Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame boasts one of the most historic college football programs in the nation. Fighting Irish football thrives off of a sense of tradition and an unmatched passion for the game.
The University’s Athletic Department was looking for an agency to plan and execute a marketing campaign that would meet their existing fan base where they were in the digital and social arena and bring them to Notre Dame Stadium as well as attract new fans to this one-of-a-kind athletic experience.
MKR was up to the challenge and put together a multi-platform campaign to help Notre Dame exceed their single-game sales goals and boost their season ticket sales.
Mass Audience
To raise awareness and generate excitement for the 2019 season, MKR kicked off a multi-medium plan that included digital out-of-home billboards, cable TV, and radio campaigns. Messaging encouraged single-game and season ticket purchases and primed sports-centric audiences for future purchases.
The single-game ticket campaign began with a focus on when tickets went on sale and then transitioned to more game-specific marketing. Once the season started, MKR shifted messaging to give less popular games extra awareness.
We launched the season ticket campaign during the preseason with cable TV, radio and out-of-home in the biggest markets for Notre Dame Football ticket sales and blanketed all of the communities surrounding the campus.
Addressable Audience
We began to narrow our campaign’s focus with enhanced targeting using digital platforms to directly reach interested consumers, encouraging purchases by making sure the right ads got in front of the right eyes.
MKR also provided recommendations for innovative ways to encourage purchasing decisions including directly targeting those searching for tickets on Google and targeting specific viewership behaviors of Notre Dame’s YouTube videos.
On Facebook, we targeted customers who had made ticket purchases in the past, users with an interest in Notre Dame, and users who engaged with Notre Dame preseason hype videos.
Audience of One
RETARGETING
MKR also found success in retargeting several audiences who might have engaged with our initial single-game targeting efforts but never completed purchases.
Through retargeting, we reengaged with shoppers who added tickets to their online cart or initiated the checkout process but never completed the transaction. This easily allowed us to turn a lost purchase into a paying customer.
Audience’s Audience
ORGANIC REACH
These social campaigns allowed interested customers to share the ads or tag their friends and family who might not have been targeted or even interested in buying tickets. Our posts generated thousands of comments and shares and tens of thousands of reactions.
Results
26.7% increase in single-game tickets sold
10.5 ROAS* – Overall digital
15.2 ROAS – Facebook
15.0 ROAS – Google Search
*Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS): Revenue received for every advertising dollar spent. Example: 15 ROAS means $15 was made for every $1 spent on an ad source.
