UConn Bringing in Marketing Team to Fill Seats

[EricLA]

Eric--I NEVER disagree with you so I'll just add a different point of view:

That comment is super scary! LOL!

 

[Monte]

One of my pet peeves. No way in Hades should those upper level seats be the same price. After the first few rows up there , you're just so far away from the court. Not a great value at $26 for the usual blow out. I know I won't attend a game at the XL Center and sit in the upper bowl for over $15. Sorry, a retiree on a budget and these games also require a parking fee and usually dinner out.

Went to three games at Gampel on a package deal, about $15 per ticket, there's my price point again. Glad I'm retired so we could arrive at 5:30! Traffic already existed getting into the parking garage! I fully understand why people don't attend games up there.

Hate Bridgeport, awful traffic, terrible egress in and out, have to add as much time as going to Storrs, most expensive parking.

Went to the AAC Tournament, easiest egress, free parking, great arena for hoop.

You make some good points. This same topic came up 2 or 3 years ago, and Geno said he was going to come up with some solutions......I didn't see any!!
It bothers me to be at a game and see several empty seats in the lower section, while many of us(far up) wish that we had brought our binoculars. The traffic, after the games in Bridgeport last year was terrible! I have talked to several loyal fans who said they would NEVER go to Bridgeport again!

 

[Carnac]

I've read every comment here. Some of you have suggested some interesting and thought provoking ideas. "If there is a will, there is a way". If this committee is worth their salt, they should be able to find a viable/workable solution to this dilemma. It may mean thinking far outside of the box. Employing concepts and strategies that have never been used. Ticket pricing changes for different levels/sections of seating, lowering parking prices as well as making entering and exiting the parking structure easier and faster. Providing bus transportation to the game for those in need of that service.

The committee must begin this endeavor embracing the concept that "anything is possible", and work backwards. Be unconventional, find a way. Make a way out of no way. Don't be afraid to try the impossible. Get it done!!! Failure is not an option!! I'd bet a twelve pack you could get a group of us (retired common sense thinking old salt Boneyarders) together, and we could figure something out that would work.

Identify, acknowledge and fully understand the dynamics of the obstacles now in place that are impeding sellouts at Gampel Pavilion for the Women's games, and eliminate them. Make concessions where they need to be made. Rob Peter to pay Paul, but find a way. If the collective intelligence quotient of this group is what it is purported to be, this should not be a problem. Again, think outside of the box. You've got a problem that may take an "unconventional" solution to fix. Don't be afraid to "go where no man has gone before" (Star Trek). Be radical in your thinking and approach.

Look around the country to see what other programs with low attendance issues are doing that could work for UConn. Don't be afraid or intimidated to use and employ policies and procedures that are working at other venues. UConn is not the only program that is having these challenges. The number 1 ranked team in the country, and winner of the last 4 national championships should not have a problem filling a 10,167 seat arena for their home games. I understand the dynamics are very different, but if South Carolina can sell 18,000 tickets for their home games, UConn should be able to fill an arena half that size. UConn must figure out a way to give their fans a reason to go to the arena and see the game in person. Every UConn home game should be sold out/every seat occupied, regardless of the venue.

I would like to see this firm/committee accept this challenge similar to law firms that offer to represent you in a civil law case with the agreement and understanding that if they don't win your case, you owe them nothing.
We've put men on the moon. They should be able to figure this one out. No excuses..................Get it done!!!!

 

[ctfjr]

The one dynamic no one seems to be discussing is the kids. There are a lot of high school and elementary kids who go to these games.

The more kids the better, the cheaper the better, the earlier the better.....

I liked the point system that got you better and better tickets the longer you have had season tickets. I hate the pricing that allowed some to buy points for the better tickets.

That's a big problem. It's always griped me that my friends & I would go to men's games and have crappy seats while the primo seats were filled with 'fans' for got their tickets from some corporate entity that kicked in big $$$. These 'fans' would be sitting on their hands during the most intense parts of every game. A better solution as stated by another poster would be to give the best seats to the students. Get some life in the building.

