner.com
Etc.
To read about other programs aimed at reaching college students check the Media Life archives for “Your client at the campus movie house,” which ran on Sept. 18, and “Getting the messages out on campuses,” which ran Oct. 2.
In an upcoming issue Media Life will feature the fourth and final article in this series on reaching the college crowd.
