by Rodger Motiska, Winning Recruits 

We hear a lot these days about creating halls of fame and transforming athletic facilities into “recruiting facilities,” after all it is the business we’re all in. With all this talk though, what we typically see are facilities that may look great after their “transformation,” but only have a marginal effect on the school’s recruiting efforts.  Heck, our early efforts were pretty much the same thing.  

Why?  Because the focus is on decorating to make an "impression" and not on creating an experience that influences a recruit’s decision.

Here are the mistakes we see being made when it comes to creating environments that have a positive impact on a school’s recruiting efforts:

1. Looking at making facility improvements as "keeping up with the Joneses" instead of looking at how to give themselves a competitive recruiting advantage.  Virginia Tech's All Sport Museum project is a great example of an athletic department going the extra mile to create something unique and memorable for the athletes they are recruiting.

2. Seeing the improvements as a one-time expense rather than making a long-term investment in their recruiting program.

3. Not understanding the difference between "decorating" and creating a recruiting experience.  N.C. State's Finley Hall of Champions (pictured here at the right) is an example of doing something dramatic that creates an unbelievable recruiting experience for the prospects that visit the campus.

What’s the difference?  It’s the difference between a sleepy old history museum that has rows upon rows of artifact displays versus a dynamic “hands-on” interactive science center where the displays are engaging and focused on educating an individual about complex scientific principles.  One is a display the other is an experience.  Which do you think makes a more memorable impact?

Most people don’t think of utilizing their environments as a medium for communication, they concentrate on what the facilities look like rather than what they say about you.  Your athletic facilities should be an extension of your recruiting message.  Your facility enhancements should be used to set the stage for your recruiting efforts during an on-campus visit, creating a “selling environment” to persuade a recruit that your program is the best fit for them. 

Consider the following:

• Why can Starbucks sell a $1.25 cup of coffee for $4.50?  Because of the value that a customer gets for the experience – the opportunity to “get-away-from-it-all,” if only for the time that it takes to drink a cup of coffee.
• When a guy plans to asks his special girl to marry him, he usually plans to “pop the question” in a romantic setting.  Why? Because the environment is more persuasive (and more memorable.)

These examples demonstrate the fact that an environment has an impact on your ability to sell.  Making improvements to your facilities for the sake of “looking good” or keeping up with the competition isn’t going to have the same impact as creating an experience that helps sell your recruiting message. 

“Change” is the biggest factor in creating a successful recruiting environment.  By focusing on communication rather than decorating, you can create an experience that helps you connect with a recruit and makes a lasting impression. 

Or, are you just going to "be like the Joneses"? 

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In fall 2004, Virginia Tech had a new women's basketball coaching staff and an outdated women's basketball lounge and locker room.  This space, which is adjacent to the basketball court at Cassells Coliseum, plays a key role in the life of the team during basketball season.

New Head Coach Beth Dunkenberger wanted an eye-catching, energizing facility that would reflect the history and tradition of the program.  DJS Design, the parent company of Winning Recruits, was chosen to undertake this transformation.

DJS Design worked closely with the athletics office and coaching staff to upgrade the space, creating stimulating areas for team meetings, study spaces and personal locker/changing rooms.  The design team was responsible for everything from color selection and impact graphics to carpeting and furniture choices.

"We gave them a general overview of our goals, and they produced innovative ideas to realize them," Dunkenberger notes.

The result?  Bold graphics and a new color palette incorporate both the legacy of the program and the current team's spirit into a fresh, engaging space that enhances players' pride and sparks the interest of prospective student athletes. 

"We have a great home for our current team and an excellent recruiting tool for prospects," says Dunkenberger.  "We get a 'Wow' response when people see the facility for the first time." 

An added benefit of the new look is its impact on team boosters.  "For example, we have honorary coaches for each game who visit the locker room for the pre-game talk.  I always see them checking out the facility," Dunkenberger adds.

What would Dunkenberg say to someone considering an athletic facility design project with DJS Design?

