Branding and Marketing Your Program

 Ty Gipson and Chris Doelle

Season 5 Episode 5

In this episode, Austin Vandegrift Head Football Coach and Athletic Coordinator, Drew Sanders, interviews Waterboy Graphics owner, Ty Gipson and Fresh Media Works founder Chris Doelle.  They discuss sports branding and marketing strategies for high school athletic programs.

Key Takeaways

• Consistent branding across physical and digital touchpoints is crucial for building program identity
• Start small with impactful branding elements, focusing on high-visibility areas first
• Podcasting and social media can humanize teams and engage the community when used strategically
• Collaborative approaches between visual/physical branding and digital content creation are most effective
• Apparently, Texas Tech's Joey McGuire played a role in everyone's career 🙂

Topics

Origins

• Waterboy founded by Ty Gipson in 2006, formalized in 2015
  • Inspired by Ty's background in Disney marketing and love of sports
  • Aimed to bring professional-level branding to high school athletics
  • Early partnership with Under Armor's high school sponsorship program accelerated growth
• Lone Star Gridiron was founded in 2004 by Chris Doelle and started as a podcast.
  • LSG was the first football podcast in history
  • Grew into one of one of the top sites for Texas high school news and information
  • Founded Lone Star Podcast Network in 2019

Impact of Visual Branding on School Culture

• Transforms student attitudes from destructive to protective of facilities
• Increases school pride among athletes and general student body
• Creates photo opportunities and social media engagement points
• Unifies messaging across athletic facilities and broader campus

Cost-Effective Branding Strategies

• Focus on high-impact, high-visibility areas first (e.g. main hallway, weight room)
• Use cost-effective materials like corrugated plastic for cut-out logos
• Implement partial wall graphics or stripes instead of full coverage
• Leverage different product options to fit various budgets

Digital Marketing for High School Sports

• Podcasting serves as cornerstone for content creation
• Utilize platform-specific strategies:
• TikTok/YouTube Shorts/Instagram Reels for visibility
• Twitter for real-time updates
• Facebook for parent/sponsor engagement
• Maintain consistent messaging and branding across all platforms

Branding Trends in High School Athletics

• Moving towards cleaner, simpler "tone-on-tone" designs
• Increasing use of dimensional elements and LED lighting
• Focus on creating a singular, consistent logo and brand identity
• Integrating mottos/sayings consistently across visual and audio branding

Collaborative Branding Approaches

• Align physical branding (Waterboy) with digital content (Fresh Media Works)
• Ensure consistent messaging from facility entrance through to social media
• Create synergy between visual installations and digital storytelling

Next Steps

• Coaches should take the first step in initiating branding efforts, even if starting small
• Reach out to experts like Waterboy Graphics or Fresh Media Works for consultations
• Consider a free branding audit to identify areas for improvement
• Explore coaches show podcasts as a cost-effective way to tell program stories and engage community

Texas High School Coaches Association

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Produced by Fresh Media Works

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