I was nervous registering for this
course because I am not the greatest writer as I struggle putting my thoughts
to paper however, after completing this course I couldn’t be happier. I feel
more confident and my grammar has improved throughout this semester.
For
my persona, I wish I took this course during the college football season. There
was not a lot of news regarding Penn State Football all summer. I mostly
concentrated on recruiting and game previews. I would have enjoyed doing game
previews and recaps during the fall. My persona would have been stronger during
the fall and I could have potentially gained more blog followers as well as
Twitter followers. I wish I had the time to continue my persona this fall, but
between my full time job at ESPN and more master’s courses I would not be able
to consistently and successfully write blog posts.
In
terms of the course, the only thing that bothered me was not knowing where we
stood. I was nervous about my grade throughout the semester. Overall, this
course was very interesting, especially the lectures. For future semesters, I
think it would be cool if you did a Google hangout for lectures. It would have
been nice to see you and all my classmates’ faces a few times at least. This
semester went by really fast but I enjoyed every minute of it!
In June, Nike released a new social media campaign for niche
sports, “The Chosen.” Nike chose to release this campaign via Facebook days
before using it on television. The campaign involves a film featuring skate
legend Paul Rodriguez, Olympic snowboarder Danny Kass, and surfers Julian
Wilson and Laura Enever. This film campaign was shot all over the world. The social aspect of the campaign
includes a video contest for skaters, surfers, BMX riders, snowboarders, and
skiers. These athletes can submit a video of themselves doing their respective
action sport for a chance to travel with the Nike team. The winners of this
video contest will be determined by Nike, Nike athletes, and fans. This campaign is a huge step for
action sports across the world. Nike is extremely powerful and they will try
their best to take action sports to the next level. I think it was a smart
decision by Nike to release this campaign on Facebook before television. A 30
second television commercial is not as often available as a Facebook page. Nike obviously understands the
future of ads is moving towards social media and as a result the growing
conversation of action sports is becoming more popular. Years ago, the only
thing action sports fans had was the X Games but today there are several more outlets
between Nike and Redbull. My social media idea for my online
presence will consists of using Twitter to gain more app users. I will engage
with other Penn State Football bloggers and fans. After several conversations
on Twitter, more Penn State Football fans will start to see my username/app which
could possibly lead to more users. Social media is very powerful and if used
correctly it can help your online presence tremendously.
The Nittany Lions will face their first true test of the season on September 14 against the Central Florida Knights. The kickoff is at 6:00 pm at Beaver Stadium and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. The crazy atmosphere inside the stadium, which is sometimes used to the Lions’ advantage, will not faze the Knights. The Knights are coming off of an impressive ten win season with one of their few losses coming from the Ohio State Buckeyes, who they played away the second week of the season last year and lost just 31 - 16. The Buckeyes finished the season undefeated. Penn State will have to play a very strong game on the defensive side of the ball in order to win this game. The Knights return several players from last year’s offense. Their quarterback, junior Blake Bortles, threw for 3,059 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just 4 interceptions last year. Bortles will have a lot of experienced receivers to choose from as well; juniors Jeff Godfrey, Rannell Hall, and J.J. Worton all had at least 30 receptions and over 400 yards receiving. The Nittany Lions secondary especially need to keep an eye on Hall, who during the last season averaged 18 yards per catch. If Penn State can't keep the Knights off the board the game will most likely become a shootout. The Knights defense is very young and inexperienced. They lost two starters in the secondary; one of which was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. The Knight’s defensive line is very young and will struggle to get through Penn State's experienced offensive line. I believe this game will be high scoring and closer than most predict. Eventually Penn State will shut down Bortles and keep the Knights off the scoreboard. Penn State 37 UCF 21.
