Tempe12 featured again on Fox

Tempe12 in the Business Journal

The Business Journal
July 29, 2005
By: Laura Newpoff

Small Businesses gear up for big Super Bowl payoff

Benjamin Leis says men are the obvious target for a company he started in January to produce calendars that deliver the student market to companies that want to expand their customer’s bases through college campuses.
Leis and a partner have produced the Tempe12 Swimsuit Calendar, featuring what he calls the “hottest female students” from Arizona State University. The second calendar will hit ASU’s campus in September and the company – Tempe12 Promotions – is working on another calendar that will be featuring “Scottsdale soccer moms.”
So when the testosterone-laden NFL comes to town for the 2008 Super Bowl, Leis plans to use the calendar to create awareness for his company and to put a few more dollars in the firm’s coffers.
Today, the calendars are distributed in ASU campus dining halls, dormitories and sporting venues.
While Fortune 500 companies will snap up the majority of the big game’s sponsorship opportunities when it hits the Valley, small companies such as Tempe12 already are laying down the groundwork to cash in on the event.
When the Super Bowl descended on Jacksonville, Fla., in February, small business sponsored rides on bus shuttles, while others hosted tailgate parties. And small hotels and inns that were a two-hour drive from the Alltel Stadium sold out for the game by marketing in advance.
‘Wherever, man-made event are, we are there,” Leis said. “Men are obviously our target audience, and any large sporting events that come through the Greater Phoenix area, we make sure we are present. That will be the case for the 2008 Super Bowl.
“We will be mobilizing all of our sponsors to do something as one collective unit,” he said. “You can get more accomplished and create a bigger presence if you have the support of many. We most likely will be throwing a large party and fundraiser at that time, having the calendar girls out promoting it.”
Tempe12 Promotions’ sponsors include Bud Light, Atlantic Records, and Playboy magazine.
Leis and his business partner, David Freedman, Philadelphia native. When that city’s NFL team, the Eagles, come to town to play the Cardinals in November, the company wants to host a party for the Eagles fans in the areas and expose them to the calendars.
The more exposure to the free calendars get, the more value the sponsors find the product. The calendars give the sponsors 16 months of direct advertising.
Small businesses that are expected to be able to take advantage of the Super Bowl traffic in the Valley including limousine companies and independent real estate brokers who could get hefty fees for listing houses for rent. When the Super Bowl was in Jacksonville, some houses in the city rented for more than $19,000 a week.
Christopher Payne, president of Phoenix based Pass the Popcorn, said he plans to produce more product, increase the staffing and sell popcorn tins that emblazoned with pictures and logos of the teams playing in the game.
Pass the Popcorn is a maker of gourmet popcorn that’s sold at a snack shop the company operates at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. A second location is planned to open at the airport this fall.
“For now, I am considering locations for expansion in 2007 and the 2008 Super Bowl will certainly impact that location decision for the west side,” Payne said.
Payne said entrepreneurs who hope to cash in on the event should start to look at financing and credit options.
“It is important that if the Super Bowl event are going to require capital expenditures for the inventory, expansion, etc. that a business be in a position to finance the costs quickly,” he said. “If you start preparing to apply for a SBA loan or other financing when the time is right for the event.”
April Murillo Stremming, owner of April’s Images and Productions LLC, a 2-year-old provider of custom logo merchandising and promotional products, also is trying to line up new business related to the Super Bowl.
“A lot of companies do give-a ways at the gate, so I’m already looking into this because this is such a big thing for our industry,” she said. “For us, this opportunity is huge. I’m doing well now, but new businesses from the Super Bowl would put mo over my mark for what I’m striving for. That’s my goal.”

Tempe12 in Arizona Republic

The Arizona Republic, Arizona’s largest newspaper, picked up on some “March Badness” when they covered the Miss Tempe12 contest. ASU hotties Jen and Shannon were the final two in the search for the Nation’s Sexiest College Girl. Jen squeaked out a victory and was featured as Miss Tempe12 in the Tempe12 swimsuit calendar. The win helped launch her into model stardom when she was featured in Playboy’s Pac-10 edition and made an appearance on the Howard Stern show.

