Ideas for advertising skydiving club?

[Hvance 0]

In another thread, I mentioned that me and a few other jumpers at UGA are working on starting a new club. Trying to think through effective and cheap (preferably free) ways to advertise on campus. Any good ideas?

Things I've got so far:

-Flyers legally placed around campus
-Setting up a table in busy areas during class
-Getting school paper to cover event/club
-Having a packing class outdoors in a crowded area
-Activities fairs


Thanks!

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[skyrider 0]

Quote

In another thread, I mentioned that me and a few other jumpers at UGA are working on starting a new club. Trying to think through effective and cheap (preferably free) ways to advertise on campus. Any good ideas?

Things I've got so far:

-Flyers legally placed around campus
-Setting up a table in busy areas during class
-Getting school paper to cover event/club
-Having a packing class outdoors in a crowded area
-Activities fairs


Thanks!

Demo at a sports event on campus..

[GatorNation 0]

At the University of Florida Falling Gators we do all those activities you mentioned to get people involved. But I think the important thing about tabling and giving out flyers is that you have to be advertising a specific event. Every semester, we have a tandem special (we coordinate with our dz to have a weekend of discounted tandems for UF students), and we usually advertise our club that way. The ultimate goal is to have people sign up for AFF, which we provide at a discount for being a club member. We also provide ground school for free, since it is usually done by a member of the club.

[popsjumper 2]

Coed hotties in Daisy Dukes with tactfully-placed STF patches.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[chuckakers 425]

Quote

In another thread, I mentioned that me and a few other jumpers at UGA are working on starting a new club. Trying to think through effective and cheap (preferably free) ways to advertise on campus. Any good ideas?

Things I've got so far:

-Flyers legally placed around campus
-Setting up a table in busy areas during class
-Getting school paper to cover event/club
-Having a packing class outdoors in a crowded area
-Activities fairs


Thanks!

Advertise topless packers. Just don't mention your packers are guys.

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[Hvance 0]

We already have a topless packer at our DZ. He provides no motivation..

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[scruffy 0]

Assuming people actually read the red and black wouldn't that be something you might want to work out a deal on?

Peace, love and hoppiness

[cbrown1311 0]

If you guys are an officially recognized club, you should be able to ask for some money specifically for advertising. Our club does very well also at a gathering of new students called clubfest, where any club can have a representative there to promote the club. The best thing we have done as far as advertising goes is tape posters to the ground on the sidewalk where students walk. Not many people think about how most students stare at the ground when they walk and almost everyone sees these posters. Start asking around especially to members of your funding committee, in my experience, the committee is very supportive and excited to have a skydiving club on campus because its something not every university can boast that they provide to incoming students.

[Hvance 0]

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Assuming people actually read the red and black wouldn't that be something you might want to work out a deal on?

They do and that's the paper I was referring to in my OP.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[popsjumper 2]

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If you guys are an officially recognized club...

Well, there's one major hurdle Hunter is going to have to overcome. UGA had a functioning club at one time in the past but the powers that be would not recognize it "officially" for liability reasons.

The club fell by the wayside when the drivers graduated.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Hvance 0]

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If you guys are an officially recognized club...

Well, there's one major hurdle Hunter is going to have to overcome. UGA had a functioning club at one time in the past but the powers that be would not recognize it "officially" for liability reasons.

The club fell by the wayside when the drivers graduated.

"Officially" at UGA could mean several things. I submitted our application to be an organization which should be approved in the next few days. That doesn't give us much more than the right to reserve space/advertise with permission/etc.

Next year I'll try to get skydiving approved as a club sport. That would open the doors to more funding/etc. I've already spoken at length with the coordinator there and she's very excited about the prospect. She won't make the final call, but I feel confident that I can sell it to the committee.

Of course, skydiving will never be "official" in the way that NCAA sports are. We're too much on the fringe for that.

You'll know what happens when it happens Andy.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[pilotdave 0]

When I was president of a college skydiving club, we had a reporter from the school paper come out and make an AFF jump (at our expense). She wrote an article, which made the front page of the paper. And since it was AFF and not a tandem, the article was much more factual and informative.