That after 35 years of buying seasons tix and having over 1000 'points', my seats are just meh. I'll never get really good seats even if I continue for another 35 years. How about a weighted system of points for long term tix holders. ie 2 pts times # of yrs for each year you buy tix added each year. So you would get 2 pts for the first yr, the second would add 4, the 3rd 6, etc. At the end of 3 years you would have 2+4+6=12 instead of the 2 per yr now. It would help to even out the $$$ donaters.

 

[j66kicker]

This consultant hiring has nothing to do with WBB and everything to do with football and getting into a P5 conference. The OP's whole article was about football, all the stats quoted were about football, football was even in the title. Don't know how anyone could get the idea this is about WBB - ??????

 

[Padutch5]

This consultant hiring has nothing to do with WBB and everything to do with football and getting into a P5 conference. The OP's whole article was about football, all the stats quoted were about football, football was even in the title. Don't know how anyone could get the idea this is about WBB - ??????

I don't know how to link to other articles, but Benedict has said that football is just the first step in this 5 year contract.

 

[Carnac]

This consultant hiring has nothing to do with WBB and everything to do with football and getting into a P5 conference. The OP's whole article was about football, all the stats quoted were about football, football was even in the title. Don't know how anyone could get the idea this is about WBB - ??????

You're right. UConn's football program is driving the bus. THAT is where the focus needs to be. Our football team is the sole bargaining chip/deciding factor that will/won't get UConn into another conference.

The dynamics involved with filling seats in Gampel for women's home games is an "in-house" issue, not a conference matter. Changes need to be made regarding getting those seats filled. The two issues have nothing to do with one another. We understand that not only do seats need to be filled for all UConn home football games, but the product on the field must also drastically improve. We need to win more football games. And win games against some top ranked teams consistently. We all know that. We completely understand the pecking order here.

 

[Drew]

Posted this elsewhere but buy football season tix. Benedict tweeted to how important this is and has been hammering this home in every interview he's done since this Big 12 stuff has started last week. Tickets for the full season start at $112.. really no reason not to get at least 2 if you live within 2 hours of the Rent and want better for UConn as an athletic department. Plus the team should be pretty dang good this year and the schedule is one of our best home schedules in a while

Link to buy: http://ev9.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncomm...linkID=uconn&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=

 

[Kibitzer]

Pitt AD Barnes recently announced several initiatives to stimulate fan interest (i.e. sell more tix) and generate more income (i.e. sell more tix). Among them:

- Beer sales in Heinz Field (already being done at several P5 schools);
- Enhanced tailgate activity;
- Parking app to facilitate drive to Heinz Field;
- Revitalize logo (similar to what UConn did with Jonathan);
- Better transportation options to/from campus/Heinz Field;
- Fan Appreciation gestures for regulars;
- And so on.
​

Reported in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Seems that they are addressing similar issues as UConn hired a PR firm to study..

 

[BroadwayVa]

Eric I am trying to take the positive side of life. Don Quoite (sp?) I get the feeling of being at times--tilting at windmills . I'm ignorant at times unlike guys like you who know what's happening and are fun to read.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Tailgate parties in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma all of which I attended many while Lou Holtz was running the Razorback team ;were huge events with
mobile homes filling the parking lots (special for them) many families only went for the party before and after games. If Uconn fans have zeal of the Texas, Arkansas, or Okla fans--tailgating may prove very successful. But I haven't seen any evidence of it.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Do you want seats filled or coffers filled?

al
If you do the right marketing one equates to the other. But as others have stated, and I'm a basketball fan, it isn't so much about Bb but football

 

[alexrgct]

There are four basic Ps to marketing: product, place, price, promotion. The product is unassailable; after all, it's one of the best sports organizations you can find in North America. The place isn't going to change from Storrs or Hartford. However, the XL Center clearly sells tickets, especially of a weekend, plus Hartford is a logistically simpler trek and more populated a market than is Storrs. Promotion? Sorry, Madison Ave is not my bag, baby. That I would entrust to this consulting firm.

