Tag Archive | NRG Stadium
October 7, 2017  

Go Where The Customers Are Located

By Cheval John

The companies or organizations who are more successful have this one thing in common.

They always innovate.

They look at ways to make the customer experience more rewarding.

We see that with small businesses because they do not have the resources like the larger companies to advertise their products or services.

The larger companies will buy space at major events like the super bowl and this year’s major league baseball playoffs to advertise to a large audience.

The small businesses will be more creative with content marketing because of a much smaller marketing budget.

They also know that if you can build an audience slowly through content marketing strategies (blogs, podcasts, live streaming, etc.), they will win all the time because they have earned their trust.

An example of innovation comes from mid-sized college sports conferences like the Southland Conference (SLC).

They basically formed their own television network, the Southland Conference Television Network, in 2008 and have brought many sporting matchups to their member colleges fan base.

Two of the fan bases within the SLC are Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) and Sam Houston State University (SHSU).

Their annual rivalry, “The Battle of The Piney Woods” moved to NRG Stadium in 2010 and has become a fixture in the Houston sports scene.

This year’s event drew an attendance of 26,792, who saw SHSU defeated SFA 27-16 for their seventh consecutive win against their rivals.

The rivalry has continued to draw crowds since they moved to NRG Stadium in 2010 with no signs of slowing down.

And the SLC dissolved their network in 2015 due to television deals with ESPN3 and other regional networks while at the same time focus their resources on their digital network.

Another example of innovation comes from the company, Paper.Li.

Under then community manager of Kelly Hungerford, who is now the owner of Community Works, Paper.Li built their company through their twitter chat #bizheroes and have increased their customer base.

The lessons here are as follows:

1. You must create your own media company.

Brands can’t rely on press releases anymore because they are considered spam.

They also can not depend on ads because people do not want to be interrupted with commercials that will take them out of rhythm in consuming content.

The brands must have a place where they can put out quality content that will help the consumer make smart decisions which can make their lives better.

And when the consumers believe they are being helped by the brand through their content, they will tell their friends about the brand.

Soon enough, the press will find out about them.

Look at examples from organizations and sports teams like the Houston Texans who created their own networks to provide content to media outlets.

2. You have to go where the audience are at.

If your ideal customers are located on a particular social platform, you have to be there as well.

When you meet them where they are at, you show them you care.

In the same way, both SFA and SHSU decided to move their rivalry to NRG Stadium after being approached by Lone Star Sports and Entertainment because the majority of their fan base lives in the Houston area.

Plus, they get exposure from the 8th largest media market in the nation.

More press leads to more recruitment for future Bearkats and Lumberjacks.

In conclusion, you have to be where your audience are at and you have to create your very own opportunities because the right people will always notice.

October 1, 2016  

The Trend Heard Around Twitter #BOTPW

By Cheval John

The 91st edition of the Battle of The Piney Woods took place at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday afternoon.

The rivalry between Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University has become a part of the sports culture in the city of Houston.

Every year, the Battle of the Piney Woods has seen record crowds at NRG Stadium.

It really wasn’t a surprise that the Bearkats defeated the Lumberjacks 63-28 with twenty-eight of those points happening in the first quarter.

Maybe it was a surprise that SHSU’s quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe threw a Bearkat record of 7 touchdown passes in a single matchup against their rivals.

Or that the Bearkats (4-0 overall, 3-0 Southland Conference), also ranked No.2 in the country, had 653 total yards of offense, which was also the #botpw record.

If you were a Sam Houston State fan, you are happy to see this.

Even the people behind the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Twitter account have to agree.

If you are a Stephen F. Austin State University fan, you had to feel sick to your stomach as this lady pointed out in this tweet.

The biggest surprise is that the Battle of the Piney Woods hashtag #botpw was trending on Twitter.

I did not expect to see #botpw trending because normally college football matchups in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) would usually trend if these teams are colleges like the University of Texas, which of course trended after their epic lost to Oklahoma State.

The fact that a college football matchup between two FCS universities trended on Twitter shows how far this rivalry has come in the city of Houston.

Also, it shows how far the FCS has gained respect to a degree in the college football world.

You would only know about college football universities in the FCS level when national media outlets mainly ESPN would televised the NCAA FCS Championships.


Or if the FCS colleges are facing teams in the FBS.

The athletic administrators from the two universities along with the staff of Lone Star Sports and Entertainment were able to put together an awesome football matchup at NRG Stadium year after year.

And their hard work and dedication led to the Battle of the Piney Woods to stand out from the other college football matchups on Twitter.

This shows that if you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to put in the work and dedication to be successful in your business and career.

And also solve a problem for your audience because people will instantly trust you because you solved their problem.