Hello There, Guest! (LoginRegister)

Post Reply 
How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Author Message
Bookmark and Share
J.B. Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 2,619
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 12
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Lafayette Hill, PA
Post: #1
How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Since the other thread was getting into a discussion about empty seats, I've decided to start a new thread here. I explained many times in the other thread about why lowering ticket prices isn't the answer. So I'd like to start a discussion about what it would take to get more fans into the seats at the DAC.

Try to come up with some creative ideas, other than just flat out lowering base ticket prices. And maybe if there are some good ideas that are realistic, I might be able to discuss them with some of my contacts within the department.
01-18-2019 07:56 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


jcohen42 Offline
Special Teams
*

Posts: 752
Joined: Feb 2016
Reputation: 38
I Root For: Drexel
Location:
Post: #2
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Really for me it comes down to marketing. The effort to advertise Drexel basketball as a event and as a product clearly isn't sufficient; something has to make it stand out for it to compete with the other options in the city (including ones just a couple blocks away). And not to belabor the point about ticket prices, because it was clearly getting nowhere even though I thought many points on the side of favoring a price reduction were valid, but low ticket prices gives marketing a "thing" to attract fans with. Drexel basketball, love it as we may, is not attracting people who aren't already interested. Start marketing specific deals, like discount packs for 2, 4, whatever, that you can't get anywhere else in the city and be as close to the court as you can get at the DAC, and now you have something that makes you stand out. In theory, then, interest increases attendance, attendance improves atmosphere, and then the atmosphere becomes an attraction in itself, and you no longer have to be reliant on special deals.

As for particularly "creative" ideas, Drexel is paying people to come up with those, or they really should be at least. The stuff this board recommends is going to be stuff that would be simple but potentially effective. From the other thread, I found more posters in favor of a price reduction than against it. Perhaps it's worth some consideration.
01-18-2019 09:50 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
hiroshimacarp Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 1,045
Joined: Dec 2016
Reputation: 13
I Root For: Drexel
Location:
Post: #3
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
$20 is too expensive. I didn’t realize it was that much. Grape wine is more traveled than I ever was...but I used to go see as many games around the city as I could. $20 would have kept me away.

Today we will probably go see a men’s/ women’s doubleheader at Messiah. They will have more people than most Drexel games. I’ll be $5 and my son will be free. $10 for a kid is too expensive too. They’ll play widener which is a school I know...not some random school like Elon or UNCW. They even have a TV. Christian music is a little uncomfortable for me but i’ll walk in via a lobby of trophies because Messiah teams actually win titles. Great D-3 tradition there. Talent is a step down but it’s not like Drexel fans are getting to see VCU or GMU talent like the old days.

Agree there is no marketing. Nothing for kids. No kids club with special events or deals. My son has played whiffle ball with the Harrisburg Senators and thrown out a first pitch. I would have taken Evan to Mario’s birthday but nobody on their social media accounts answered me about which mascots would be there. It was a bust last year. MeLVin from the phantoms saved it. Bring out Gritty or the phanatic and we would’ve been there this year.
01-19-2019 03:41 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
hiroshimacarp Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 1,045
Joined: Dec 2016
Reputation: 13
I Root For: Drexel
Location:
Post: #4
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Also...

Messiah seems responsive to weather which is helpful for somebody like me coming in from Central PA. First they delayed today’s games then moved to Monday. Common sense. I get TV and that’s ultimately where the money. Maybe we just said “screw it” and we’ll just bank on the TV money.

Wow...suddenly things make a lot more sense! That doesn’t do much to get alums flying out of their beds for homecoming though.
01-19-2019 08:53 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
dan10 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,130
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 47
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Indianapolis
Post: #5
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Well there is no tv deal so that shouldnt be a huge factor for Drexel when weather arises. There are enough gaps in teh CAA scheduling to accomodate. Everything is caa.tv streaming.

Marketing absolutely matters. Are games posted on electronic boards outside of the DAC? On game days? The day before and game day?

Game Today signs, are those still being posted all over campus like they used to be? Is Mario walking around with signs on game days especially around the DAC an hour or 3 before games?

Is advertising for games still being done at dining halls? Letting people know when games are. Are they showing highlights to make it appealing for people to show up?

Are DAC Pack leaders spreading the word, handing out tickets etc? Are there billboard out around 30th street station advertising basketball?

Are newsletters being sent out to students etc via email as reminders?

Are there local tv ads on main tv in the Philly market? Radio ads on game days?

I am obviously not near Philly any more and havent since I graduated, so I do not know what is being done in and around philly and on campus.

My guess is some of these are happening and most are not. The key is making a big deal about games. If you are not making a big deal about games, then why would anyone near or around campus make a big deal about it?
01-19-2019 11:08 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
J.B. Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 2,619
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 12
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Lafayette Hill, PA
Post: #6
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
(01-19-2019 08:53 AM)hiroshimacarp Wrote:  Also...

