OPINION: CIAA Award puts pressure on bidders

Eric Moore
Managing Editor

Three years ago the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association was facing falling attendance at its annual basketball tournament. An event which usually sold out as early as December was still selling tickets during tournament week in 1998.

CIAA Commissioner Leon Kerry receives Silver Anvil Award for "CIAA 2000" campaign

As the conference assessed the situation, the Board of Directors decided to hire a public relations firm to help promote the conference tournament. The specific task assigned to the firm was to increase attendance and attract a younger audience to the tournament.

The work began with the 1999 tournament in Winston-Salem and included a logo specifically designed to promote the tournament and the promotion of a party atmosphere. The week's activities included a "Club Diamond Life" concert which was held on the tournament's championship night.

As the tournament moved to Raleigh, Richard French and Associates, a public relations/marketing firm based in the tournament's new host city, came on the scene and developed a strategic plan to increase attendance and lower the demographics of an "aging" clientle. Student tickets were sold on the lower level of the tournament's new home - the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena. A "Road Show" was developed to promote the tournament on the campuses of member schools.

In a celebratory press conference in March, 2000, the press release boasted a 30% increase in attendance over 1999 after announcing a "sold out" status the day before the tournament began.

The effort expended in the "CIAA 2000" promotional effort has been recognized with a national award from the Public Relations Society of America.

The PRSA conducts the annual Silver Anvil Awards competition to recognize excellent public relations programs of companies, organizations, institutions, and government, and to encourage superior public relations performance. To qualify, a program must incorporate sound public relations objectives, meet high standards of performance, presentation, and execution, and contribute to the profession of public relations. Only one award is presented in each of a possible 55 categories and sub-categories but awards are not necessarily presented in each category every year.

On June 14, the CIAA and Richard French Associates joined 45 other winners with the recognition that their program was one of the best in the public relations industry. The "CIAA 2000" campaign was recognized for excellence in the Multicultural Public Relations category for associations/government and nonprofit organizations. The award was presented at a ceremony at the Equitable Tower in New York City.

The momentum created by the "CIAA 2000" campaign has already resulted in new attendance records at the 2001 tournament. The "Road Show" found a corporate sponsor, a web site was specifically developed for the 2001 event and the "Party" theme was expanded to include weekly social events for young professionals at entertainment outlets throughout the Research Triangle area.During tournament week, traffic on the CIAA's official web site (TheCIAA.com) quadrupled from the previous year.

As the conference begins to accept bids for host cities for future tournaments, the investment of the Board of Directors three years ago has now brought unanticipated results.

The national award for public relations efforts, only increases the pressure on bidders to invest in promoting the tournament rather than just looking for an economic windfall.

They will need to spend some money to make some money.

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