How do we elevate our brand?

Jonnyeagle · July 17, 2023

Can it de done in any way other than consistency and winning? Look at Colorado, they changed their brand by simply hiring the right coach.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Jonnyeagle

NT80 · July 17, 2023

4 minutes ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Can it de done in any way other than consistency and winning? Look at Colorado, they changed their brand by simply hiring the right coach.

Their brand doesn't change until they play games. If they start 1-5 nothing has changed. They got more media during offseason because of the coaching hire. But if they can't win games and become a legit product then they will stop being talked about and the media will fall off too.

UNT also got more media in offseason by the NIT Championship and just by the elevation in conference to the AAC. It is now the mission of the AD to continue the re-rise of Football. More local marketing would greatly help attendance too!!

Victorygreen04 · July 17, 2023

Elevating a brand cannot happen overnight. Consistency and winning are the foundation of elevating a program. I feel like we are consistent as a University of building our brand. We are winning in a lot of areas (basketball, soccer and softball). Now we need the football program to follow suit. Can it happen in one year? I think yes, with the right team leadership and execution on the field.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Victorygreen04

wardly · July 17, 2023

43 minutes ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Can it de done in any way other than consistency and winning? Look at Colorado, they changed their brand by simply hiring the right coach.

Well they hired a different coach. All coaches fired in the history of sports were the right coach when they were hired.

Cooke County Kid · July 17, 2023

At this juncture........WIN GAMES!!!

Glory to the Green · July 17, 2023

Win, of course. Winning big would instantly get attention. High scoring and exciting offenses. It feels like this year has potential. MBB should have another really good year. FB could have a really good year.

Oh…and stop advertising “2nd Best College Food”…it’s a weird flex. If you want to acknowledge the food recognition, maybe “According to blank, UNT Dining Ranks in the top 1% of Universities. Everyone has to eat, not everyone gets to enjoy some of the best in the nation.” Or something like that….

ETA: Believe it or not, I don’t have a background in Marketing.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Glory to the Green

TripleGrad · July 17, 2023

Just win consistently, regardless of the conference. That's the secret sauce that worked in Fort Worth.

greenminer · July 17, 2023

Colorado did not elevate their brand, unless you call flash-in-pan attention an elevated brand.

When I think of name brands in CFB, I mostly think of iconic and timeless traditions. The helmets of Michigan and ND. the winning traditions of Alabama, USC, and OU.

Colorado and Deion have none of that.

Finally, a casual reminder that Deion and Co haven't won a single game yet.

TheReal_jayD · July 17, 2023

1 hour ago, TripleGrad said:

Just win consistently, regardless of the conference. That's the secret sauce that worked in Fort Worth.

this is the 🔑

NorthTexasWeLove · July 17, 2023

I think there are other ways to elevate a brand outside of winning.

Winning gets the attention, sure. But there has to be the shiny object readily available that holds the attention. Otherwise you'll be Western Michigan under Fleck. Or a good example of this is Ohio/Toledo. Ohio and Toledo are staples of the MAC. When they are good, they're really good. When they're not good, they're still 7-5. Yet, no one seems to care. Why? Because they're MAC schools? Well, we were just CUSA schools. Now in a diluted AAC. I think there is more to it than simply winning, though winning is a necessary variable.

greenminer · July 17, 2023

5 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

I think there are other ways to elevate a brand outside of winning.

Winning gets the attention, sure. But there has to be the shiny object readily available that holds the attention. Otherwise you'll be Western Michigan under Fleck. Or a good example of this is Ohio/Toledo. Ohio and Toledo are staples of the MAC. When they are good, they're really good. When they're not good, they're still 7-5. Yet, no one seems to care. Why? Because they're MAC schools? Well, we were just CUSA schools. Now in a diluted AAC. I think there is more to it than simply winning, though winning is a necessary variable.

Some great points here. I speculate media market/alumni base plays a part in this.

NorthTexasWeLove · July 17, 2023

4 minutes ago, greenminer said:

Some great points here. I speculate media market/alumni base plays a part in this.

Definitely.

Does our alum base care?

Does our market care about UNT?

I can make a solid case for no to both.

In short, are we chasing our tails? All the while with the inception of NIL and bigger facilities has athletic departments asking for more and more and more and more.

NT80 · July 18, 2023

22 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Definitely.

Does our alum base care?

Does our market care about UNT?

I can make a solid case for no to both.

In short, are we chasing our tails? All the while with the inception of NIL and bigger facilities has athletic departments asking for more and more and more and more.

We have Football History. A LOT of history that our new-ish conference members don't have. I think we have played every school in the SEC. We played A$M in the 1920's and Big programs all throughout our history. We had a major Movie made at Fouts and about us (sort of), lol.

Mike Jackson · July 18, 2023

4 hours ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Can it de done in any way other than consistency and winning? Look at Colorado, they changed their brand by simply hiring the right coach.

