For ASU football fans, seeing their name in the end zone of Frank Kush Field and getting a phone call from Coach Dennis Erickson is just a click away.
Those are two of the many interactive elements implemented into a new football viral marketing video on the ASU athletic Web site that has kicked off the “You Are ASU” campaign, which encourages fans to purchase season tickets.
“It’s a real step up from the things that we’ve done in previous years, just [in] the way it kind of personalizes the fan into the experience,” senior linebacker Mike Nixon said. “Coming off of last season and given the economy, you’ve got to kind of find new ways to reach the fans. From everybody that I know that’s seen it, they’ve loved it, and hopefully it gets people out to our games.”
ASU Director of Marketing Becky Parke said her team got the idea for the interactive video after seeing similar ones done by Gonzaga and the Atlanta Falcons. She said that it is an example of the creative marketing campaigns that are now necessary in today’s society.
“As people become more marketing savvy, they’re able to ignore some of the things that are traditional,” she said. “You’re used to seeing a billboard when you drive down the highway and you just kind of start to tune it out. We’re trying to develop more unique ways to capture people’s attention and get their information and be able to have them identify with something.”
After viewers fill out their full name, phone number and e-mail address on the Web site, the video begins and takes them to practice, where Nixon hands over an envelope with the viewer’s name on it.
It is a note from Erickson requesting to see the viewer in his office.
Viewers are then taken to the Carson Student-Athlete Center, where they are met by Sparky and then get to share an elevator ride with players.
The next stop is Erickson’s office, where he greets the viewer and stresses how important a home field advantage is at football games. He then points outside his window overlooking Frank Kush Field, where the viewer’s name is painted in the end zone.
After leaving the office, the viewer gets a prerecorded phone call from Erickson thanking them for coming by and telling them how they can purchase season tickets.
In addition to giving fans an inside look at the ASU football program, the video also allowed players and Erickson to be actively involved with the creation of some of the team’s marketing strategy. Nixon said he enjoyed the chance work on the project, but he doesn’t see acting as a realistic backup career choice if football doesn’t work out.
“Hopefully I’m a much better football player than I am an actor,” he said. “My one line I had took about 10 or 15 takes. Everybody out there had fun with it. They kept it pretty simple for us, so we just went out [and] did our part, and the response has been good.”
And Parke said that having the coaches and players themselves encouraging fans, by name, to come to games makes them feel like they really are a vital part of the ASU football team and community.
“You seeing your name in it, it’s like ‘Oh wow, they really want me to be there and I’m part of this,’ as opposed to just seeing a regular commercial,” Parke said. “We continue to do those [traditional] things, but it’s always good to try and catch something new and unique.”
Parke said that the video has been watched by about 11,000 unique viewers in less than two months and that it is a sign of things to come in the world ASU marketing.
The department is planning on creating future viral videos for the basketball team and the Sun Devil Club.
The ASU football team opens its season against Idaho State on Sept. 5.
Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu
