Football tab thread 2012

Central Va. Not the deep South, but football-mad enough that there shouldn't be a problem selling a prep tab.

 

We used to do this at one of my previous stops, but we didn't settle for fast food. Ponderosa steak and the salad bar ... almost made standing outside freezing your ass off covering high school football tolerable. Almost.

 

How many schools in your coverage area?

I agree ... you got some ad sales people (and an ad director) who should be thrown through the door if they can't sell a football tab in your neck of the woods ... yeah, there are some areas where it wouldn't sell, but you ain't in one of them ...

 

No tab, but we launch an 8-part preview series tomorrow. Got 5 in the can, now we're attacking the outlying precints. Season starts Aug. 24. Worried mostly about production issues, since they tucked my section inside the A section (don't get me started) and someone's gonna whine about deadlines. Fine ... I'll fill the first Friday night with pennant races, go out for a few beers at 9:30 and let someone else worry about the calls!

 

Chick-Fil-A >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pondegrossa.

 

I'm throwing together my 19-page preview this week (probably more like this weekend...) and doing it alone. This is the time of year when it becomes really hard to do my job as the sports department.

 

15 high schools, plus three Division I universities (one FCS, two FBS). Plus heavy interest in other statewide FCS programs. No doubt we should be able to sell it.

 

Our tab was just thrown together haphazardly for the past few years, so ad sales were mediocre at best. We completely redesigned it this year and gave the sales reps a rough mock-up with more details on what was going to be included and so far numbers are about 10% over budget a little more than a week left to sell. We sold premium ad spots on specific school pages, which was new here (my idea since that gave me the chance to place most of the content and photos in advance instead of rushing to place goofy ad sizes at the end). All I have left to do is grab team photos and wrap up coach interviews during media days which are scheduled this week and next. A steak dinner is definitely on the menu next week when it's off to the press.

 

I never could understand why selling a football preview tab --- especially high schools --- was so hard. Sounds like an easier sale to me than most other stuff.

"Hey, throw in an extra 50 bucks and we'll even photoshop your company logo onto Little Johnny Bedwetter's jersey"

 

We're full in hell mode on our tab, which has already made more money than last year's tab and is slated for another 84ish pages for 11 schools, a six-man school and a DI university.

 

Neither could I, which is why (at the last daily I worked for) I went to the publisher and suggested that she enlist the school's booster clubs to sell the advertising (something that had actually been suggested to me by several club presidents) and give them the commissions ... wouldn't go for it (of course, this was the same publisher that did away with our weekly football preview tab -- one of the best selling tabs they had at the time -- to do "all sports" preview tabs for fall, winter and spring sports because "we have to be fair to all of the sports." Those went over like a lead balloon to our advertisers ...)

 

One of the best parts of being out a job right now is not having to deal with a tab.
Last year it took them up until the start of August to figure out they even wanted one, the week before it went to press to figure out they were doing a broadsheet instead of a tab, two days before press for them to get me dummies and me working until 4 am the night before putting it all together.
Don't miss that one bit.