Messiah seems responsive to weather which is helpful for somebody like me coming in from Central PA. First they delayed today’s games then moved to Monday. Common sense. I get TV and that’s ultimately where the money. Maybe we just said “screw it” and we’ll just bank on the TV money.

Wow...suddenly things make a lot more sense! That doesn’t do much to get alums flying out of their beds for homecoming though.

It might be much worse where you live further west, but it's not supposed to start snowing in Philadelphia until after 6:00. There's no reason to postpone a 2:00 game today. I also heard that the CAA rule and the rule in most of Division I college basketball is that if the players, refs, and game day staff can get there, then the game has to be played as scheduled.
(This post was last modified: 01-19-2019 11:15 AM by J.B..)
01-19-2019 11:14 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


J.B. Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 2,619
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 12
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Lafayette Hill, PA
Post: #7
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
(01-19-2019 11:08 AM)dan10 Wrote:  Well there is no tv deal so that shouldnt be a huge factor for Drexel when weather arises. There are enough gaps in teh CAA scheduling to accomodate. Everything is caa.tv streaming.

Marketing absolutely matters. Are games posted on electronic boards outside of the DAC? On game days? The day before and game day?

Game Today signs, are those still being posted all over campus like they used to be? Is Mario walking around with signs on game days especially around the DAC an hour or 3 before games?

Is advertising for games still being done at dining halls? Letting people know when games are. Are they showing highlights to make it appealing for people to show up?

Are DAC Pack leaders spreading the word, handing out tickets etc? Are there billboard out around 30th street station advertising basketball?

Are newsletters being sent out to students etc via email as reminders?

Are there local tv ads on main tv in the Philly market? Radio ads on game days?

I am obviously not near Philly any more and havent since I graduated, so I do not know what is being done in and around philly and on campus.

My guess is some of these are happening and most are not. The key is making a big deal about games. If you are not making a big deal about games, then why would anyone near or around campus make a big deal about it?

Lots of good points here. From what I've noticed this year, the DAC Pack has done a phenomenal job promoting the games to the students, and there has been really good student attendance for all games played while school was in session. I expect a huge student turnout again today. The main issue that we're trying to solve is how to fill up the chairbacks. You touched on a few great points about TV and radio ads. There are none. Also, there are no games on TV anymore and no games on the radio. As a result, I think there are a lot of alumni who are casual sports fans who may have forgotten all about Drexel Basketball. Their decision to save a few thousand dollars on radio broadcasts have made it difficult to follow the games, especially in the car. Casual sports fans won't go out of their way to log into the CAA app, but I know that if there's a Drexel game on NBC Sports Philadelphia, they are more likely to tune in. IMO, those televised games mean more from a marketing standpoint than just commercials.
01-19-2019 11:20 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
fredsavage Offline
Water Engineer
*

Posts: 65
Joined: Jan 2018
Reputation: -1
I Root For: drexel
Location:
Post: #8
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
will these suggestions be given to drexel to......actually do something? or just live on this message board
01-19-2019 11:44 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
dan10 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,130
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 47
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Indianapolis
Post: #9
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
(01-19-2019 11:44 AM)fredsavage Wrote:  will these suggestions be given to drexel to......actually do something? or just live on this message board

They wont go anywhere, but keep in mind there are folks form athletics who follow the boards. Always has been.
01-19-2019 02:05 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
dan10 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,130
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 47
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Indianapolis
Post: #10
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
And I agree some games have had good student turn out. Still curious why few wear yellow/gold shirts any more. Students are there, which is definitely good. Gotta find ways to get them engaged and screaming and making the section a force for road teams. A strong student section helps encourage regular folks to show up as well. Also keep in mind those are your future alumni, so making a great student experience is a great way to build a fan base for the future as well.
01-19-2019 02:07 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
J.B. Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 2,619
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 12
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Lafayette Hill, PA
Post: #11
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
(01-19-2019 02:07 PM)dan10 Wrote:  And I agree some games have had good student turn out. Still curious why few wear yellow/gold shirts any more. Students are there, which is definitely good. Gotta find ways to get them engaged and screaming and making the section a force for road teams. A strong student section helps encourage regular folks to show up as well. Also keep in mind those are your future alumni, so making a great student experience is a great way to build a fan base for the future as well.

