Building the Fan Base

[97grad]

Agreed, the lack of a real radio affiliate in the Triangle is embarrassing. It's way too easy to be completely oblivious to happenings at Appalachian here.

[TheMoody1]

Maybe ESPN3.com is hurting more than we realize?

It is also on traditional TV throughout most of NC.

[ASUMountaineer]

I can see that. In the times I've been off the mountain this summer, the only billboards I saw for App State Football were on 321 N just past Lenoir before getting to Blowing Rock and between Boone and Blowing Rock, plus 421 E in Wilkesboro and right outside Boone. While it's nice to have them, those are within a 30-mile radius of campus and I didn't see anything else down 321 to Gastonia or 421 to Winston-Salem.

There was one for a while on I-77 North at Exit 18 (Harris Blvd.). Passed it daily on the way home from uptown.

[JTApps1]

I believe promotions have tried to get people up the mountain this weekend, but there's obviously a disconnect because there's a large number of tickets remaining.

And I think this is the disconnect. See, you live in Boone. What you see, hear and know via going on campus and visiting local businesses in and around Town is very much different from folks like me who live 3 hours away. We di have a good LOCAL engagement program and it is easy for me to see how folks who live in Boone and those that are part of the marketing department can lose sight of the bigger picture. They are probably pattiing themseleves on the back because everywhere they go they see support or an advertisement for the upcoming season. When in reality, Off the mountain it has been very much Crickets. The saying "Out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind.

I can't help but connect the dots, that our highest attendance years also coincinced with us having billboards plastered up and down highway 40 from Asheville all the way down towards Wilmington. I know a lot of that was donated, but I think it would be a very good investment to put those up again. We need to announce to the world we are FBS and we have great things going on in Boone.

Yes, yes, and yes to the sentence in bold. Even in Charlotte where we have better coverage thanks to ESPN 730AM it is still very easy to see how fans would have no idea about whats going on in Boone.

The local alumni chapters need to be more in-tune with the athletic departments marketing efforts. Just last year the Charlotte chapter was promoting a local event on a Saturday that we had a home football game. My dad reached out to the local crew and they gave him a smart a$$ reply about not everyone wants to go to the game. While that is true they still shouldn't make people choose between one event or the other. It is very easy to schedule around home games as the dates are posted 6 months before the season. Grrr

[Gonzo]

Agreed, the lack of a real radio affiliate in the Triangle is embarrassing. It's way too easy to be completely oblivious to happenings at Appalachian here.

Isn't 99.9 fm our Triangle affiliate? I hear App commercials all the time here in Durham.

[AppDawg]

To reiterate 97Grads point, the 2nd highest concentration of Alumni now resides in the RDU area. Let that sink in. The lanscape has changed.

Our marketing has not kept up with the change. Its still stuck in the mindset that the distribution of alumni concentrations are still higher in Winston-salem/Greensboro and Charlotte. In the late 90's and early 2000's this was true. But, the notoriety brought to the university from 2005 - present has shifted the demographics. Thus, it does not surprise me there was a billboard near exit 18 in Harrisonburg. The mindset appears to be that anything east of Highway 77/hwy 40 at the 421 split doesn't exist.

Within the last week or so I heard DG was touting the Boone Walmart was the highest seller of NCAA licensed merchandise in the entire nation. While it is great to be on top - i see it as a poor sign of our overall effort to market. Why is it the Boone Walmart is the top seller move-in week??? Perhaps because it is the only place you can buy a variety of AppState licensed products outside of the bookstore or a couple specialty stores located in Boone. The students can't buy anything App in their home city/town. Not because they don't want to, its because it isn't available. They have to wait to get to Boone to have access.

This is one of the reasons I am excited about DG coming onboard. Unfortunately, he started late in the game to make much of an impact this year in this regard, but my hope is that his outside experience can see past the "way things have always been done" and reach out beyond the "comfort zone."

[AppDawg]

Agreed, the lack of a real radio affiliate in the Triangle is embarrassing. It's way too easy to be completely oblivious to happenings at Appalachian here.

Isn't 99.9 fm our Triangle affiliate? I hear App commercials all the time here in Durham.

