STUDENT-ATHLETE INVOLVEMENT IN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAMS:GREAT REWARD AND GREAT RISKChris Hanna

University of Louisville Ph.D. Student

PRACTICAL/APPLIED EXAMPLE

This presentation features the Tough Enough, Smart Enough PSA program created at the University of Illinois.

FORUM TOPICS ADDRESSED

Four of the five forum topics are addressed in this presentation:

1. The role and responsibilities athletes have beyond the playing field.

2. The ways athletes can serve as educators and advocates to address social problems within and outside sport.

3. The roles institutions play in providing grounding for athletes to make connections between athletics, academics and the community.

4. The role and impact of media in how athletes can effect social change.

WHAT A PSA IS. WHAT A PSA IS NOT.

A Public Service Announcement is not an advertisement. An advertisement is intended to sell a product or service.

A Public Service Announcement is a message that is intended to impact behavior in a positive way. These messages are often provided by the media to the PSA creator at no charge.

Examples of PSA messages you may know include: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers PSAs, Arbor Day’s “Plant a Tree” PSAs (sung by John Denver), and USDA Forest Service fire prevention PSAs featuring Smokey the Bear.

THE ILLINOIS PSA PLAN

Tough Enough, Smart Enough: Tough Enough to make the right choice. Strong Enough to lead others to do the same.

1) Identify student-athletes that could be trusted to serve as PSA spokespeople.

2) Identify “safe” PSA messages geared toward a younger audience that admires student-athletes and coaches for a statewide PSA program (stay healthy, read, don’t do drugs, keep the environment clean, etc.).

3) Create print, radio, TV, and billboard samples.

4) Convince media partners to join the PSA program

5) Distribute PSAs

6) Refresh PSAs multiple times per year to keep the program current and interesting

7) “Renew” Tough Enough, Smart Enough media partners each year

HOW STUDENT-ATHLETES WERE SELECTED FOR PARTICIPATION

In an ideal world, each of the following conditions would be met:

1) Great athlete. You want people to identify with the success of the spokesperson and transfer positive feelings about them to the message.

2) Great student. You obviously need students that remain eligible; if they are academic All-America or all-conference team members even better.

3) Great character.

THE NON-NEGOTIABLE QUALITY FOR STUDENT-ATHLETE PSA PROGRAM

PARTICIPANTS

GREAT CHARACTERYou want students who are less likely to have an issue that undercuts the positive messages of the PSA program.

More importantly, you want people who are less likely to negatively impact the University and intercollegiate athletics brands as well as their own personal brand.

Big microphones should be reserved for high character people when big brands and big PSA campaigns are involved.

CREATE A SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY GREAT CHARACTER STUDENT-ATHLETES

Talk with the intercollegiate athletics academics staff. Why?

1) They have a close relationship with student-athletes.

2) They hear a lot of things in study halls and in other communication with student-athletes across all sports.

3) They tend to be more neutral than a coach who may want to promote student-athletes based on athletic performance rather than considering character.

Talk with the coach. Why?

1) The coach may have insights that the academics staff doesn’t have.

2) The coach should approve the student-athlete participation and have awareness of it as the manager of that sport.

HOW DO YOU FILTER THE PARTICIPATION OF YOUR

MAJOR SPORT COACHES?In many cases, you may not be allowed to do so.

They are your coaches. You need to promote your major programs. Because this program can have powerful reach if properly executed, you will likely feel pressure to include a major coach even if he/she has a troubled past. Unless a major coach has had a very recent public issue that is still a hot topic, the AD will likely expect to see them participate in the program.

And, perhaps, so will the coach!

If you have major coaches with a major history of PR problems, then it may not be the right time to start a PSA program of this nature at your school.

GREAT MARKETING BENEFIT FOR NON-REVENUE SPORTS

PSA programs give you a chance to create a significant media presence for non-revenue sports that marketing departments may not be able to justify to athletic directors when you have to buy an advertisement.

This allows non-revenue sport figures to build their personal brands. It could also enhance attendance at these sports.

SCOTT LANGLEY: NCAA CHAMPIONScott Langley was the NCAA Champion in men’s golf. Yet, it was challenging to justify buying ads to promote men’s golf from a cost/benefit standpoint. However, Langley was a high character student-athlete with name recognition. Tough Enough, Smart Enough allowed Langley to receive some of the exposure he deserved.

JANET RAYFIELD: SOCCER COACH

Janet Rayfield has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 10 times in 12 seasons at Illinois including 3 Sweet Sixteens. However, it is challenging to justify giving women’s soccer the same advertising exposure as football or men’s basketball from a cost/benefit standpoint. Tough Enough, Smart Enough levels the exposure playing field.