Totally agree with you about the gold shirts. Back when you were in the DP, everybody wore gold and it was all about unity. I think at this point, they're just trying to get students to show up. But it was a really packed student section once again, and much louder and more into it than on Thursday. I noticed that during the final timeout, they managed to get the entire student section on their feet for the remainder of the game. If the team keeps on winning home games, I think that the Drexel Basketball buzz on campus will continue to improve.
01-19-2019 04:42 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


MedicSBK Offline
Bench Warmer
*

Posts: 157
Joined: Oct 2016
Reputation: 0
I Root For: Drexel
Location:
Post: #12
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Interesting anecdote from yesterday's game:

I thought the student section showed up, and as the game went on they got louder and louder. I put a Tweet out in the first half: "Once again, a great showing from the student section. Its homecoming weekend. Hey, @Drexelalumni where are you? #Drexel @DACPack"

The response I got from @DrexelAlumni: "We are everyone else not in the student section! Except for those folks in purple!"

Really? Are you? I didnt want to split hairs, but come on.. The last two games the students have done a great job with showing up. The DAC Pack has been working their collective asses off to try and make that happen. The alumni and fans need to step up as well.
01-20-2019 08:14 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
J.B. Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 2,619
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 12
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Lafayette Hill, PA
Post: #13
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
(01-20-2019 08:14 AM)MedicSBK Wrote:  Interesting anecdote from yesterday's game:

I thought the student section showed up, and as the game went on they got louder and louder. I put a Tweet out in the first half: "Once again, a great showing from the student section. Its homecoming weekend. Hey, @Drexelalumni where are you? #Drexel @DACPack"

The response I got from @DrexelAlumni: "We are everyone else not in the student section! Except for those folks in purple!"

Really? Are you? I didnt want to split hairs, but come on.. The last two games the students have done a great job with showing up. The DAC Pack has been working their collective asses off to try and make that happen. The alumni and fans need to step up as well.

The game was virtually sold out yesterday. The empty seats were actually seats of those people who spent the game in the suites, but were required to buy actual tickets. As I said before, I'm not sure how many more people they could have fit into the DAC yesterday. Capacity is 2,509, but I only count about 1,700 actual seats.
01-20-2019 10:20 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
hiroshimacarp Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 1,045
Joined: Dec 2016
Reputation: 13
I Root For: Drexel
Location:
Post: #14
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
(01-20-2019 08:14 AM)MedicSBK Wrote:  Interesting anecdote from yesterday's game:

I thought the student section showed up, and as the game went on they got louder and louder. I put a Tweet out in the first half: "Once again, a great showing from the student section. Its homecoming weekend. Hey, @Drexelalumni where are you? #Drexel @DACPack"

The response I got from @DrexelAlumni: "We are everyone else not in the student section! Except for those folks in purple!"

Really? Are you? I didnt want to split hairs, but come on.. The last two games the students have done a great job with showing up. The DAC Pack has been working their collective asses off to try and make that happen. The alumni and fans need to step up as well.

i'd like to see them promote more than just 1 game.

my son got into a racing show today for free. he was 2nd place in a big wheel race and got a huge trophy. he got his picture by the piston cup. we'll be back next year.
01-20-2019 07:50 PM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
EvanJ Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 2,105
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 21
I Root For: Hofstra and FSU
Location:
Post: #15
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Your highest attendance average in the seasons the CAA has statistics for going back to 2005-2006 was 2,185 in 2011-2012, so you've had plenty of games over 1,700.

With CAA games being on Thursday and Saturday, and teams being home both days or away both days other than having Thursday off before playing your travel partner, would that help attendance by making it more like a TV show that's on at a constant day and time? The teams in the best conferences will play conference games on way more than two days of the week.
01-21-2019 02:15 PM
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
dan10 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,130
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 47
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Indianapolis
Post: #16
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Predictable games times should always help. Number of games a week does not matter nearly as much, but the consistency of games that is in the current set up should only help to promote games when you know which days they will be on every single week. The only downside of either being home or away is that its harder to keep interest when you may have over a week between home games.
01-22-2019 08:14 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Advertisement


DrachenFire Offline
2nd String
*

Posts: 459
Joined: Mar 2016
Reputation: 7
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Undecided
Post: #17
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
(01-21-2019 02:15 PM)EvanJ Wrote:  Your highest attendance average in the seasons the CAA has statistics for going back to 2005-2006 was 2,185 in 2011-2012, so you've had plenty of games over 1,700.

With CAA games being on Thursday and Saturday, and teams being home both days or away both days other than having Thursday off before playing your travel partner, would that help attendance by making it more like a TV show that's on at a constant day and time? The teams in the best conferences will play conference games on way more than two days of the week.

Somewhere I have a spreadsheet where I tracked DU's attendance by day of the week and the time the game started. Weeknight games that started at 8 outperformed 7 PM starts. I'm sure part of that was due to those games usually being on TV, but this was also a time when the DACPack was rolling. That would imply we were getting more non-students to the later starting games, which makes sense for those who worked outside the city and then would need to commute in.

