The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(12-01-2016 02:55 PM)BigBlueMonarch Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 02:49 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 02:07 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 01:38 PM)GhentFan Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 12:07 PM)monarx Wrote:  Yes. ODU would do well to also give banners or house flags free to any bar or restaurant that wants one. Thats like a free billboard for the school. Its well worth a $25 banner for that kind of exposure. Ive thought about buying them in bulk in and asking places that have other schools up if they will add ODU. If they say yes, just pull one out of my trunk and give it to them. It comes across as authentic pride and positions the school as a place the area embraces and its alumni support. You could get hundreds of banners for the cost of a billboard for one month.

They should also be giving all incoming freshman free nice looking T-shirts that they will actually wear. Send one to every incoming student before they arrive and ask them to put it on social media with a specific hashtag. That word of mouth promotion and genuine excitement about ODU is priceless.

I think the problem is, if the school gives them away then they can't charge people to buy those flags/banners etc.

I think 1 big hand out would get the pride thing going, and maybe cause some neighbor envy (might inspire them to buy one?). When those banners / flags fade or get damaged, people might be more prone to buy one as a replacement.

Its not like BWW, Green Turtle, AJ Gators, Chichos, etc are buying ODU gear anyway. Only give them to businesses. There are pizza places on the OBX that hang college banners from the rafters, including VT, UVA, ECU etc. We're the closest D1 school to there. Seems if we give them one and they hang it, all those tourists see it and associate us with the beach, a good time, and all those other schools too. Heck, I wouldn't even be opposed to hiring some students, paying them minimum wage and giving them T-shirts to walk up and down the VB resort strip in the summer and just have a good time. Again, cheap yet authentic promotion.

I was visiting family in High Point last weekend and there's a ton of businesses that have purple "I (heart) High Point University" banners and signs. Not sure if it's part of a program or if they give them out, but it was hard to miss them -- and I never actually saw the campus, so it wasn't just in the immediate area.

The HPU President came from a Business Background and understands leveraging relationships and marketing to improve the institution. 20 years ago HPU only accepted crappy kids and had a crappy campus. Now they can't keep the kids away and have an amazing campus. Their president reinvented the place and ran it like a business to make it a better college.

Rumor is that HPU is trying to get into the CAA, and given the massive capital and marketing investments they've made, I could see it. Definitely can't imagine they have long-term ambitions that include the Big South.