The real issue is price. The question is how price elastic the marketplace is. If sales increase in proportion (or higher) to lowering a price, or decrease in proportion (or higher) to an increase in price, it's a price-elastic market. If the increase/decrease in sales is not proportional to the increase/decrease in price, it's a price-inelastic market. Basic microeconomics say you raise the price if the market is price inelastic. I don't think raising ticket prices from $10 to $15, for instance, will have a 50% impact on attendance. Also on this note, I think the WNBA is raising prices and is being driven to do so by the issue of price elasticity.

My recommendation: don't touch prices next season, but leave the 2017-18 season wide open on that score. The product is going to take a bit of a hit with the departures of Stewie, Morgan, and Mo, so that variable could skew attendance results. We have be cognizant of this. We also should run some experiments on concession prices in 2016-17 to get a better feel for the market elasticity while being very hesitant do so for game tickets. Have more weekend games in Hartford, where the proximity to New Haven and Fairfield Counties is greater than to Storrs, where it's more accessible in bad weather, and where the MSA of 1.5 million people is. Promotion is not my bag, so all I can say is I expect a consulting firm to be more active and creative when it comes to promoting attendance at games.

This is just a start. What else is there to recommend?

 

[Wally East]

Have more weekend games in Hartford, where the proximity to New Haven and Fairfield Counties is greater than to Storrs, where it's more accessible in bad weather, and where the MSA of 1.5 million people is. Promotion is not my bag, so all I can say is I expect a consulting firm to be more active and creative when it comes to promoting attendance at games.

I would suggest just the opposite -- weekend games in Storrs and weeknight games in Hartford. More people live/work in the Hartford area than the Storrs area, so getting to a game after work is easier if it is closer and than they have a shorter drive home on a weeknight. There should be enough fans in downtown alone that could walk to a game after work on a weeknight.

 

[Carnac]

Tailgate parties in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma all of which I attended many while Lou Holtz was running the Razorback team ;were huge events with
mobile homes filling the parking lots (special for them) many families only went for the party before and after games. If Uconn fans have zeal of the Texas, Arkansas, or Okla fans--tailgating may prove very successful. But I haven't seen any evidence of it.

I'm a USCw football fan also. I have been for years. Two of the most impressive tailgate parties I've attended recently are USC and the SF 49'ers. Those folks know how to tailgate. Everything imaginable from soup to nuts. All kinds of motorhomes/E-Z up setups/ mats laid out w/furniture, 50-70" flat screen TV's tuned to games already in progress in central and eastern time zones, not to mention some unique and state of the art BBQ grills.

Food, drinks, music, and fans from the opposing team make for a great pre-cursor to the game. Sometimes, attending/experiencing the tailgate festivities was better than the game, especially if your team lost. I've met some very "special" fans and boosters at tailgates, most of whom have a good "buzz" going by the time they arrive at their seats. Some of the more "over-the-top" fans try an out do every one else with elaborate and out of this world unique type set-ups.

Admittedly, the weather out here on the west coast is much more conducive to outdoor tailgating than that in Storrs in the dead of winter. A winter weekend day in Sept-Dec here is usually in the 60-80 degree range. We've had game days here that was tee-shirt & shorts, sun visors and sunglasses days. Plenty of beer, BBQ, your favorite music and old friends/classmates make for a tailgating experience to die for.

It's understood that tailgating with snow on the ground in sub-freezing weather is more of a challenge. If the university could create a tailgating experience similar to that at a "Super bowl", that would no doubt draw out more potential UConn fans and alum to games.

To quote you BroadwayVa, If UConn fans have zeal of the Texas, Arkansas, or Okla fans--tailgating may prove very successful. This can be achieved. But it will take some radical "out of the box" type thinking and planning to make it happen. They need to figure out how some way to make attending a UConn home game an experience not to be missed.

