The Extinction Burst

In Behavioral Pyschology, they call it the extinction burst.  Look for it when  you decide to get serious about what outside companies have access to your schools and students. 
For example, recently one of our high schools stopped a relationship with a company that was "doing the school a favor by providing free plastic footballs and other promotional items."  The company claimed they were doing this to support the school and provide them with giveaways. 

Here's the rub:  Companies like this don't care about your students, don't care about you, don't care about your schools. 

Companies that handle promotional items and want you to sign some poorly written fax giving them authorization to represent your school are going to start directly competing with your school fundraising.  They are going to call the local businesses in your area and ask the local business owner to pay their company to put names on the footballs and they will most likely phrase it to the prospective buyer that they will be "supporting [your school name here]" 

Companies that "provide" or claim "they are doing you a favor" are most often doing this because they make money off it.  Big money.  Don't believe me?  Here's the response from one company that had an extinction burst in the middle of her email and lashes out at the school athletic director.  I've provided her name and phone number in case you actually are looking for free promotional items to have to clean up after football games and not make any money off of....  Here is the well-played interaction of our athletic director (in order of the exchange)...

Hi

I have a client of mine that is interested in donating some souvenir footballs or squirt water bottles to the cheerleaders to throw out to the fans at the home games this fall. They're done in your school colors with your school name & mascot and the business' logo information. Please let me know ASAP if you are able to use these this fall, as we have a meeting coming up to budget for these.
Thank You,
Cheryl Stoker
Promotions Coordinator
1-800-245-6929

The athletic director is no dummy and probed her for who the prospect was....
"Do you mind sending us the name of that Client. I would like to clear that name before we ok anything like that."


The company actually tells the school without an agreement in hand (Well played by the school) and then shoots off this reply:

Yes, I think we will contact them ourselves, have the balls made, and keep the money in town.

And, now...Wait for it....  wait for it... here comes the extinction burst.  When you start bringing money back into your schools and out of the hands of misrepresenting companies, you too will get your own emails looking like this:
I have been working with xxxxx High School for numerous years, providing free spirit items and ensuring them from year to year. We handle all aspects from securing the sponsor, artwork design & layout, printing, shipping and invoicing the sponsor. We ensure continuity from year to year and when a sponsor no longer sponsors the item, we try and secure another sponsor for whatever the items the school is looking to do. I have worked hard to provide these items and secured xxxxxxxxx as the sponsor a number of years ago. I'm sorry you feel the need to be greedy and take money out of my pocket, but I will make a note in the file to not work with xxxxxx High School again.

Thank You,
Cheryl Stoker
Promotions Coordinator
1-800-245-6929

What we can learn:  Companies like this more then often do NOT put a company name in their signature line because they change company names so fast and so often when things start to go bad.  They also normally have an (800) number and a very common last name along with NO website and or accredidation from the BBB... and, for some darn reason, they normally stem out of Texas when you run the phone records.

More concessions

If you can identify your biggest games of the season, try this:

Get a measurable bassline for sales (i.e., past sales from similar games) - if you don't already do this, you should be doing it every season for every game.  An easy excel file with something like the following so you can measure what you can expect in the future (trending) like:
attendance
weather
other events that day
team record
opponent
televised? Y/N
vendors?
concession sales?

These questions will let you plan accordingly for future games.  The answers will help you do everything from staff better and not waste money on unneeded personal to be able to charge premium prices for outside companies that want access to your fans.  You can also take it to the next level and put vendors at your largest games. 

Think about this:  If you are a parent and you bring two of your children to come watch the oldest play in their home varsity game, do you want to get up out of your seat and have to coordinate a trip to the concession stands?  I mean bathrooms are tough enough.  You don't have an assigned seat and you may not want to lose your seats so it would be absolutely convenient if somebody came to you.  I bet you'll see your profits increase and you'll get positive feedback from your parents that don't want to get up and stand in the long lines.  And, admit it, it adds great atmosphere to hear the sound of somebody screaming "peanuts."

The Size Of Online Ads Can Determine Your Worth

One of the most important factors that will determine whether a company (especially a larger company or an ad agency) will advertise with your school district is size. 

The group that dictates size is the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and the reason this is important to you is this:  If "my company" is going to spend money with your school district one of the deciding factors is the "ease of use" - meaning how much do I have to do to put an ad up on your site. 

If your website ad sizes are the same as the web sizes that my creative team is already producing for online websites, the online version of local newspapers, or anywhere else....then I don't have to do anything extra.  That means you should be using the web banner ad sizes found here:  http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/1421/1443/1452

You don't need all of them.  Just pick a few.  Work with your IT department to find out what sizes work and sync them up.  That way advertising agencies and major marketers won't have to pay a graphic designer $90 an hour more to design a web ad just for you...  and that should make you a buck or two.

8 ways to increase your concession sales

If you want to sell more food and drink and make more money at your athletic events, there are a few ways you can do this that can be done relatively easy.  We're constantly looking for new ways to make money at schools and I have found that the concession stands are already set up but not being monetized to their fullest.

1.) Order in bulk - There's two ways to save and you can do it on the front end, back end, or both.  This is one way to save money on the back end.  If you can start a "collective" of sorts with all the schools in your district or, better yet, form a buying partnership with other school districts in your market you can do the same thing that large food services groups in school districts have been doing for years - leveraging their purchasing power to drive down prices.

2.) Sell name brands - It's a proven fact:  Name brands sell more product. 

3.) Kick out your outside vendors who aren't paying you a flat rate - I always hear that some "chicken sandwich" place or a pizza place wants to come in "to help our fundraising" - which is b.s. - it's a great way for them to brand their product to your audience, align their company with your community, and make a lot of money - traditional "cause" marketing.  Don't take 3% of their sales.  Tell them you want a flat rate up front since you will also be cannibalizing your own sales at your concession stands.  Companies that come in to stadiums and athletic events and don't pay out aren't worth your time.  

