B1G: Big Ten Conference

B1G: Big Ten Conference turns to longtime marketing partner to map out new member expansion

Screenshot from B1G map campaign
A screenshot from the 30-second PSA

Background

Founded in 1896, the Big Ten Conference is comprised of 14 world class academic institutions who share the common missions of research, education, and public service. They have a deep sports tradition supported by the largest alumni base in the nation.

Business challenge

When the Big Ten needed to officially add Rutgers University and University of Maryland to the conference, they turned to TeamWorks – their marketing partner of more than 10 years – to help “edu-tain” their audience.

Due to the 2014 college football season broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and BTN, we recognized the Big Ten had a unique opportunity to engage sports fans in the comfort of their own homes – provided the creative was engaging and brief – “brief” translating to under 30 seconds. We accepted the challenge.

Strategy

The Big Ten’s estimated football TV-viewing audience was certain to be in excess of tens of millions of fans so TeamWorks’ creative approach centered on a 30-second PSA.

Knowing the timeframe was limited to 30-seconds and that we had one macro narrative to explain (the B1G expansion to 14 schools), we intentionally produced the spot for fans to pause, rewind and even recreate in the digital space.

Specific tactics included:

  • Creative that included a first person perspective of flying across the country to show the breadth of the B1G world
  • Teaming up with Vitamin Pictures to create a wall-to-wall animation – the only way to truly incorporate the details and nuances of each campus in 30 seconds
  • Seeding the spot in social media communities to authentically engage fans and ensure they could view it on their terms in their space
  • A public relations push to reinforce awareness of the spot, including digital outreach that pushed the spot to a larger audience

Impact

  • With Ohio State competing in the College Football Playoff National Championship game on ESPN, B1G Map was debuted to nearly 33.4 million college football fans on television and viewed over 300,000 times on social media
  • The B1G Map campaign received universal praise from traditional media and, more importantly, college sports fans
  • Fans created their own versions of the spot, with one version set to the Game of Thrones theme registering more than 250,000 views on YouTube and creating news coverage from many of the outlets we had pitched, creating a second news wave for the spot

The Big Ten’s history with TeamWorks

More than a decade ago, the conference turned to us to reestablish brand guardrails and help implement an internal marketing department expansion. Since then, we’ve partnered with the Big Ten to produce more than 20 national campaigns that have garnered more than a half-dozen national awards.