 

[alexrgct]

I would suggest just the opposite -- weekend games in Storrs and weeknight games in Hartford. More people live/work in the Hartford area than the Storrs area, so getting to a game after work is easier if it is closer and than they have a shorter drive home on a weeknight. There should be enough fans in downtown alone that could walk to a game after work on a weeknight.

I can tell you with confidence that games at XL are very, very well attended on average over the weekends. Night games don't work as well with kids, who have homework and family/social/extra-curricular commitments. On a Saturday afternoon? Attendance is close to or greater than the capacity of Storrs.

 

[Wally East]

I can tell you with confidence that games at XL are very, very well attended on average over the weekends. Night games don't work as well with kids, who have homework and family/social/extra-curricular commitments. On a Saturday afternoon? Attendance is close to or greater than the capacity of Storrs.

Oh, I'm not saying they aren't well-attended on the weekends But, night games aren't going to work well for those with kids regardless of the location. Making that location further away -- Storrs -- makes it ever harder.

But, if your point is that families with kids can only go to weekend games, then, sure, make sure you put those games in the largest possible arena if you think that optimizes attendance.

This kind of makes me want to look at the attendance numbers for the past five seasons: XL weekends/weeknights and Gampel weekends/weeknights. If I get a chance, I'll do this but if someone else wants to, have at it

 

[DICKG]

This consultant hiring has nothing to do with WBB and everything to do with football and getting into a P5 conference. The OP's whole article was about football, all the stats quoted were about football, football was even in the title. Don't know how anyone could get the idea this is about WBB - ??????

You are correct. This is football driven. The "big conferences" want the stands full before they ask us to,join. The University should reach out to all of the fans who used to have season tickets and ask why they no longer purchase season tickets. This can easily be done electronically.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I'm a USCw football fan also. I have been for years. Two of the most impressive tailgate parties I've attended recently are USC and the SF 49'ers. Those folks know how to tailgate. Everything imaginable from soup to nuts. All kinds of motorhomes/E-Z up setups/ mats laid out w/furniture, 50-70" flat screen TV's tuned to games already in progress in central and eastern time zones, not to mention some unique and state of the art BBQ grills.

Food, drinks, music, and fans from the opposing team make for a great pre-cursor to the game. Sometimes, attending/experiencing the tailgate festivities was better than the game, especially if your team lost. I've met some very "special" fans and boosters at tailgates, most of whom have a good "buzz" going by the time they arrive at their seats. Some of the more "over-the-top" fans try an out do every one else with elaborate and out of this world unique type set-ups.

Admittedly, the weather out here on the west coast is much more conducive to outdoor tailgating than that in Storrs in the dead of winter. A winter weekend day in Sept-Dec here is usually in the 60-80 degree range. We've had game days here that was tee-shirt & shorts, sun visors and sunglasses days. Plenty of beer, BBQ, your favorite music and old friends/classmates make for a tailgating experience to die for.

It's understood that tailgating with snow on the ground in sub-freezing weather is more of a challenge. If the university could create a tailgating experience similar to that at a "Super bowl", that would no doubt draw out more potential UConn fans and alum to games.

To quote you BroadwayVa, If UConn fans have zeal of the Texas, Arkansas, or Okla fans--tailgating may prove very successful. This can be achieved. But it will take some radical "out of the box" type thinking and planning to make it happen. They need to figure out how some way to make attending a UConn home game an experience not to be missed.

There you go with your West Coast Bias--my daughters from San Diego and Palo Alto --push that at me all the time. However, the Arkansas and Texas
crowds have their share of cold, bad weather--admittedly it usually lasts for a few days--those guys, women, teens are a rowdy bunch--and I have never had so much fun as I did when I worked parking cars/van/motorhomes at Texas-Arkansas games (while at UALR)--the money was incidental or getting into the game
at half time--it was the PEOPLE--and it's doubtful Connecticut (without big 12 influence) can match that enthusiasm . Arkansans and Texans--regardless of size--have an extra level of fun hidden in their CB boots.

The worst thing the Marketing folks can do is dismiss ANY suggestion or to over think it into obscurity.

