The athletes on the field aren’t the only ones in competition, the teams working behind the scenes to put on these live events are also game planning ways to win. Winning behind the scenes means getting eyeballs on your event, maximizing partnership opportunities and creating a memorable experience for the fan. Bowl Season’s Executive Director, Nick Carparelli, joined us on #Storyteller and gave us the inside scoop on how bowl games can innovate and enhance the experience for their fans in-stadium and at home to stay ahead of their competition.
“There is a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar, but that is not unique to us. It’s a trend that all live events need to figure out a way to combat.”
Nick Carparelli – Bowl Season Executive Director
Watch the broadcast on-demand below, and if you’re interested in learning how Tagboard can help you win your off-season you’ll want to read this.
Biggest challenges bowl games face:
I don’t think the challenges that bowl games face are unique to bowl games, in terms of live events in general. Attendance at live events is going down. People like watching things on TV, too many other options for entertainment. When it comes to certain pro communities where there are a lot of other options (the beach, NFL franchise, bowl game, etc.) there is a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar, but that is not unique to us it’s a trend that all live events are trying to combat.
Keeping Bowl Season content rolling outside of December:
We try to. We have this meeting in April every year. With the creation of the Bowl Season brand we feel it’s going to give us the platform to, I don’t know if it’s 365 days a year, but certainly extend Bowl Season. There is a story to be told from Labor Day weekend when college football kicks off, certainly when teams win their 6th game and start qualifying for Bowl Season, we start telling that story. We had a great program this year that we started where when teams get their 6th win they get a unique shirt that says bowl bound. When they get the 6th win they know they’re going to a bowl game, maybe they don’t know which one, but they know they’re going and it’s a big celebration. Last year we told that story through social media and this year ESPN is going to help us tell that story. Countdown to bowl season, the road to bowl season, all ideas we’ve been rolling around.
Community involvement around bowl games:
At their foundation bowl games are community based events. In fact, when the concept of a bowl game started 100 years ago in Pasadena, California it was to stimulate tourism in a time of year when people typically aren’t traveling and spending money in that community. Since then other bowls evolved, (Sun Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Gator Bowl) there are 44 now. All of them to some extent are community based events. They rally around the community, the community rallies around the game. There are tremendous giveback components that these bowl games have to the community. Whether it’s supporting teachers, students, refurbishing courts or fields in that community that may need repair. So many good things come from these bowl games, they are more than just a football game for a few hours in December.
Carparelli and the team at Bowl Season are doing a great job of representing, supporting and telling their story. Make sure you check out there podcast series Bowl Season Stories.
Check out more episodes of #Storyteller and stay tuned for what’s next.
