And Why Doesn't North Texas Advertise?

[Poneez]

Forget about advertising. This is about marking our territory.

Then perhaps you should pee on a billboard.

[Quoner]

Then perhaps you should pee on a billboard.

Or hire the Richards Group to take a dump on one.

[Censored by Laurie]

You make great points - but rather than discuss them, let's think of cool slogans for our new $200 billboard near Odessa!

Who wants to go first?

"And you thought Odessa was wide-open...come watch UNT spread it."

"Drive 356 miles to see our defense give up 356 rushing yards."

For more fun...go try your hand at lengthening the Denton song in the UNT - News forum

[Eagle1855]

Or hire the Richards Group to take a dump on one.

AND boom goes the dynamite.

[Go_UTA]

We don't really need better market presence for academic recruiting. That is not the issue. We have raised enrollment levels each year for several years. And it isn't like the National Merit finalists are driving around trying to see who has the best billboard so they can pick their college. Look at the schools that advertise for academics: UTA, Midwestern St, and A&M Commerce. They are struggling to get students and aren't competitive academically. That is why you have a billboard on 408 advertising UNT Dallas and not UNT Denton. They need to bring in students.

UT Arlington isn't struggling for students and is a peer institution of UNT. (Commerce and Midwestern are not.). I'd give y'all the nod in the visual arts and music, and I'd favor us in engineering and most of the sciences. Besides that, we each have areas of excellence that do not exist at the other insitution, e.g., library science at UNT, architecture and nursing at UTA. But, if you take the measures that the coordinating board uses, I'd say we are roughly equivalent in academic quality.

TCU has billboards. And, I don't care how many student you have, you always want to raise the quality. So, number of bodies isn't the only issue for a successful campus. (But, I will grant that it is THE issue for UNT Dallas.)

I don't think people have any illusions about a miracle happening because you have billboards. I would call it PART of a comprehensive plan to raise awareness. And, it's not directed simply toward prospective students, but that's certainly a big part of it. In the case of the Woodlands billboard, that was deemed to be an area with a rich supply of college-going students where we could benefit from raising awareness from probably nearly zero to something better than that. But, you also want to be on the minds of policy-makers and legislators, and the general public at-large. I believe the cumulative effort of different advertising, sustained over a period of years, helps build a positive perception of a university...but, like any advertising, it won't wash unless it is authentic...unless you can back it up.

[forevereagle]

UT Arlington isn't struggling for students and is a peer institution of UNT. (Commerce and Midwestern are not.). I'd give y'all the nod in the visual arts and music, and I'd favor us in engineering and most of the sciences. Besides that, we each have areas of excellence that do not exist at the other insitution, e.g., library science at UNT, architecture and nursing at UTA. But, if you take the measures that the coordinating board uses, I'd say we are roughly equivalent in academic quality.

TCU has billboards. And, I don't care how many student you have, you always want to raise the quality. So, number of bodies isn't the only issue for a successful campus. (But, I will grant that it is THE issue for UNT Dallas.)

I don't think people have any illusions about a miracle happening because you have billboards. I would call it PART of a comprehensive plan to raise awareness. And, it's not directed simply toward prospective students, but that's certainly a big part of it. In the case of the Woodlands billboard, that was deemed to be an area with a rich supply of college-going students where we could benefit from raising awareness from probably nearly zero to something better than that. But, you also want to be on the minds of policy-makers and legislators, and the general public at-large. I believe the cumulative effort of different advertising, sustained over a period of years, helps build a positive perception of a university...but, like any advertising, it won't wash unless it is authentic...unless you can back it up.

The question I would like to know an answer to before I think any college should go spending money on any advertising is if the people that you are targeting are noticing the ads. Does a billboard on a freeway tell a prospective student that you are a good academic institution? Putting your school's billboard next to the strip club billboard doesn't exactly say good academics. Do prospective students make decisions based on billboards? I hope not, but if they do, is that the kind of student you want? Advertising in today's world is all about a targeted message to the right people. It takes a lot of money and time to make sure that when you put an ad out there, it actually gets seen, and gets seen by the right people, and that they actually get the message you want them to see. I just don't see how a billboard can accomplish this.

