We understand that some schools are just checking the box regarding live streaming, but fans expect more than that. These 3 ways schools sell advertising through live streaming help enhance your broadcast and generate revenue for your school.
Through thousands of broadcasts we have helped produce, we know that advertising is the best and most successful way to monetize your live stream.
Advertising is a WIN-WIN-WIN:
- SCHOOLS WIN because this profit can enhance their equipment, plan, and learning opportunities for their students
- STUDENTS WIN because they are learning skills that prepare them for a digital world to compete in the marketplace
- COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL BUSINESSES WIN because they get to promote their products and services to a captive audience while watching a high-quality broadcast
But for some schools taking that first step to getting into advertising can be difficult because they may not know where to start or how to build upon their current advertising program.
What is the best way to incorporate advertising into your live stream? How much do schools charge? How do you get students involved in the process? Does audio, graphics, or video work best?
Here are 3 excellent examples from Columbus Lakeview, Johnson County Central, and Broken Bow on how schools are successful in selling advertising for their live stream:
Columbus Lakeview
Many of our #strivschools are in small communities, which may mean fewer local businesses to connect with and sell advertising for. But one successful way we have seen is combining advertising with yearbooks or video boards.
Tracy Briggs, the Technology Coordinator at Columbus Lakeview, bundled their advertising with Lakeview’s ScoreVision boards.
“The biggest sponsor gets to ‘own’ the display and the broadcast that includes presences on the scoreboard and an icon in the corner of the broadcast for the entire event. Then smaller sponsors get less video and audio ad spaces.”
With multiple sponsors and advertisements, data collection and organization become important. Tracy recommended keeping a spreadsheet to track the number of ads that played during an event and the number of events streamed throughout the year.
Keeping track of this data and using analytics from your Striv Dashboard provides great information to give to sponsors and advertisers.
Johnson County Central
We have seen some of our #strivschools build successful advertising programs by creating advertising packages or plans for local businesses.
Marcus Scheer, the Director of Technology at Johnson County Central, offers 4 sponsorship packages ranging in price each school year:
- Thunder Buddies: $50-$250
- Silver: $500
- Gold: $750
- Cornerstone: $1,000
Creating a plan for the school year resembles an organized and professional business proposal and helps structure future broadcasts and sets expectations for Striv students.
Broken Bow
Getting students involved with advertising gives them hands-on experience and marketing skills to take far beyond high school. We have seen this lead to an incredible career pathway for students.
Jason Daffer, the Technology Coordinator at Broken Bow, has built a student-led advertising program that has sold over $10,000 per year in advertising!
“We developed an advertising sheet that I send with kids, and then they go and sell.”
Broken Bow Sports Network (BBSN) offers a variety of opportunities for local businesses to support the school and broadcast. Tallying the number of live-streamed games and breaking down the price per game is a great way to show sponsors’ value.
Channel Page Advertising
Beyond audio, video, and graphic advertising for streaming or social media, another great avenue is Channel Page Advertising. On a Striv Channel (for example, striv.tv/columbus), there are two ad spaces that rotate images depending on your Striv plan.
The Channel Page Advertising features for each Striv TV plan includes:
- Silver Plan:
- 300×250 ad space that rotates up to 5 images
- Gold Plan:
- 300×250 ad space that rotates up to 10 images AND
- 150×150 ad space that rotates up 10 images
- FOR A TOTAL OF 20 AD SPACES
Live streaming and advertising can and should be education-based. Striv provides schools the tools and resources to empower educators and students. Learn more about how your school can utilize advertising or sign up to be a Striv school today!
