After 34 years of service as both a coach and Athletic Director at Farmington School District, I realize the importance of the athletic branding process in the lives of student athletes and the student body as a whole. The hard work, sacrifice, accountability, and memories help define who they become as adults. When I became the Athletic Director at Farmington in 2006, I wanted to ensure that our teams had the resources to run first class facilities and to be visible not only within our school and town, but across northwest Arkansas and statewide.

Something that helped push that agenda was creating an effective brand and broadcasting our teams. Even though we started broadcasting through YouTube, we quickly realized we were not able to really own those videos and feature our students as much as we wanted to. That is when we started broadcasting our brand with Mascot Media and creating our own Sports Network.

As a former Athletic Director, I recognize this is an integral part of the branding process because it is one specific way students and athletes gain national exposure to succeed outside of the classroom. Broadcasting our brand and teams attracted families to our district because of the professional level of our Sports Network. This is exactly why I want to speak to coaches and Athletic Directors about how they can create a strong brand and Sports Network with Mascot Media that will stand the test of time.

There are so many features provided by the Mascot Media Digital Platform that can help bring your athletic program from good to GREAT:

• Push notifications
• In-app messaging
• Social media promotion
• Broadcasting
• E-ticketing
• & Monetization

You are given everything you need to take your teams to the next level.

By creating your Sports Network with Mascot Media now, you are building the foundation that makes championships possible by:
1.) Attracting Moving Families to your District
2.) Giving Your Athletes National Exposure
3.) & Connecting Your Program with the Community

Attracting Moving Families to Your District

Your athletic department is the first impression new families get of your city and school. You can make a great first impression by showing off your commitment and exciting them with all the features of your effectively branded athletic program. Showcasing your current athletes and promoting them heavily through broadcasting, news articles, and roster pages shows that your department has a positive and invested culture. Imagine being able to see your mom hit the winning homerun or your dad make the winning touchdown. Schools who start broadcasting on their Sports Network have a chance to give that to future students!

Another thing that is overlooked is the importance of keeping the information updated on your athletic website. Outdated information can send the message that your athletic program is a low priority…which is bad news for current and future student-athletes.

Giving Your Athletes National Exposure

One example of how effective branding gets the student body engaged is through the Sports Network. Journalism students can participate and have an opportunity to become part of something larger by writing articles for the platform or help broadcast the sports events themselves.

In other words, the Sports Network offered by Mascot Media does more than give athletes the chance for national exposure and increased sponsorship opportunities. It helps students by preparing them for college and the workplace by utilizing their skills in a productive and creative manner.

Student-athletes can also get national or even global exposure, depending on who is watching your broadcasts. Due to COVID, many schools had to figure out a way to give their fans a way to watch their favorite teams while being safe. The broadcasting numbers that were put out in 2020 broke all Mascot Media records…which proves that sports live-streaming is here to stay. A few of our schools even had scholarships offered to students because a recruiter tuned in to the live stream!

Connecting Your Program with the Community

Mascot Media makes it easy for you to create a living legacy and an athletic branding program that has a strong foundation rooted in community. The livestream component of the Sports Network allows for all games to be live streamed within the same time frame.

One of the primary aspects of successful branding is connecting with businesses in the community. It is well-known that signage on scoreboards, fences, and concession areas have been utilized for many years. However, in the digital age, digital advertisements are at the heart of every successful sponsorship. For example, digital ads on scoreboards are on the rise, helping local businesses across the nation gain traction in their communities.

Local businesses that are intertwined with your program not only show their support monetarily, but they also help give your athletic brand more exposure! There have been many instances of local sponsors streaming games in their businesses so that everyone could come together to support the school. This not only gives your school better exposure, but it gives your sponsors better value. When you create an effective brand, you open the doors for other businesses to support you because they want to be associated with your program.

Building a brand and legacy by utilizing Mascot Media helps put your school on the map. You can take advantage of the Mascot Media Digital Platform with the Custom App and Custom Website to support and fuel the growth of your athletic department. As an Athletic Director, you can take advantage of this digital venue to highlight athletes and sports teams in an equitable manner utilizing social media feeds, wonderful photography, engaging news stories, and live streaming. Creating and building a successful brand and important for the school, local businesses, and the community at large. It helps everyone grow in an equitable manner – side by side, little by little. We are in this together.