Fall in Columbia can mean only one thing — University of Missouri football.
Mizzou’s faculty anticipates that more than 4,000 freshmen will be enrolling for the fall term, adding to the more than 30,000 students who were previously enrolled in the school. And this doesn’t even take into account the number of die-hard football fans that pack the stands at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field on game day, which can easily top 60,000.
So as a business owner, you may be wondering how football season relates to you and your bottom line, right? Well, think about it this way, with thousands of students returning to classes, there is an incredible opportunity for you to take advantage of this influx of potential customers.
Here are three ways your business can take advantage of returning college crowds.
Advertise Where Your Target Market Is
If your business is using radio as part of its marketing strategy, great. If not, you need to be. Radio provides an excellent medium for advertising to MU students. Given that there will be a tremendous increase in the number of people in Columbia, there will be an increase in how many people are exposed to your advertising messages on the local radio airwaves.
Did you know that radio is the leading platform when it comes to reach? Statistics show that 93% of people listen to AM/FM radio. Further, more than 67.8 million Millenials use radio each week, and 92% of Millenials are reached weekly by radio.
We all know that SEC Football is a way of life in the South, so it should come as no surprise that your audience is glued to the game, whether they are in the stands or listening to the game on the radio. Zimmer Radio broadcasts all Mizzou games, so there’s definitely an opportunity to put your brand and message in front of thousands of potential customers each week during the season, both on their way to the stadium and on their way home.
You can also take advantage of returning college crowds, as they’ll be moving into their new dorms or apartments and traveling to campus or driving to the game on Saturday. More than likely they’ll have the radio cued up as they’ll either be busy moving or in the car for an extended period of time. This is a great way of advertising to MU students purely through radio and catching your target market in action.
Offer Discounts or Specials to Returning College Students
This type of a program can take many shapes, depending on what type of business you may have. If you are a furniture store or a bookstore, you may consider running a “Back to School” sale that you can promote through a radio action campaign, drawing students to your website or storefront.
Remember, an action campaign is designed to encourage your target audience to take action, no matter if it utilizes social media, direct mail or email marketing. Not only can we help you create different campaigns based on your business, but we can channel the power of radio to compliment your campaign. With a variety of radio stations under our belt, from news talk and country to classic rock, there’s a channel that reaches the student demographic with Zimmer Radio.
Create Memorable Promo Items for Fans
Think about your game day experiences, whether it was at a football game, baseball stadium or an arena. As you looked around the crowd, there were probably foam fingers and fans waving back and forth, themed-hats, flags and banners, signs and other promotional materials present.
Promotional materials are great ways to keep your business and brand front of mind.
We bet if you were to go home and peek into your closet, or perhaps the trunk of your car, even your desk, there’s some type of promotional material hanging out. They help to evoke a certain memory that relates to a specific time in place.
Think about the endless ways your business can spread the word about its products and services? There’s power behind 60,000-plus fans waving their foam fingers, flags or fans with your brand name on them. We all know that it can get downright hot in Missouri, so fans are definitely a plus for crowds. The same goes for those November games where a hand warmer can make the difference between leaving at halftime or rooting for the Tigers when they need you in the fourth quarter.
As a business owner, we know that you want to get your message in front of as many potential customers as possible. No matter how you choose to go about it, using one of our suggestions above, or another idea, we’re here to help. From creating a radio ad to creating an action campaign and promotional materials, the experienced team at Zimmer can walk you through your options. With thousands of students coming to Columbia, don’t hesitate to contact us and learn more about your Mizzou advertising opportunities.