MAJOR SPORTS EXPOSURE

THE MEDIA RESPONSE TO TOUGH ENOUGH, SMART ENOUGH

PARTICIPATION REQUESTS After seeing the PSA option related to their media format and learning about the program, 87 partners across the state of Illinois opted to participate:

1) 55 radio partners including Chicago’s WGN 720 AM, WSCR 670 AM “The Score” and WIND 560 AM

2) 23 newspaper partners

3) Adams Outdoor Advertising in Champaign and Peoria

4) 7 television partners including the Big Ten Network, WGN, and

Comcast cable.

ALLOW YOURSELF TO GUESS HOW MUCH ADVERTISING VALUE THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS’ TOUGH ENOUGH, SMART ENOUGH PSA CAMPAIGN EQUATED TO IN THE FIRST YEAR.

KEEP IN MIND, ILLINOIS DIDN’T BUY A SINGLE ONE OF THESE PSA PLACEMENTS.

Answer:

$1 million worth of PSAs in year one

ARE THERE ANY POSSIBLE NEGATIVES THAT COULD OCCUR WITH A PSA PROGRAM OF

THIS NATURE?

The biggest threat exists in poor student-athlete selection for a major branding initiative like a PSA program or large-scale advertising program.

You would not want to select a current or former student-athlete to appear on a billboard because of his/her pro sports or Olympic potential if that student-athlete had a history that indicated possible risk.

AVOIDING A RISKY STUDENT-ATHLETE SELECTION

Josh Brent played at Illinois when Tough Enough, Smart Enough started. He was a NFL prospect. But, two years before the program started,…

THE DECISION WAS EASY

The Illinois intercollegiate athletics staff liked Josh Brent. We also thought he was a legitimate NFL prospect. But the marketing department did not even consider taking Josh’s name to academics or to the coach because of this incident.

The risk was too high and it was not necessary.

After the Tough Enough, Smart Enough Program was in place, Illinois decided to create a statewide paid advertising campaign called “Illinois: Our State. Our Team” to brand the intercollegiate athletics program.

Among the student-athletes selected to appear in the new billboard campaign was Josh Brent.

He was now a member of the Dallas Cowboys along with former Illinois football player Jerry Brown.

The press release about the new billboards went out on Dec. 6, 2012.

THE VERY NEXT NIGHT (INTO THE EARLY HOURS OF DEC. 8)…

Former Illinois player Jerry Brown died in a car crash in which Josh Brent was driving while intoxicated. Brent was driving without a license from his prior DUI.

TOUGH ENOUGH, SMART ENOUGH IMPACT FROM THE BRENT INCIDENT

The incident did not directly impact the Tough Enough, Smart Enough campaign because Josh Brent was not involved in the PSA program.

This was due to the steps that had been implemented to prevent a choice that would risk the program. These steps clearly should have been applied to all advertising associated with such a major brand.

PSA PROGRAMS: GREAT REWARD, GREAT RISK

PSA program rewards are great.

1) Illinois was able to put its brand in 87 media outlets sharing positive messages to people throughout the Land of Lincoln.

2) Hopefully some kids were positively impacted by these messages.

3) The PSA value (if purchased) exceeded $1 million in year one.

4) Non-revenue sport exposure was able to be increased without the need to justify it in a cost/benefit analysis.

PSA program risks are great.

1) You must be careful selecting your PSA campaign participants.

2) You can reduce this risk by taking an educated approach to PSA candidate selection and including multiple voices in the process.

REFERENCES

Associated Press with Pantagraph Staff (2009, June 11). CCHS grad, Illini DL Josh Brent jailed after DUI guilty plea. Retrieved March 20, 2014 from http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois/cchs-grad-illini-dl-josh-brent-jailed-after-dui-guilty/article_73a62f86-f112-5637-a6eb-45c3f08d3458.html

Associated Press (2012, Dec. 8). Dallas Player Dies in Crash; A Teammate is Charged. Retrieved March 20, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/sports/football/cowboys-josh-brent-charged-in-teammates-death.html?_r=0

University of Illinois (2011, Jan. 5). Tough enough smart enough scores big. Retrieved March 20, 2014 from http://www.fightingillini.com/genrel/010511aaa.html

University of Illinois (2012, Dec. 6). Illinois Launches Statewide Billboard Program. Retrieved March 20, 2014 from http://www.fightingillini.com/genrel/120612aaa.html

University of Illinois (2013). Tough enough smart enough. Retrieved March 20, 2014 from http://www.fightingillini.com/toughenough/

USDA Forest Service (2011, June 29). Smokey Bear returns to remind Americans…”Only you can prevent forest fires.” Retrieved March 20, 2014 from http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/adcouncil/50581/

MY INFORMATION

Chris HannaUniversity of Louisville

@sportfellow