June 30, 2010
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How to UKNIGHT With UCF Football Through Affordable 2010 Season Ticket Packages
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The idea struck like a bolt of lightning, sending shock waves through the room and thunder in the form of applause, nodding heads and encouraging promise.
When UCF went to the Orlando-based advertising company Push. to develop a marketing campaign that would help bring together the school's massive alumni base for football weekends and other sporting events, the firm sought out an idea that would be both creative and inspirational.
And the idea that Push. crafted - UKNIGHT - was greeted with powerful approval because it is powerful and suggestive, aggressive and welcoming and active and bold.
The mission statement is to spread the word throughout Orlando that UCF is a dynamic, ever-expanding campus and the football team is on the verge of greatness this season. The goal is to make football Saturdays in Orlando belong to the Knights, and the hope is to reintroduce the campus and the football program to the more than 100,000 alumni in Orange and Seminole Counties and the other 30,000 UCF alums in Brevard County. UCF hopes to grow its season ticket base back above the 20,000 mark and regularly sellout Bright House Networks Stadium.
By next week, the new UKNIGHT theme will be plastered all over Orlando. It will be on billboards, on television and radio advertisements and even in local movie theaters before shows. From there, there will be yard signs and car flags passed out to fans in hope that UCF can become a visible force and "own" gamedays in Central Florida. And Push. has teamed with UCF to put together gameday guides that will assist new fans in knowing where to get tickets, where to tailgate and where to savor the most fun out of gamedays in the fall.
Two 30-second commercials were made from more than 15,000 still photographs taken of fans and players during the Black and Gold game last spring. And the bold billboard messages invite mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, and also friends, families and neighbors, and even tailgaters, facepainters and wave starters.
The UKNIGHT theme is asking UCF alums and Orlando residents alike to, well, unite behind the third-largest school in the country and make football Saturday's special here the way they are in other parts of the state and country. Because of the active nature of the UKNIGHT theme and the play off the school's nickname, it's an idea that just proved to be perfect for UCF.
"We had other campaigns and a ton of other ideas, but in trying to unite a rally cry beyond football and be universal for all of UCF, the UKNIGHT theme just felt right," said Push. copy writer Kevin Harrell, the creator of the concept and a 2003 UCF graduate. "We put it up on the board and everyone just liked it and agreed that that was the one that was perfect."
The marriage between UCF and Push. was a perfect one for this advertising campaign because many of the employees there have a vested interest in wanting to see the Knights succeed. Of the company's 30 employees, 12 are either alumni, have family who attend UCF or are adjunct professors oncampus at UCF. That strong base of Knights' supporters made the push to help UCF become great and unite the alumni and fanbase proved to be a labor of love.
"I couldn't think of another dream client that I would be more passionate about," said copy writer Bree Adamson, a 2004 UCF grad who hung a Knights' flag up near her desk once the job started with UCF. "It's easier because I'm close to the school, but also there's pressure because you want the campaign to be successful and great. We just want people to go to the games and experience what you are trying to sell."
Push. director Jason Poinsette, the account manager on the project, feels like Orlando is an untapped gold mine when it comes football fever in the fall. His mission, he said, is to convince Orlando residents that there is a big-time football program here in Orlando and there's no need to drive several hours to Gainesville, Tallahassee and Miami. He also wants to get the word out to the UCF alumni in the area that they are not only welcome back on campus, but also very much needed to help the program reach its enormous potential.
"The sleeping giant at UCF is ready to be awakened and we're challenging the community to embrace it. We want them to realize that there's this giant asset on the east side of town and it is there for all of them," Poinsette said. "Outside of the (NBA's) Magic, this is Orlando's big-time national program. There's really no reason why people in Orlando shouldn't get behind UCF and help it become great."
UCF and Push. agreed on the UKNIGHT theme because the one-word message was brief and catchy, but also very powerful and inviting. The goal is to reach out to football fans and non-football fans to fill Bright House Networks Stadium for games and support a Knights team that is expected to compete for a Conference USA crown this season.
"We had some other ideas that we're fun and exciting, but this one just felt more prideful towards UCF," said Adamson, a public relations/advertising major during her time at UCF. "It's all about people uniting as family and friends to support Orlando's team and go to the games. We want them to realize they can drive 15 or 20 minutes, tailgate and have a good time with friends and watch big-time football. It's all right there for them."
The hope is that with a more loyal following behind the football team that UCF will take ownership of gamedays in Orlando and Central Florida. With billboards strategically placed along I-4, S.R. 408 and 417 and near campus, and with UCF signs throughout yards and communities, the message of UCF's football team will spread to more residents throughout the area. There are also plans in place to get the UCF band and cheerleaders out to local bars, restaurants and venues in the community throughout the week to spark more interest in going to gamedays on campus.
Word of mouth is certainly a powerful weapon, but UCF also hopes that the visual image of the UKNIGHT theme throughout Orlando and Central Florida will help welcome alumni and new fans back to campus for games.
"In college football, there's a sense that it's about so much more than just the three-hour football game. It's a three-day weekend and getting together with friends and family and we want to bring that feeling to UCF," Poinsette said. "We wanted to bring a feeling of UCF having a much stronger presence in Orlando on game day weekends. We're up against a big mountain with the Florida and Florida State fanbases, but it's time for UCF to make itself heard and seen more, be visually active and own gameday around here. Hopefully, gameday in Orlando will eventually translate into UCF first and foremost."
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John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFathletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.