[IKE]

We have been trying to add a new innovation each year. Some more successful. We did advertising for all FRC events through GSTV a few years back. Engaged community leaders about the benefits of FIRST.

I would recommend treating it just like you would an engineering design problem. Brain storm a lot of "new" ideas. Spend a week or two and have every person on the team bring in a unique idea. Giver a prize to whomever comes up with the most unique ideas, and stipulate what an idea is. Once you have a host of ides, whittle it down to a few ideas to flesh out. Figure out things like: Effort, Impact, Fit to FIRST Values, Fit to Team values, student interest... Once you have done this exercise, you should have some good ideas to work with. Just like with the robot, look for the good "bang for the buck" items. Sure convincing 2,000 businesses to sponsor 2,000 teams would be a great thing but would be a ton of effort. Doing a promotional pitch at a Rotary or Chamber of Commerce meeting would be significantly lower effort, but may have a significant impact in the local community.