Tempe12 featured in College Times

Tempe12 in Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur
March 2007
Tried and True
By: Nichole E. Torres

Turn a classic business idea and turn it into you nest big moneymaker.

There’s a simple reason some businesses tend to always do well. People love food and convenience, so burger joints and pizza delivery will always be in style. There’s always a market for back to school products and Christmas tree decorations, too, so retailers have a tried-and-true formula for those seasons. And when it comes to college guys, it’s a good bet that they’ll always love a good swimsuit calendar.
That’s exactly what entrepreneurs Ben Leis and David Freedman were banking on. The two childhood friends came up with a concierge business for sports professionals while leis was at the University of Miami and Freedman was at Arizona State University in Tempe, but during the planning phase, they decided to the business would be too much to handle. Looking for a simpler idea, the pair holed up in Freedman’s house, brainstormed and landed on the idea of a swimsuit calendar featuring the girls next door: Arizona State university students. Eight weeks later they’d formed StudentBody marketing and already had the Tempe12 calendar out. “It was extremely fast,” says Leis. “Eight months later, we had our second calendar out,”
That type of immediate recognition is one of the benefits of a tried and true, business idea – there’s no need to explain the concept to potential customers, as people are generally pretty familiar with these classic ideas. “Because they are tried and true, a market for that type of product or solution has been demonstrated somewhere along the line,” says Sherry Hoskinson, director of the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona in Tucson, “It might be that the original product or service wasn’t timely. And by coming along and assessing the new needs or the new [demographic, an entrepreneur is] perking it up to meet a newly validated need.” The benefits of such as approach are many: Since you’re learning from past incarnations, you can likely avoid common missteps, and your initial investments tend to be lower that a start-from-scratch type of business.
The challenge is researching your current market to see if the tried and true idea will fly today, she says. You might need to innovate in some way or make it fresh for your audience. “You’re not actually innovating the idea itself,” cautions Hoskinson. “you’re just brining innovation to the way its being presented.”
Leis and Freedman, both 25, did have to make one adjustment to the idea—instead of selling the calendars to students, a tactic that wasn’t moving many units of their first calendar , they sold advertising to companies such as Budweiser, Corona, and Sobe, and gave calendars to students for free—launching their revenues well into the six-figure range. Today, StudentBody marketing distributes its calendars to 21 college campuses, each featuring young women from each particular school—one calendar model even garnered an interview on the Howard Stern show. Says Freedman, “Tempe12 is a household name at these college.” Now that’s a classic success story.

Tempe12 covered in College Times

College Times
February 2, 2006

Timely Vote

The girls of Tempe 12 calendar have certainly turned a few heads, and now the locally- based business is furthering its efforts to identify local, Um, talent.
The website is currently hosting a March Madness-like tournament to identify ASU’s best looker. Winners will be calculated based on web votes placed throughout a six-round tournament. Votes can be placed on second-round contenders like Jen-H, pictured above, through February 8 at www.tempe12.com.

Tempe12 covered in the State Press

The State Press
Thursday September 22, 2005

Bikini Calendar Washes over ASU
By: Tara Brite

With the new Tempe12 bikini calendar making its way across campus and around town, it could seem like swimsuit weather all year.
Ben Leis and Dave Freedman began Tempe12 promotions last year with the production of the first Tempe12 ASU bikini calendar.
“The ASU calendar is an age old idea,” Leis said. “But for once, we’ve developed it into a real promotional item for students.”
“This is the second year for the calendar, but the 2006 edition will be a little different,” Leis said.
He said this years 16-month calendar is free to ASU students and features advertisements and coupon from over 50 valley businesses, including Silver mine Subs, Dave’s Dog House, and Living Campus Tattoos.
Tempe12 model Rochelle Pfeifer, an undeclared sophomore, said Freedman e-mailed her last April and asked her to apply for the modeling job after they saw her profile on the online networking service, Facebook.com.
“I was very flattered,” Pfeifer said. “There are a lot of beautiful girls here at ASU and they asked me to apply.”
Leis said 1,000 women applied for the position.
“We had a couple of pool parties where girls were able to come,” he said. “It was kind of an open casting call.”
200 interviews later, the Tempe12 were chosen, he added.
Pfeifer said the interview process wasn’t what she had expected. She said they tried to get a sense of her personality.
“They kept telling us it’s not based on looks, but how you present yourself,” Pfeifer said. “It wasn’t just, ‘Oh you’re pretty so we will put you on there’.”
Leis said he wants the Tempe12 girls to be more than just models in a calendar.
“Ya they are beautiful,” he said. “But they’ve got the matching personality and brains. They’re all spokeswomen for this business.”
Leis, Freedman and the Tempe12 spokeswoman will hand out calendars to ASU students on campus, by the memorial union and at sponsored business this week.
Spanish sophomore Erin Shadle said she and her roommate received a Tempe12 calendar last week.
“We look through it for the coupons,” Shadle said. “Then we decided to hang it up next to our half naked men calendar.”

