Branding & College Football

This essay was written for the Makers of Sport® newsletter in July 2015. Monday Musings and Weekend Reads were the written editions of the newsletter that accompanied the podcast; the archived email is on Mailchimp. The newsletter's links and announcements are trimmed here.

I'm constantly fascinated by how much the public is beginning to care about things like branding in athletics. Currently I'm working with an NCAA Division III athletics program on branding and I'm truly baffled by how much even at that level, there is great passion, excitement and even sometimes critics when it comes to creating a new visual identity in athletics.

This week, I had the opportunity to visit the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia and witnessed first hand how important branding can be in college sports.

First of all, let me say how quality of an experience it was and if you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend it. The experience begins with walking into the foyer and seeing a massive wall of NCAA Division I football helmets.While registering, you choose your favorite college football team and the helmet lights up on the wall to show which team's fans are visiting. The entire experience is tailored to your team with kiosks that read the digital All-Access pass on your lanyard showing your team's logo at each digital kiosk or touchscreen, as well as images, historical facts or other media specific to your school.

I went with my wife, 2 sons and brother-in-law. Myself and my sons chose the University of Kentucky while my wife chose our alma mater Eastern Kentucky University (a historic FCS program), and my brother-in-law chose his beloved University of Georgia. As mentioned, the helmets lit up on the large wall.

As we moved through the hall, the touchscreens gave us personalized experiences with logos of our teams. I was extremely impressed with the experience over all. The exhibits featured historic game programs, the history of tailgating, uniforms and an augmented reality display that allowed you to interact with your team's Hall of Fame members.

My favorite part of "The Hall" was the exhibit of alternative helmets for the 2014 season. Teams such as Oregon, Army, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Navy and many more were represented. Including the chrome gems that my beloved University of Kentucky wore during their win against Steve Spurrier and the University of South Carolina.

There are plenty of interactive experiences too that you can take home as each digital task you complete is stored on your All-Access lanyard and saved for viewing later online. My oldest son and I were the celebrity picks on the set of ESPN College Gameday and I even got to call the epic "There Goes Davis" play from the 2014 Iron Bowl.

All in all, if you are a fan of college sports, let alone college football, I highly recommend visiting the College Football Hall of Fame. It is in the Olympic Centennial Park area downtown with the Georgia Aquarium and the Coca-Cola Museum neighboring it. So there is plenty of fun of everyone.

Happy Fourth of July Weekend to you American listeners!