What does this have to do with anything?  Are you saying we should be an AQ school?  Is it our marketing department's fault we aren't?  I'd argue it has a lot more to do with being one of the worst 1A football programs in the nation for a 30-40 year span and much less about billboards in Parma.



The Bengals and Browns are constantly under the threat of a blackout because they can't fill their stadiums.  The demand isn't even high enough for fans who live in Cleveland or Cincinnati to go watch an NFL game a half hour from home.  

Ohio isn't a sports hungry state, it's a sports saturated state.  2 NFL, 2 MLB, 1 NBA, 1 NHL, 2 BCS Football, 6 other Division 1 football, 13 Division 1 Basketball Programs, 7 minor league baseball and more Division 2-3 and NAIA programs than you can count (Including multiple national championship programs in many sports at those levels.)

The fact is we have to scratch and claw to get anyone to come to our games.  Look at all that competition.  Many say we're at a disadvantage because we're geographically isolated.  In fact, it may be a good thing because we have a better chance of keeping local $$ here.  Imagine if you're Akron trying to compete for a sports entertainment dollar with the Indians, Browns, Cavs, Kent, Cleveland State, etc...  

Why would we throw good money into a city (Cleveland for example) that already has more sports options than it can possibly accomodate.  Guysville meanwhile is limited to Federal Hocking football and the Bobcats during September - November.  Priority #1 should be directing as many sports entertainment dollars within an hour or so radius of Athens to the ticket office.



That may have mattered 80 years ago, but we're way past that having any relevance.  Sure it's convenient, but I highly doubt it matters much - if anything it may be a hindrance with all the confusion between us and Ohio State.  



And what option is that?  The worst football in the country for 30-40 years? 1 Bowl win in school history?  0-3 in MAC Championship Games?  We're a decent option now, but it's going to take consistent winning to convince the rest of the state that we're worthwhile.  

You're a perfect example - all you know is winning because of your age and years you've been affiliated with Ohio.  You expect us to win, and be the best, and that's AWESOME.  We've consistently won while you've been involved with Ohio, and you've bought in.  Winning works.  But, for anyone over 25 or so, that isn't how they perceive us.  And it's going to take more than a few quality years to change their minds.  

We are on our way to the top.  I believe it from the bottom of my heart, but you're delusional if you think we've arrived already.  We have a LONG way to go.  The rest of the state still remembers that period from 1970-2006 where we were awful.  Have we turned the corner?  You better believe it.  But is there still a long, uphill finish - absolutely.


TL;DR - We're in a very stiff competition for every dollar spent on sports entertainment in Ohio.  The state is over-saturated with options.  We've had some success, but we've got a long way to go before we can "expect" a sellout. 

You got it, BC. +1.

92% is a great #. GREAT. Especially if is is being handled by as small of a staff as mentioned. Everyone should be patting themself on the back if that is the case. I think we are agreeing it is time for there to be a few more backs to pat...

Agee.  92% is terrific.  The heart of marketing should be from Columbus and closer.  For Cinci, Dayton, CLE, 'kron and the like, target corporate accounts.  It would cost them the business equivalent of a rounding error to have a passel of season tickets to football and basketball.  Then, coordinate with those remote corporate clients to make sure that the tix are always used, seats filled.

To sell out the first three home games, BEAT PENN STATE.

After that, it's up to the team to maintain that momentum.

I got a call from the OBC last night for the first time ever (seems like too much of a coincidence).

Whomever I spoke with was very personable. I enjoyed speaking with them.

However, I was NOT asked to purchase single game tickets, or season tickets at all. The person was aware of my current residence in Columbus. If this is not a clear example of inefficiency then I don't know what it is! It's one thing to sit back and say, "Recent college grads don't have money. That's why they're not coming." It's another to leave the marketing deparment unquestioned when they call those grads for money but don't try and sell tickets for the much hyped upcoming season.

In the interest of full disclosure: I donated $35 dollars. Not because I had the money to spare (I'm in 40K of college loan debt), but because I appreciated the call. I would not have gone out of my way to give $35 to the OBC or school in general.

You've been out of college for 2 months.... there are lists of literally thousands of people to call.... you honest to God think they read BobcatAttack and decided to call you?  In case you haven't noticed, there are tons of people on this very thread who have been called.  They're going through the list, your turn came up, you got a call. 

I'm pretty impressed that we've got a list aggressive enough that it already includes people who graduated 2 months ago.

I'd assume you'll probably get a call from marketing/tickets asking for the season ticket sale soon as well.  There's still a month and a half to go before the home opener - there are a lot of people to call. 

How about doing them a favor and just buying your season tickets already so they can cross you off their list instead of making them call you on principle?  That way they can move on to other people who might not have made up their mind yet and focus on those tougher sales.

I'm a Bobcat Rep and I can assure you that the Ohio Bobcat Club doesn't make any outbound calls themselves. The university has an outside group that they hire to make calls for the annual fund. Pretty much, they pigeon-hole everyone into the area they feel you are most likely to give. They do this by comparing alumni to other data lists (mainly those from student orgs and majors). They probably saw you on the Ozone list and put you into the athletics list.

The guy who called you probably works in Colorado, Florida, or something. Their motivation isn't to sell tickets....that's a totally different local (and better, IMO) sales force.

How long has that been the modus operandi? I know that as recently as 6 years ago we had students making those calls, because after about a minute of talking to the girl that called me after I graduated, we figured out that we knew each other.

I have been in outside sales for Fourteen plus years after graduating from Ohio University,does that make me an expert in marketing strategies?NO!
 What I do know though, is that as a student from 1991-1995 the average attendance per game was around 10,000 with a lousy program. What I see now is thousand times better with enthusiasm and overall respect for the program, just to see these types of conversation on a message board dedicated to Bobcat athletics is awsome.

With no intention of getting drawn into this debate (not because of its intrinsic value but because I can only carry on so many debates simultaneously), I would like to say that I suspect that the reason Appy State draws better than we do in a similar region with similar sociometrics probably has something to do with the way the university is perceived by the local populace.  Due to a number of historical factors (and bad decisions by past administrations dating back to the time of Wm Holmes McGuffey), the local population tends to look upon OU as sort of an interloper rather than as a partner.  Dr. McDavis has begun to mend some of those fences and the current AD is working on that, too.  It's not an unsolvable problem, but it is one that has deep roots.  Opposition by some factions of the university to horitzonal fracking, even if tightly regulated and controlled, has not helped this situation, but even that can be overcome with enough reaching out on other fronts, IMHO.  The potential oil boom in SEO due to the discovery of major shale-bound oil could lift many local landholders out of poverty or substantially improve the lot of others, yet the university is seen (not necessarily totally accurately) as trying to keep them from improving their lot.