North by Northwestern

“Chicago hates purple! Chicago hates purple!” chanted Illini basketball fans as Northwestern battled the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., this season. Northwestern went home with the victory, but not before Illinois painted a target on Northwestern’s title of “Chicago’s Big Ten Team.“

In its second year, Northwestern’s marketing campaign is a brave new step for the university. It’s granting more funds and freedom to the athletic department in an attempt to boost the school’s athletic performance to the same level as its academics.

“The university, driven by the administration, made a decision to go ahead and start doing business differently in terms of how we were approaching our athletic department,” says Ryan Chenault, the assistant athletic director for marketing.

Beginning in the summer of 2010, the athletic department allotted money for a marketing campaign. It hired a sales team to sell the Northwestern brand and to increase ticket sales year-round.

The “Chicago’s Big Ten Team” brand was born from this new initiative. “We said, ‘Let’s not try to recreate the brand,’” Mike Polisky says, the senior associate athletic director for external affairs. “Let’s just make sure we communicate to every- body in the Chicagoland area that we’re here right in their backyard and we have a fantastic athletic institution.”

The marketing initiative has featured innovative advertising such as “Dallas’ Big Ten Team” billboards for the TicketCity Bowl and the #PersaStrong campaign for the Heisman Trophy race. “We didn’t do advertising that just was part of the clutter,” Polisky says.

The marketing push extends to the entire gameday experience, with the athletic department now funding both the marching band and the WildPride Spirit Squad. Last football season featured new uniforms and a revitalized pregame show as the band became an integral part of marketing.

“The Bears don’t have a marching band. The Cubs don’t have cheerleaders, same with the Sox. Those things scream college and what people really want to see,” Chenault says. “We try to use those pieces to our advantage whenever possible.”

The campaign’s start corresponded with the creation of Wildside in 2010. 

“We want to make sure that everything the Wildside does is on par with what the athletic department is looking for, and the athletic department also helps us out by providing a lot of cool promotions and stuff we can’t do without them,” says Alex Wilcox, president of Wildside.

In the stands, Ryan Field was second in the nation in stadium attendance increase for teams who didn’t change home venues from 2009 to 2010. The 2012 basketball campaign featured an attendance increase of more than 12 percent from 2011. Welsh-Ryan Arena sold out five times during the season. On occasion, students were even turned away because the stadium was so full.

“To be able to have the university make the commitment and see the value in marketing our program has helped in the game day experience,” says Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald. “It obviously helps in a home field advantage and we’re just getting started there.”

On the field, Northwestern boasted a potential Heisman candidate in Dan Persa, and the team earned its fourth consecutive bowl appearance. On the court, John Shurna broke the school’s all-time scoring record, and the team found itself excruciatingly close to its first March Madness.

The marketing campaign also has the potential to create long-term effects for coaches.

“You just see the better attendance at games, number one, and that’s huge from a recruiting standpoint,” Fitzgerald says.

The athletic department doesn’t plan to take its foot off the gas under the leadership of Athletic Director Jim Phillips.

“[Phillips] is about as hard-charging of a guy as you’re ever going to deal with, and he’s inspirational and never satisfied and as creative as anyone I’ve ever worked with before, so we’re definitely not just going to sit around here,” Polisky says.

But the marketing may not be making as much of an impact as the university hopes. The average attendance at football games decreased by 3,007 people this year.

However, attendance at basketball games has been increasing since 2007, well before Northwestern became “Chicago’s Big Ten Team,” bringing into question whether these results have come from advertising.

Northwestern may need more than just a marketing campaign to take athletics to the next level. New and improved athletic facilities are a necessity, but funds might not be made available for such a large endeavor.

Regardless, other schools acknowledge Northwestern’s recent success. After the Illini came from behind to beat Northwestern in football in the fall, the melodies of “Sweet Home Chicago” filled Memorial Stadium as fans mocked North- western’s recent anthem.

“The fact the fans have certainly taken notice, at the end of the day, it’s a tip of the hat to the Northwestern marketing staff that they have something the people have paid attention to,” says Kent Brown, assistant athletics director at Illinois. “Those reactions are part of rivalries.”