#WingsForTheWin

A social media campaign designed for the Maryland Mens Lacrosse team in partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings for

the 2015 season

By: Briana MurphyCOMM386

During the first week of my internship at Maryland Sports Marketing I was assigned

the task of designing an innovative campaign in partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings. They

wanted our team to create a promotion that would give away two free tickets to a mens

lacrosse home game per week, while engaging our audience in a fun, creative way.

I began by jotting down some of my ideas for the campaign that I would later pass along to my boss Jordan for review. They are as follows:

Approximately two weeks after my brainstorm, Jordan decided to turn my work into a real-life campaign. The first

images were posted on February 26, 2015 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Design Credit: Jordan Looby

Design Credit: Jordan Looby

Design Credit: Jordan Looby

The postings ran weekly on each social media site from February 26 to April 6, 2015, one day before each Maryland Mens Lacrosse game. The following graphs indicate the increases and decreases in audience responses over this timespan.

My analysis yielded interesting results. The responses on Instagam increased steadily throughout the campaign, while those on Facebook and Twitter fluctuated. However, each week we managed to get a

number of fans who participated in the contest. Here were a few of the submissions:

*These photos were submitted publicly on Twitter, while all other submissions were

sent directly to the Maryland Mens Lacrosse Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. For this, the privacy of all other participants

will be upheld*

We received submissions from people from varying demographic backgrounds, showing that the implementation across a number of social networking sites was a vital element in the success of this campaign. The snapshots below are results of a

study conducted by Pew Research Center, called Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms.

This study corresponded with the results of our social media campaign:

The majority of participants on Facebook were white, college-aged women (ages 18-22)

The majority of participants on Twitter were white men (examples on previous page)

The majority of participants on Instagram were college-aged women (ages 18-22)

Throughout this process I have learned that, in order to develop a successful social media campaign you need to find a way to get the audience engaged on a personal level. In this day and age promotions cannot be one-sided, as followers need to feel as though they are involved in the process. The reason the #WingsForTheWin campaign was so successful was because it captured the audience in an entertaining way. By making it a weekly event, fans knew what to expect and could prepare for the week ahead, making them excited about the contest as well as the upcoming game. It also attracted fans of different ages and sexes, which greatly contributed to its success. By designing a campaign that is fun for kids, parents and college students, you are likely to receive a lot of positive attention and feedback.

Past attempts at a Buffalo Wild Wings campaign have failed because they were executed in-venue. I feel that social media was the best outlet for this campaign, as it increased attention to the sporting event before it actually occurred. If people were not already planning on going to the mens lacrosse game, this contest likely increased their willingness to attend. I am extremely proud of the work that I put into this campaign, and feel it will make an excellent addition to my portfolio. This will show future employers that I am able to create and execute a campaign over an entire sports season that maintains participation across the board. I am eager to see if the #WingsForTheWin campaigne will be re-implemented next season, and, if so, I am excited to see how it progresses.

#WingsForTheWin

Works Cited

Duggan, Maeve. Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms. Internet, Science & Tech. Pew Research Center, 9 Jan. 2015. Web. 15 May 2015.