BULLETIN BOARD OFFSEASON 2014
CONTENTS
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3 Arizona video goes viral
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3 Parents provide support
Promotions & Publicity
J and L Photography
On the Set Headphones traded in for cowboy hats. Polo shirts and khakis exchanged for vests, badges, and chaps. A coaching staff transformed into a posse. For Head Coach Rich Rodriguez and other members of the football staff at the University of Arizona, the costumes weren’t part of a Halloween celebration, but rather a promotional strategy. Last June, the group took a day trip to a former Tucson movie set-turned historical experience, donned full cowboy regalia, and filmed a western-themed video to create a buzz about the program during the traditionally quiet summer months. “We were discussing unique ways we could publicize Arizona Wildcat football, and Coach Rodriguez’s wife suggested that we dress up like cowboys, take a photo, and mail it to fans,” says Matt Dudek, Arizona’s Director of On-Campus Recruiting and Player Personnel. “It was a great concept, but given the nature of social media today, I thought a video would be better because it would be easier for people to share.” The project began with Wildcat coaches and members of the athletic department’s video team creating a general storyboard for the two-and-a-half minute film they called “Hard Edge,” a phrase that also doubles as the football program’s motto. The group took themes from old western movies and related them to the coaching staff’s personality and the squad’s goals. “Old westerns often used a line of text or a voiceover to describe what the main characters were going to do,” Dudek says. “For example, a lot of films talked about ‘a man on a quest.’ Our quest To view Arizona’s is going to the Rose “Hard Edge” Bowl, so at one point video, go to: in the video, there’s a youtube.com shot of Coach Rodriand search guez followed by the “Arizona Football words: ‘A man on the Hard Edge.” quest for the rose.’ We wanted the movie to be fun, but we also wanted it to give people a sense of what we are trying to accomplish as a team.” The filming occurred at nearby Old Tucson Studios, which has sets and buildings from the Old West. Once there, the coaches and staff got into costume and were given basic directions. For most of the video, the coaches are shown staring CoachesNetwork.com
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4 High school media day
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7 Stabilizing a program
intently into the distance, but there are some action sequences. In one montage, a coach is tossed out of a saloon and tumbles down its steps before another is slid across the surface of a bar on his stomach. Overall, the video has a serious tone, but Dudek says the staff spent most of the day joking around and having fun. “It helps to enjoy doing something like this if you want it to be successful,” he says. Once the video was complete, Dudek turned to social media for promotion. “We released it on YouTube at noon on June 17, so that morning, we tweeted that there was going to be an epic video coming out at high noon.”
That was all the publicity required to make the video a viral hit, and it has now been viewed nearly 200,000 times. “We thought it would be great if a few thousand people saw it,” Dudek says. “But once the national media picked up on the video, it started making the rounds on the Internet. For us, this was perfect, because you normally don’t hear positive news about a football team in June and July. It got our fans talking about the program, and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “It was also helpful from a recruiting standpoint,” he continues. “You’re constantly trying to reach prospects, but you don’t always have something to talk about. The recruits loved the video, and it proved to be a discussion point.” The video was such a success that the
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8 Coaching at
different levels
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10 Alumni back
in the huddle
school filmed a sequel, called “Hard Edge II,” a month later, featuring Rodriguez and several Wildcat players. Like their coaches before them, the players visited Old Tuscon and dressed in costume, but in this version, the Old West footage is intercut with player highlights from the previous season. The key to making both videos work, Dudek says, was taking advantage of the school’s location and what makes the program unique. “Any team in the country can do something like this, even if you’re more of an old-school staff,” he says. “You just have to think creatively about what your area has to offer.”
As a fun and unique way to promote its program, University of Arizona coaches and staff dressed up as cowboys for a two-and-a-half minute film called “Hard Edge,” which is also the team’s motto. Reaching Out
Letter Winners At Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood, Calif., Head Coach Masaki Matsumoto wants his players to know that they are supported 100 percent by coaches, teammates, and most importantly, their families. That’s why last summer, he asked the parents of team members to each write their sons a letter telling them how much they are loved.
Coaching Management OFFSEASON 2014 3
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