 

[Carnac]

There you go with your West Coast Bias--my daughters from San Diego and Palo Alto --push that at me all the time. However, the Arkansas and Texas
crowds have their share of cold, bad weather--admittedly it usually lasts for a few days--those guys, women, teens are a rowdy bunch--and I have never had so much fun as I did when I worked parking cars/van/motorhomes at Texas-Arkansas games (while at UALR)--the money was incidental or getting into the game
at half time--it was the PEOPLE--and it's doubtful Connecticut (without big 12 influence) can match that enthusiasm . Arkansans and Texans--regardless of size--have an extra level of fun hidden in their CB boots.

The worst thing the Marketing folks can do is dismiss ANY suggestion or to over think it into obscurity.

Uh.....sorry about that Broadway, I got carried away. I've been to Texas many times, but never to a TEXAS Longhorn tailgate party before a game. I've love to attend one. I love BBQ. No doubt THAT is the main item on most of the attending "grill master's menu on Saturdays.

If I walked around there decked out in my turban and cape, somebody would recognize me, and offer me a plate. I'd get a plate from somebody, even if I had to buy it. Those guys know how to cook some BBQ in Texas, and I know how to eat some BBQ (washed down of course with lots of cold beer, and then I'd take a nap). A match made in Heaven. Fight on!

 

[j66kicker]

Last time I was in Norman for a game their tailgating had gotten a whole lot more organized than it was when I went to school there. Many of the pre-reserved border spots were apparently wired for cable, as there were tons of flat screen TVs by the grills. Out on the streets beer vendors are allowed to sell out of horse trough ice chests. There were about 5 per block, which was good because the bars were too full to get in.

Best was Clemson, when my daughter was in school there. The primo reserved tailgating spots where up on a hill where you could actually see down into the football field through the open corner at the non-enclosed end. No alcohol served inside, but you're allowed to leave and come back in. So lots of tailgaters leave at halftime with the intention of coming back in. SOME of them do come back in, but many just stay by their vehicle (aka ice chest) and watch the second half from up on the hill.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Do you want seats filled or coffers filled?

Putting people in the seats has all of the intangible benefits, from parking to concessions to t-shirts, hats and other merchandise. Most importantly, fans that attend games in person are vested in your program(s) to a much, much greater degree than those who only watch on TV.

 

[SCGamecock]

Attendance in WBB is a very tricky thing.. some schools win a lot but rarely have big crowds and some schools win very little but have great attendance. It's really difficult to pinpoint why that is.. but what I have discovered is that the schools in WBB with great attendance all have something in common... the coaching staffs/AD have discovered what works for their school/fanbase.

SC's attendance has spiked the last 4/5 years and it's easy to only attribute that to SC being a winning program all of a sudden, but by doing that you discredit all of the work that Dawn and her staff put into making fans feel like a part of the program. Me simply saying "she does a lot" is an understatement, the woman worked hard for those numbers. As an athletic department, SC generally gets top 25 attendance across the board in almost all of their sports.. but what Dawn is doing with WBB is impressive. She has fans INVESTED in the program. She was able to turn fan passion into investment capital... and she started small. Just a few years ago SC had "Drive for 5".. a small fan campaign pushing for a season average of 5,000 fans per game. A few years later and SC now sells over 11,000 season tickets for WCBB. SC could probably have a night game in the middle of the week and have 7,000-8,000 fans show up. All because Dawn has turned the basketball games into more of an event than just a basketball game. I fault some of that on winning and having a good product on the floor but I also credit Dawn here. She really opens her program up to the fans.. encouraging social media activity, her community non profit organizations, her "Chalk Talk" forums before big games, her visibility on campus (it's not uncommon to see her casually interacting in the Student Union and at other events on campus unannounced). She has the students and the local news media in her back pocket (She's always on local TV or the radio and their almost always media availability after practices), the open practices/gyms for fans (which I'm not sure she's going to do this year), the fan interactions after games (players that aren't doing media have to hang around after games for autographs/pictures with fans), the fan caravans for away games (which allow students and fans to travel to away games), having a very popular local DJ (with his own stage) at all home games, team slogans/themes and "fanwear" and so much more.. these things were implemented by Dawn.

