Cheer and Win

Traditions... rituals are key to any brand. The trick is to establish the tradition. The NFL has had the Pro Bowl for ever and while the NFL brand is wildly popular the Pro Bowl has never take off. For 2010 the game was cleverly slotted in the pre-Super Bowl dead time and the ratings improved dramatically whether this will build the Pro Bowl as a real brand. Sometimes, however, a brand does not having the strength to stand on its own.

Florida International University is still in the process of building a football brand, a football tradition. Think of why you went to a you football game as a freshman. It was the thing to do. The group in the dorm was going and going along was the thing to do. Now imagine that there was no group carrying you along getting you in the habit; no tradition.

FIU has therefore come up with a plan of priming the pump of tradition by offering $500 scholarships to student attending games this fall. While this is an interesting incentive there is more to creating a college football fan tradition than just getting bodies in the stands.