"Do it, absolutely.  You'll find the results that you're looking for."

The first step?  A design audit from the recruiting environment experts at DJS Design and Winning Recruits.  Call them at 704-376-0803 and see what they would recommend for your athletic setting.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 05:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

by Rodger Motiska, "Winning Recruits" 

Wake Forest basketball had a problem when it came to recruiting visits. 

The Men’s and Women’s teams play their games off campus at the Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum in downtown Winston-Salem (several miles from campus), which didn’t allow them showcase their teams’ storied past and celebrated athletes to visiting recruits.   And as the smallest school in the ACC, they don’t have the resources their financially endowed competitors do.

To address the problem, Athletic Director Ron Wellman and his coaches working with Winning Recruits took a novel approach: Use the basketball practice facilities at the Miller Center to make a memorable impression on recruits during their on-campus visits.  The real breakthrough came from creating maximum impact while keeping spending on the project to a minimum.

The consultants at Winning Recruits used a four-point strategy to elevate Wake Forest's recruiting message through award-winning sports architecture design:

1. Create WOW! factor with large-scale graphics.    

• In the four corners of the practice gym, Winning Recruits' staff worked with the school's athletic department created 28 foot tall graphics of famous men’s and women’s alumni of the school.
• A graphic of basketball texture covers the entire wall of the entrance to the player’s locker rooms, and a 7 foot tall dimensional Wake Forest logo guards the entrance.

2. Use color to create drama.

• Instead of the typical bright primary colors, the design experts at Winning Recruits used the team’s rich gold and black color in a bold way.  The large graphics in the corners of the practice gym are on black background that dominates the four corners and a brilliant metallic gold band encircles the room, creating a visually dramatic statement. 

3. Decide what’s important to communicate and make it interesting to your recruits, fans and alumni.

• The Demon Deacon’s basketball teams have a history of success in the highly competitive ACC conference, in the NCAA tournaments and in the NBA.  Legendary basketball stars are featured in photographs combined with stunning graphics on gold textured banners hung from the ceiling rafters.

• Highlights of both team’s achievements are spelled out with vinyl graphics on a gold metallic laminate band encircling the gym.

4. Keep it simple, impactful and memorable.

• Winning Recruits used materials that combined looks and utility at a reasonable cost.  Large scale graphics are printed on vinyl and applied to a low cost plastic board for the large-scale graphics.  The gold band was a laminate with a metallic finish applied to MDF (an wood board use in cabinet making.)  Winning Recruits worked with Wake Forest to stay within budget through using less expensive materials where it made sense, while still delivering one of the best practice atmospheres in the competitive ACC.

• The graphics aren’t overly complex, but they are impactful.  And best of all, they make a lasting impression on anyone who walks in the facility.

It's an impression that sells the program through visual architecture, and supports the look and feel Wake Forest wants every recruit to understand when they visit the school.

Winning Recruits offers a complete design audit for college coaches and athletic directors who want to set their offices and facilities apart from the competition.  If you are interested in having them tell you more about how they can work with your school, call Tim Gilland at 704.376.8499 x203 or e-mail him at tim@winningrecruits.com.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

by Rodger Motiska, Winning Recruits 

One of the major flaws in most recruiting efforts is using the same tired messages and methods to communicate with recruits.  They talk about their past successes, their new leading edge facilities, their experienced coaching staff, blah! blah! blah!  It all sounds and looks the same to a recruit.

Because a majority of coaches fail to distinguish their programs from one another the result is what marketing experts refer to as a lack of "brand differentiation."  Recruits fail to see what is truly different about a program, and as a result they default to making decisions based on their "feelings" and the common demonitator of the value of the scholoarship (the perceived value, not just the monetary value) being offered.

The failure to define a team's "brand" results in a coach's lack of control of the selling process.. their ability to influence the recruit's decision.  Instead of a persuasive, logical argument as to why their school is the best fit for an athlete, the recruit's decision is influenced instead  by the power of the recruiter's personality, the subjective feelings of the recruit and often just dumb luck!