Tempe12 in the Stale Mess

The Stale Mess
Thursday December 7, 2006

Tempe12 and SunCity12: Match made in Hell

The hottest girls in Tempe have challenged any city to assemble their own 12 and duel until death.
After Tucson’s sexiest failed to give any substantial trouble to the group of 12 Tempe residents who pose for the annual Tempe12 calendar, the Phoenix metro area cowered in fear of the Tempe12’s sexiness.
Luckily, one city is proving courageous enough to tackle Tempe12’s all natural, wildly brilliant beauties.
Sun City Council held tryouts for the Sun City12 in the town’s bingo hall, with only two week’s preparation for the Dec. 8 competition.
“We didn’t want to discriminate between the town’s citizens,” Sun City Mayor Len McCormick said. “Instead, we decided to integrate a lottery system.”
After the highly coveted blackout bingo round officials took hold of the hall, much to the oblivion of the patrons.
“The next 12 bingo winners will become our cities representatives in a quest fir ultimate hotness,” McCormick said.
In anticipation if the future photo shoots, Mayor McCormick decided to have the patrons complete an “x” pattern to fill the 12 slots.
“BINGO!” yelled Gayle Wood yelled as she hopped from her seat as quickly as her 94-year-old body could go.
“I was so ready to win the one-on-one synchronized swimming lessons,” Wood said. “Instead, the mayor awarded me a spot on the Sun City12 – What is that again?”
One by one the royal 12 made their way to the front of the parlor to accept their mission and their gold plated plaques.
Edward Stitch, 89, completed the 12th “x” pattern of the afternoon. He was the only male currently in the bingo hall and Sun City officials were hoping Stitch’s luck had left him in his last soiled diaper.
“They tried to take away my prize because of my sex,” said Stitch and avid bingo player. “But I know what I am entitled to, and being a Sun City12er is one of my God given rights.”
The team quickly began practice, the first which included knitting themselves sultry one piece bathing suits.
“My last name may be Stitch, but hell if I know how to knit,” Stitch said. “I ain’t no wuss.”
With only one week until the battle, McCormick dipped into tax payers pot hole money to outfit the 12, with new hairpieces from the local store. “An Hair of Beauty.”
Tempe12 members prepared similarly for their upcoming showcase.
Communications junior Jenny O’Hara implemented a liquid only diet in addition to her fourth breast enhancement for the event.
“The doctor said my tatas wouldn’t be ready for their debut on Dec 8, but that is just a risk I have to take.” She said
“beating those old hags is my calling.”
Similarly dance sophomore Crissi Malcom decided going to her classes and finals might ruin her chances of being hot.
“It just isn’t worth it to me, you know, since sometimes tempe12 suffers because of my school work and, you know, I just couldn’t let that happen again,” Malcom said.
Neither of the 12’s have disclosed exactly what kind of duel will take place on the Barrett Honors College lawn on Dec 8., though anonymous rumors include topless posing on motorcycles and a bridge tournaments.
“We’re going to kick their wrinkly old asses.” Malcom said.

