Enhancing Live Streaming with Advertising: A Guide for Digital Media and Broadcasting Teachers
In today's digital age, simply checking the box for live streaming isn't enough to meet fan expectations. Schools can significantly enhance their broadcasts and generate revenue through effective advertising.
Here, we'll explore three successful strategies done by schools for selling advertising through live streaming, so you can see how advertising can have a tangible impact on your school and program.
Why Advertising is a WIN-WIN-WIN
Through broadcasting thousands of games and content, we've found that advertising is the most effective way to monetize your live streams. Here’s why:
Schools Win: Profits from advertising can be reinvested into equipment, educational plans, and learning opportunities for students.
Students Win: Students gain valuable skills, preparing them for competitive roles in the digital marketplace.
Communities and Local Businesses Win: Local businesses get to promote their products and services to an engaged audience during high-quality broadcasts.
However, we understand that starting with advertising can be daunting. Schools might struggle with where to begin or how to enhance their existing advertising programs.
Questions often arise, such as the best methods to incorporate ads, pricing strategies, and ways to involve students in the process.
Successful Advertising Strategies in Action
Columbus Lakeview
In small communities, where local businesses are fewer, combining advertising efforts with other school initiatives can be highly effective. At Columbus Lakeview, former Technology Coordinator, Tracy Briggs, successfully bundled advertising with yearbooks and ScoreVision boards.
“The biggest sponsor gets to ‘own’ the display and the broadcast, with presence on the scoreboard and an icon in the corner of the broadcast for the entire event. Smaller sponsors get less video and audio ad spaces,” explained Tracy.
Tracking data is crucial for managing multiple sponsors. Tracy recommends keeping a spreadsheet to log the number of ads played during events and the total number of events streamed annually. Utilizing analytics from your streaming platform can provide valuable insights to share with sponsors.
Download our FREE Broadcast Advertising Dashboard to help create ad packages, account for funds, track ads, log analytics, and reports ad summaries.
Johnson County Central
Some schools have developed robust advertising programs by creating structured advertising packages for local businesses. Marcus Scheer, the Director of Technology at Johnson County Central, offers four sponsorship packages annually:
Thunder Buddies: $50-$250
Silver: $500
Gold: $750
Cornerstone: $1,000
These packages resemble professional business proposals, helping to organize future broadcasts and set clear expectations for students involved in live streaming. To learn more about Johnson County Central's ad packages, click here.
Broken Bow
Involving students directly in advertising efforts not only provides hands-on experience, but also cultivates essential marketing skills.
Jason Daffer, Technology Coordinator at Broken Bow, has created a student-led advertising program that generates over $10,000 annually.
“We developed an advertising sheet that I send with kids, and then they go and sell,” Jason shared.
Broken Bow Sports Network (BBSN) offers various opportunities for local businesses to support the school and its broadcasts. Breaking down the cost per game and tallying the number of live-streamed games helps demonstrate the value to sponsors.
Channel Page Advertising
In addition to audio, video, and graphic advertising for streaming or social media, Channel Page Advertising on a Striv Channel (e.g., striv.tv/columbus) offers another valuable avenue.
With streaming on the Striv TV platform, a school has access to rotate as many images as they want on their custom school channel page. With select 300x250 & 150x150 spaces, the advertising opportunities, along with potential revenue, are endless.
Education-Based Advertising
Live streaming and advertising should be education-based, providing real-world learning experiences for students. Striv offers schools the tools and resources to empower both educators and students. Discover how your school can leverage advertising by clicking here to learn more!
By integrating these strategies, digital media and broadcasting teachers can create a dynamic, profitable, and educational live streaming environment that benefits the entire school community.