DL Kevon Darton earns a scholarship

[LeMoyneCuse]

Sorry folks sometimes I forget not everyone understands the power of branding, marketing and PR.

But if Darton and whole team really knew before it happened then it’s a even worse job by SU than I thought - smh.

The thing is people have gotten accustomed to a certain level of entertainment/ excitement with these walk on scholarship videos. I always watch and enjoy them regardless of sport or team. So if you’re gonna do one, do a good job or don’t do it at all. Ours fell flat.

Considering we have a top flight media school on campus and an engaging, dynamic head coach who can “work a room” there is zero reason our social media videos don’t kill it.

In fact a walk on’s scholarship is a perfect opportunity to show off the Ohana family vibe Dino preaches. Every kid we recruit and their families would see a viral scholarship video. If done well this is priceless PR.

Here are the top 2 examples that come up on google: Rhode Island Hoops got 186K views & a Lamar Univ Cardinals FB video (about as random as possible) got 395K views on YouTube. We got about 7K views on Twitter because ours didn’t have any key elements for a good video

- good set up
- emotional buy in
- exciting pay off

It’s infuriating Rhody and Lamar do it better than Cuse w/ Newhouse.


Walk-ons get put on scholarship!

If you don’t think these moments impact the way recruits and families view our program and ultimately decide whether or not to play for SU then you fall into the category of not understanding the power of marketing & PR.

It’s a sorta like science or facts, even if you don’t believe in it, it’s still true.

Hopefully we do better next time

And yet, the actual ROI/financial benefit to RI basketball and Lamar football for all of those YouTube clicks is probably extremely, extremely low. So is it actually good marketing?

It's super cool when a team you love creates a positive buzz (like Dino's post-upset locker room speeches.) But they're fleeting moments to the neutral.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

Politics are always tough to deal with. Congrats to Bolinsky. Its doesnt take away any of the work he's done an the impact he's made on his team mates.

I feel like specialist scholarships are a different beast. Hard to compare apples-to-apples to other positions since most specialists have to walk on first.

 

[money3189]

I feel like specialist scholarships are a different beast. Hard to compare apples-to-apples to other positions since most specialists have to walk on first.

Good point

 

[BKCuse]

And yet, the actual ROI/financial benefit to RI basketball and Lamar football for all of those YouTube clicks is probably extremely, extremely low. So is it actually good marketing?

It's super cool when a team you love creates a positive buzz (like Dino's post-upset locker room speeches.) But they're fleeting moments to the neutral.

But we’re not talking about the neutral we’re talking about our recruiting targets. Players and families that are actively weighing out program vs others.
This stuff matters.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Quick fix; stage a video where Dino tells Kevon that he was being pranked and that he’s still a walkon. Imagine the hits! Talk about a BOOM!

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

But we’re not talking about the neutral we’re talking about our recruiting targets. Players and families that are actively weighing out program vs others.
This stuff matters.

Your post gauged efficacy by number of YouTube hits, and you lectured us on how a well-made video is good marketing. What does any of that have to do with recruiting? Recruiting is about relationship building and fit for individual players - how does a video going viral correlate?

According to 247, Lamar's 2022 recruiting class is middling in the FCS, while Rhode Island hasn't made an NCAA tournament since that walk on video you referenced came out. So the examples you cited did not appear to have a significant recruiting net for those programs.

 

[BKCuse]

Your post gauged efficacy by number of YouTube hits, and you lectured us on how a well-made video is good marketing. What does any of that have to do with recruiting? Recruiting is about relationship building and fit for individual players - how does a video going viral correlate?

According to 247, Lamar's 2022 recruiting class is middling in the FCS, while Rhode Island hasn't made an NCAA tournament since that walk on video you referenced came out. So the examples you cited did not appear to have a significant recruiting net for those programs.

Good lord please read my previous post explaining this. But if you need me to simplify this for you…

Lamar’s video is speaking to the kids and families Lamar is recruiting. Any additional reach beyond their targets is gravy but still good for their programs visibility.

Views prove they did a good job on the video.

Did you see UConn’s video yesterday? They crushed it. So simple yet effective.
If you think that doesn’t speak to the kids and families they are currently recruiting than idk what to tell you ‍

 

[SuFTW]

Good lord please read my previous post explaining this. But if you need me to simplify this for you…

Lamar’s video is speaking to the kids and families Lamar is recruiting. Any additional reach beyond their targets is gravy but still good for their programs visibility.

Views prove they did a good job on the video.

Did you see UConn’s video yesterday? They crushed it. So simple yet effective.
If you think that doesn’t speak to the kids and families they are currently recruiting than idk what to tell you ‍

Good lord, we are not recruiting walk ons at this point.