What can we do? Something needs to be done

[gopanthersgbsucks]

I think PANTHERFan should buy a barrel of Miller Lite at Goolsby's prior to every game and provide it to Panther fans for free... ...that or perhaps just buy me beer before every game... ...one or the other.

[coacheinerson]

Last year Pantherholic, Panthers6thman and I distributed flyers around the dorms using our own resources for Senior Night... I don't think it helped at all. The modest student section for that still bothers me.

For Panther Madness some of the other managers and I (even Ryan Thornton) went around handing out and putting up over 2,500 flyers that were ignored by everybody because it said "Volleyball Match" on them. Some idiots had the nerve to hand it back to Ryan with a "yeah right" look on their face.

I've made facebook events for every home game and even the people who say they are going never show up.

I'm so frustruated with our students and our fans as a whole. We have die-hards, but most of them skipped out Sunday. Most of them skipped out this weekend. What was going on Saturday night that doesn't go on EVERY Saturday night? What goes on Sunday evening? The recovery should be over by then... the Packer game was over. Sunday was a joke.

Bottom line: we've had enough success to have a larger, more dedicated fanbase. A fanbase that'll be there in November as well as in March.

So what do we do?

A member of the athletic department wants to distrubute those flyers that hang on doors on all the houses on all the major streets around campus. That's a step in the right direction but will people care?

I've been told that the banner for the dorms with the schedule on it is being printed right now. Hopefully it will look good and command attention. I'm hoping that in future years we can put banners like that all over campus.

- The Union
- The Pavillion (main level and basketball courts
- The dorms
- The Gasthaus
etc...

I live on Marquette's campus... game schedules and "We Are Marquette" can be found anywhere you look. I see Fanatics shirts every single day. So yes, we could do a LOT more to promote games.

But still, even if it's promoted as heavily as it should be, will people want to go? We have to make Panther games an event. The experience of simply going to a game should be enough to make people feel bad for missing them.

We need the section to have big-time routines and traditions. Make it fun. I spent two years in the student section trying to make it fun... there are still people there that are doing the same thing. With all of the progression in this program... I can't understand how something like that could ever happen (sunday).

We need more than just ideas for all of this stuff... we need action.

[PantherU]

Not only will that get students here, but don't you guys know? I have a few friends on the team, ALL of which read this board regularly. You HAVE to give them some encouragement, because they need it!

[teddyp00]

I will tell you something that I am not a big fan of and really needs to change and thats the concession stands. First, who the hell wants to drink RC cola? Sunday they did not have lids for the soda, two condiment dispensers were empty, the staff is unfriendly. The places they sell the merchandise looks like a hole in the wall, well it is a hole in the wall. All of these small things make for the casual fan not really being excited to come back. I know the cell is old, but things can and need to be done to make this a more visually pleasing and enjoyable experience.

As for the marketing, JD lots of those ideas I think I great and its past due that the athletic department does a better job marketing. Its high time they realized that the one man marketer (aka Pearl) is gone and they need to do things to get fans excited and to the games.

I think to in addition to the games being marketed they need to make it clear that there is a free bus ride to and from the game along with a bus schedule for EXACTLY when the buses will be at the Dorms and Union so students dont get stuck waiting (if that is the case as others have mentioned).

[milwsport]

I think getting flyers up everywhere is a start. One problem that I know exists is that some students don't know how to get free tickets. Last year I had several friends ask me how to get tickets for a game.

At the meeting we held, I mentioned that and had to ask several times before someone told me. Perhaps that needs to be publicized to. Something simple like 'show your student id for a free ticket."

Also put flyers on the dorm doors (the ones that lead outside) the day before a game as in "UWM vs Whoever" tommorrow" and "UWM vs Whoever today" The union doors would be good too along with the "free admission with your student ID' part.

[PantherU]

the black and gold club is going to put a banner with the schedule above the outgoing doors, im told.

[DetTitan]

milwsport said:

I think getting flyers up everywhere is a start. One problem that I know exists is that some students don't know how to get free tickets. Last year I had several friends ask me how to get tickets for a game.

At the meeting we held, I mentioned that and had to ask several times before someone told me. Perhaps that needs to be publicized to. Something simple like 'show your student id for a free ticket."

Also put flyers on the dorm doors (the ones that lead outside) the day before a game as in "UWM vs Whoever" tommorrow" and "UWM vs Whoever today" The union doors would be good too along with the "free admission with your student ID' part.

That is what we do. I make the posters for each game , they say "FREE admission with Student ID". Then the flyers are posted all around campus. It is all about saturating the campus with posters, t-shirts, schedules, flyers, media guides, etc. Then getting some passionate fans together who will bring their friends out. They have a Free tailgate in the parking lot before each game. Most likely, the students wont pick up until the after the break. our home opener is on Thanksgiving break anyways.

I know we put flyers in the union and by the TDR (Titan Dining Room) as well as the dorms and the academic buildings.

So, UWM doesn't have an official Student fan club/rewards program? We are trying to get one going...I think it is a great idea for all schools. UT has Orange Nation, UIC has the Fury, WSU has the Raider Pack...

