Wolfpack Sports Marketing Helps Corporate Sponsors and Local Youth Groups

Chick-fil-A staff and mascots take a break during the NCSU/Ohio State football game.

Every year, Wolfpack Sports Marketing (WSM) has sponsors who want to give promotional items away at home football games. Giving the items away is easy - finding the staff to do it is sometimes a challenge.

At the Ohio State football game on September 18, 2004, Chick-fil-A, a corporate sponsor of NC State Athletics, wanted to giveaway coupons for a free chicken sandwich to fans as they entered all 12 gates at Carter Finley Stadium. Chick-fil-A wanted a group of people who would represent their organization well. With the help of WSM staff members, a match was found.

WSM staffers Mike Wilkes and Brenda Steen, also members of the Apex United Methodist Church, were able to provide Chick-fil-A with a contact within the congregation's youth group that coordinated the efforts of the volunteers. The group of more than 25 volunteers, both adults and children, worked hard handing out coupons for more than two hours and raised $400. The youth group applied those funds towards a mission trip to the Bahamas scheduled for February 2005. Once the coupons were handed out, the group was free to stay and enjoy the soldout game.

Many sponsors want to take advantage of the large number of fans attending NCSU football games. Implementing the distribution of promotional items falls on the shoulders of WSM Director of Client Services, Kristi Butler. One of Butler's responsibilities is to make sure that all client needs are fulfilled and having a dependable group of volunteers to handle one of the biggest games of the year was a relief to her. "They were a huge help to us. We were swamped at the Ohio State game and this group of volunteers was dedicated and dependable, it made fulfilling our client needs so much easier," said Butler.

Chick-fil-A was also very happy. Chick-fil-A's Marketing Director, Lori Allred, said that supporting this youth group was an easy decision for them to make. "This group was great. They fit well with our corporate goals and were such a great representative of Chick-fil-A. We will ask them to help us again in the future!"

Thanks to WSM's Brenda Steen for this Capcom story and photo.