Actually that coach would have made much more sense here at UNT than Colorado. He has a unique connection to winning big here in DFW. Making a public bid to get him was a HUGE missed opportunity. It would have made us look like we were big time serious about winning. And if hired bringing in just two 5 star recruits and a handful of 4 stars more than we usually get would have done wonders at our level. To people outside the program and biased against it, holding on to Seth too long and not making a bid to get Sanders just confirms we are that serious about winning. And my criticism of the program always centers around being too late making the right investments. Dickey was right to complain about the facilities later in his tenure. And the contruction of Apogee didn’t even start until 3 years after he was fired.

So while there is no shortcut around winning to get your program going in the right direction brand wise; TIMELY competitive investments are required to maximize the impact of getting the right coaches and players.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Mike Jackson

greenminer · July 18, 2023

1 hour ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Definitely.

Does our alum base care?

Does our market care about UNT?

I can make a solid case for no to both.

In short, are we chasing our tails? All the while with the inception of NIL and bigger facilities has athletic departments asking for more and more and more and more.

Our metro area dwarfs those universities you listed.

I still think our situation/brand could be sooo much better if we can consistently win for 7+ years.

The problem? It's just so damn hard. And with NIL and everything going on, it might have just gotten even more difficult.

Mike Jackson · July 18, 2023

1 hour ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Definitely.

Does our alum base care?

Does our market care about UNT?

I can make a solid case for no to both.

In short, are we chasing our tails? All the while with the inception of NIL and bigger facilities has athletic departments asking for more and more and more and more.

In all fairness has the program consistently given people reason to care? Before hiring building Apogee and hiring Mac all our efforts seemed to be half ass. Just look at the successful programs that started up programs and other that jumped up to FBS after we did. They just invested better and exceeded what our program has accomplished. That isn’t just luck or schools in communities without college fanbases already committed to other nearby schools.

Side.Show.Joe · July 18, 2023

I remember back in the Dodge days when our flag crew would run after touchdowns and the eagle logo on the flag was flying backwards. I think I had to watch that for a least three seasons. That was terrible brand management. Thank goodness we aren't doing such things anymore.

Winning is always our goal, but it isn't enough to elevate our brand. To generate the kind of interest that sustains a program in the eyes of college football fans, we must innovate and create a unique atmosphere around UNT. Boise has won a lot of games, but it is their "Smurf Turf" that they are best known for.

If I were in charge of UNT's marketing......

* I would do a better job of bringing the Battle Flag into the stadium experience, so that it becomes a fixture of our broadcasts on ESPN's channels.

* I would scrap the current Scrapy costume and design one that Oregon would be jealous of (I have some ideas).

* I would innovate our use of in-game reporting (the sideline personality that hosts the various interactive games could be better utilized).

* I would place more quality signage along the sidelines at the corners of the endzones instead of so much blank brick.

There are other unique things I would do that would benefit the perception of our on the field product and game day experience too, but this is enough for this post.

NorthTexasWeLove · July 18, 2023

29 minutes ago, greenminer said:

Our metro area dwarfs those universities you listed.

I still think our situation/brand could be sooo much better if we can consistently win for 7+ years.

The problem? It's just so damn hard. And with NIL and everything going on, it might have just gotten even more difficult.

No doubt. It does. But are we even included in that? I will say that the tide is turning, or maybe has already turned a bit. From the Dodge years, tremendously. I'll give you an example.

I listen to the Cover 3 podcast pretty frequently. Last week they were going over their personal W total projections vs Vegas for PAC teams. When they got to Cal, 2 out of 3 on that podcast didn't give Cal the automatic W vs UNT. That's different. In the past, even in the Dickey era, we were typically considered auto dubs vs those type teams. Clear and unquestionable improvement. Does anyone care? Has our attendance reflected that? Season ticket sales? Donors? Media coverage in our market? I have zero quantifiable data, but I'd say probably not.

For all the flaws of SL, he did elevate our program to respectability.

Again, there has to be more to it than winning. If I'm in that UNT athletic department, I'm studying what UTSA's marketing team did in Traylor's first offseason (spring and summer of 2020) and what they did after his 1st season as HC to catapult them while creating fomo type momentum.

NorthTexasWeLove · July 18, 2023

9 minutes ago, Mike Jackson said:

In all fairness has the program consistently given people reason to care? Before hiring building Apogee and hiring Mac all our efforts seemed to be half ass. Just look at the successful programs that started up programs and other that jumped up to FBS after we did. They just invested better and exceeded what our program has accomplished. That isn’t just luck or schools in communities without college fanbases already committed to other nearby schools.

I will always believe this is our problem.

Not to rustle feathers, and I know Smatstrek is working on this, but we need to double the size our business and engineering schools. That's where the meat is at.

MeanGreenGlory · July 18, 2023

Elevating a brand is all about creating a flywheel. The first step is to identify the most meaningful elements that create the flywheel and understand how each element supports the next element. Then, you focus on consistently improving/executing each element as best you can. As you do this, the flywheel builds momentum and grows exponentially.