UCONN is top 10 in attendance from what I remember, so ya'll aren't doing terrible by any means but I also understand why there's some concern when the best program in the country doesn't sell out 3/4 of their games. A lot of the things that SC does wouldn't work at UCONN.. but the key is to find what works you.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I have been complaining to the UCONN ticket office and the Athletic Offiice by e-mail for it seems like forever!
And if you've been a season ticket holder for a lot of years you're so invested in it you can't give them up!
1. My buddy Glenn & I have been season ticket holders since 1999 and they're in his name! 7 years ago or so Glenn got divorced and moved back to PA. So we want the tickets sent to me in New London not PA. It took 3 years to get them to send the WBB tix to me! Glenn would send the Ticket Office a letter explaining the situation and he'd be told the letter will be in our file so tix will go to NL. For those first 3 years they were sent by FEDEX to Glenn in PA and he'd have to overnight them to me for 1st exhibitions. They finally grew a brain and now I get the tix in NL!
1a. The ticket office has a donation plan where each year you donate $ and you get points but the tix office takes points away also in their cockeyed system. No one at the T.O. understands the policy! Instead of doing it the simple way if you donate $500.00 you have 500 points. The next year you donate $450.00, you have 950 points and so on! Simplify it!
2. I now send my e-mails to the AD and because I'm a no-body donor it's given to Neal Eskin, an asst. AD. I tried to explain to Mr. Eskin that UCONN was sticking it to their loyal fans with all their new policies. For example, Season ticket holders have to pay a donation to get season tickets. The T.O. starts a plan for 3-game packs at Gampel & the XL Center for $45.00 or $15.00 a game with NO donation and other similar plans! He explained UCONN was trying to get NEW people involved! I said not at the expense of their long time fans.
I told Mr. Eskin if the A.D. wanted to help their fans, anyone sitting on bleacher seats at Gampel gets a $2.00 a game deduction to $18.00!
3. UCONN tix are the most expensive by a lot in the USA, $20.00 a game plus parking fees.
a. Bridgeport games are priced way higher than regular tix. For seats comparable to mine at Gampel & XL, 2nd level corner seats for $20.00 I would have to pay $70.00 at The Arena at HY! They raise parking from $5.00 a game to $20.00 a game also!
b. Several years ago in line at XL an older gentleman and his wife said this game, Stanford, was now the only game they go to. He was a big time lawyer in Hartford and donated $5,000+ back in the Field House days to just recently. When he retired his donations went down and his seats went up to AA, GG, etc. When he called the T.O. to ask why, he was told, "If you don't want the damn tickets don't buy them we have thousands of fans that will buy them and hung up on him! I've talked to other fans that are treated the same way!
c. When the BIG EAST Tournament was at Rutgers years ago, Tourney tix went for $45.00 for all games plus NO parking fees. When they moved the BE to Hartford the BE asked Lou Perkins, UCONN AD at the time, what should they charge, and Lou told them "any amount, UCONN fans will pay any amount to see their Huskies!" So prices went up to $195.00 a Tourney package! Plus parking went up too! Almost no one was going so they lowered it to the present $99.00!
d. When the NCAA Tournament starts the 1st and 2nd rounds and the Regionals wherever UCONN is placed is way more expensive than the other sites across the USA!
e. I hear that next season a surcharge of $15.00 will be added to ALL FB & BB season tickets holders to cover the cost of upgrading the Athletic Fields on campus!
UCONN wonders why many fans don't attend FB & BB games, it's because many loyal fans are upset at the way they've been treated!

 

[Carnac]

UCONN is top 10 in attendance from what I remember, so ya'll aren't doing terrible by any means but I also understand why there's some concern when the best program in the country doesn't sell out 3/4 of their games. A lot of the things that SC does wouldn't work at UCONN....... but the key is to find what works you.

Aye matey, there lies the rub.