Integrated Marketing Campaign
Project Overview
Cal State Fullerton Titans Athletics
A small case study on the creative design that won our team the marketing bid for the Titans Athletics Department of CSUF.
CSUF is an affordable and respected state university with regional brand recognition and notable athletics program. Its constituents are primarily commuter students where a lot of CSUF faculty and staff, as well as students, live outside of Fullerton, CA. The problem resides with the CSUF Athletics programs going unrecognized and there for unattended.
My team was tasked to create a multifold awareness initiative and promotional campaign to include: audience assessment, identity review, competitor evaluation, web audit, and promotional recommendations along with a media plan.
We aimed to solve this problem through a full integrated marketing campaign that tackled these retention issues and creative more awareness to the brand.
DISCLAIMER: This campaign was a team effort. All graphic design work represented here were created by Alex R. and representative of the BNN creative process.
Creative Initial Steps
Brand Identity Building with Mood Boards
A great way to understand your competitors is understanding what is representative of their own brand and to envision how they create retention with their fans and supporters.
Mood boards are a great way to visualize what these brands bring to the table and how to best tackle the campaign moving forward.
Competitive Perception Map
Creating a perceptual map further enables the team to see how other brands and services compete for the attention of students and faculty. Upon analysis the major points of contestation were convenience and enjoyment level.
Media such as Instagram or Facebook became direct competitors of the brand (as well as a marketing medium) due to the easy convenient nature of accessing and the preventative opportunity-cost of using such media over attending CSUF athletic events.
Even things such as exams or watching TV competes for the valuable resource of time. Students and faculty are busy and knowing what things can consume their attention was important.
Post Research / Creative Brief Analysis
The Campaign
After the initial research phase the creative process began. Featured below are some of my artwork as a creative designer on the team. Additionally for posterity I’ve also included some of the team’s other ideas and concepts of which I contributed too.
Physical Media
Flyer Showcase
- Call to Action
- Vibrant Colors for Visual Impact
- Coupons for Food, Merchandise, or Discounts
Calendar Card Handout Showcase
A redesigned calendar card that featured our new lockup. We wanted to have a larger feature image of the athletes where the team or sport featured would represent the schedule that would appear on the reverse side. The original schedule design on the back of the card remained the same.
- Social Media Representation
- Easy to Deploy Around Campus
- Increase Exposure Small Footprint
- Can Be Used as a Coupon
Elevator Wrap Showcase
CSUF’s campus has many elevators to accommodate student vertical traffic. Due to their heavy use promoting Titans Athletics through elevator wraps on the ground floor of buildings or parking structures would generate plenty of impressions.
"Together we are promoting Titans Athletics by establishing an effective and efficient vehicle of ideas for increased attendance."
Digital Media
Facebook Mockup
- Featured Section for Teams
- Schedule Section
- Clean Focused Design
YouTube Showcase
We aimed for a complete rebranding of the YouTube channel cover page. A new aethestically pleasing graphic to provide users on all platforms with a clean interface and works well with our overall campaign strategy. Similar design concept to the Facebook Showcase.
- Featured Images Section
- Other Social Media Icon Hub
- Multi-Device Response Graphics
Sample Web Banner Advertisement
Digital banners were created to be served across CSUF branded digital media and external websites that Titans Athletics could advertise on. It simply featured next game date data and would link towards a microsite for purchasing tickets for that specific game.
E-Letter Showcase
Titans Athletics needed an e-newsletter. A once a month resource for students, teachers, and external subscribers on everything recent and trending with our athletics department. The idea was to initially require subscription via class registration where a student can opt-out. It would provide our initial boost to brand awareness towards new students.
The newsletter would include a feature article of the month at the beginning and a list of upcoming games with short descriptions. It would show the accomplishments of the department and would solve awareness and attendance.
The rest of the newsletter features an embedded video from our YouTube channel that users can watch directly on their phone. It would open in the relevant app on mobile or in a separate window on a computer. These outbound links would provide exposure to our other digital platforms and is in line with a “one-stop resource” for our audience.
Additionally the news and features section would include two feature articles about the department but could also be used for health tips, exercise tips, or any sports related news that are trending. These tips could even originate from within the department and would serve as a personal connection to the audience due to the healthy and active nature of our target demographic. Having additional reading material that relates to the brand would help pique interested into what Titans Athletics thinks about these issues.
An Executive Summary
Titans Athletics is a body of athletes and students that posses the tools and potential in bringing people together, strong opportunities to unit thousands of individuals into a prideful sea of blue and orange. The problem is that no one realizes what it could be. What we need is an effective advertising plan to bring this opportunity to the masses.
Through promotional activities and an athletic spectacle unlike any other, we will drive our audience to athletic events both online and on the field to express their Titan pride and emotion towards the brand. This would be implemented through effective advertising, viral campaigning, and an efficient media offering to increase event attendance, promotion, and build affinity with our audience.
Why it Works
Our campaign will be effective because have identified and addressed the challenges that Titans Athletics faces.
Our “Tear It Up” concept revitalizes the Titans Athletics brand and will resonate with students because it utilizes their vernacular. We address the awareness issue with our e-newsletter and newsstand schedule card. We have developed unique graphic designs alongside great promotions that will create buzz and have the potential to go viral and we have chosen media outlets that will optimize the budget and reach our student body on a wide scale
CLIENT:
CSUF Titans Athletics
DATE:
Fall 2015
CATEGORY:
Integrated Marketing Campaign