Rutgers has put up billboards in the three cities hosting CFP games this season as part of the school's "kickoff for next year’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first college football game with Princeton," according to James Kratch of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. The billboards were "specifically placed" in Dallas (Cotton Bowl), Miami (Orange Bowl) and Santa Clara (national championship game) in order to "make a 'brand statement' in spots the national college football media and thousands of fans will be descending upon." Rutgers' goal is to "get people at the three playoff games talking about the Scarlet Knights on social media and spreading the program’s brand." Rutgers Assistant AD/Marketing Robert Roselli said, "The way we’re going to measure it is did we get any media attention out of it? If we do, we’re aware that some of it might come with a little tone of snark. But at the end of the day, if they’re talking about Rutgers football, it’s a win for us." Kratch noted the billboards were "placed on the route from a major area airport to either the media hotel or the stadium where that city’s game will be played." Roselli: "The idea was we needed to come up with a way to essentially crash the parties of the College Football Playoff from a brand standpoint." He added that the school "considered ads with no school branding in order to generate more intrigue, but ultimately decided to include the block R logo and helmet" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 12/22).
