Attracting the

Non-Affiliated Fan to
College Bowl Games

Brian Metz
Matthew Phillips

Executive Summary

With ticket sales as the bread-and-butter of the revenue model for sport properties worldwide,
sport organizations must persevere in their efforts to attract fans to the venue and fill the seats
despite the myriad of distractions that keep fans from coming to the park. This problem is
particularly relevant to the college bowl game sub-segment of the sports industry. With limited
time and resources to attract fans to the stadium, college bowl staffs must think creatively to
optimize the resources available and maximize their ticket revenue. Furthermore, all of this must
be accomplished without relying on the clout of the teams on the field to sell tickets.
We began with a debrief with Bryan Delgado, Event Supervisor at ESPN Events. Through our
discussion we pinpointed the most effective methods of marketing and ticket sales Bryan and his
team utilize for the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX) and the Zaxbys Heart of
Dallas Bowl (Dallas, TX). We also targeted the main areas of improvement and the key performance
indicators. Namely, Bryan was most concerned with finding best practices from throughout the
industry that could assist the two ESPN Events Texas-based bowls in attracting fans to the
stadiumideas that were altogether separate from highlighting the teams competing.
Through extensive qualitative research, most notably in-depth phone interviews with
representatives from 15 college bowl games, we were able to uncover the most relied upon pillars
of college bowl game ticket sales. These themes are outlined throughout the remainder of our
schematic. And from these themes weve laid out the implementation of our top suggestions.
We are recommending the purchase of a big U.S. flag promising a 335% ROI, the founding of a
Dallas Insiders Membership club that could secure the bowls $6 million over the lifetime value of
the customers, the use of Gas Pump marketing, the launch of the Chute for the Stars promotion
with Lockheed Martin, and an on-site sales force partnership, among other ideas. In summary, we
are confident our findings are going to move the needle for ESPN Events.

Table of Contents

Section

Page

Executive Summary
Rationale
Existing Strategies
Quantitative Analysis
Qualitative Research
Common Themes
Big U.S Flag
Bowl Membership Club
GoPump TV
Regional Partnerships
Sales Force
Title Sponsorships
Conclusion
Appendix

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Rationale

College football has some of the most

passionate fans in all of sports. In most
cases, this passion is exclusively for one
team. Bowl games do not have the luxury
of counting on one particular teams fan
base every year. After allotting the tickets
for the teams participating, they must
find ways to sell the remaining inventory
to fans in their DMA. These fans are often
not affiliated with either of the teams
playing in the bowl game.

Recent games for both the Heart of

Dallas Bowl and Armed Forces Bowl
highlight the struggle. Just last year, the
Heart of Dallas Bowl saw a decrease of
nearly 10,000 fans at their game.
Ultimately, matchups will inevitably play
a large role in the attendance figures,
but bowl games need to have a strong
member base of non-affiliated fans and
strategies to sell tickets well before the
teams are chosen if they expect to
generate notable ticket revenues.

Bowl Game Attendance

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Rationale

The bowl games in Dallas and Fort Worth should not be considered matchupdependent as this market is full of college football fans. The percentage of residents
who consider themselves a college football fan is higher than most of the similar
markets around the country. With a relatively high percentage and a large
population base, Dallas has one of the highest populations of college football fans
in the country at over 1.8 million fans. The challenge then for the ESPN Events staff
is to find ways to spread the right message to the initial target market of over 1.8
million college football fans in the area.

Existing Strategies

Past Armed Forces and Heart of Dallas Bowls have included the following
attractionsoutside of the on-field actionin an effort to drive ticket sales. There
are already a number of existing strategies in place:

Fan Fest showcasing armed forces vehicles and machinery

Adventure areas with interactive displays, games, and performances
Demonstrations by several of the military's top skydiving teams
Awarding of the annual "Great American Patriot Award
Awarding of custom homes to Wounded Warriors
Tailgating lots
Flyovers
On-field induction ceremonies
Armed forces bands and honor guards
Honoring of a different branch each quarter
Post-game concerts

Quantitative Analysis

While we recognized that we had a single client, through our initial internal analysis we
began to better understand the unique nature of each bowl game. This recognition is
important because not all suggestions for improvement will work equally at both
games.
At the Armed Forces Bowl 85% of tickets are sold for less that $50, and there is a large,
existing military fan base. Conversely, the Heart of Dallas Bowl caters to a more affluent
demographic with 72% of tickets sold at or above $75. These differences and others are
helpful in understanding what promotions fit well with the demographic of the
respective fan bases.