A Company Description Summary
The Beaver Stadium Parking Group (BSPG) is a public company, owned and funded by Penn State University. The BSPG was created in 2005 to help organize and manage the Beaver Stadium Parking Lots. Over the last 8 years, BSPG has worked to improve Beaver Stadium game day parking but there is still room for continued improvement. Last year the BSPG created a technology department to begin utilizing technology for further improvements and to look for new and innovative ways to improve parking. It is currently experimenting with mobile applications.
The Problem
The biggest problems with the current Beaver Stadium Parking model is traffic flow into the stadium, as well as, monitoring the capacity of each lot. Fans that arrive approximately an hour before the game will sit in traffic for at least an hour, potentially missing pre-game activities and kickoff. Most of the traffic builds right by the stadium because fans want to park close and as fewer open spots are left, cars need to be re-routed to other lots.
Your Solution
The BSPG technology department recently came up with a solution that could change the parking plans for Beaver Stadium and athletic stadiums across the country: a location-based mobile app that will help fans find open parking spaces quickly and will help with traffic flow into the stadium lots. The market for this app includes any game attendee that did not buy parking passes ahead of time, fans that attend single games, or fans attending from the opposing teams. The app would also be useful for groups that want to park near each other to tailgate. Tailgating is an important part of the game day experience and if fans are traveling in multiple cars, the app will enable them to find a general parking lot that has several open spots by each other, in a quick and easy display. In order for this app to work, each parking space would require a location chip and sensor in the turtarrier. This technology will allow the app to recognize if the space is available or full.
Why Now
It is important to implement this mobile app now because the 2013 Penn State Football season is quickly approaching. It could take some time for all Penn State Football fans and game attendees to find out about the app, but there are plenty of advertising opportunities available. We plan to advertise via commercial spots throughout each game, via Online Ticketing websites, with an on-site kiosk outside the stadium and through social media. We plan to run 3 commercials each home game, once during pre game, halftime, and between the third and fourth quarters. Even if only half of the crowd catches the first few commercial spots during the game, that is already 55,000 people! As more people hear about this mobile app, the Beaver Stadium Parking model will be changed forever.
After opening the 2013 season versus Syracuse at Met Life Stadium, in New Jersey the Nittany Lions return home to play a Mid-American Conference member, Eastern Michigan. In 2012, the Eagles went 2-10. Although the Eagles have several players returning on the offensive side of the ball there lack of experience on defense will hurt them versus PSU and the rest of the season. They will return only 5 players on defense. Considering they only had 7 total sacks last season, this is not a good sign for EMU. If the Eagles can’t put pressure on Christian Hackenberg or Tyler Ferguson, they are in a lot of trouble. Even though both Hackenberg and Ferguson have no experience at this level, they will have plenty of time to get the ball away. Look for the 2012 Big Ten Wide Receiver of the Year Allen Robinson and the Penn State’s tight ends to have huge days. Penn State needs to take this game seriously because their next two opponents, University of Central Florida and Kent State, won a combined 21 games last season. They need to get off to a fast start so less experienced players can get some playing time in the second half. It is important for starters to get some rest in games like these because once Big Ten games start they will be playing the whole game. Penn State should put this game away by halftime, forcing several turnovers. PSU wins 42 - 7.
The Beaver Stadium Game Day Parking App is a location based app that will give Penn State Football fans the ability to see every available general parking spot surrounding the stadium from any mobile device. There are several parking spots that are purchased in advanced for the whole season, which will not be available to view on the app. The market for this app includes any game attendee that did not buy parking passes ahead of time, fans that attend single games, or fans attending from the opposing teams. The app would also be useful for groups that want to park near each other to tailgate. Tailgating is an important part of the game day experience and if fans are traveling in multiple cars, the app will enable them to find a general parking lot that has several open spots by each other, in a quick and easy display. In order for this app to work, each parking space would require a location chip and sensor in the turtarrier. This technology will allow the app to recognize if the space is available or full. Overall, this app will help fans find open parking spaces quickly and will help with traffic flow in and out of the stadium.