[formerseasonticketholder]

I like the tailgate idea. I know it's winter in Wisconsin, but people do it for football games.

[DetTitan]

ghola said:

I like the tailgate idea. I know it's winter in Wisconsin, but people do it for football games.

we started it last year, it is sponsored by a frat I think. It helped boost our student attendance, although it could be a lot better.

[boosyourdaddy]

Weekends here are in full swing by 5pm Thursday. By Sunday theres not a whole lot of interest to do anything that requires leaving the house. I was at the game Sunday and chose not to stand, mainly because we walked in with 5 minutes into the first half and there was nobody there. Everyone forgets how poor the attendance is until after Winter Break. There have not been 1000 students in that section before December EVER I don't think. When you have to get downtown, regardless of a shuttle and free tickets being given to you it becomes another potential hurdle that makes students not want to go. I think many people are also forgetting that we are first and foremost students. While it doesn't cost anything to go to the games, it does cost $4,000 to attend school for a semester and thats kind of a lot to risk when you haven't done anything with school all weekend and have to start class the next morning. I attended all three games this weekend and didn't open up my backpack until after the game Sunday, I don't think I am in the minority on this either. Attendance will get better, chill out. Don't be so critical of the poor student attendance on a Sunday when we get blown out the night before. I don't think that people know that the bus picks up at the union as well. To us die hards it doesn't seem like that much to walk to catch a free shuttle, however if you live south of campus and have to go to the dorms it just becomes another obstacle. It seems like every time we take the bus from the union, myself and the people I go to most of the games with have to flag down the driver or he goes right past. All in all, I think the promotions and marketing are not on the same level as the Horizon league championship teams we have been putting on the floor the last few years. If I wasn't counting the days until the next game as soon as we got bounced from the tourney I would have no idea we had a basketball team this year. I would be more than happy to distribute anything to boost attendance or partake in something to get people out to the games, but if the school won't put any funding or effort into this why, as a poor and busy college student, should I?

[brettpanther17]

i understand everyones big problem with the student section for games. but i was at fridays game, and there really werent that many students there... the only time i saw something for the panthers was when i was sitting in the union eating lunch with i believe jimmy lemke and the black and gold club president, someone came around putting flyers on all the tables in the union.... now this is a start but i dont think it gets a message across to the rest of the campus... what about the person walking through going to the book store... they wont stop and look at a flyer on a table... what about the people who dont go into the union? now i may be wrong but being a senior i have been in about 99% of the buildings on campus... and aside from the klotsche center, the union, and the dorms... i dont know of any other building that has even the panthers logo in them... if someone is going to make banners, maybe they should make more posters and put them in some of the bulletin boards that all i see are "vote for" adds... people do read those when they are standing next to them waiting to get into their classes... and another thing ive notice also... the marquette program does an outstanding job putting radio adds out for their team... telling people about their "magical" run with the win over UCONN and the tourney appearance... the first time ive ever heard a uwm ad on the radio this year came today while listening to 1029thehog and they sponsored i believe the traffic report... but we need more of this sort of advertising... stuff that is going to catch the eye of that person who may be looking for something else to do on a friday or saturday night besides the same ole drinking routine... now i did not show for saturdays game or sundays game because i had a dart tournament all day saturday and on sunday i had a football game to play in so i had my reasons other than just laying around... but i think the problem goes further than not getting a lot of students... we need more fans to fill the actual seats...

and also the US cellular staff needs to lighten up a bit... i walked past a member of the security staff prior to the game and said hello to him(he is the really short one who thinks he's a badass) because i remembered him from last year, and he looked at me with a glare on his face and didnt say a word... this may turn some people off depending on how the staff was for the exhibition games and the panther madness (work conflicted with those plus the half hour drive puts a downer on it too)
sorry for the novel but i felt it was needed...
Brett

[bball30]

A Milwaukee panther basketball facebook group has been created, it's the one with the triangle logo, please sign up, invite friends, and get as many people as you can to join. We will be trying some mass mailings from there, thanks!

[milwsport]

Mass emailings to students about upcoming games is a great idea!

[formerseasonticketholder]

depending on what kind of numbers you're talking about for a "mass" e-mailing, whoever would be sending them out probably would want to talk to their e-mail service provider first about their guidelines. Once you get tagged as a spammer, it's hard to get untagged from what I've been told.
There are specific software packages and service providers out there for e-mail marketing.
People are touchy about their e-mail boxes, so this would have to be handled carefully - the athletic department caused a stir this summer with their mishandling of the men's bb season ticket holder e-mail list.
I'm not saying this isn't a good idea - e-mail is a great marketing tool, but it has to be handled with a "best practices" mentality. When done so and sent to people who sign up for a list, it can be a powerful way to deliver text and content (HTML e-mail that looks like a web page complete with graphics and links to further online content for instance).

[formerseasonticketholder]

ps - when we registered for this board, weren't we all asked to opt in or out of an e-mail list?
that would be a dandy targeted list for a savvy e-mail marketer to work with on behalf of the bb program. most companies that move in this direction struggle with how to build their lists to make sure they're getting their offers to the right audience. BTW, an option to opt out must be included in every message sent to any group. that's very important.