As far as raising awareness, I don't see the need in raising awareness in DFW. Most people are already aware of UNT. They may have misconceptions about the school, but they are at least aware. I don't think there is an effective way to clear the misconceptions in 5-10 words and a picture, so there is no point in using the medium.

[UNTLifer]

I started this thread with the intent of discussing why North Texas Athletics doesn't have a billboard in the Metroplex. That is why I put it on the Football Board.

NT isn't having trouble attracting students, it is the alumni in the DFW area that need to come back to the campus 5 or 6 times a fall.

[UNTflyer]

Even at $5000 a month, I think the benefits will be positive. $20,000 for a billboard (4 months rent), it only takes 400 extra fans per game for it to pay off.

[NT80]

Even at $5000 a month, I think the benefits will be positive. $20,000 for a billboard (4 months rent), it only takes 400 extra fans per game for it to pay off.

I'd rather take that $20,000 and offer free admittance to the first 10,000 new fans dressed in a NT shirt then give them $2 each toward a concession snack. They will still pay for parking, plus many will buy a program or other concession items and we will recoup that $20,000 back easily.

Edited July 10, 2008 by NT80

[FirefightnRick]

One billboard in downtown fort worth reads "TCU, the first ALL Stienway College of Music in Texas".

Must be hurting for music students or something? I don't know?

Rick

[Quoner]

The question I would like to know an answer to before I think any college should go spending money on any advertising is if the people that you are targeting are noticing the ads. Does a billboard on a freeway tell a prospective student that you are a good academic institution? Putting your school's billboard next to the strip club billboard doesn't exactly say good academics. Do prospective students make decisions based on billboards? I hope not, but if they do, is that the kind of student you want? Advertising in today's world is all about a targeted message to the right people. It takes a lot of money and time to make sure that when you put an ad out there, it actually gets seen, and gets seen by the right people, and that they actually get the message you want them to see. I just don't see how a billboard can accomplish this.

As far as raising awareness, I don't see the need in raising awareness in DFW. Most people are already aware of UNT. They may have misconceptions about the school, but they are at least aware. I don't think there is an effective way to clear the misconceptions in 5-10 words and a picture, so there is no point in using the medium.

Can anyone answer these questions or even attempt a response? If not, can we put the billboard crap to bed?

[UNTflyer]

Can anyone answer these questions or even attempt a response? If not, can we put the billboard crap to bed?

Students don't make decisions based on billboards, but it will pique their interest and draw traffic to our website.

Didn't we have a recent football recruit who had lived in DFW and never heard of UNT?

As for advertising the football season, most DFW residents are unaware of our schedule and don't even hear about our games until highlights are shown on the local news. A billboard would remind local residents, "Hey, there's a football game right up the road at 6:00pm. Tickets start at $10" I really see no harm in making a small investment and seeing how it works, but we should probably try it for the new stadium's inaugural season.

Edited July 10, 2008 by UNTflyer

[forevereagle]

Students don't make decisions based on billboards, but it will pique their interest and draw traffic to our website.

Didn't we have a recent football recruit who had lived in DFW and never heard of UNT?

As for advertising the football season, most DFW residents are unaware of our schedule and don't even hear about our games until highlights are shown on the local news. A billboard would remind local residents, "Hey, there's a football game right up the road at 6:00pm. Tickets start at $10" I really see no harm in making a small investment and seeing how it works, but we should probably try it for the new stadium's inaugural season.

I am still convinced that a billboard would have little to no affect. How frequently do you roll down the street, see a billboard and say to yourself "I need to buy that/go there"? Sure, seeing a UNT billboard every morning on our commute would give everyone on this board the warm fuzzies, but I don't think that it would actually bring people to the games. Just because you see the billboard does not mean that you are going to remember it or actually do anything with the information that was presented. I don't know about all of you, but I avoid advertising where possible. I ignore posters, billboards, and other signage. I change the radio station when the ads come on. I have a TiVO, and I start TV programs late so that I can move through the commercials. People everywhere are doing this more and more. If we were going to spend a bunch of money on advertising, I would do something viral (see: trick people into wanting to view your advertising). Use YouTube and other internet media to get people to see it. The startlegram, DRC, and DMN all have websites and would be good local outlets to reach people. A few big signs around the metroplex are just no the answer.

