I’d just like to say that Tager Group has done an outstanding job with the marketing efforts this season. I’m asking everyone here to show their support for the Tager Group and contact San Jose State University to let them know we want Tager Group back for next season.

Dorothy Poole - Director of Quality Improvement/Special Assistant, Vice President for Administration and Finance

SummerJam Cheer demonstration

Armed Forces Appreciation Day Event

The Challenge

San Jose State University is the oldest public institution of higher education on the west coast. It has an outstanding tradition of intercollegiate athletic competition that has been a part of the institution for over 100 years. Unfortunately new NCAA regulations requiring programs to average 15,000 fans per game or drop out of Division 1A put them at risk. San Jose State knew they had to tackle their problems off the field as well as on the field.

Flag Presentation

1st & 10 Club Flyer , 1st & 10 Club logo

The Solution

Tager Group approached the challenge by first building back the fan support. We created the 1st & 10 Club for fundraising. This generated additional funds to help upgrade their facilities, recruiting efforts and more. Working with the local paper, we wrote a letter from the head coach to the community that helped raise awareness. We elevated their image by creating a new identity the community would be proud to support. And we planned and executed a community event called “Summer Jam” that helped infuse enthusiasm into the fan base.

We then turned our attention to the season. We created a theme for each game that had appeal to the community as well as specifically targeted organizations. As an example, we staged “Armed Forces Appreciation Day” with marketing and promotion to the general community as well as targeted efforts to the military branches. We built a plan, set measurable objectives and rolled up our sleeves to execute. And we organized a group called the Spartan Army made up of community volunteers. They helped execute the marketing tactics beyond what the school could do with their own staff.

SummerJam Postcard Advertisement

Results

The end result was success with an average attendance of 15,080 per game or an increase of 50% from the previous season. It was only the fourth time in 16 previous years that they had surpassed the 15,000 mark.

New SJSU Spartans uniform logo