OBJECTIVE
Create national advertising campaigns that would help LSU increase applications. I worked at LSU during a fraught time in the university's history. As a public university LSU relied heavily on state funding, and during my tenure there the state was slashing its higher ed budget. That put more pressure on the university to increase its enrollment - if the university didn't grow, entire academic programs would be cut and some of the world's leading researchers would likely head to rival institutions. There was just one problem: application numbers had actually decreased in two of the four years before I was hired, so the university did not have momentum in its favor.

PROCESS
I started by conducting focus group tests and peer evaluations to learn as much as I could about LSU's target audience and competitors. I learned high school students did not think LSU was welcoming of people from diverse backgrounds, and they did not think an LSU degree would help them succeed professionally. I also learned that many other universities - regardless of their size - were promising "big city opportunities in a small town setting."

So, I created a pair of campaigns to directly address students' concerns, while also avoiding the "big city opportunities..." language in order to help differentiate us from our competitors. The campaigns were bolder than typical university recruitment campaigns, and instead of generic b-roll of students raising their hands in a packed auditorium or working in a science lab, I focused on a diverse array of students outside the classroom and alumni who were excelling in their chosen fields. Each aspect was also tailored for its specific medium; for example the television commercials - which aired on ESPN and CBS during LSU sporting events - were designed so that the message would be conveyed clearly even if they weren't audible, perfect for a noisy sports bar or living room.

OUTCOME
The results were immediate. The first year of the campaign saw applications rise by 14.4% - a record increase in a single year. Two years later, the follow-up saw LSU attract a record total number of applicants.

Two records broken - and all because I simply listened to the target audience and created a campaign tailored towards them.

OBJECTIVE
As the marketing director for two expansion pro sports teams in 2022 - USL League One soccer team Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC and Pioneer League baseball team Northern Colorado Owlz - I had to build two fan bases simultaneously. To up the degree of difficulty, the teams' stadium wasn't ready in time for the season, so each team had to play its "home" games in multiple stadiums in multiple towns. To complicate matters further, the teams' owner was skeptical about the effectiveness of paid advertising. I not only had to build two fan bases at once; I also had to convince the owner that marketing was an investment and not an expense.

PROCESS
I began building the fan bases organically: I scheduled appearances for the coaches and players, planned fan events, tabled at major area events and gave away swag, made organic posts on social media at high traffic times, and sent regular marketing emails. When the soccer team began play during its inaugural preseason I created a social media competition where fans could enter to win a player-worn jersey in exchange for attending multiple matches.

By the middle of the season both teams were last in their league in attendance, which was expected. Word of mouth could only achieve so much, and only one area media outlet had sufficient staffing to cover us on a regular basis. The owner green-lit my paid digital proposal, and for the ensuing campaign I:

• Assigned key colors for each team to visually differentiate the ads (they shared the same color scheme: I focused on blue for the soccer team and white for the baseball team)
• Included the location in each ad to help the fans, since the teams had moved around so frequently
• Included promotional giveaway items when applicable
• Included player imagery to further introduce the players to the public
• Created separate personas for each team's fan base to make the ads more targeted and effective

OUTCOME
The entire campaign had a return on investment of 8:1, and led to a 68% increase in ticket sales. The soccer team was the biggest beneficiary: despite playing in its third stadium of the season - a high school football field 30 minutes from the team's "home town" and just as far from the nearest major metropolitan area - attendance doubled during the second half of the season.