The Gators Had a Problem

Several years ago, the University Athletic Association of the University of Florida came to Adbiz with a problem … a challenge, as far as we could tell, that had never been resolved.  How could we help them get more fans in the stands at women’s college basketball games?

Research revealed that women’s college sporting events didn’t attract as many fans as men’s sporting events. Also, most of the marketing campaigns and giveaways were the usual T-shirts and keychains, nothing out of the ordinary. A lot went into this, and the entire marketing strategy and execution process took Adbiz several months. The idea was to give away Bendos© dolls specifically created in the likeness of the top four players and the coach.

We packaged the dolls inside a collectible plastic tube that we could apply stickers to of sponsors of the event. On the inside of the tube, besides the doll, we also had collectible basketball trading cards … one side showing the doll’s stats and the other side showing the stats of each actual, real-life player.  These cylindrical tubes were to be given away before each of the five games started.

How did we help the University of Florida Athletic Association promote this campaign and advertise this giveaway? 

Adbiz first designed a new Lady Gator Basketball poster that included an image of the dolls. We had these promotional materials distributed all over Gainesville. We also created a newspaper ad that simply and clearly explained the giveaway process. Each week before the game, the print ad was changed to feature a different collectible doll.  We also helped produce a 30-second television commercial that showed the coach, who happened to be a quite serious person, playing with the dolls in her office. We also had our Public Relations team reach out to local media, and numerous local news stories brought a great deal of exposure to the campaign.

It worked! By the second game of the season, there was a line formed of fans around the arena waiting to get into the event.