On February 5, 2021 Lincoln South Rotary Club heard from Brandon Meier, Senior Associate AD Marketing & Media, Nebraska Athletics. His topic was Marketing Without Fans.

Brandon shared his history with media - stories about how he got into that field. He was introduced to what it is like to work with TV at age 16 when he went to work for the North Platte TV station. He was in an entry level position but was able to see the workings of the station. That got him interested and he dreamed of being an ESPN hosting SportsCenter.

He stated that he was in the right place at the right time. He earned his Masters Degree at the University of Nebraka. He happened to be the the University of Nebraska when they started to develop HuskerVision in 1994. He found that he enjoyed that type of work and did not want to leave.

He was contacted by Oklahoma as they wanted to build something like what Nebraska had. While in Oklahoma their department grew from 5 to 17 full time employees and they also utilized about 100 volunteers. They expanded to include running a sports network, social media and recruiting - the position was continually evolving.

He then had an opportunity to return to Nebraska with a promise that he could build the same kind of department. The Mission of the Nebraska Athletics External Department:

  • Home to the greatest fans in college sports, where all student athletes are welcomed and celebrated.
  • Powered by our people & driven by innovation, we strive to make Nebraska a premier brand in college athletics.
  • We connect our fans to Husker student athletes by telling their stories and generating support through relationships, content and experiences.
  • The 3 pillars of success: Recruiting, Revenue Generation, Fan Outreach/Engagement

The department looks at everything from a recruiting standpoint.

The recruiting life cycle - recruit good student athletes - brings in good people - share their stories - build affinity with the fans and public - builds support for the athletic program - which leads back to the ability to recruit good student athletes.

Brandon's experience with COVID was interesting. He and his family were attending the Big 10 Basketball Championship. They stepped out to take a photo and, when they returned, the crowd was silent. They had just announced that the tournament would be cancelled due to COVID. The return to the hotel room, all travels, they met with delays and long lines.

Upon return to Nebraska, the realization that the Spring Football Game would not be able to take place hit. The idea of a virtual game was brought up - but there was a lot to do to make that work. The reality was that, at peak, there were nearly 25,000 viewers simultaneously viewing the game. They tracked over 281,000 unique viewers and nearly 1 million engagements.

They had seen stadium cutouts used by some professional teams and decided to launch the Sea of Red Sellout. They selected a vendor that would provide sturdy stands - they said they would withstand the Nebraska winds so the cutouts could remain in place. Nearly $700,000 in cutouts were sold. There were some challenges with the cutouts due to the weather. Wind, snow and ice caused some problems that required time to repair before games.

Even during the pandemic - people not attending games - the loyal fans and the public still contributed. Some donated the cost of their tickets. Some purchased cutouts. Others just made direct donations. In all they raised nearly $7million to support the media programs.
 

BIO INFORMATION:
Brandon Meier joined the Nebraska Athletic Department in October of 2018 as the Senior Associate AD for Marketing & Multimedia. Meier oversees Nebraska's HuskerVision, creative & emerging media and marketing & fan experience departments.

A Nebraska native and UNL graduate, Meier returned to Nebraska after working for the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma Sooners. While earning his bachelor's degree from Nebraska he was a student assistant and producer in HuskerVision.

At Oklahoma, Meier led a media transformation in intercollegiate athletics. During his tenure OU became an industry leader in a variety of areas including TV production, video board production, digital signage and video delivery over a variety of digital platforms. 

Meier's career began in North Platte, Neb., as a photographer/reporter for KNOP-TV, his hometown. Meier earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and his master's degree in marketing from the University of Nebraska. While studying at Nebraska, Meier worked as a student assistant and producer for HuskerVision, eventually having the opportunity to work with the first video board at an intercollegiate athletics facility when Nebraska installed its first video board in 1995.

From Nebraska, Meier headed to Houston where, from 2003-2007, he worked as the production manager/producer for the Houston Rockets. He operated the video systems inside the Toyota Center and led the in-game production for the Houston Rockets.

He and his wife Beth, have a son, Brady, and daughter, Bailey.

FULL BIO: https://huskers.com/staff-directory/brandon-meier/677