85% 50K 25%

Tickets
Under $50

Capacity

72% 92K

Tickets $75+

Capacity

Military

Qualitative Research

Through our initial conversations with our

client, we decided that not all of the
annual bowl games would be helpful to
our research.
We started with the 39 total bowls. We
eliminated our two bowls and identified
and eliminated 9 other high profile bowls
that had no trouble selling out every year
because of the attractive match-ups
(BCS games, for example). We felt as
though the insights from these bowls
would not be as applicable for our
purposes and there would not be enough
commonalities to justify use of the data
gathered.
We reached out to the remaining 28
bowls via telephone and were able to
secure interviews with representatives
from 15 of the 28 games. Our in-depth
interviews changed slightly from bowl
game to bowl game as we learned more
about the current strategies , but for the
most part we tried to structure each of
the interviews in the same manner.

Qualitative Research

We initially targeted executive directors, especially when staffs were smaller. On

more than one occasion our interview was with a director of sales or a marketing
manager. Occasionally, our conversations would include contact with more than
one person as the questions became more focused.
We asked open-ended questions that allowed us to gleam insights from the
different bowls, being careful to never pigeonhole and avoid our biases. As themes
developed across bowls, we asked about those themes at the end of the calls.

Common Themes

Below is a comprehensive list of the most important themes we extracted from

our interview conversations with representatives from bowl games across the
county:

1. Big U.S. Flag on-field during National Anthem for group sales opportunity
2. Membership in Bowl Club with added value for increased renewals
3. Maximizing naming rights partnership to sell tickets
4. Utilizing schools and community groups for group sales
5. Beginning sales as early as possible, often in April or May
6. GoPump TV and other geo-targeted marketing and sales efforts
7. Maximizing renewals through incentives with area businesses such as golf,
waterparks, and youth events
8. Family package: tickets that gets you in-stadium cash for food, drink, and
program
9. Leveraging relationships with the professional or college teams in the area for
ticket sales leads
10. Creating a sales force for a part-time sales team

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1. Big U.S. Flag

We bought a big U.S. flag three or four years ago for $35,000 and weve rented it out and made
our money back. Bryan Moynihan, Vice President, Ticket Sales and Service, Valero Alamo Bowl
With revenue generated from group ticket sales and renting opportunities, investing in a big
U.S. flag for an on-field unfurl is a proven method of stimulating bowl game ticket sales.
Through our interviews with bowl game representatives multiple individuals referenced having a
large flag unfurl as a means of selling tickets and improving the pre-game atmosphere.
According to Zach Fish, Business Development Account Executive with the Fiesta and Cactus
Bowls in Arizona, The biggest group sales success we had was a big flag unfurl with 350 kids
and adults on the field pre-game.
For a bowl organization with two co-located games a year like Arizona, the Texas ESPN Events
bowls would be smart to invest in a big U.S. flag of their own, especially given the opportunity to
rent the flag to other games and organizations. Bryan Moynihan of the Alamo Bowl specifically
mentioned that Texas State University approached them to rent their flag for a football game
against Navy.

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1. Big U.S. Flag

Admittedly the market for big flag rental is unknown. However, we suggest that ESPN Events
purchase a big U.S. flag for on-field unfurling for use at multiple bowls each season. While the
bowl schedule is subject to change , and while transportation and storage are additional
expenses, during the 2014 bowl season ESPN Events could feasibly use a big U.S. flag to generate
revenue at the following bowls:

Camellia Bowl (December 20, 2014)

Boca Raton Bowl (December 23, 2014)
Zaxbys Heart of Dallas Bowl (December 26, 2014)
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl (December 29, 2014)
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (January 2, 2015)

At the very least, however, the Texas ESPN Events bowls alone would quickly see a definitive
return on investment with the purchase of a big U.S. flag.