And flyers on bathroom doors in dorms works too. That's how I got started.

Dave

[jtnesbitt 0]

How big is your stadium? It's been all the rage around here lately to jump from the stadiums

"If this post needs to be moderated I would prefer it to be completly removed and not edited and butchered into a disney movie" - DorkZone Hero

[clintster 0]

So, are you wanting to get students to skydive, or join the club? Because in my experience, those are two very different things. If you want them to skydive, I would recommend you post fliers everywhere you possibly can around campus. I mean everywhere. Students should not be able to walk into a building and not see a flier. As people remove them, you put them back up. Do you have a website for them to visit with information about jumping on it? If you don't have one, get one. Here is a simple example of what we have here at OSU. www.osuskydivingclass.com However, this is for the class, not the club.

As for filling up the club with members, money talks. Here at OSU we have a club, but we really don't. The club is really only used to facilitate some stuff for the class. We have a very weak club. Why? We have no money. OSU provides only $300 a year, if that, for the whole club, and you have to work your ass off for it. In contrast, UC has a fairly strong club, guess what they have? Money! If I'm not mistaken, it is upwards or around $7k per year. If you want a non-skydiver to join the club, in my experience you need to offer them something. Discounted training and jumps? Fun times, or just free pizza at your meetings. Cool videos to show? Stuff like that.

However, I may be totally wrong about this, and that is why our club is so weak.

[Hvance 0]

@pilotdave: That's an interesting idea. I'll have to see if any of the reporters are willing to jump.

@jtnesbitt: http://sportige.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sanford-stadium.jpg
Could be done, if the school would allow it.

@clintster: Money certainly helps, and no one starts off with large funds. We have to build credibility first. Sport jumpers will pay most of their own way. We will look into fundraising ideas/sponsorship, but as we all know..it's not a cheap sport.

The model I'm looking at is having everyone who wants to jump join the club ergo pay the nominal dues. The incentive is discounts on jumps/etc. From that pool of jumpers, we'll work on getting students to do AFF.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[mghanco 0]

Set up a table outside your bar district. I can only imagine how many drunk idiots would make a reservation for a skydive with some beer courage in them. I don't know about the legality of it but I can't imagine there would be anything against them atleast making a reservation and putting a down payment on a tandem. If you could work something out with the DZ it could help earn your club some free jumps or discounts, something of that nature. So much off for every tandem signed up, plus more for every completed tandem. Plus it's always a good idea to advertise near hotties. Put some of the girls from your club in bikini's standing around in their rigs, always a good idea as well.

I don't know if your DZ leans towards being a tandem mill or a fun jumpers spot but if they would be willing to send atleast one person out with your skydiving club one night and see how many tandems you can get signed up I think it's worth a shot.

Guy to random girl: "You're so hot let's go back to my frat house to the 'after party',"
Girl: "OMG skydiving, I have always wanted to do that"
Guy: "I'll do it, we should go together"

Bam 2 tandems down.

[jhale1800 0]

A buddy of mine and I started a club about 3 years ago at THE USC, go COCKS. At the first meetings of every semester we were able to have atleast 100 people show up and sit on the floor and look in from the hallway pretty consistently. However, even with our discounted prices from our home DZ, once they learned of the cost associated with the sport, alot of the poor college students thinned out. That's the nature of the sport, we just drew them into the meeting, told them how great it was, got them pumped with a video, and then told them it was $169 for a tandem and $265 for the FJC.

Now, how did we get them there? I used to do work for a Marketing agency that employed students at Universities across the country to hang and hand out flyers. The trick is to not only put the flyers EVERYWHERE, but to also make them noticeable. How many times have you walked by a single 8.5X11 flyer sitting on the wall around campus without giving it any notice? When I was hanging flyers for my job they had us hang 4 to 6 of them stacked together side by side. Now try and walk by 6 fliers taking up half a wall and not notice them! All in all we spent about $80 on printing 1000 8.5*11 flyers, we made that $80 back with 4 new members paying semester dues, so it was definitely worth it. We took the campus by storm at the BEGINNING of every semester, and had no mercy on any wall. We even paid campus housing to hang 2 flyers on every floor of every dorm. Just get a large group together the day before classes, give them some flyers, tape, stapler, and assign everybody specific buildings, preferably buildings they are familiar with, and tell them to go nuts.

