The have had proposals on air, the signature blue field, amazing comebacks and challenges to the BCS…now Boise State is looking to use aggressive social media tactics to grow its brands and expose its athletes to the widest grassroots audience possible in an attempt to market outside its nice audience. The Broncos plans for the summer were discussed in detail in this weekend's Idaho Statesman, and though not unique as one off's. they show a solid unified plan for a midmajor school looking to invest in its brand and get exposure where traditional media is limited. While a number of major schools have used twitter and Facebook and YouTube to push ticketing campaigns, most midmajors thus far have not made the investment across all the low cost mediums to tell their stories positively. Therefore the Broncos outreach is a smart one, and if they develop athletes who can compete for national awards like the Heisman, the grassroots base that they are building will give them a leg up. It is more than “cool” or niche for a school like Boise State. It is the right way to begin integrating with limited media coverage to sell product, tell the story of the school, and get recognition. Could it lead to added sponsor dollar. Maybe, but tough without all the marketing dollars and eyeballs that traditional media brings. However it is a low cost, calculated approach to go right to the core audience and show the right demo you understand how to get to them on all platforms. Good lesson to be learned and hopefully carried out over an extended period. Points for the Broncos.
Some other good reads…The Washington Times took a good look at all the Caps off ice moves that built their brand in slow times and helped them capitalize on this season's run… The North County Times took a look at the frenzy surrounding San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg…the Toronto Star was one of several papers with a good look into the background of Coyotes bidder Jim Basille...and the New York Times’ Alan Schwartz has a good look back at the late Dom DiMaggio.