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2. Bowl Club Membership

We have 1978 Charter Members sitting on the 50-yard line. Phil Snyder, Director of Ticket
Operations, Holliday Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl
Through interviews with industry leaders, bowl representatives stressed the essential nature of
building a core fan-base. Without teams to market months in advance, bowl staffs have to find
ways to drive ticket renewals even before the teams are announced in December. The answer for
many of these bowls is a bowl membership club with special incentives for membership and
renewal. With self-reported renewal rates around 80-90%, the bowls with membership clubs
have been able to keep the fans they already have. According Phil Snyder of the Holliday Bowl
and Poinsettia Bowl, We have 30,000 Members who attend every year.
Possible incentives for renewal and membership are varied and include some of the following:

Free round of golf, dinner, or other high-end exclusive community benefit

Quarterly luncheons with sport celebrity guests

Opportunities for discounted ticket upgrades

Special bowl week events

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2. Bowl Club Membership

We believe launching the Fort Worth Insiders Club and the Dallas Insiders Club for the
respective games with the help of current game partners, ESPN Events would be able to
capitalize on the communitys desire for exclusivity and the individuals desire for value. The
membership could even come with a special commemorative membership belt buckle (amateur
sketch seen below). This is a recommendation that could be marketed for both bowls, but we
would recommend more emphasis on the Heart of Dallas Bowl because of the higher ticket price
and the slightly higher average lifetime customer value. Moving the renewal rate just a few
percentage points each year will have a large impact on the revenue for the bowl over the
course of time.

Dallas

Insiders Club

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3. GoPump TV

Gas pump advertising is the single-most cost-effective method to engage your consumer with
your brands message. AllOver Media
When examining marketing efforts, one bowl games creative method of reaching potential
ticket purchasers stood out above the rest. The Independence Bowl has utilized a service called
GoPump TV in Shreveport, LA to market their game at gas pump television screens throughout
the region. GoPump TV is a geo-targeted marketing and sales platform that allows for messaging
directly at the pump with the capability to zero-in on potential customers based on location,
time, demographic, and other categories. As Executive Director for Sales at the Independence
Bowl Jeff Dittmer indicated, marketing efforts become stronger with repetition: You hear
something three times, you start to remember it.
After speaking with GoPump TV Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Cheryl Olive we
believe that this medium could be the linchpin of the ESPN Events Texas-based bowls marketing
efforts. And according to a multi-media advertising company, AllOver Media, gas pump
television advertisements:

Reach a captive audience

Reach individuals consistently (5-7 times a month)
Captivate an audience for 3-5 minutes at a time
Garner 116,500 impressions per month per station
Reach repeat-readers, as most drivers frequently refuel at the same stations

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4. Regional Relationships

The biggest thing for us is our relationship with the Yankees. -Matt Dixon, Account Executive,
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
With two bowl games located within 35 miles of each otherand occurring within weeks of
each otherthe two ESPN Events Texas-based bowl games already understand the value of
sharing resources for mutual benefit. Yet, with several professional and college teams located in
the Dallas-Fort Worth market, the bowl games would be smart to explore possible partnerships
with these organizations, specifically for ticket sales leads.
ESPN Events could leverage their existing relationship with TCU Athletics to gather additional
ticket sales leads. Furthermore, by establishing partnerships with SMU Athletics, the Dallas
Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, FC Dallas, Texas Rangers, and the Dallas Stars the ESPN Events bowls
may be able to create additional ticket sales revenue by targeting existing sport fans in the
market who have a proven record of ticket purchases.
This would be a zero-cost implementation as ESPN Events would trade resources with each of
the other sport organizations. A secondary benefit could include appearances by players and
coaches from these other regional sport organizations at Insider Club luncheons.

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5. Sales Force

It seems obvious, but through our research we found that

having a sales staff increases ticket sales numbers. However,
there are a multitude of ways to implement this strategy. We
have outlined two of them below.
First is a Sales Academy like the kind that Brett Zalaski establishes through his company Get
After It Sales. Brett has 15 years of experience in the MLS and NBA running sales offices. We
spoke to Brett and while he was hesitant to give us hard numbers, he stressed the importance of
having strong leadership for your sales team. You get what you pay for, he said.
Additionally there is a Freemium Model like the one utilized by the Springfield Cardinals of the
MILB. Springfield utilizes Junior Associates who receive class credit at their partner schools,
Missouri State and Drury University. The students gain excellent experience and the team gains
an inexpensive part-time sales staff.
For ESPN Events we recommend a partnership with SMU, the only school in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area offering a Sport Management Masters degree. Plus they have an internship
requirement as a part of their curriculum.