4.) Promote your concessions - Utilize signage, promotions, and your P.A. announcer to increase your sales.

5.) Take the food to the stands - If you're a mom with two kids on your arm and your at the game where there are no assigned seats, you might just wait out the game and just go sit down and eat afterwards.  If your school is serious about selling more food at games, take the food and drink to the stands.  It actually adds to the game experience since so many fans are used to seeing this at professional and college games.  

6.) Create something unique - Get known for something.  Can people get pit beef, cheese steaks, funnel cakes, barbeque, grilled wings, quesadillas, smoothies, fried twinkies, etc?  Is there something unique you have.  I love the barbeque pits because they send off smoke and a strong smell that send people running your way.  

7.) Show pictures of food and drink that you really want to sell - Next time you are at your favorite restaurant, check out their menu - you'll notice that the items they sell the most of (or often make the most money off of) are the items that have their picture on the menu.  People increase impulse purchases when there is visual stimulus.  

8.) Give away samples - I know, nobody wants to give away anything for free but try this:  Put a certain amount of product out for sampling and know how much it cost you (for example:  sample $200 worth of new pit beef) and then, at the end of the night, compare your sales with other nights that you didn't sample (of course take into consideration like variables such as attendance, weather, time of day, etc) but I bet you'll see a significant increase in sales.  Doesn't your grocery store do the same thing?

These are just a few ideas.  If you want us to talk about your situation and what we recommend, contact us at brian@tebopartnerships.com or check out www.tebopartnerships.com
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How To Know When Your Fundraisers Stink

YOUR FUNDRAISERS SUCK!


If you ask your team to sell crappy, cheap bracelets – your fundraisers suck.

If you have them stand in the middle of the street promoting half-naked car washes – your Fundraisers suck.

If you ever lost money on a fundraiser – your fundraisers suck.

If you have them selling over-priced chicken sandwiches that a company dropped off in a cow outfit and they are called and you had to pay upfront and promised you all the revenues after you cover your expenses – and then it rains and nobody shows up to the football game where you were selling them….

If you are helping your local sports team hock their worst seats to their lowest-attended games (usually on school nights… at like 8 p.m. on a Tuesday! Go team) – well, you get the picture.

Point is this. Some companies think schools are stupid. Not the physical building, but you.

I know that stings and it hurts me too but you have to address the issue here. They know you are over-worked and under-appreciated. Stressed out and underpaid. You don’t have the time and resources to sit around making cold calls to raise money or the energy to develop amazing fundraisers that will get television coverage. So these companies sit around board rooms and come up with programs that have you sell their product, service, or brand for them and you see what minimalism truly is.

Here’s why they love you:

You’re Kids are Great Salespeople – they are free labor and (mostly) cute. In the business world, you can’t hire and fire by looks and, let’s face it, the older we get the uglier we are. You also definitely won’t get buy in the business world having somebody peddle your wares for free. But somebody came up with the word fundraising and the tables were cleared.

There’s a “Cause” Involved - Cause Marketing is, according to Alden Keene’s definition of cause marketing: “a relationship that bridges commerce and cause in ways that benefit both parties.”

This is only true to a point. When a company asks you to sell yo-yo’s to raise money for your tennis program and they’re going to give you 2% of all the profits (after they take out their marketing and shipping costs) and you have to handle:

• Distributing all the product to the students

• Promoting the fundraiser with signage, etc

• Keeping track of the inventory

• Handling the cash

• Handling unsold product

• Taking the risk

It’s not worth it. And, to boot, at the end of it all, you and your team invested dozens of hours and maybe even some money up front for $26 dollars.

The Cone Millennial Cause Study in 2006 showed that 89% of Americans (aged 13 to 25) would switch from one brand to another brand of a comparable product (and price) if the latter brand was associated with a "good cause".

Companies know that they need to align with a cause. I’m just saying be selective. The company you partner with is going to walk-away with many benefits while you burden the cost and responsibility of making the program go.

Free media exposure (they may not give you much money but they’ll pay their PR firm plenty to ensure that every media outlet in town is there when the program starts, when it finishes, and when the big fake check gets presented to your school). Some companies do this with poor communities and there is actually a name for this: Poverty-pimping. When you see those photo opp’s of politicians reading to an impoverished kid in a poor neighborhood; that’s poverty-pimping.

Free brand alignment with your school and your highly-desirable parent (consumer) Companies love getting their product in your hands or in the hands of your students or in the hands of your parents as much as car companies love getting you to sit in their car.

Solutions to improve your fundraisers –

One At A Time – Do not do multiple fundraisers at one time. If you can prevent it, don’t do a fundraiser overlapping with another group’s fundraiser either. Keep it simple and don’t dilute your message.

Brand alignment – Align your school or program with an appropriate and established company. That hurts your schools and destroys the value of your brand. That’s right… imagine you are Nike or the Yankees. They aren’t going to align with something that doesn’t fit what they want you to think about them.

Quit Taking Free Stuff – Companies will give you free stuff and then you’re in their pocket. Anytime they can go around giving your school real money, they most likely will.

Demand a base fee – Ask companies for a set minimum donation up front. If you don’t sell the 2,500 bird feeders that they promised you 6.5% of, then you still get X amount of dollars. Put a value on the time it will take your school to distribute the information, the number of people that will receive the information, and how much money the potential partnering company stands to make.

Look, I’m not saying get greedy but with the pressure and budgetary restraints we’re all under, let’s start getting our fair share. Good luck and, as always, if you have any questions or want additional help, contact me directly at brian_siatkowski@yahoo.com.