When we talk about developing a team's "brand"  we're not talking about the school's athletic logo.  That's what the merchandising guys deal with.  We're talking about defining a strategic set of statements that define your program and what sets it apart from the competition.

These statements form the backbone of a team's recruiting messages and how they are communicated influence a recruit's perception of the program, the school and the recuit's ability to make a decision on something other than their "feelings."

The process for developing their team's brand starts with determining what their program's unique attributes are.

1. How would the coach define his personality?
2. What characteristics does the coach value in his team?  In his players?
3. What is unique about his or her coaching philosophy, his or her coaching style, the values he or she tries to impart?

The Lady Vols under head coach Pat Summitt are one of the most successful basketball programs in the history of the sport, men's or women's.  Did you know that over the course of 30 years they have graduated 100% of their players?  What doe's that say to recruits (and their parents) about coach Summitt's values?

The answers to the 3 above questions form the building blocks for developing a team's brand.

These building blocks enable key recruiting messages to be crafted, giving recruits concrete reasons to consider the school.  It helps sell the coach's program based on value to the recruit.

You build your "brand" by how you communicate your message.  By developing tools that have a consistent message and visually reinforce that message.

Establishing the team's "brand" should be the cornerstone of a coach's recruiting strategy.  It will set them apart from the competition and give them the persuasive power they need to win the recruits they want.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When it comes to creating a winning recruiting environment at your campus athletic facility, the design team at Winning Recruits see more coaches and athletic directors getting it wrong compared to those that get it right.  

"The major obstacle we find is a lack of understanding by coaches and Athletic Directors in the differences between "decorating" instead of creating an environment that facilitates the recruiting process," says Tim Gilland of Winning Recruits, a division of the nationally known sports design firm, DJS Design. 

"Coaches and Athletic Directors usually are only looking to create a space that makes a good impression, not reinforcing their program’s brand, something that sells their program at every turn."

What baffles the team at Winning Recruits is the trend of one facility looking just like their competitor's facility.  Bland paint colors and "safe" designs that don't differentiate their school from others that a recruit may be considering.  "The key to 'marketing' a program to athletic recruits is in communicating what is different about their program and why it is a better choice than their competitors," adds Gilland.

According to Gilland, there are three big mistakes that coaches and Athletic Directors make as they consider how to use their facilities to make a good impression:

1. Their facility enhancements generally stop at the “front door.” They make a great impression on recruits in the lobby, only to then tour them through facilities that look like anyone else’s.
2. They fail to incorporate recruiting messages that help them “sell” the uniqueness of their program, their program’s “brand."  The brochures and media guide might look great, but does it match the story that your arena or stadium or offices tell a visitor?
3. There is a lack of training of assistant coaches and student-athletes, serving as hosts for recruiting visits, on how to use the facility enhancements for recruiting purposes.  There is a reason car dealers have showrooms and that Apple built their own stores to sell i-Pods and i-Phones!  It provides them with a “selling environment.”

Virginia Tech’s head football coach Frank Beamer knows how to brand a program and environment.  His team is built of blue collar kids, kids who know the value of the “harder I work, the luckier I get.” 

Coach Beamer created a brand with nothing more than a dented, rusted old lunch pail.  That beat up old lunch pail is given each week to the player who best demonstrates the value of “hard work” in practice or a game; he has the honor of carrying the lunch pail to practice and to the next game.  It has become a symbol of this program; if you’re part of this program your hard work will pay off.  And a huge 10 foot replica of the lunch pail adorns the team’s football facility.

"It isn’t 'decorating', it’s paying tribute to a value that has built one of the finest football programs in the country!", explains Gilland.

Is your facility due for a facelift?  Do you want it to tell a better story to your alumni, donors and recruits?  Visit www.WinningRecruits.com and see if one of their informative assessments of your "story" makes sense.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)