#PACnet15 Increasing Student Attendance

#PACnet15 Moderator Abbey Lehman » Paciolan Presenters Chris Flores » North Carolina State University Cecil Hairston » Oregon State University Robby Ray » University of California, Irvine

#PACnet15  How do we get students to show up?  How do we keep them showing up?  How do we convince them to stay?  Let’s see how our colleagues have created a Home Court Advantage! Student Ticketing – Cracking the Code 3Introduction

#PACnet15 » Chris Flores North Carolina State University

#PACnet15  Get the Right students in the event, get them to stay.  Make it easy.  Make it easier.  Make it fun.  Reward best fans. Goals 5 How Does NC State Drive Student Attendance – What Are Our Goals

#PACnet15  Upload the student file from the university using the student upload process.  Ticket Requests are for Football and Men’s Basketball ONLY. All other sports you just have to show your Student ID.  Students Request Tickets » Six days prior to the event until four days prior to the event » Entire process is done online. Students never need to call or come by. » Lottery runs immediately if necessary. » That night we print and distribute the tickets and s. Tickets are PAH or Mobile.  On Demand » If there are tickets remaining, three days prior to the event students can get their tickets instantly. » Even on day of game, students may request mobile as they’re walking up to the gate. NC State Process 6 Create a Good Process That Works for Students

#PACnet15  Free Parking » Football - Parking tickets can be picked up at 4 different pick up points starting three days before the event. » Men’s Basketball - Students just show their ID at the parking gate to receive their free parking.  Additional Perks » Mobile Delivery ▫No longer need to find a printer. ▫Tickets can be requested as students are walking up to the gate. » Online Redemption ▫All ticket requests are done online at the student’s convenience. ▫Never have to stand in line or call. » Ticket Return ▫If they can’t attend they can return their ticket online so another Wolfpacker can come! ▫Make sure the most students are at the games. Free Ticket, Free Parking 7 They have the Ticket…… Now Lets Get Them in the Event

#PACnet15  Membership Cost: $30 for one year or $100 for 4 years. » Full membership in the Wolfpack Club. » Receive priority seating at Men’s Basketball and Football games. » Receive priority points in the WPC for when they graduate. Student Wolfpack Club 8 Get Them More Involved Donations

#PACnet15  Fan Experience is Key » Men’s Basketball ▫Student fan tunnel ▫Finishing the ‘E’ in STATE ▫Promoting Top 10 each game to create excitement ▫Prizes for most loyalty points. Including a pair of ACC Tournament Tickets! ▫Student of the Game to lead the 1 Pack Chant Getting Students to Attend – The Fun Stuff 9 What We Do to Get Them to Show Up

#PACnet15 » Cecil Hairston Oregon State University

#PACnet15  Tickets are paid for through student fees » OSU students have agreed to purchase an allotment of tickets » Negotiated fee equates to roughly half of the value of the tickets » Tickets are distributed through the Ticket Office  Football Tickets » Hard tickets are distributed for football games on the Monday of game week » OSU students are allotted a minimum of 6,000 tickets » Quarter system causes 2 or 3 home games before class is in session » When school is not in session, student tickets can be reserved by phone or in person starting at 9:00 am each day » When classes are in session, student tickets are distributed in person only from our football stadium starting Monday of game week at 7:00 am » For all subsequent days, distribution begins at 9:00 am from the football stadium. Oregon State Student Ticketing 11 The Process

#PACnet15  Students claiming tickets but not showing up  Atmosphere at games lacked  Students would leave before the game ended 12 Challenges that We Faced

#PACnet15  Create a home field advantage by having an engaged student body  Pack the student section with hopes it would ignite the rest of the fans in attendance  Ensure all student tickets were claimed  Get the students to the stadium on game day How can we make a change 13 The Strategy

#PACnet15  External staff discussed the goals and committed to: » Allocated resources to students » Partner with various student groups on campus » Find ways to make game day fun for students 14 The Operation How Was the Process Executed?

#PACnet15  Create a student culture: » In-game advertising at conclusion of 2014 baseball season to current students » Start Program – Orientation program for new and transfer students  Identify student leaders » Leaders were tasked with getting the word out » Make sure OSU Athletics was constantly promoted  Create student events » Watch party on our field » Band and cheer taught students cheers and chants » Held pep rally to generate strong student interest  Improve in-game atmosphere » Committed resources to make game day and student ticket distribution fun for students » Men’s Basketball coach to excite students and cross promote basketball » Improved music selection in game to be more with what students listen to » Cut out boring / crowd killing sponsored elements 15 The Marketing How Can We Make it Better?

#PACnet15  First game with classes back in session, we gave out 9,000 student tickets (Thursday night vs. Utah)  Higher student attendance at both Men’s and Women’s Basketball games 16 The Results How did it Change?

#PACnet15  Keep increasing student attendance  Create a connection that lasts while students are on campus  Roll that into keeping them engaged once they graduate What is your future vision? 17 The Future

#PACnet15 » Robby Ray University of California, Irvine

#PACnet15  Did not have a strong, consistent student following  Games were free for Undergraduate students  No membership fee for the Antourage  Gave away free club t-shirt in exchange for their address  Communicating all events via Issue 19 What Was the Issue?

#PACnet15  Creating the Loyalty » The t-shirt was not received until you attended three Men’s Basketball Games » Students that attended all but one of our 16 home games would received an authentic Adidas team jersey Building the Antourage Club 20 Club 15

#PACnet15  Access Pass was used to make attendance reporting easy  PACmail communication » Student recognition ▫Send s when they were close to a mile stone ▫Congratulate them with an when they hit the milestone. » Targeted Approach ▫Moved away from the “blanket” approach ▫Sport specific data bases off of student attendance ▫Mirroring the rest of our communication strategy providing the most relevant info. ▫Have seen a 30-40% open rate on our communication. » Attendance ▫All students who attended the game receive an thanking them for attending. ▫Provide a video recap, infographic and link to web story. ▫Creating more educated and loyal fans. How 21 Paciolan Process and Beyond

#PACnet15  FAQ’s can be found at  Partnered with key campus groups to help spread awareness » Orientation program » Student government » Housing » Etc.  Shocktoberfest » A combo event that is basically a sold out concert with a basketball showcase in the middle of the pit section » This is our Midnight Madness event and helps us kick- start the basketball season during the 3rd week of school. How 22 Paciolan Process and Beyond

#PACnet15  Continue to build awareness of the club and pride in membership.  Build a community within the student attendance base. Even with large numbers of students in attendance they still struggle to cheer like a major student seating section.  The low barrier to entry (free) is the biggest hurdle and we need to continue to develop ways to create value to a membership. The Future 23 Moving Forward

#PACnet15 Please complete either the session evaluation form on your chair or online at #PACnet15 Questions