Tempe12 in A2Z

A2Z Magazine
Volume 1 Issue 6

Tempe12

College students had it so good. That phrase is most certainly true for undergrads at Arizona State University. To kick off the 2005 fall semester 20,000 copies of the 2005-2006 Tempe12’s swimsuit calendar will be given out free to these lucky collegians. The calendar features the 12 hottest female bodies at ASU, the athletic schedule, vacation dates and also included coupon pages in the back.
So who is making all this possible? The marketing company in charge is Tempe12. Started by two best friends from high school in Philadelphia, David Freedman and Ben Leis reunited after college in September 2004 and ran with the idea for an ASU swimsuit calendar.
“The Tempe12 calendars have become our most popular products,” says Ben Leis. Business is trying to expand their market to college students advertise in the calendar. “It is a great form of advertising because it offers an extended exposure period of 16 months unlike newspapers and magazines that last a day or two.” Says Leis. Companies such as DarqueTan, VIPSports.com and Dave’s Dog House are just a few of the over forty sponsors for this upcoming year.
“What makes our service great is that we offer our sponsors more than just advertising in the calendar, we do other forms of unique marketing for them as well,” says Freedman. One of those other forms is event marketing. Starting on September 1, the first day of each month, Tempe12, ACME Road House, and Bud Light will be working together to throw huge parties for students. The parties will be a time to cut loose, have fun, and try sponsors products or services.
The duo, however, is not just about parties and girls in tiny bathing suits, they have a sense of community and giving back. One of the main charities they work with is the Tempe Sister Cities, a foundation that specializes in sending much needed items over seas to third world countries.

Tempe12 in New Times

New Times
August 24-30, 2006
By: Casey Lynch

Babes in Boyland
Student bodies mingle a Myst

Poor Michael Crow. Despite trying everything to rid ASU of its party-school image short of offering an “Ugly Sober Celibate Kid” scholarship, the university remains one of the ragingest schools in the nation. But we’ll give the ol’ head honcho some credit as long as organizations like Tempe12 are around.
On Thursday, August 24, 2006 some of the most tent-popping pin up girls on campus will unveil their 2006-2007 calendar during the Tempe12 Uncover the Cover Girl Party at Myst, 7430 East Shoeman Lane in Scottsdale. The evening’s shenanigans will feature phat spinning by DJ Cobra, photo-ops with the girls, prizes including free calendars, and a chance to win an Xbox 360. The doors open at 9p.m. Admission is free. Call 480-970-5000 or visit www.studentbody calendars.com.

Tempe12 in Impulse

IMPULSE
February 2006
Vol. 14 No.2

The Tempe12 Monthly Delights and More…

You’ve probably heard of the Magnificent 7, but we guarantee that you’ll soon be even more familiar with the Tempe12, a truly magnificent group of women from here in the valley. Each year, the Tempe12 consists of twelve of the hottest, most stunning female ASU students, who can all be found on the annual Tempe12 Calendar. The girls also appear at a huge number of local events. The Tempe12 is a brainchild of David Freedman and Benjamin Leis, the marketing geniuses who have rounded up local and national advertisers to sponsor the project, including such heavy hitters as Bud Light, Skyy Vodka and VIPsports.com as well as Corleone’s Philly Steaks, Living Canvas Tattoo, Dave’s Dog House and Socko Energy Drink.

Right now, YOU can participate in the choosing of one of the girls for next year’s calendar. On the Tempe12’s website, Tempe12.com, you’ll find the Field of 64, sixty-four girls chosen from thousands of submissions that David and Ben have received. You can vote for your favorites each week in an elimination competition that will end with one winner who will receive, not only a spot on the calendar, but a Spring Break vacations and $2000 in cash and prizes. The remaining eleven girls that will appear in the next year’s calendar (will) be chosen in a variety of ways, including casing calls. There’s also a possibility that public competitions may be held at local clubs sometime in the future.

Speaking of the future, David and Ben will be expanding their calendars to other campuses next year including one for the University of Arizona in Tucson, and the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to all that, a DVD will be released sometime later this month. A release party is planned, and the location will be on the Tempe12 website, where you can preorder the DVD, and you can be certain that we’ll let you know here in the pages of Impulse.

