Challenge:

With one of the largest cash awards pool in America, the Governor's Cup is designed to encourage students of Nevada universities and colleges to act upon their ideas and talents in order to produce tomorrow's businesses. Student teams and their faculty advisor's will compete in undergraduate and graduate divisions for cash prizes of nearly $200,000. Students involved in the competition gain access to networks of successful entrepreneurs, lenders and investors, team-building opportunities, business planning skills, and media exposure. Additionally, 2 specific awards were introduced last year to show the importance of green energy and economic needs in rural Nevada.

The previous year was the most successful year to date, so we hoped to just break even. The economy hit the hardest during this campaign, so we feared that the sponsorships would drop significantly, which would in turn drop the prizes and the overall submissions.

2008 NUMBERS:

• 202 Students Involved (Including Intents)
• 81 Intents to Compete
• 48 Business Plans Submitted
• 10 Schools
• 108 Judges
• 38 Tables
• 264 Paid and sponsored attendees - 33 Tables
• $109,000 Prize Money – Nevada
• $80,000 Tri-State

Tactics:

The strategy for this campaign was to hit hard with consistency. Every week, the campaign was displayed again and again through various medias. The Governor’s Cup campaign can be broken into 2 parts: The Preparation and The Event.

THE PREPARATION:
Print:

• Email Blast
• Fundraiser Invite
• Bookmarks (sponsor and student)
• Business Cards (student)
• Student Tear Flyers
• TV Spot
• School banners (unique to school colors)

Ads:

THE EVENT:

Results:

The results surprised us. There were numbers that decreased: the number of schools, judges, attendees (9 less people from 2008) and the prize money. The surprising part is though the number of schools and prize money decreased, the student involvement and number of business plan submissions increased. The numbers showed that the campaign was a huge success, regardless of the economic state.

2009 NUMBERS:

• NNBW 1/2pg
• RGJ 1/2pg
• RGJ Online Banner (skyscraper)
• Business Plan Submission Form
• Capability for Judges to download all plans
  • Business Plan Submission Form
  • Capability for Judges to download all plans
  • Directional Signs
  • Oversized Checks
  • Finalist Certificates (47)
  • Table Signs (38)
  • Podium Banner
  • Sponsor Banner
  • Power Point Presentation
  • Program (25 page)
  • 244 Students Involved (Including Intents)
  • 89 Intents to Compete
  • 56 Business Plans Submitted
  • 6 Schools
  • 85 Judges
  • 38 Tables
  • 295 Paid and sponsored attendees - 38 Tables
  • $106,500 Prize Money – Nevada
  • $80,000 Tri-State

Website: