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There are times in the licensing world when all the stars
have aligned. Your teams are winning, upsets are
national news, your goal posts are torn down and
carried to the Chancellor’s house, and your campus is
electric … all just seems right in the world. And then,
reality sets in. The economy takes a free fall, national
championships stop growing from trees, the goal posts
remain on the football field and campus just doesn’t
have that same electric atmosphere it used to. How do
you continue to operate at a high level to promote,
unite and generate revenue?
the athletics marketing side, we created excitement for all of our
athletics teams, and through imagery and a commemorative logo, we
told the story of why Mountaineers are still relevant and exciting to
support. From the university side, the electricity returned to campus
and students, departments and academic units had a new slogan to
use and embrace.
Samantha Stevens
Over the last three years, Appalachian State has
embarked on a three-phase strategic plan in order to
bring that spark back to campus and generate new revenue. First, we
developed an all-encompassing marketing and retail campaign called
“No Equal,” which celebrated the feeling alumni, students and fans
experienced in recent years with our overwhelming athletics success.
Simply put, we needed to keep everyone on our bandwagon. Second,
we used a vintage program to let the fans remember and celebrate our
historic past. Third, we realized “No Equal” and the vintage logo had a
temporary appeal; therefore, the next phase is the development of a new
branding strategy that will debut in the fall of 2014.
At Appalachian State, we have a very smooth and efficient creative
development pipeline. We have created a solid relationship between
athletics and the licensing office by positioning the licensing manager
directly within the athletics department. One of the roles of a licensing
director is to keep people energized and engaged in the university,
which means finding ways to keep your brand fresh on the retail side
and throughout the region. An athletics marketing director has a very
similar role: keep fans energized and engaged in the university and find
ways to keep the brand fresh to sell more tickets, sponsorships and
booster club donations.
The “No Equal” campaign was created to focus on the success of our
athletics teams, growth of the university and academic rise in the
quality of students at Appalachian. From the licensing side, we could
charge a higher royalty rate and boost revenue, while creating some
new excitement in retail, which we were seeking to maximize. From
As “No Equal” began winding down we had looked at ways to continue
to carry the momentum we built through the all-encompassing
campaign. The most logical next step for our University was to create
excitement around “something” the entire campus could support. This
new “something” was bringing back a vintage logo and creating a
vintage branding campaign. Athletics adopted the use of the logo
through a football throwback uniform and other teams are incorporating
it on team apparel. Meanwhile, the licensing department created a
vintage style guide, marketing collateral and encouraged select licensees
to get on board to, ultimately, move product into stores. The result was
a new campaign that will continue for two years and command an even
higher royalty than “No Equal.” Ultimately, this program boosted
royalties, and once again has delivered a new excitement throughout
campus and our stakeholders.
Now that “No Equal” is ending this spring and the vintage campaign will
end in the spring of 2014, the next great thing that will energize and
engage Appalachian State is currently in development. Collaboration
between three divisions is the key to creating another successful
campaign. First, the licensing department must communicate with their
licensing agent, licensees and retailers in order to phase out the old and
bring in the new. Second, athletics marketing will lead the charge by
getting ticketing, donor club, sports information and other departments
within athletics on the same page. These areas will all need to embrace
the use of new themes and imagery. Finally, finding key liaisons within
the university marketing and communications office and alumni office
will further ensure acceptance and success with the new program. It is
a trite statement, but the more that all parties can work successfully
together, the more revenue, excitement and energy will be infused
everywhere even when the big trophy is just out of reach.
Samantha Stevens is the assistant AD for marketing & licensing at
Appalachian State and is a 2012-13 ICLA Conference Representative.
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