Year
2023
Client
Arizona State
Category
Grassroots Campaign
Product Duration
1 - 2 Months
Problem
While Arizona State Women's Tennis team had consistently secured a top 25 ranking every year and had one of the longest active NCAA Tournament appearance streaks in the country, they failed to turn out crowds of more than 50 people to home matches. Most of the time while great tennis was going on the court, the stands were near empty.
Solutions
A grassroots campaign could help drum up support for ASU Women's Tennis by driving engagement in the community, and turning fans into evangelists for the tennis program.
Scope
The grassroots campaign would stretch across multiple channels, but the backbone of the campaign would be the SuperFan Competition, Crowd the Courts Promotion, and social media graphics.
The SuperFan Competition was constructed as a way to bring out additional fans to Sun Devil Women's Tennis home matches by giving returning fans an incentive to attend. Fans who participated in the contest were competed for a chance at a $1,000+ value grand prize (fundraised entirely by partnering with local organizations), which would go to the fan with the most punches on their card at the end of the season.
In order to promote the competition, a marketing campaign was created that used social media, email blasts, phone calls, and physical advertisements to get the word out around the greater Phoenix tennis community. Paired with other promotions for individual matches, the SuperFan Competition shattered attendance records within the 2022-23 season, bringing out over 250 fans to the courts multiple times.
After successfully securing donations from major music festivals in the Phoenix area, the "Crowd the Courts" promotion was created targeting specific groups/clubs of Arizona State students to come out for big matches. To get the word out, a social campaign was circulated on prominent platforms, shared by student leaders, and physical flyers were posted in key student centers on campus. The promotion brought fraternities and sororities out in droves, creating a raucous atmosphere for important matches against Arkansas and Oklahoma State.
Supplementary to the other campaigns, a coordinated graphics push on the Arizona State Women's Tennis instagram page was used to further educate local tennis fans on the elite level of the program, and the tennis on display.
1. Over 20 new graphics designed for pinned posts and story highlights
2. Total overhaul of Instagram story highlights
3. Targeted posts to community leaders and fans
The Social Media Campaign drove higher engagement amongst Phoenix-area tennis fans, informed them of the great tennis that was happening in their backyard, and created a sense of community between the team and supporters. The "tennis in paradise" graphic is became most-liked post in the history of the team's Instagram account.