[trud1966]

Bring the Billboards TO the people. Place our football schedule/marketing poster on several DART buses.

[forevereagle]

Bring the Billboards TO the people. Place our football schedule/marketing poster on several DART buses.

Does this mean that I have put a dagger in the heart of the billboard idea? Let's hope so.

I am going to question this idea as well. One, DART misses Fort Worth entirely. Two, when was the last time you spent the time to read the side of a bus? Tell me the last ad that you actually remember seeing on the side of a bus. I could be stopped at a light with a DART bus next to me with the ad staring me in the face, and still not read it. If we can't get people to look at a stationary ad, then what would make a moving one more effective? In order for ads to be effective, they need to be memorable. I think we would do better to hire a bunch of guys to walk down the street with bells and shouting out the schedule. When was the last time you saw a town cryer? THAT would turn some heads and might be a little more memorable.

[UNTflyer]

Billboard advertising works... that's why they are still around, unlike the Town Crier. I know when I saw the new billboards for the Cabaret Royale, I was influenced to patron the establishment.

[forevereagle]

Billboard advertising works... that's why they are still around, unlike the Town Crier. I know when I saw the new billboards for the Cabaret Royale, I was influenced to patron the establishment.

I deal with people doing research to test effectiveness everyday. There is not a lot of agreement as to the level effectiveness of billboards. The reason that they are still around is that companies contiue to use them. It has to do with demand. They are not as expensive as other advertsing, and companies want to advertise. The fact that it still exists does not mean that it still works.

TV ad effectiveness is also way down. Advertising has become very challenging as of late, and in order to cut through the crowd, you need to do something different.

[JesseMartin]

We're going streakiiinnngg!!

[GreenBlooded1]

Bring the Billboards TO the people. Place our football schedule/marketing poster on several DART buses.

Put the schedule or an ad for football on the Denton Transit Authority "Commuter" bus that drives Denton to Dallas 3-4 times a day. Hell -- it's even green already!

Edited August 5, 2008 by GreenBlooded1

[UNTflyer]

On my way to work, I pass billboards for UT, UTD, UTA, TCU, even DCCCD. Seems the only billboards I don't see are SMU and UNT.

[UNTflyer]

Put the schedule or an ad for football on the Denton Transit Authority "Commuter" bus that drives Denton to Dallas 3-4 times a day. Hell -- it's even green already!

Considering they get major funding from student transportation fees, to the tune of almost $4 million a year, we should get free advertising.

[Green Grenade II]

I'd rather take that $20,000 and offer free admittance to the first 10,000 new fans dressed in a NT shirt then give them $2 each toward a concession snack. They will still pay for parking, plus many will buy a program or other concession items and we will recoup that $20,000 back easily.

THAT IS THE BEST IDEA i HAVE EVER HEARD OF!!!!!!!

[UNTLifer]

Put the schedule or an ad for football on the Denton Transit Authority "Commuter" bus that drives Denton to Dallas 3-4 times a day. Hell -- it's even green already!

Next to NT80's idea, this would be the second best idea EVER!

[Charlie NT 73]

Bill boards- who will pay for these?

How much money has been set aside for North Texas advertising?

How many bill boards are needed? one, fifty, or a hundred?

What bill boards are available? Bill boards are contacted

for agreeded scheduled time, by the month or the year.

Where are the available bill boards located?

I hope available bill boards are located in recruiting hot beds!

Do bill boards work? Sure they work. Becasue of bill board

advertising, I know where Baby Dolls, the Lodge, and the Gold Cup

are located! LOL!

All kidding aside, I do like NT 80's promotional idea to bring

fans to Denton. Maybe, promotional ideas are a better way

to bring fans to Denton.

But then, how do you advertise these promotions? TV?

Newspaper ads? Again, who pays the advertising bill?

[JesseMartin]

THAT IS THE BEST IDEA i HAVE EVER HEARD OF!!!!!!!

It is, except...how do you identify the "new fans"? I could show up with my family and say we're all new and I doubt anyone would question it. The same probably goes for every other alum or former student who's been out of town (or just not interested) for the past couple of years.