3 Roles You Need to Create a Game Day Program
Every team should have a game day program for the upcoming season. We’ve already gone over the importance of the game day program and the options for creating one but how do you make the process more efficient? There are 3 key roles that you will want to fill to ensure your game day program is done efficiently and successfully.
Content Organizer
The content organizer is responsible for collecting, organizing and storing all of the content for the game day program. They collect headshots from the photographer, rosters from the coaches and historical data from the athletic department. They are in charge of creating an organized file storage system to make sure the files and information is easily accessible to the other members of the game day program group. They may use google drive, dropbox or another file storage website. They do not just send files in a long email thread but instead keep it stored and organized in folders so that anyone in the group can access or upload content. They must be well connected within the team and athletic department so that they can reach out to photographers, coaches and anyone else that may have the information needed. They must be organized, diligent and willing to follow up with people several times to get the necessary content for the game day program.
Designer
Despite the name, this person does not need to have any artistic or technical design ability. All they need is an attention to detail and an eye for what looks good. They will be the owner of the design file and the person who creates, edits and updates the actual game day program. If you are using a sharable application or template then this could be multiple people. Most design applications (aside from Canva) do not allow you to edit simultaneously so assume this will fall to one person. The designer also needs to be tech savvy and comfortable with a computer. They need to be able to access the files from the Content Organizer, upload them into the design template and work within the template to create the pages of the game day program. They do not need to create the pages themselves (that’s what the template is for) but they should be able to see what looks good, what pages go best together and ensure overall things look good. The designer also can pick which template they use. Check out our blog on Game Day Program Template Options to see which template best fits your skills and budget.
Ad Coordinator
The Ad Coordinator has the important job of selling, organizing and ensuring business and personal ads are in the game day program. Even if your team isn’t selling business ads, almost every game day program has personal or parent ads. The Ad Coordinator can be one person but would certainly benefit from helpers or a team of people, especially for ad sales outreach to businesses. The Ad Coordinator ensures that ads are being sold and decides at what cost. They also must organize who purchases an ad and if the payment was received. The ad coordinator must also collect the ad images from business and parents and ensure they are uploaded to where the Content Organizer has specified. The Ad Coordinator must be outgoing and willing to deliver a sales pitch. Why should a business buy an ad in this year’s program? Why should a parent purchase a personal ad space for their player? They also must be incredibly organized so that they can keep track of the invoices and everyone that purchased an ad. There should be a record of every sale. Lastly they should be fairly good with basic math and accounting so that they can keep track of the money that is raised.
Bonus Role: Editor
This is a role for everyone. The Content Coordinator, Designer and Ad Coordinator all should read and review the draft of the game day program once it is complete. The Content Coordinator should be checking to ensure the proper content is in there and no one is left out. They also are responsible for collecting last minute missing content like headshots or rosters. The designer should be checking the details and ensuring that there are no typos or misspelt names. The Ad Coordinator has the important responsibility of ensuring all the ads made it into the game day program and that the proper ad size was used. They are each responsible for a specific duty but they must review as a collective unit. More eyes catch more mistakes so it’s important to get as many eyes on the draft as possible before going live or printing.
By conquering and dividing your game day program it becomes a lot more manageable and successful. Less mistakes are made which makes everyone happy. More people involved in the game day program process don't always help efficiency. That’s why having 3 defined roles within the team is the best way to create a game day program.
If you’re unable to find a committed group of 3 people to help with your team’s media guide, check out Storyoftheseason.com. Story of the Season is the easiest way to create a game day program for your sports team because they take care of the all the responsibilities. They are the Content Organizer, Designer and Ad Coordinator all wrapped into one. To learn more go to storyoftheseason.com/leadform