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6. Title Sponsorships

Leveraging sponsorship is one of the key components for any sports venue or event as successful
partnerships benefit both the sponsor and the event. Some of the bowl games we spoke with
were more successful at leveraging the sponsorship than others. Ultimately, it was hard to paint
broad strokes in this category. It needs to be looked at on an individual basis for each bowl.
In order to generate additional revenue, ESPN Events needs to focus on leveraging the newly
minted partnerships with Lockheed Martin and Zaxbys. Lockheed Martin is focused on
Engineering a Better Tomorrow and they are well known for their innovations. ESPN Events has
the opportunity to leverage this by creating an internal competition amongst Lockheed Martin
employees and a competition amongst the general public for the best innovation in areas of
Lockheed Martins choice. Lockheed Martin would generate an abundance of new ideas at
virtually no cost and solve a few problems of their choosing. Lockheed Martin is an aerospace
company which would allow us to entertain some interesting possibilities for rewards. The first
idea to pitch to Lockheed Martin, entitled Chute for the Stars, would allow the winner of the
contest to parachute on to the field with one of the dive teams during pregame. They would also
present their innovation via a pre-recorded video at halftime of the game. Along each step of the
competition, articles generated would link back to the ticket page. There would also be a small
entry fee which would be waived with the purchase of a ticket to the game.
Zaxbys has a much different outlook, they are looking for immediate sales and theyve targeted
the bowl as a way to create year-round awareness for their product while moving in to the Dallas
market. We suggest that ESPN Events consider utilizing Zaxbys as their primary vendor for the
Dallas Insiders Club member luncheons. And in order to move ticket purchasers to the Zaxbys
locations after the bowl game we would create a coupon discount for the back of the ticket
stubs for a buy-one-get-one deal at any Zaxbys location.

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Conclusion

Ticket sales is the bread-and-butter of the revenue model for sport properties worldwide. For
bowl games there is often difficulty in attracting fans to the game, especially those fans not
affiliated with the two teams competing.

We propose that in order to build sales both in the near future and the long-term, the ESPN
Events Texas-based bowl games implement our six suggestions. They should begin by purchasing
the large U.S. flag for use at the games this winter. As soon as the final whistle blows, our bowls
should begin their Membership renewal campaign. As the 2015 game approaches, the staff
should commence utilizing geo-targeted advertising such as GoPump TV technology, and initiate
the bowl game sales force in some capacity. Finally, in the long-term, the ESPN Events games
should look to improve their partnerships with regional sport organizations and maximize their
title sponsors.
By enacting these proposals, we are confident that the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl and
the Zaxbys Heart of Dallas Bowlas well as ESPN Events as a wholewill see a marked
improvement in ticket sales revenue.

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Appendix A: Terms
Brian Delgado: A 2008 Journalism graduate from the University of Oklahoma and 2013 graduate
of Ohio Universitys Master of Sports Administration program, Delgado has worked as Events
Supervisor for ESPN Events in Fort Worth, TX since 2013. Delgado is responsible for all
sponsorship activation, event operations, media relations, as well as digital and traditional
marketing for the ESPN Regional Television owned collegiate events the Armed Forces Bowl and
the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

ESPN Events: a subsidiary company of ESPN which owns and operates a large assortment of
collegiate sporting events including two Labor Day weekend college football games, 11 college
bowl games, and eight college basketball events. With offices in Boise, Birmingham, Fort Worth,
Albuquerque, St. Petersburg and Las Vegas, ESPN Events uses grassroots strategies to build
relationships with conferences, schools and local communities in order to provide unique
experiences for teams, fans, and sponsors.
The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl will
celebrate the 12th anniversary of its inaugural postseason bowl on January 2, 2015 at Amon G.
Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. An ESPN Events bowl game, this years competition will
feature teams from the AAC and the Big12 conferences. The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces
Bowl has featured the armed forces theme since 2006 and the bowl recognizes all five
branches of the service are prevalent throughout the game. Lockheed Martin joined the bowl on
February 5, 2014 as the title sponsor.
Zaxbys Heart of Dallas Bowl: Owned and operated by ESPN Events, the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas
Bowl will be in its fifth installment when teams from Conference-USA and the Big10 conferences
square off at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas on Friday December 26,
2014. This years game will honor first responders and their families. The bowl game and Zaxbys
reached a four-year naming rights agreement in October 2014.

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