The strategy for the press event was to create a game-day environment inside the Devon Rotunda and run a Devon SportsLab outside on the lawn. Tactics included (1) coordinating with both universities to bring their bands, mascots, pep squad, horses and all the fanfare of game day to Devon’s campus, (2) leveraging Devon’s innovative Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) partnership with both schools to have players on site for media interviews and (3) creating a run of show and talking points to ensure the event was executed without a hitch.
The strategy for gaining earned media and public awareness of Devon SportsLab was to recruit the press to attend the kick-off event and/or write stories about it. In addition to the college athletes, the mock Devon SportsLab provided great visuals for TV. Tactics included writing and distributing a media advisory and multimedia post-press release, as well as making follow-up calls to reporters.
Media had their own SportsLab-branded media passes, access to a multi-box and a riser so they could easily see the stage. Immediately following the formal presentation, media interviews were conducted in front of a SportsLab branded step-and-repeat.