As far as how to get butts in seats: embrace the weird. Example: Pick a game to honor the National Champion Drexel football team every year (there are 257 claimed national titles, the US is 243 years old). Do it big. Pick the team out of the stands at halftime, raise a banner, have a trophy, pass out shirts and hats. Bring in some Eagles or Soul players and reenact the championship winning play. Have a tailgate before the game at the top level of the garage.

We used to have two billboards that would advertise the basketball programs. The last couple of years they have been turned into Frytopia (Frytropolis) billboards. Get those billboards back. Advertise games on Regional Rail (this is the best bang for the buck, there are ads in the older cars for the kickoff concert at Penn's Landing prior to the Eagles season opener). Find a way to get a new main entrance to the DAC on Market St. with some type of marquee so people actually know there are D1 games taking place (ideally this would have been incorporated into the Rec Center plans, but we were focusing on The Armory). Lower the ticket prices, entice more people to come to the games creating scarcity causing people to obtain tickets sooner for fear of missing out. When the team is good again and you're getting closer to sellouts, then start raising prices again
01-22-2019 09:48 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
EvanJ Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 2,105
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 21
I Root For: Hofstra and FSU
Location:
Post: #18
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
(01-22-2019 08:14 AM)dan10 Wrote:  The only downside of either being home or away is that its harder to keep interest when you may have over a week between home games.
You sometimes have 11 consecutive days without a home game from Sunday through Wednesday 10 days later. Hofstra has 18 consecutive days without a home game. It's still better than the alternative. Imagine if the games alternated home and away and players had to travel after every game. Last season your away games were:

Thursday at Towson and Saturday at James Madison, who are now travel partners

Thursday at Northeastern and Saturday at Hofstra, who are now travel partners

Saturday at Elon and Tuesday at UNCW with different days of the week for the first two CAA games, and those teams are not travel partners but are in the same state

You were at home before and after your trip to Delaware

Saturday at William & Mary after being home on Thursday

Saturday at Charleston after being home on Thursday

(01-22-2019 09:48 AM)DrachenFire Wrote:  Somewhere I have a spreadsheet where I tracked DU's attendance by day of the week and the time the game started. Weeknight games that started at 8 outperformed 7 PM starts. I'm sure part of that was due to those games usually being on TV, but this was also a time when the DACPack was rolling. That would imply we were getting more non-students to the later starting games, which makes sense for those who worked outside the city and then would need to commute in.
I would be interested in that. I made a linear regression with many variable to predict Hofstra's attendance in past seasons and compared it to the actual amounts. If anybody tells me their e-mail address, I will send you my file.
(This post was last modified: 01-23-2019 03:38 PM by EvanJ.)
01-23-2019 03:37 PM
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
dan10 Offline
Heisman
*

Posts: 6,130
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 47
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Indianapolis
Post: #19
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
Agree it is definitely best for the student athletes. As far as attendance, probably not best. I like the way the schedule is done currently.
01-24-2019 06:22 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
J.B. Offline
Moderator
*

Posts: 2,619
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation: 12
I Root For: Drexel
Location: Lafayette Hill, PA
Post: #20
RE: How can Drexel Basketball improve ticket sales?
I had just peaked over at Gohens.net, and it's ironic that they're basically having the same discussion that we are having over here about what needs to be done to increase attendance. One fan suggested giving away as many tickets as possible to get people in the building and increase food sales. Another post had to do with students not showing up, but they will show up if the team becomes a winner.

Even though Drexel and Delaware are in the same conference and are rivals, their situation is apples and oranges.

Drexel is in the middle of a major sports and entertainment market surrounded by pro sports, and other colleges. Drexel also doesn't have a football team, and never really put focus on building sports fandom into the college culture. Drexel has no games broadcast on radio, and get very little press and media coverage.

Delaware is 45 minutes away from that same major sports market, but they pretty much have an exclusive market to draw from. They get major coverage in their local newspaper and radio stations. They have a major radio deal. There are no other Division I schools in the vicinity. And other than the Blue Coats, who moved to Wilmington this year from previously sharing the BOB with the Blue Hens, no pro sports nearby to compete with. They're also Delaware's equivalent to Penn State, and the main sports draw in the state. But despite all of that, they're having problems getting butts in the seats.

Now Delaware does draw significantly better than Drexel (as they should) but they have twice as many seats to fill.
(This post was last modified: 01-24-2019 02:51 PM by J.B..)
01-24-2019 07:47 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 




User(s) browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)


Copyright © 2002-2024 Collegiate Sports Nation Bulletin Board System (CSNbbs), All Rights Reserved.
CSNbbs is an independent fan site and is in no way affiliated to the NCAA or any of the schools and conferences it represents.
This site monetizes links. FTC Disclosure.
We allow third-party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit our web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.networkadvertising.org.
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2024 MyBB Group.