University works to expand its brand

The University of South Dakota Marketing Communications and University Relations team is working with retailers in Yankton, Sioux City and Sioux Falls to expand USD’s brand.

“USD has been working with many retailers in the effort to increase the amount of USD logo merchandise on store shelves,” said Tena Haraldson, director of Marketing Communications and University Relations.

Haraldson said the greatest source of USD merchandise revenue comes from local retailers in Vermillion. However, local retail chains have limited buying authority.

First-year Madeline Bures has bought USD merchandise at retailers outside of Vermillion, but said her options were limited.

“I bought two USD shirts at the Scheel’s in Sioux City, but I can’t think of many other stores that sell USD merchandise there,” Bures said. “Maybe Dunham’s, a local sporting goods store.”

The process in getting USD’s branded merchandise into retail stores is a myriad of legalities,  partnerships and expansion of the program, Haraldson said.

In order for USD branded merchandise to be sold, every vendor must be licensed to use the logos and trademarks. Upon the sale of USD branded merchandise, vendors remit 10 percent of each item’s wholesale cost to USD as a royalty.

Haraldson said the money generated from royalties is  used to help fulfill scholarships and pay for the legal fees associated with trademarking at the state and federal level.

The process, although slow-moving, can generate large profits for universities, Haraldson said.

“Nationally, college logo products generate $4.5 billion a year in sales,” she said. “Even the smallest community college is part of that market — we want to be sure USD gets a good share of the business.”

A portion of the money generated from USD merchandise sales helps make college more affordable for students.

“Logo merchandise is a profit center for many universities, especially those that have been in the market longer than USD. Many schools use a portion for the sales to support scholarships — just as USD receives money for scholarships from our Barnes & Noble bookstore,” Haraldson said.

Director of Scholarship Administration, Joni Fridel confirmed that the USD Barnes & Noble bookstore donates $4,000 every year to the USD Valedictorian Scholarship.

“This scholarship goes to incoming first-year students that ranked No. 1 in their high school class,” Fridel said. “Each scholarship is worth $500 so Barnes & Noble funds eight of them.”

The success of the USD women’s basketball team’s in the NCAA tournament is helping to make the expansion process move more quickly, Haraldson said.

“The visibility we gained from our first Division I tournament appearance will be huge,” Haraldson said. “Visits to our website went up 19 percent following the win, for instance.”

Similarly, Meagan Bishop, a first-year, said the women’s basketball team’s appearance in the NCAA tournament will help bring more visibility to the university.

“The women’s basketball team appearance in the NCAA tournament gave USD a name and brought us more into the public eye,” Bishop said.

Haraldson said her offices have been working with local buyers to help match them with vendors who can meet their USD merchandise requests.

Additionally, getting USD’s branded merchandise into more and bigger stores transcends into more visible fan loyalty for the athletics department, Haraldson said. She said as USD continues to move forward as a Division I school, fan loyalty will become more essential.

Bishop said she usually purchases USD merchandise from the Barnes and Nobles bookstore location in the MUC because of its convenience.

“I buy from the bookstore because it’s convenient and there are a lot of options,” Bishop said. “I usually buy things when there are sales.”

Where and how far geographically USD apparel will be sold is dependent on customer demand, Haraldson said.

“We are starting by working with stores nearby, but we see no upper limit to where the logo sales could go,” she said. “Coyotes everywhere can stock up and new merchandise ideas are coming out every day,”  Haraldson said.

Junior Mariah Bloom said she wishes to see more USD branded apparel in her hometown.

“It would be great if there was USD apparel in the Aberdeen sports store in order to get USD’s name out there,” Bloom said. “I purchased my merchandise at the bookstore to get me pumped up to come to USD.”

Haraldson said the demand for USD merchandise in big-name retail stores is copious, however, she said all efforts to get publicity for USD is a success.

“Americans are pretty savvy consumers, and we all like to find that special something that speaks to us – at the right time and the right price,” Haraldson said. “Big retail stores, little boutiques, tailgating, online, on campus – it all helps promote USD and makes our fans happy.”

Photo: Prospective students are shown a dorm room at North Complex during a campus tour. Student retention at the University of South Dakota is increasing. (Duane Duimstra/The Volante)