As the College's endowment falters, any budget cuts to the advertising and marketing offices of the athletic department will depend on the amount of corporate sponsorships received this year, according to Sam Hopkins, associate athletic director for marketing and promotions.
Hopkins said that there is a direct correlation between these sponsorship sales and how much money can be allotted to Big Green promotions.
"It all depends on how well sponsorship sales go," he said. "How much money I can raise on corporate sponsorship sales directly impacts how much I can spend on advertising. I spend above and beyond that based on how much money I raise. Every dollar that comes in goes back out into the community. There's no account that stockpiles money."
The state of the economy will alter the companies' priorities, he added.
"I do have concerns," he said. "The money that the corporate sponsors use to support our programs has to go down. Every spring I try to go out and get new business, and I'm very concerned about the prospects about doing that again this year."
Hopkins pointed out that marketing is one of the first things that gets cut in any budget, adding that many of the companies that are now pressed to make ends meet will probably cut extra expenditures, which could include reductions in support for Dartmouth's athletic programs.
Nonetheless, Hopkins said that the College's current relationship with its corporate sponsors is strong enough to withstand the impact of the economic downturn.
"I'm excited about the relationships that I have built, and I think that the companies that we work with, if they can still work with us, will continue to do so because we give them great return on their investments," he said.
Hopkins also took into account the effect of the downturn on ticket sales to local residents.
"The bad economy will hurt the general public's ability to buy football or hockey tickets," he said. "Now it's a tank of gas, plus food, plus tickets."
Hopkins said he looks to enhance the public's exposure to athletic events by bolstering his radio, print, TV and promotional campaigns, and capitalizing on new mediums.
"We're always trying to expand," he said. "We get 50 to 60,000 new visitors to DartmouthSports.com in any given month, so we're trying to keep all that information fresh about what games are upcoming. Now when anyone comes into town, they can look and see what we've got planned."
Hopkins broadened his marketing mix by advertising Big Green promotions on the sides of Advance Transit buses.
The busing company began selling sponsorships on the ouside of its vehicles this year, and the ads publicize Dartmouth football, basketball and hockey season tickets, Hopkins said.
The athletic department also sought to reach the best demographics through select networks on TV, airing commercials on channels such as ESPN, ESPN2 and Comedy Central, Hopkins said.
He added that the ads air in local markets between 20 and 30 times a week on the networks, but given that the budget for TV advertising is relatively small, the commercials display only general information about the whole season rather than focusing on specific games.
Hopkins said he hoped the new strategies will boost student turnout at Big Green athletic events.
"Student attendance shouldn't be dependent on the economy at all," he said. "The economy doesn't affect how many undergraduates are here. I'm hopeful we can grow student attendance in a time when fewer of the greater population can't afford to come, or choose not to come, because of the economy."
Fluctuations in ticket sales will be difficult to assess, however, given the difficulty in finding connections between marketing strategies and ticket sales, according to Hopkins.
"You can only control so much as a marketer," he said.
Athletic director Josie Harper said that endowments largely subsidize the athletic department's expenditures, making the sector particularly open to future cuts.
"The reality is that when we had some cuts before, we could always solicit," Harper said. "And now all the little safety nets like soft money and friends giving, all that is down. And now the endowment is down. I think we're the biggest area that depends on endowments."
At present, Dartmouth's athletic department is weighing several cost-cutting plans in the wake of the economic downturn, Harper said, adding that various belt-tightening measures have already been submitted to Dean of the College Tom Crady.
