Team Spirit
September temperatures in Scottsdale, AZ, can top a blistering 99 degrees. Football games are a big deal and getting people to come out on those scorching days and support the teams can be, well, like trying to trap a tree lizard as it skitters across the sidewalk.
Shannon Cox, director of development at the Scottsdale Christian Academy, is in such a position. She wants families and friends to show their support for the academy’s football team, the Scottsdale Christian Eagles, so she can have the chance to work the stands and press the flesh in search of school volunteers. She also wants people to come to buy the hamburgers and chips at the concession stand because the proceeds go to sending the school choir to Carnegie Hall.
The school is a nonprofit organization, so Cox has to be as wily as the lizard when working up a promotional plan, darting around nay-sayers and slipping into the good graces of community members willing to help.
“We had no budget,” she says.
Cox was working last summer with Karie Cowden at Connect the Dots Promotions when Cowden came up with the idea of giving stick fans to attendees to keep them cool. The fans were fashioned in the shape of a football helmet and displayed the full schedule for the 2008-2009 season, something Cox wanted to include to remind people of game dates. Cox ordered 1,000 fans costing 0.58 cents apiece.
To make the giveaways more memorable, Cox and Cowden contacted the owner of the Chick-fil-A outlet down the street and asked for some additional coolant in the form of a milkshake coupon attached to the fans. The restaurateur said yes, and of the 1,000 coupons distributed, 375 were redeemed. Chick-fil-A also made a donation to the school covering the costs of the promotional items.
“It’s all about making sure that clients understand that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to achieve your results, but you have to make sure it’s the correct product,” Cowden says.
People could pick up fans at the entrance gate, but Cox spent time passing them out and talking to the crowd.
“Hey, I don’t mind making a fool of myself shouting out, ‘Hey everybody. It’s hot. Who wants one of these?’ Cox says. “The fans are fun and cute, and it gives me something to get my foot in the door to talk to donors and smile and start a dialogue.”
Cox says the program proved successful in multiple ways, including allowing for those conversations she wanted to take place, providing attendees with a practical takeaway and reminder that included important messaging about game dates, and “making people smile.”
“It’s cheesy, but it worked.”
The Promotional Product: Stick Fan
The Cost: 0.58 cents per piece
Quantity: 1,000
The Goal: Drive regular attendance at football games
Promotional Products Distributor: Connect the Dots Promotions, LLC • www.ctdpromotions.com
