Northwestern made a big announcement today that could work wonders for the program, and could make a statement across the Chicago area.
Jim Phillips and the marketing crew over at Anderson Hall will be putting a full-on "engage eight" blitz on the Chicago advertising market. According to this release, there will be seven year-round billboards along major expressways, ads in the three major newspapers, and radio ads.
The theme is "Northwestern, Chicago's Big Ten Team."
And oh, yea, a new speaker system! I'm told, "it is loud," by a Northwestern employee.
They are also creating a new ticket department to make outgoing phone calls trying to sell tickets.
I like it. It sounds good, but will people buy it?
Northwestern has tried for two decades to put its stamp on the Chicago area. Most people have affiliations to other Big Ten schools who live in the area and want no part with the Wildcats. Others simply don't want to take the time to care about college football in their own backyard. Time will tell if this is just a big waste of money or will Phillips hit a home run.
Filed under: Basketball, Football, General, Ryan Field
Tags: Jim Phillips, northwestern, northwestern wildcats football
First off, this is a great move to have a coordinated ad campaign focusing on the surrounding region. Previous attempts have been either disconnected or unprofessional (see "Paint the Town Purple" from 2002, which was essentially as bad as the team was that year).
No, I can tell you that this move in itself won't be a home run, instead it's more like just getting a guy on base (single or walk). Once people take a look at the product, then the fans will slowly start coming.
IMHO, the single biggest factor that has held NU back in recent times is the dark ages. There is just a generation of fans missing for NU. Hopefully within a few years NU will have sustained success long enough and been on national TV enough to have a decent following again (and one that wants to go to games).
I agree about the Dark Ages, but not just because we lost a generation or two of fans. One of the big problems is that some of the most influential sports voices in Chicago and nationally only know Northwestern from the Dark Ages. And the crap they spit out continues to influence new generations of football fans. I'm not sure it can be overcome in a few years, but I think we should at least start to see progress within 5 years if Fitz can keep this program going forward.
But back to the marketing campaign, it has me excited. It's obvious they've put in a lot of thought and money into this plan.
Oh for a time when I'll be able to stand up at Ryan Field and not to be told to sit down...