On our fliers we kept it pretty simple. Definitely expel the preconceived notions people have of skydiving. Mention discounts and safety to tackle the thought that skydiving is expensive and dangerous. Also, have a goal for your flier. If you want them to come to the first meeting, have a time and place. If you can't schedule a time and place for your first meeting that early in the semester, a problem we had, then send them to your website, facebook page, or both, and then you can keep them in the loop of when and where meetings will be.

We also, handed out smaller flyers at the University organization fair that was held the second or third week of every semester, and we tried to make our first meeting the day of or day after, while it was fresh in everybody's minds.

Hope that helps, and let me know if you need any more help starting your club up. We're all close enough that we could start hosting each other at each other's home DZ's

[Hvance 0]

Thanks for the detailed post. I actually talked for a good bit with Adam recently regarding USC's club. You guys have done a great job.

I'm all for plastering posters everywhere. We just have to be careful here. They have to be approved or the club gets into trouble, and that's not a place you want to be.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[monkycndo 0]

Every club uses posters/flyers. Instead of just doing that, get some sidewalk chalk and just write "SKYDIVE" on the sidewalk all over the place. Students will be be curious and will find you. Those are the ones that will actually show up with $$$ when it is time to make a jump.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[ManagingPrime 0]

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How big is your stadium? It's been all the rage around here lately to jump from the stadiums

Liability issues comes back to mind.

OP:
A lot of other student clubs are looking for ways to generate funds for their clubs. Say you can work out a deal with the DZO of $20-30/tandem and you give the referring club $10-$15 and some marketing assistance.

Find out what other marketers are on campus and see if you can work with them. "$50 off your tandem/1st aff if you apply for a visa/mastercard", etc.

Hustle and you will see some success and have a great time in the process.

Best of luck to you.

[Hvance 0]

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Every club uses posters/flyers. Instead of just doing that, get some sidewalk chalk and just write "SKYDIVE" on the sidewalk all over the place. Students will be be curious and will find you. Those are the ones that will actually show up with $$$ when it is time to make a jump.

Wish we could. Our school is adamant when it comes to certain methods of advertising; no chalking is one of them. Same concern with plastering flyers everywhere.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[Hvance 0]

Quote

Quote

How big is your stadium? It's been all the rage around here lately to jump from the stadiums

Liability issues comes back to mind.

OP:
A lot of other student clubs are looking for ways to generate funds for their clubs. Say you can work out a deal with the DZO of $20-30/tandem and you give the referring club $10-$15 and some marketing assistance.

Find out what other marketers are on campus and see if you can work with them. "$50 off your tandem/1st aff if you apply for a visa/mastercard", etc.

Hustle and you will see some success and have a great time in the process.

Best of luck to you.

I'm working with our DZ and we'll certainly have better rates for our students. Who knows what other business may be interested.. Just have to find out.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[jhale1800 0]

We got a couple of slaps on the hand as well. We got the proper approval for places like the student union and all of the dorms; however, for many of the academic buildings there was little or no enforcement on flyers being hung, and that's if there was a policy on it at all! We used our better judgement, and got nothing more than a "Don't do that again." I don't know the UGA policies, but sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

[iluvtofly 0]

Did you talk to any of the Tech guys who were at the Farm during Halloween? If not I could get you in touch with a couple of them. Or talk to Travis, he used to be president of the club at Tech.

[Hvance 0]

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Did you talk to any of the Tech guys who were at the Farm during Halloween? If not I could get you in touch with a couple of them. Or talk to Travis, he used to be president of the club at Tech.

Talking to Greg, and I've talked (albeit briefly) with Travis. Both helpful.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.