A few weeks ago we launched an ambitious campaign on behalf of Seminole Boosters and FSU Athletics to jump start their season ticket renewals and booster pledges for 2010. The campaign kicked-off on national signing day with an email blast to more than 60,000 people, a personalized website, and a personalized video with messages from both Christian Ponder and Jimbo Fisher. This is just the first touch in an integrated, full on blitz that we have planned with FSU in the coming months. I will post more updates as other parts of the campaign roll out.

“A part of” vs. ” A target of”
You know that one of the most valuable assets you have is your relationship with your fans and supporters. But sometimes its hard to communicate to your fans that you feel this way about them.

One way you can let them know is by getting personal. It’s no longer as simple as greeting them by name in an email or a mail piece. You have to also acknowledge their past involvement and really let them know they are part of the family. This lets them feel like they are a “part of” rather than a “target of”.

Communicating in this manner is of utmost importance to FSU’s strategy this year, and we’re going to great lengths with them to get it done effectively.

Personalized Email - 1 of 16 different versions

16 Unique Communication Versions
Maybe the most interesting part of this campaign is the data driving it. When we looked at FSU’s data, we determined that there were 16 different dispositions that people could be classified as:

Tickets: Renewal, Reacquire, Reconnect and Thank You’s (those who already took action) and

Booster: Renewal, Reacquire, Reconnect and Thank You’s (those who already took action)

(4 x 4 = 16 unique combinations)

This essentially meant that we had 16 different versions of email text and website copy, depending on which bucket the recipient fell into based on their past ticket purchase and booster membership. This was all able to happen on the fly as people received their email and visited their personalized webpage.

Personalized Webpage and Video - Click image to see actual site

Laser Targeting and Cost Effectiveness
FSU did not limit their audience to ticket renewals or booster renewals. In order to hit their goals for this year they determined they would need to place an emphasis on reconnecting with past supporters and fans and reacquiring those who either let their tickets or booster membership lapse.

Not only is FSU reaching out to a larger audience while becoming even more targeted in their messaging, but their campaign is getting more cost effective with each additional record as the unit price drops when the volumes get higher. This will be especially key when we get into the direct mail portions of the campaign.

Reporting
We are able to report back to FSU the response rates of all 16 groups. It was interesting for us and for FSU to see which groups performed the best. There were a few surprises for sure.

The Power of the Database
Once sufficient time has passed after the signing day email, FSU will pass data back to us on who renewed or bought tickets, who renewed their booster pledge and at what level, and who took no action at all. This information goes into our database and will drive the content of the next communication, which will be a direct mail renewal package, later this month. Again, the content of the mail piece, just like the email and personalized website, will be different for each recipient based on which bucket they are in and what actions they have taken thus far.

Systematic Campaign Plan
This level of coordination and personalization may sound overwhelming and complicated. It is not easy, but it is essential if you want to reach your goals today. There is a solid plan in place that anyone can follow with the right amount of help. See a sample communication plan that anyone could use below:

Click to enlarge

If you’d like to learn more about how we could apply this system to what you’re doing this spring, I’d love to talk to you. Even if the wheels are already in motion for your 2010 renewal campaign efforts, it is never too late to incorporate some of these strategies to better your results.

You can get in touch with me here or just give me a call at 386-271-3082.