It is. But only when it is convenient for them and doesn't conflict with Duke events. You may hear commercials and around the mountain, but anything of substance, like mountainer talk or game broadcasts are blacked out if anything Duke is going on.

[97grad]

Agreed, the lack of a real radio affiliate in the Triangle is embarrassing. It's way too easy to be completely oblivious to happenings at Appalachian here.

Isn't 99.9 fm our Triangle affiliate? I hear App commercials all the time here in Durham.

I can never seem to find the official page that lists our radio affiliates, but despite several of them being receivable in the Triangle, NONE of them are App affiliates first. To AppDawg's point if the Duke game in particular overlaps with ours you can forget it. That's what I meant by a "real" affiliate - a reliable one.

[AppRy]

Within the last week or so I heard DG was touting the Boone Walmart was the highest seller of NCAA licensed merchandise in the entire nation. While it is great to be on top - i see it as a poor sign of our overall effort to market. Why is it the Boone Walmart is the top seller move-in week??? Perhaps because it is the only place you can buy a variety of AppState licensed products outside of the bookstore or a couple specialty stores located in Boone. The students can't buy anything App in their home city/town. Not because they don't want to, its because it isn't available. They have to wait to get to Boone to have access.

You think that's bad. I went the the new Mast General Store in Winston the week after it opened. They had tons of collegiate apparel but NO App stuff. MAST GENERAL STORE. I asked one of their employees and they just shrugged 'I'm sure we will get some in at some point.' No idea if that turned out to be true, I haven't been back.

[AppDawg]

Within the last week or so I heard DG was touting the Boone Walmart was the highest seller of NCAA licensed merchandise in the entire nation. While it is great to be on top - i see it as a poor sign of our overall effort to market. Why is it the Boone Walmart is the top seller move-in week??? Perhaps because it is the only place you can buy a variety of AppState licensed products outside of the bookstore or a couple specialty stores located in Boone. The students can't buy anything App in their home city/town. Not because they don't want to, its because it isn't available. They have to wait to get to Boone to have access.

You think that's bad. I went the the new Mast General Store in Winston the week after it opened. They had tons of collegiate apparel but NO App stuff. MAST GENERAL STORE. I asked one of their employees and they just shrugged 'I'm sure we will get some in at some point.' No idea if that turned out to be true, I haven't been back.

Exactly. Proves my point.

[EastHallApp]

The discussion about marketing to people in all the major NC metro areas is a good one, especially in the context of not only trying to fill the stadium today but grow the fan base enough to warrant expansion. There simply isn't much of a local population to pull from around Boone, so we HAVE to convince people to drive 2-3 hours if we want to grow the fanbase.

For example, for as much as people think of Boise State as being remote, it's located in a city of over 200,000 people and a metro area of nearly 700,000. That's a lot of people to bring onto a bandwagon if you have a winner to promote. App doesn't have that luxury.

[asu66]

Within the last week or so I heard DG was touting the Boone Walmart was the highest seller of NCAA licensed merchandise in the entire nation. While it is great to be on top - i see it as a poor sign of our overall effort to market. Why is it the Boone Walmart is the top seller move-in week??? Perhaps because it is the only place you can buy a variety of AppState licensed products outside of the bookstore or a couple specialty stores located in Boone. The students can't buy anything App in their home city/town. Not because they don't want to, its because it isn't available. They have to wait to get to Boone to have access.

You think that's bad. I went the the new Mast General Store in Winston the week after it opened. They had tons of collegiate apparel but NO App stuff. MAST GENERAL STORE. I asked one of their employees and they just shrugged 'I'm sure we will get some in at some point.' No idea if that turned out to be true, I haven't been back.

This won't break the bank by any means, but the Wal-Mart and Kohls stores in Wilkesboro sell a ton of ASU apparel. Walmart sells out every few days and restocks with new styles. Not everything is something I'd buy, but parents and high school/college students would--and do. Wilkes has quite a large ASU alumni base and 421 is one of the two main highways into campus. I have an idea the stores in Hickory/Lenoir right on 321/70 are good retail outlets for our m'dse, also.

