EXACTLY! This was Collins fatal flaw.Let’s win a lot of football games first and “the brand” will take care of itself.
Only one of many!EXACTLY! This was Collins fatal flaw.
Win and they will come has not been accurate for GT for a while. Why should that work now?Let’s win a lot of football games first and “the brand” will take care of itself.
SA's today want a path to the League. That was the whole premise of Collins and Stansbury's NFL-Lite strategy. While "some" branding will help market an identity, I think any of it NOW is for naught as there is too much uncertainty in NIL and the continuing changes in CFB. And Tech still has not figured out how to deliver a path to the League.Win and they will come has not been accurate for GT for a while. Why should that work now?
It’s possible to both market the program AND win football games. Collins was bad at the really important one of those two. The head coach does not need to be a great marketer. He needs to be a great HC and I believe Key has a better chance of being that than his predecessor.
If I was to say some words I thought were part of GTs “brand” (not just our athletics, I mean the school in general) some would be (I’m sure there are tons more great ones):
- innovation
- determination
- science
- technology
- perseverance (you have to have this to get through GT)
- hard work
- service
If I was a marketer for our programs I’d start with those kinds of things as building blocks. They are genuine. They represent the school. I would use that in conjunction with some of the history of the program (everyone in college football knows who John Heisman was, not everyone knows he coached at GT… maybe there’s something useful there - just an example of something that even todays kids would know about, and again there’s plenty more).
The job of marketing is to get someone interested enough to at least hear the sales pitch. Attribution in marketing is pretty difficult even in digital marketing. With as much of the marketing being organic social where the conversions are not based on specific calls to action it becomes even more difficult to figure out. Any marketing plan needs to define both the target audience and the goals. For example, am I targeting athletes? If so, which athletes am I targeting and what is the campaign messaging for that target group. Is it coaches? If so that's a very different demographic and part of my marketing efforts are going to be coaching clinics and perhaps other types of events. I'm not sure if I'd count an assistant coach or the head coach visiting a HS coach as a marketing event. To me that's more of a "sales meeting" vs some way of pulling together multiple coaches.SA's today want a path to the League. That was the whole premise of Collins and Stansbury's NFL-Lite strategy. While "some" branding will help market an identity, I think any of it NOW is for naught as there is too much uncertainty in NIL and the continuing changes in CFB. And Tech still has not figured out how to deliver a path to the League.
Also, there is a difference between marketing athletics and the school itself. Alabama's brand identify for the school is "the oldest and largest of the public universities in Alabama" and the "professional" school (compared to Auburn, which is the Ag and Mechanical school). But, the athletics program is all about "winning championships".
I suppose the core question is ... what does one expect as an outcome to any Marketing Plan for GTAA? That would lead to a brief with expected milestone and deliverables.
I could take or leave the ATL branding on the helmet/uniform, but we definitely shouldn’t abandon the ATL branding entirely IMO. Also, the most successful baseball program in the country over the last decade+ pays tribute to their large city home on their uniforms. I think having “ATL” on the front bumper of the helmets is fine, and subtle enough to not distract from the overall Georgia Tech brand.I love the ATL and 404 connections. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Good ideas are good ideas, regardless of who had them.
I disagree. I suspect you are saying this because our attendance did not rise dramatically after a big season, like after our national championship year. That's true, and imho completely understandable. Most folks understand that GT has not won CONSISTENTLY since the 1950's. So, perhaps that phrase would be more acceptable to you if it said "Win consistently and they will come". I completely believe that if GT could have a 6 year run of high level success (say averaging 10 wins) that our fanbase would expand. But one year (or even 2) won't do it.Win and they will come has not been accurate for GT for a while. Why should that work now?
I love the ATL and 404 connections. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Good ideas are good ideas, regardless of who had them.
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Atlanta is not where I would hitch my wagon. Many parents would not want their kids to live there. Crime capital of the ACC is how I would recruit against Tech.
So players/students won't go off campus? Things have changed since I was there. Buckhead is not safe today. It's not Chicago, but it's close.That goes away the second the parents step on campus. Crime is not an issue once parents see the campus. There's more crime on Auburn's campus than on Tech's campus.
Lol Atlanta is not dangerous. Especially not the areas that GT students will frequent. There are 23 Power 5 universities (including Cincinnati and Houston) with higher crime rates than GT. There were 85 total criminal offenses reported by GT students in 2019, almost all of them were theft. Auburn, UNC, and Duke had 83, Georgia had 77.So players/students won't go off campus? Things have changed since I was there. Buckhead is not safe today. It's not Chicago, but it's close.
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New arrests in deadly Buckhead stabbing, Atlantic station double homicide
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced two major arrests in recent homicides that have shown a spotlight on violent crime in the city.www.fox5atlanta.com
Is this data for "on campus"? I don't disagree that campus is safe. Better not wander too far off.Lol Atlanta is not dangerous. Especially not the areas that GT students will frequent. There are 23 Power 5 universities (including Cincinnati and Houston) with higher crime rates than GT. There were 85 total criminal offenses reported by GT students in 2019, almost all of them were theft. Auburn, UNC, and Duke had 83, Georgia had 77.
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College Crime Rankings - Criminal Offenses on Campuses
Tallying cases of violence against women, hate crimes and arrests, these rankings chart the number of crimes that occur on and off-campus at our colleges, universities and post-graduate institutions.data.delmarvanow.com
This is the kind of ignorance that leaves me shaking my head. Don't get sucked in by the media hype. Chicago is one of the safest cities in the US for people to visit and to live in, depending on where they live. There are 2 3-block neighborhoods that are extremely dangerous. They are far from where most people visiting Chicago would ever go. To say Chicago is a dangerous city is laughable. It is a city, so there's crime, but it's not a dangerous city. 2.697 million people in Chicago; 8.901 in Chicagoland.So players/students won't go off campus? Things have changed since I was there. Buckhead is not safe today. It's not Chicago, but it's close.
![]()
New arrests in deadly Buckhead stabbing, Atlantic station double homicide
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced two major arrests in recent homicides that have shown a spotlight on violent crime in the city.www.fox5atlanta.com
So true, when I went there, I didn't think about crime even at 2-3-4 in the AM. The only crime I was worried about was GT police towing my car awayThat goes away the second the parents step on campus. Crime is not an issue once parents see the campus. There's more crime on Auburn's campus than on Tech's campus.
alright, I have to jump in with another thread hijack here...but Helen, Ga.???? WTH. I probably haven't been there in 40 or 50 years or so but how does this town make THIS list?????? I remember it as some sort of cheesy Alpine/Swiss tourist trap village. Or am I confusing it with somewhere else?Another reference Link
Top 18
- East Point (Metro Atlanta - far from Georgia Tech and an area that Tech students don't frequent)
- College Park (Metro Atlanta - far from Georgia Tech and an area that Tech students don't frequent)
- Helen
alright, I have to jump in with another thread hijack here...but Helen, Ga.???? WTH. I probably haven't been there in 40 or 50 years or so but how does this town make THIS list?????? I remember it as some sort of cheesy Alpine/Swiss tourist trap village. Or am I confusing it with somewhere else?