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Wolfpack Sports Marketing Praised for Sponsorship Idea |
Team Marketing Report recognized Wolfpack Sports Marketing, the sports marketers for the NC State Wolfpack in the January edition of the TMR newsletter for a unique sponsorship idea. WSM struck a deal with Waste Industries to not only promote them but help the environment around Carter Finley stadium by recycling on football game days. The article appeared in Vol. 16, Issue 4 of the January 2004 edition of Team Marketing Report and is reproduced below with their permission.
From Team Marketing Report
A bunch of rubbish: The Wolfpack help a sponsor dispose of cash and improve the environment
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
North Carolina State University’s trash is a multi-year sponsorship deal. Raleigh, N.C.-based Waste Industries, the N.C. State Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling, and the Wolfpack athletics department partnered to create a large-scale recycling program for Carter Finely Stadium.
An estimated 50 tons of recyclable material from the stadium had been dumped into county landfills during the previous football seasons.
The “Chuck It” program, named for the Wolfpack’s head coach Chuck Amato, recovered more than 15,000 pounds of cans, bottles and other materials.
“What began as a grassroots, behind the scenes project, became a program with significance and visibility,” said Bill Hanley, Vice President for Waste Industries. For each home football games, 10 “Chuck It” zones outfitted with 8-yard long recycling bins garnished the stadium’s parking lot.
Additionally, “Chuckwagons” cruised through rows of tailgaters collecting any recyclable materials. The trucks, staffed by volunteers and OWRR workers, distributed Waste Industries branded promotional items to fans who properly disposed of their garbage.
“Waste Industries isn’t a big advertiser, but had been looking for a way to differentiate themselves from their competitors,” said Brian Asbill, Assistant General Manager of Wolfpack Sports Marketing. “They also had two objectives: to create an awareness of the environmental need to recycle and to decrease the amount of recyclable material that ended up in landfills.”
An in-stadium video piece featuring Amato and Jim Perry, President and CEO of Waste Industries, reminded fans of their opportunities to recycle and gave weekly updates regarding the amounts of material recycled.
The program was also supported with media purchases, including pre-game airtime spots, ads in the game program and on N.C. State’s Web site, gopack.com. The Chuck It program also had a segment on Amato’s TV show.
“The amount of material in the recycling bins tripled after the first two games,” Asbill said. “We had an excellent response, and expect it to increase as recycling bins are placed inside the stadium.”
Without the sponsorship dollars from Waste Industries, the university and OWRR would have been unable to manage the program, he said.
Significant cost is associated with obtaining and keeping up the recycling bins. Asbill explained that a portion of the start-up costs was absorbed by a grant to OWRR from Wake County Environmental Services.
“We’re already talking about how we can make the program better for the next football season,” Hanley said. “We feel really good about our recycling program and hope our customers recognize our efforts.”
Besides its headquarters in Raleigh, Waste Industries has collection, transfer, disposal and recycling service to commercial, industrial and residential customer locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida.
The company operates 36 collection operations, 27 transfer stations, approximately 90 county convenience drop-off centers, eight recycling facilities and 11 landfills in the southeastern United States.
