Ideas that work

Buffalo Wild Wings Noise Meter

University of Dayton

Contact: David Weisser, marketing assistant

Who: All fans in attendance.

What: Gift certificates, sponsor T-shirts, matrix board message and matrix animation.

When: Various times throughout the game when the fans are on their feet and cheering loudly.

What sport: In this case, men's basketball.

How: When fans are extremely loud and cheering, the animated noise meter starts. If the fans continue to scream loudly, the noise meter increases until it "explodes." If the noise meter explodes, workers wearing "prize patrol" T-shirts will run into the stands and give away gift certificates to the loudest fans. Dayton used Buffalo Wild Wings (the sponsor) sauces -- mild, medium, hot and blazin' -- to identify the levels of the noise meter. A corresponding message also ran on the matrix board thanking the sponsor.

Valentine Vows

University of New Mexico

Contact: Athletics marketing staff

Who: The promotion was targeted at Albuquerque-area couples who were interested in renewing their wedding vows or getting married for the first time. Their family and friends were a secondary target.

When/where: This was an official wedding ceremony that took place on the floor of The Pit during halftime of the February 14 women's basketball game.

What: Because a women's basketball game was scheduled on Valentine's Day, the marketing staff wanted to have a halftime that related to that theme. The wedding was a combination of first-time vows (marriage license required) and renewals. Renewals were required to provide a copy of their original marriage certificate for verification purposes.

Contest: A contest was held for couples who wanted to participate in the ceremony. They were required to submit, in 100 words or less, why they would like to be married at a Lobo basketball game. The top 50 submissions would be married or renewed on the court at halftime. The response deadline was January 23.

Advertising: The contest was advertised by the home page and basketball page on the Web site, in the basketball game program, public-address announcements at each game, fliers at each game and selected other locations, correspondence with Lobo Club members, radio spots, press releases and plugs on the radio network's flagship station.

Word traveled about the promotion, and stories about the couples and the event were run on the morning and evening editions of the local television news, the New Mexico Business Weekly, the Albuquerque Journal, a student television show and the campus newspaper.

UC Irvine Baseball Bash

University of California, Irvine

Contact: Robby Ray, athletics
marketing staff

What: The "Baseball Bash" is similar to basketball's "Midnight Magic." UC Irvine is believed to be the only program in the country conducting such an event for baseball. The kickoff for the 2004 baseball season was designed to raise campus and community excitement for the upcoming season.

Where: The event was conducted at Anteater Ballpark about a week before the first home game.

How: "Baseball Bash" is meant to be a kickoff celebration for the upcoming baseball season. This is the program's chance to introduce fans to the team, to allow the team to showcase its skills and to develop a connection between the team and fans. The event was broken into three parts: team and coaching-staff introductions, fielding drills and a home-run derby, and on-field skills booths.

After the team and coaches were introduced to the crowd, coach John Savage addressed the crowd and discussed the upcoming season. The team then took normal infield practice to showcase its skills in the field. That was followed by the popular home-run derby in which nine of the team's best hitters were split into three teams. Each section of the crowd was assigned a team, and if that team hit the most homers, then all fans sitting in that section received a coupon for an In-N-Out burger.

As a finale, all attending fans were invited onto the field to participate in drills with the players. There were five on-field stations: (1) batting cages, (2) accuracy pitch, (3) speed pitch, (4) 40-yard dash and (5) an autograph session. The interactive feature was especially popular with students, who enjoyed demonstrating that they also can hit, throw and run like a collegiate athlete.