Hello world! Its me again! I know its been since January, but I’ve actually have been keeping a log book of things I’d love to write about if I ever got the time. I’m getting back in the saddle, this time a senior with a year-long internship under my belt (reason #1 for sketching out).
As this is a blog dedicated to talking about the PR examples I find in my everyday world, I want to talk about one right here on campus. The UGA soccer team has been putting in some work with regards to advertising this season. You can see their schedule and other game videos here: http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/w-soccer/geo-w-soccer-body.html
I had hoped to have pictures of these for you all, but I’ll keep working on that. In the mean time, here are some cool ideas for guerilla marketing. The soccer team had the message “Soccer Game Today,” followed by the Georgia “G” symbol emblazoned on neon, highlighter yellow t-shirts. Instead of following the usual protocol and handing these out to the first 500 students to attend the game (or in the case of the equestrian team, merely having the athletes walk around with them on), the promotions department has seen fit to have the bus drivers wear them.
This is genius, and I’ll tell you why. First of all, who doesn’t love a free t-shirt? Of course the bus drivers are going to wear them! Second of all, everyone notices because we are on a very large campus and need to take a bus to get to class. Third, buses are normally not on time, so everyone is LOOKING FOR THEM. Not to mention, we have the second largest bus system in the state (just under ATL’s Marta), so they covered a lot of ground with a little bit of effort.
This campaign is similar to one done by ugaMiracle (www.ugamiracle.org) in 2009 when students wore neon “I’m Seth” t-shirts the day after “Ask Seth” fliers were hung everywhere. They were also fined for chalk violations (word to the wise, it’s apparently the quickest way to get fined $200 if you’re a student organization.
On another note, the soccer team has also rebranded themselves as “Soccer City, UGA.” There is a huge billboard, t-shirts were given out (to students this time), they have new posters, and they are incorporating more community involvement from both Athens and UGA.
Not only is the new logo cool, but they really are working hard to get their word out. It seems to be working. Student organizations are tailgating before soccer games (Athletic Training Association, anybody?), there is hardly any space in the stands, and the majorettes have performed at halftime. The soccer game has become a celebration and the thing to do on a Friday night!
One thing I thought was really cool was they have begun to let the little league team players run out on the field with the varsity girls. This is something we saw during the World Cup, where each team would stand with children from the country. This is a new step of involvement for the Athens community, which normally has its little leaguers as ball girls and half-time scrimmagers. I thought it was cool, and so did the proud parents taking pictures.
All in all, props to the marketing force behind the UGA soccer team this year. People are noticing and your work is paying off. I will try to take pictures of these things soon and keep you updated. For now, they still have some games left this season if you want to check them out and let me know what you think!
