Target Students with "Add a Slide, Get Free Tickets" Promotion...

Are you looking for new ways to attract college students and working professionals to your events? Are you looking for ways to make your team more revelant in the local community?

CoffeeCompany, a coffee shopping chain in the Netherlands, recently drew waves of attention by offering students a coupon good for ten (10) small coffees if they agree to add one of its six (6) branded PowerPoint slides into their presentations. The promotion served as an effective way for the company to turn students into brand ambassadors at a very minimal cost (CoffeeCompany is essentially sponsoring the students through the promotion). 

To receive a ten (10) free cups of coffee, students simply had to upload a photo or video of themselves showing the slide in class on the site Free Coffee 4 Students (the site even includes a Wall of Fame). The promotion enabled students to submit a photo/video for a free coffee once per month. Check out a clip below which demonstrates a student's submission for the promotion:

What are the implications here for sports marketers?

Sports organizations can consider mirroring the promotion with a "Add a Slide, Get Free Tickets" initiative. The promotional offer would serve as a great way to tap into local student bases (youth, students attending Universities) and local businesses. At the very least, it might just be a simple way to enhance the perception of your team's brand amongst students in the local community (who may be interested in coming to your games but are turned off due to prices, etc.).

To execute, teams should consider creating a microsite that features a number of fan-friendly elements:

• A collection of team-branded Powerpoint slides for consumers to download and use
• A function that enables consumers to upload photos/videos that they can submit online for free tickets once per month
• A special offer from a corporate partner who is targeting students/young professionals (an additional offer, integration into the promotion, etc.)
• An interactive feature where consumers can see what their presentation would look like on the team videoboard
• A promotional opportunity for one lucky fan who submits photo/video to win the chance to have the team's mascot/players/coaches come to their classroom
• The chance to take part in an exclusive "Back to School" event prior to a game later on during the season
• Discussion Board / Wall Feature (to let consumers share their stories, etc.)