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Wolfpack Sports Marketing Goes Mobile With Bus Advertising
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Wolfpack Sports Marketing has found a new place for their advertisers – on the Wolfline bus fleet. |
Wolfpack Sports Marketing has ventured into new territory this season – new marketing territory that is. Wolfpack Sports Marketing (WSM), the sales and marketing team for NC State Athletics, is always on the lookout for new and innovative marketing ideas and this season’s idea was to go mobile and brand the Wolfline buses.
The Wolfline is a bus service offered to NC State students that covers an area of approximately nine square miles in and around the NC State campus. The Wolfline provides free transportation to more than 14,000 riders each day. Most of these riders fall between the ages of 18-26 which is an audience the WSM bus sponsors are trying to reach.
NC State sports are being featured on the buses as well. |
The project is new and starting small with only two buses branded so far. But by the end of the academic year, the goal is to have 8 or 9 buses branded, representing each varsity sport on campus. The ‘branding’ includes exterior visibility on the side of the bus and interior visibility. The exterior of the bus features the sponsor logo as well as a varsity sport athlete. The interior features messages that the sponsor selects, whether it is a monthly feature or a schedule of events, and is something the sponsor can change throughout the semester.
The bus deal is not only making sponsors happy, but NC State Athletics is pleased as well. The buses offer varsity sports visibility they are not accustomed to having. (Varsity sports include all sports with the exception of football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.) They are traditionally referred to as the non-revenue sports, so marketing these sports is a financial challenge for NC State. The bus project is giving these sports big visibility – mobile billboard visibility!
WSM advertisers will be able to reach more of their target audience through bus ads. |
According to Dick Christy, NC State’s associate athletic director/external affairs, the bus project has been well received. “We are very excited about partnering with WSM and the Transportation Department on such a unique venture. We are reaching our very important campus market and gaining continuous exposure for our varsity sports teams and schedules.” Christy says he thinks the ‘enhancement’ of the bus project is really a smart initial sales piece and stated that NC State is looking forward to a successful partnership for years to come.
Thanks to WSM’s Brenda Steen for this capcom story & these capcom photos.
