How to Create Revenue Streams On Your LED Scoreboard
Generating revenue streams with advertising via digital billboards and digital signage has been around for quite some time. Now, thanks to the advancements of digital scoreboards and scoreboard software, this type of revenue generation has become a possibility for high schools, colleges, and professional sports too.
Beside watching the game, where are all the eyes pulled towards during a game? That’s right, the scoreboard. If you think about the number of times a person looks at the scoreboard (impressions) during a game, it adds up quickly! Imagine the kind of exposure a brand would have by advertising on LED scoreboards during such games!
Creating Revenue Streams On Your LED Scoreboard
Advertising on LED scoreboard isn't necessarily a new phenomenon. If anything, it's one of the most common types of advertisements for brands that have wanted to reach the masses during specific events, such as high schools and college sporting events.
However, the way it’s traditionally done is with outdated scoreboards and static advertising images. With this method, you’re stuck with that one static brand ad until someone physically goes up to the scoreboard to change it. Thankfully, there is a better way with LED scoreboards.
One thing to note though, a high-quality LED scoreboard isn't necessarily cheap, with some of the base indoor options retailing for around $30,000 while an outdoor LED scoreboard can easily get above $100,000. Even though these prices aren't as exorbitant as they used to be, they are still tough to obtain for many high schools and smaller colleges that depend on government and private grants to operate.
However, the beauty of it all is that with the right strategy an LED scoreboard display can pay for itself and then some over the years! There are many examples out there which schools can generate up to $200,000 in revenue annually by advertising on their LED scoreboard.
A scoreboard display can become a reliable source of revenue for your school or sporting venue. Here are some tips on how you can make your LED scoreboard work for you:
Sell Advertising Space
Advertising on LED scoreboards is a good source of new revenue streams for high schools, colleges and other sporting venues that sell the space to local businesses for display during a sporting event.
Even though this revenue model is available on static boards for schools that can't afford large LED video scoreboards, the truth is that manually changing the adverts every few months gives facility teams an unnecessarily difficult time throughout the year.
LED technology makes this process much easier as they can simply program the different brand adverts to rotate throughout the game. With this kind of digital signage, the adverts can be updated easily and quickly. That level of flexibility is also quite attractive to brands that value speed and fluidity in their brand messaging during a sporting event.
Host School or Community Events
Even if your school's LED digital displays are set up in the gym or football stadium, they can be used for much more than just keeping score during game time. Apart from using them to enhance school events such as dances, assemblies, and graduation ceremonies, they can also be used for other community events.
By offering up that space, including the digital scoreboard, to organizations that want to run programs such as summer camps and dance competitions, having a high-resolution LED display gives your school an edge over other vendors in the community.
Paid Sponsorship
Paid sponsorships have always been a good way for brands to get their name out there and do something good for the community.
By approaching local businesses to sponsor the school's LED scoreboard, the athletics director presents the school with a way to pay for the board and the specific athletic programs. It also gives local businesses a way to advertise themselves during sporting events.
The best part is that this doesn't have to be an exclusive deal. It's easy enough to categorically state that the school's LED scoreboard was presented by a brand while also giving other sponsors an opportunity.
Another corporate sponsor could be the official provider of the game statistics, while another could be the official provider of instant replays. This allows you to drum up more business and advertising revenue for the LED scoreboard display and create better local business relations.
Supplement Curriculum
For this business plan to be profitable, it will need to be managed. You need staff on hand to create the digital content for your advertising billboards at your sports venue. This can be outsourced in some cases as well. You also need someone to drum up business by approaching local businesses who may be interested in advertising on your LED scoreboard display.
These roles can easily go to your students studying media or marketing-oriented courses. This allows them to get some hands-on experience and connect with the local businesses that could very well hire them after graduation.
Furthermore, you could offer these opportunities to students of other institutions that don't have similar facilities. An agreement could be reached with other institutions to offer their students the hands-on experience they need at a small fee or another viable arrangement that benefits both parties.
There are a ton of benefits with having a high-resolution LED scoreboard in your school or sporting venue. For example, they make home games more fun by enhancing the fan experience. They also prove to be a lot more informative than a traditional scoreboard and allow you to make some extra money for your organization.
Also, this kind of forward-thinking and cutting-edge technology attracts even more people to your sporting venue. Not only does this make your sporting venue a more attractive business, but it could also translate to more revenue.
Even though the initial cost might be high for some schools and sporting venues, they don't have to bear it all on their own, thanks to paid sponsorships and other advertising opportunities for brands. It's a win-win arrangement.