Challenge: Increase Ticket Sales for Women's Basketball
Drake's Women's Basketball squad had a great 2001-2002 season, but fan support has been sporadic. One of many goals for Drake's athletic department is to increase ticket sales for the program. Drake already had a mailing list of boosters when it began working with MarketVolt, but Drake had no idea which people on the list were interested in Women's hoops. If Drake sent promotions for women's hoops to everyone on the list, those not interested in the program might take their names off the list. How could Drake reach the women's hoops fans, without driving away those with no interest in the program?

Solution: First Identify, Then Target Women's Hoops Fans
Step 1: Identify the Fans: Prior to the 2002-03 winter season, Drake created and delivered a pre-season newsletter to everyone on the list. The newsletter included items about several sports, including women's basketball, with links to the schedule/ticket pages for that sport on the university's web site. The email also included a MarketVolt survey that asked respondents to indicate which sports interest them. Anyone who either clicked the link for the women's basketball web site or checked the box for women's hoops in the survey was automatically categorized by MarketVolt as a "Women's Basketball Fan."
Step 2: Hitting the Bulls Eye: Two weeks after sending the pre-season newsletter, Drake began creating and delivering news updates and promotions for women's baskeball, delivered only to those categorized as a "Women's Basketball Fan."

Results: A Growing, Loyal Fan Base and Increased Ticket Sales
The response to the emails was terrific. Approximately 60 percent of the recipients opened each of the weekly emails, a response rate far better than Drake would have realized with more expensive direct mail campaigns. Drake established a stronger bond with women's hoops fans, and increased ticket sales for the sport.