Message from the AD Contributing Series - Seth McFall

Zips Nation,

As we head into the second half of our winter sports season and begin warming up for the spring slate, we thought it would be interesting for our fans to get some deep dive insights from vital areas across the athletic department. In the months ahead we'll be taking a page out of NFL writer extraordinaire Peter King's book and feature a series of guest columns highlighting happenings in key leadership areas including Marketing and Communications (January 2024), Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) and Transfer Portal (February 2024), March Madness and Spring Football Update (March 2024), Fundraising and Day of Giving (April 2024), Capital Projects and Completed Facility Projects (May 2024) and we'll round out with Budget and Financial Operations (June 2024). If you have specific questions about any of these critical functions feel free to send them our way via email or X direct message and I'll pass them along as our team prepares their updates for the Zips community. I'm excited to kick off the series with an update on our marketing and communications efforts.
AD Guthrie

Guest Message from the AD featuring Seth McFall, Associate Athletic Director, Marketing

Hello Zips Fans! Seth McFall, Associate Athletic Director for Marketing, excited to bring you an update on our external messaging staff and our plans looking ahead to the summer and the 2024-25 academic year.

Since joining the Zips in June of 2023, I oversee our marketing & promotions, media relations, broadcast, branding & licensing, social media, and external advertising. Back over the summer and through the fall season, you may have noticed our branding placements on digital billboards, metro bus wraps, social media ad buys and web based digital placements. All of these were done strategically to reintroduce Akron Athletics back into the marketplace and to assist in creating top-of-mind awareness for our fans and prospective patrons.

In coordination with our ticket office, our fall sport ad campaign was launched with the intent to create awareness of our home events, while executing engaging content that would entice the user to interact with our materials. Our coordinated attack with group sales and digital ads, Akron Athletics saw increases in all three of our Fall Olympic sports. Men's Soccer saw a 69% increase in group sales, as well as a 47% increase in game attendance. Women's Soccer had an increase of 63% in game attendance, while Volleyball saw a 20% increase in the same category. Our winter sports are trending in the same direction, with Men's Basketball currently at a 25% increase in attendance compared to this point in the 2022-23 campaign.

Our marketing and media relations team have been working hard at enhancing our social presence. Social channels have seen an increase in followers and engagement since the summer as well. Our
Instagram reach has increased by 123% and page visits are up 15%. Our Facebook channel has also witnessed an increase in reach by 54% and page visits are up over 192%!

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This past July we launched the official Akron Zips Athletics App, in partnership with Snap!Mobile. Our new app is the one stop location for all things Zips Athletics. Fans can enjoy real time stats, access rosters, game information, and our app is fully integrated with Paciolan for a seamless ticket experience. Since the summer, we have seen steady growth with the amount of users in the app, which us currently over 2,500!

Enhancing our game atmosphere at home events has been a priority for the athletic department this year. We placed an emphasis going into the fall sport season on the importance of music, clean graphics, and dynamic video. As we look to increase the fan engagement at home competition, our in-game promotions have been targeted for the next phase of improvements. As we work with Learfield on the sponsorship side, areas of game play and contests at media timeouts that have value for a partner continue to be assessed and included in pitches for agreements.

Our athletics brand continues to be top of mind, while implementing and enforcing our new brand standards. We continue to work with our campus bookstore, as well as external suppliers, on properly branding apparel that our fans would also want to wear. I look forward to the launch of new licensed products hitting retail this summer.

You may have come across our newly launched Zips Hoppin' Blonde Ale, in conjunction with Hoppin' Frog Brewery. We are excited to partner with a great local company that has an affinity towards both the University and the city of Akron. Fans can enjoy a 'Taste of Gameday' at our home events, while also being able to purchase on location at Hoppin' Frog.

Fans can continue to support Akron Athletics in a variety of ways. Purchasing season tickets, attending a home event, following us on social platforms, interacting with our content, and downloading the Akron Zips Athletics App are all ways to assist the Zips.

I want to thank you all for your commitment towards Akron Athletics and we look forward to seeing you on campus this spring and at community events throughout the summer!

GO ZIPS!

The University of Akron Athletics

Message from the AD Contributing Series - Seth McFall

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