Tempe12 in the State Press

12THE STATE PRESS
Thursday August 24, 2006
By: Matt Stone

ASU, UA to compare ‘student bodies’

New Tucson12 calendar will launch with 2007 Tempe12

ASU and UA could soon be fighting over more than football, with new swimsuit calendars that pit Tempe women against ladies from Tucson debuting this week.
StudentBody Calendars, the same minds who started Tempe12 in 2004, will release the Tucson12 and a new Tempe calendar this month.
“We don’t look at it as flirting with the enemy; we’re growing a business,” said David Freedman, co-owner of StudentBody.
The goal of Tempe12 was to create the nation’s sexiest college swimsuit calendar, according to studentbodycalendars.com the calendars; featuring 12 female students from either ASU or UA are free for students.
“[UA] had a great reputation as far as parties and girls,” Freedman said. “We wanted to put them to the test and see how they compared to us.”
Mixing the oil and vinegar of ASU and UA hasn’t created any hostility said Ben Leis, Freedman’s partner and co-owner of StudentBody.
“I definitely think there’s camaraderie,” Leis said. “It’s like good sportsmanship. I think both schools are excited.”
Samantha Kozuch, a Tucson12 model and UA pre-pharmacy sophomore said the calendars would give the universities a chance to compare assets.
“I’ve been looking at the Tempe12 website quite a few times lately and I honestly think the Tucson12 girls are way hotter,” Kozuch said.
Jamie Murdick, a Tempe12 model and ASU broadcast journalism senior, disagrees.
“I’ve always thought ASU has some of the most beautiful girls around,” Murdick said. “I think it’s going to carry over into the calendar.”
StudentBody has plans to formalize the debate between the two calendars, though many of the details are secret, Leis said.
“It will be a very large scale competition held at a major facility, such as the Sun Devils Stadium or the US Airways Center,” Freedman said, though he declined to give details or the date for the event.
But Murdick said StudentBody is planning a lingerie bowl, where the models would play a game of football in nothing more than lingerie.
“We have some super competitive girls on our team… so it should be fun,” she said.
There will be unveiling parties for both calendars, with Tempe12’s at Myst nightclub in Scottsdale on Aug. 24. Tucson’s will come on Aug. 26 at Sam Hughes Championship Dining in Tucson.
StudentBody is tightlipped about the calendars and said the models do not know what month they will represent.
“Last year we had (former ASU basketball player) Ike Diogu in the calendar, this year we have another great ASU athlete,” Freedman said, but declined to give the athlete’s name.
“We’ve definitely stepped up the quality of the pictures and added some new things to it.”
One new feature will be body painting, Freedman said.
StudnetBody will distribute 25,000 copies of the Tempe12 and 20,000 of the Tucson12 calendars on campus, Leis said.
The calendars have receive local and national attention, drawing interest from “The Howard Stern Show,” The Arizona Republic and others, Leis said.
Student of both universities and StudentBody are hotly anticipating the release of the calendars, he added.
“Everyone is extremely excited…” Leis said. “I’m telling you it’s going to be quite a rivalry.”

Tempe12 in College Times

The College Times features the Tempe12 before the kickoff party of the nation’s sexiest swimsuit calendar.  Myst, a Scottsdale hotspot, hosted the event that revealed Leah as the cover girl for the 2006-2007 edition.

Leah in Maxim

Ashley in Maxim

Tempe12 on Fox News Channel

Shepard Smith reports on the fastest growing college publication in the country.

Channel 3 gets a first look at the Tempe12 Calendar

Channel 3 with an exclusive look behind the scenes at the Tempe12 2007-08 photo shoot.

Tempe12’s Jen H. interviewed by Channel 3 News

Channel 3 got an exclusive interview with Miss Tempe12 Jen H, after she was interviewed by Howard Stern.

Tempe12 profiled on Fox News

ONLY ON FOX. What do you get when you combine a will to succeed, top notch marketing skills and a very desirable product? The Tempe 12 marketing group has found itself in the enviable position of having the attention of college students coast to coast. FOX 10’s Kari Lake shows us how they’re conducting a search for the sexiest college girl in the country.

Tempe12 on Fox 10 News

Click the video below to watch Fox 10’s recent story on Tempe12. 

ONLY ON FOX. It began as the brainchild of an ASU business student. He thought a calender featuring bikini-clad coeds would get the attention of college age men, and the advertisers who covet them. Now the Tempe-12 Calender is one of the biggest success stories in publishing. FOX 10’s John Hook takes us behind the scenes of the next years calender.