UNT's flywheel could look something like this:

Hire the Best Staff You Can and Incentize them to Win
Recruit the Best Players You Can and Incentivize them to Win
Build the Best Facilities You Can to Help Teams Prepare to Win
Engage Fans with Exceptional Game-Day Experience and Feature the Legacy of the Program
Win
Leverage All Media Sources to Continually Promote Program Wins Ad Nauseam, Feature the Legacy of the Program, and Attract More Fans to Upcoming Games
Reinvest the Profits from Increased Revenue Back into the Flywheel

Then, you rinse and repeat 1–7 for decades and focus on improving each element every year. The longer you generate and sustain success by doing this, the higher your brand is elevated.

In elements four and six, I mentioned "Feature the Legacy of the Program." @NT80 mentioned the history of our school is a big deal, and I agree. I think this is a critical element for elevating UNT's brand right now. We have a rich history, especially compared to a lot of G5 programs, but many people think we're some new directional school because we've been mediocre for so long with splashes of success. Talking about #75, Hayden Fry, Abner Haynes, 25 Conference Championships, 78 NFL Draft Picks, wins against Baylor, Florida, TCU, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, etc. can help establish more credibility for the program and break that stigma. But, it has to be talked about frequently and incorporated in different ways in order for it to "stick" and make an impact.

peanuts104 · July 18, 2023

9 hours ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Can it de done in any way other than consistency and winning? Look at Colorado, they changed their brand by simply hiring the right coach.

We already did when we moved to the AAC. Firing SL helped too.

Mike Jackson · July 18, 2023

21 hours ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

When they got to Cal, 2 out of 3 on that podcast didn't give Cal the automatic W vs UNT. That's different. In the past, even in the Dickey era, we were typically considered auto dubs vs those type teams. Clear and unquestionable improvement. Does anyone care?

Cal is a down period for their program and they are not known as powerful program either. And I argue that if the best Dickey teams matched up with a team on Cal’s current level a lot of people wouldn’t give that team an automatic win over them. We played Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma and one of Bill Synder’s best KSU teams during Dickey’s tenure. All of them would crush a Cal team today just as bad as they they crushed Dickey’s team. Ten years without a bowl win and almost 20 without a conference title is the period of time you are calling “unquestionable improvement”. That improvement is utterly pathetic compared to programs like FAU, UTSA, Boise State, Liberty and the rebuilt UAB. UAB, FAU, and UTSA dominated us and won CUSA championships. All 3 of them had significant disadvantages compared to UNT. Nobody cares because the “unquestionable improvement” is kind of pathetic any way you try to measure it.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Mike Jackson

Hunter Green · July 18, 2023

Great ideas, al, but winning cures all ills. Media doesn't cover losers, they cover winning programs. Add in the above ideas and just freaking win!

GO MEAN GREEN!

wardly · July 18, 2023

16 hours ago, NT80 said:

We have Football History. A LOT of history that our new-ish conference members don't have. I think we have played every school in the SEC. We played A$M in the 1920's and Big programs all throughout our history. We had a major Movie made at Fouts and about us (sort of), lol.

You realize that a lot of graduates, especially younger ones, don't know who Joe Green or Abner Haynes are. You must also realize that the 1920's was 100 years ago and that time has passed us by.The movie you refer to was at our stadium but about Texas State and it had to have been made 40 years ago. During the 2000's we were road kill against the big boys for a pay check. At Tech,K. State,,Oklahoma,Texas, Alabama, Arkansas,Colorado,LSU, and Clemson. We didn't play every team in the SEC, but from 2000 to 2010 we played LSU twice, scoring a total of 6 points while giving up 97. I attended both games. We lost 3 games at Oklahoma, 23 to 153, and twice to TEXAS , 7 to 121. My point is that for the fact we needed the money, we did ourselves a lot more harm that good by getting our ass handed to us by the Big programs. Rick only scheduled a few , in which we were trounced , but we did stomp Arkansas, which we can ride another 20 years.

NT80 · July 18, 2023

1 hour ago, wardly said:

You realize that a lot of graduates, especially younger ones, don't know who Joe Green or Abner Haynes are. You must also realize that the 1920's was 100 years ago and that time has passed us by.The movie you refer to was at our stadium but about Texas State and it had to have been made 40 years ago. During the 2000's we were road kill against the big boys for a pay check. At Tech,K. State,,Oklahoma,Texas, Alabama, Arkansas,Colorado,LSU, and Clemson. We didn't play every team in the SEC, but from 2000 to 2010 we played LSU twice, scoring a total of 6 points while giving up 97. I attended both games. We lost 3 games at Oklahoma, 23 to 153, and twice to TEXAS , 7 to 121. My point is that for the fact we needed the money, we did ourselves a lot more harm that good by getting our ass handed to us by the Big programs. Rick only scheduled a few , in which we were trounced , but we did stomp Arkansas, which we can ride another 20 years.

You do realize our Football history pre-dates RV? We have 110 years of Football history. The point being we are not like these new programs or FCS move-ups. We were in Major College football before there were any other splits. We have played all SEC teams, except South Carolina. The movie portrayed "Texas State" as a fictional school, because there was no Texas State at the time. But they used our uniforms, head coach (Parker) and some of our players, and the storyline was actually similar to ours during certain eras.