As you go further down those highways to W-S/G'boro (421/40) and Gastonia/Charlotte (321/16/77/85), the merchandising probabilities get messy fast. Gillin and IMG must boost the market outreach and sales volume.

[Gonzo]

Within the last week or so I heard DG was touting the Boone Walmart was the highest seller of NCAA licensed merchandise in the entire nation. While it is great to be on top - i see it as a poor sign of our overall effort to market. Why is it the Boone Walmart is the top seller move-in week??? Perhaps because it is the only place you can buy a variety of AppState licensed products outside of the bookstore or a couple specialty stores located in Boone. The students can't buy anything App in their home city/town. Not because they don't want to, its because it isn't available. They have to wait to get to Boone to have access.

You think that's bad. I went the the new Mast General Store in Winston the week after it opened. They had tons of collegiate apparel but NO App stuff. MAST GENERAL STORE. I asked one of their employees and they just shrugged 'I'm sure we will get some in at some point.' No idea if that turned out to be true, I haven't been back.

This won't break the bank by any means, but the Wal-Mart and Kohls stores in Wilkesboro sell a ton of ASU apparel. Walmart sells out every few days and restocks with new styles. Not everything is something I'd buy, but parents and high school/college students would--and do. Wilkes has quite a large ASU alumni base and 421 is one of the two main highways into campus. I have an idea the stores in Hickory/Lenoir right on 321/70 are good retail outlets for our m'dse, also.

As you go further down those highways to W-S/G'boro (421/40) and Gastonia/Charlotte (321/16/77/85), the merchandising probabilities get messy fast. Gillin and IMG must boost the market outreach and sales volume.

South Point Mall in Durham has a decent sized App section in every sports store. Of course Charlotte has us covered too.

Just for contrast, I've never seen any UNC Charlotte gear being sold anywhere in the Triangle and I've been here for three years now.

[EastHallApp]

Just for contrast, I've never seen any UNC Charlotte gear being sold anywhere in the Triangle and I've been here for three years now.

Have you ever met a UNCC alum in the Triangle? I'm searching my brain, and I can't think of any I know.

[97grad]

Just for contrast, I've never seen any UNC Charlotte gear being sold anywhere in the Triangle and I've been here for three years now.

Have you ever met a UNCC alum in the Triangle? I'm searching my brain, and I can't think of any I know.

I have, and I've even seen a few people wearing Charlotte garb around. I don't recall that I've seen much/any for sale, but I'm still surprised when I see App gear being sold here. You can find it but it's far from ubiquitous.

[Boone Goon]

2 things:
1) We have to be more supportive of the undergraduate tailgating experience. Greek AND non-greek students are treated like work-release convicts on game days. I've talked about this in the past, and I'm amazed at how punitive the school is to its most captive fans.
2) As a season ticket-holder in the Triangle, we do zero marketing in the area. I listen to 99.9 constantly, I go to high school sporting events each week, I am in Dick's Sporting Goods multiple times each week, I drive I-40 and fly RDU...App State is non-existent in these obvious circles.

We've got to ratchet things up if we want a casual fan and poor alumnus to think about a 3 hour drive to Boone. Sorry, it's the facts!

Simple social media campaigns like: wear Black & Gold to work for Casual Friday; or change your profile pic to a Block A on game week...are free and engage fans across the state.

See you all at the Rock!!

[Gonzo]

2 things:
1) We have to be more supportive of the undergraduate tailgating experience. Greek AND non-greek students are treated like work-release convicts on game days. I've talked about this in the past, and I'm amazed at how punitive the school is to its most captive fans.

If I could rep this 1000x I would.

I've been advocating changes to enforcement since I was a student (class of '11). ALE harasses Raley Lot like it's a damn Hells Angels rally. The 3.5 hour rule hurts. Student tailgating was ritually sacrificed for faculty parking during the Thursday night game compromised. These policies are in place because student government and the tailgating scene in general get bullied.

It infuriates me that the student lot -- the setting of some of my most fond college memories -- is going to look like a ****ing hunter green Subaru dealership on the night of the Georgia Southern game. Something needs to be done.

