"Can U Feel It" -- USF Unveils 2008 FB Marketing Campaign

[CowbellBandit]

Just came home (Hillsborough Ave and Countryway) from Pinellas, and there's a big LED billboard.

Seeing Matt throw out the U, looking totally badass, got me excited for football already.

Yes, yes I am ready.

[USFishin]

That's the board I was talking about that you can see from over a mile away.  That's a sweet billboard.

[GoBulls84]

Saw the commercial on tv for the first time tonight. F'n sweet. And saw the Leavitt billboard by the I-4/275 junction. Again, f'n sweet.

[USFbulls0208]

This is when it sucks to live in Sarasota. No billboards, no commercial on TV (don't have Brighthouse).

But watching the commerical on here, looks so bad ass. It looks like someone other than a 5th grader made it.

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

i still haven't seen the "Can U Feel It" ad... the cheap ass media player on the USF site doesn't play for me... all i get is that lame "Jump TV" ad and nothing else.  the rest doesn't load.

which begs the question--- why doesn't USF have this video on YouTube?

making an "effing awesome video!" is only half the job of marketing.  the other half is VISIBILITY.

if USF isn't putting this video in places that maximize visibility, they aren't doing the job they could be doing, awesome video or not.

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

just sayin... who are we marketing to here?  the same people that will come to the game, buy one beer, and yell at people to sit down all game?

COME ON!

i think that they are marketing to the people who PAY for tickets.  just a guess

look at the demographics in that photo... what do you see:

1) middle aged men

2) maybe 3 females

3) middle aged men

4) a bunch of fans from the opposing team

5) middle aged men

6) two people under the age of 30

7) middle aged men

there are very few women [no disrespect to JerseyBull, she's a cutie], there are very few young people, and there isn't a single Hispanic, Black, East Indian or any demographic group that actually represents the vast diversity of the USF community.  not only that, but there are just as many WVU fans in the pic as there are Bulls fans.

so what is the ad saying?  who are they marketing to?

if your assertion is to be believed--- that they are marketing to "people who PAY for tickets"--- what does that say?

only middle-aged white guys and WVU fans actually buy tickets to Bulls games?  not very inclusive.

now i'm not saying USF did this intentionally, or that they have a bunch of misogynists or klansmen or covert mountaineers running the marketing department who show only white men and WVU fans in their advertizing, but let's be real here:

before we go patting people on the back about what a "fantastic, bang up job" they've done, we should consider the rookie mistake they made: THERE IS NO DIVERSITY IN THAT PICTURE.

one of the keys to marketing is hitting your demographics to reach as many people as possible, and that poster--- like previous posters with babies and grandpas--- utterly failed.

a picture of the student section wouldn't necessarily be marketing to people who don't buy tickets, it would be marketing to people looking for a good time that harkens back to their own college days, and it would hit a far greater range of demographics than the all-middle-aged-white-male photo they chose for that poster.

that said, let the flaming begin... i got my fire-retardant pajamas on.  :-*

[___ Eats It]

I think Shoop and his crew are under 30.  If that's 'middle-aged' to you, you probably shouldn't be dishing out marketing advice.

Hint... males aged 35-54 are the biggest target for any campaign trying to make money... largest pct of disposable income which, in this case, means tix, merchandise, season tix, and (hopefully and eventually) donations.

Sincerely, a 'middle aged' man about to enter that demographic in August.

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

I think Shoop and his crew are under 30.  If that's 'middle-aged' to you, you probably shouldn't be dishing out marketing advice.

Hint... males aged 35-54 are the biggest target for any campaign trying to make money... largest pct of disposable income which, in this case, means tix, merchandise, season tix, and (hopefully and eventually) donations.

Sincerely, a 'middle aged' man about to enter that demographic in August.

did i say they weren't the biggest target?

did i say they shouldn't market to them at all?

no.

but they shouldn't market EXCLUSIVELY to one demographic to the exclusion of virtually all others.

and if males are the intended target, i don't see how pictures of other middle aged men is an effective marketing strategy.  when have men--- of any age bracket--- been compelled to attend events that are full of OTHER MEN?

yeah, that's kinda why including a few more attractive young ladies in those posters would probably be a good idea.

[sdgukhsdgl]

Few things:

the people that keep bringing up the WVU fans in the background are really overreacting.

1) they are in the background, hardly even visible when looking at the "main" part of the image

2) There is not a noticeable WVU logo in the entire thing.  The casual person looking at that will not immediately identify all the yellow/blue as WVU fans.

Also, white "middle aged men" is the target demographic for collegiate athletics.  I don't have numbers, but I would be SHOCKED if they are not far and away the biggest spenders when it comes to athletic events.  And, it's not like they have a bunch of 40 year olds, not that there is anything wrong with that, in the picture.  The group they have is probably in the 25-30 range and from the times I have seen them, they are having more fun/doing more things than 90% of the students 

[Guest]

Bear in mind... the picture you're complaining about is a WALLPAPER ... and they will be introducing new ones all summer.

Settle down, Francis.