“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
You want to know how to generate news coverage for your program? Ask the media what they want. I recently attended a conference focused on the dissemination of information from brands to local and national media outlets. The thing that astonished me about this particular event was the surprising lack of media representatives in attendance. Who better to sit down and discuss media strategy with than the folks actually writing the stories? We spend all day in our offices and at our desks bouncing ideas off individuals with similar jobs, similar experiences and similar thinking; why then would we attend a conference with those same like-minded individuals, the only difference being the company logos they wear on their polo’s?
Get out of the athletic department bubble. Seek out new ways of thinking. Ask unorthodox questions. Take some risks. And please, please, please stop saying “Well, that’s how we’ve always done it.”
I don’t care if that’s how you’ve always done it. There is always a better way. That doesn’t necessarily mean a wholesale change is in order, but it does mean opportunity for refinement and evolution exists. The University of Oregon rebelled against the status quo, despite heavy criticism and ridicule, and now they have one of the strongest football programs in the country. Apple pledged to “think different” and by doing so rallied millions of loyal “creatives” around their now iconic products. Steph Curry came into the NBA with much of the world doubting his ability to hold up physically against bigger, stronger, faster competition; so he decided to start shooting three pointers from depths that would have previously been considered “bad shots.” He won his second Most Valuable Player Award in 2016.
If the Ducks kept their traditional uniforms, conforming to the “that’s how we’ve always done it” approach, we wouldn’t be talking about them. If Apple tried to compete head to head with the PC, ignoring aesthetic, we wouldn’t be talking about them. If Steph Curry changed his game, opting to not “rely on his outside shot,” as one NBA scout suggested prior to his being drafted into the league, we wouldn’t be talking about him.
If you want to improve your performance as a marketer, if you want to improve your performance as a brand, you’ll need to first step outside of your self-imposed bubble. You want an idea? Every quarter, invite local and national media to your office for a workshop. Pick their brains. Understand what makes them tick and how you can help them. Collaborate on stories for the upcoming year based on those newly acquired insights. Do that and you’ll leave the “Well, that’s how we’ve always done it.” athletic director in the dust.
“I Have An Idea…” is a series written for College AD by the author of Brands Win Championships, Jeremy Darlow.
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