[T-Dog]

2 things:
1) We have to be more supportive of the undergraduate tailgating experience. Greek AND non-greek students are treated like work-release convicts on game days. I've talked about this in the past, and I'm amazed at how punitive the school is to its most captive fans.

If I could rep this 1000x I would.

I've been advocating changes to enforcement since I was a student (class of '11). ALE harasses Raley Lot like it's a damn Hells Angels rally. The 3.5 hour rule hurts. Student tailgating was ritually sacrificed for faculty parking during the Thursday night game compromised. These policies are in place because student government and the tailgating scene in general get bullied.

It infuriates me that the student lot -- the setting of some of my most fond college memories -- is going to look like a ****ing hunter green Subaru dealership on the night of the Georgia Southern game. Something needs to be done.

I believe the 3.5 hour rule actually contributes more to binge drinking because students will buy a case of beer and feel like they don't have the time to set up a proper tailgate so they just shotgun beers to get drunk fast. If you extend the drinking rule to 6 hours before kickoff and encourage responsible tailgating, I believe it will get more people to out there. You're going to have those who over-indulge and drink while underage and then the police can step in. That's fine.

The police weren't as picky this past year but I did see someone get written a ticket because they happened to have one foot on the River St sidewalk while having an open container. Meanwhile in Statesboro you can drink marked bottles right in front of the stadium next to the ticket window, which I did last year.

Unfortunately, if the ALE this season is like what they were at Beer Fest and have been for the last couple months, I'm not encouraged.
On the flipside, I'm fine with the alcohol-free and family-fun zones. App can have their cake an eat it.

[ASUMountaineer]

I believe promotions have tried to get people up the mountain this weekend, but there's obviously a disconnect because there's a large number of tickets remaining.

And I think this is the disconnect. See, you live in Boone. What you see, hear and know via going on campus and visiting local businesses in and around Town is very much different from folks like me who live 3 hours away. We di have a good LOCAL engagement program and it is easy for me to see how folks who live in Boone and those that are part of the marketing department can lose sight of the bigger picture. They are probably pattiing themseleves on the back because everywhere they go they see support or an advertisement for the upcoming season. When in reality, Off the mountain it has been very much Crickets. The saying "Out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind.

I can't help but connect the dots, that our highest attendance years also coincinced with us having billboards plastered up and down highway 40 from Asheville all the way down towards Wilmington. I know a lot of that was donated, but I think it would be a very good investment to put those up again. We need to announce to the world we are FBS and we have great things going on in Boone.

Yes, yes, and yes to the sentence in bold. Even in Charlotte where we have better coverage thanks to ESPN 730AM it is still very easy to see how fans would have no idea about whats going on in Boone.

The local alumni chapters need to be more in-tune with the athletic departments marketing efforts. Just last year the Charlotte chapter was promoting a local event on a Saturday that we had a home football game. My dad reached out to the local crew and they gave him a smart a$$ reply about not everyone wants to go to the game. While that is true they still shouldn't make people choose between one event or the other. It is very easy to schedule around home games as the dates are posted 6 months before the season. Grrr

We just created the Lake Norman Alumni Chapter (hopefully those in the northern Charlotte metro area got the email yesterday). Our first event is planned, but will be during an away game (viewing party). Yours truly is the president, so I'll be posting something about this later today hopefully.

Just know, half of our leadership board is at every home game so we will probably avoid events during home games.

[appchicago]

Remember that engaging more fans, at least in the short run, means engaging a lot of clueless fairweathers. A couple of years ago as the A&T game got away from us and fans were streaming out of the stadium, I overheard a conversation behind me between a mom and a daughter who were just yammering about how "we ain't that good anymore" and how they "miss Armanti," which is an understandable feeling when you're losing at home to a MEAC team, but not particularly helpful when Armanti graduated four years earlier. They clearly had no idea who anyone else on the team was.

And hey. They were two (presumably) paid admissions and those dollars spend like any others, but it is a bit of a devil's bargain. Fans like those gals may turn out if we can start the season strong and keep winning, but they'll never be die-hards.