By Greg Hazley
Butler University, the small, private college in Indianapolis that will compete for the NCAA national championship in men’s basketball tonight, said last year’s unexpected run to the final game garnered more than $600M in publicity.
Butler, which lost the final game to Duke last year, will play the University of Connecticut on April 4 in Houston.
Indianapolis firms Borshoff and Meltwater tracked media coverage for the university of last year’s Cinderella run through the NCAA tournament from December through March.
The firm said that journey resulted in $639M in publicity value, including $100M from the CBS broadcast of the title game against Duke.
Butler has 4,500 students.
The school said it experienced “significant” increases in enrollment, ticket sales, merchandise sales, and charitable giving as applications climbed 41% and men’s basketball season ticket sales increased by 25%.
Butler athletic director Barry Collier said the “incredible amount” of exposure for the school was “earned on the court.”
The PR value breaks down to $10M in print media and $73M in TV publicity value, beyond the national championship game. The Bulldogs also earned $456M in on-line/internet PR.
The two firms said the school garnered 68,192 hits and 24.3M impressions, without considering radio.
A study for this year’s run is under way.
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