2014 may be the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac, but to Arizona football, it is the year of the fan.
UA football’s latest marketing campaign is fan-centric, with the slogan “Be The One: 11 1.” The UA also launched an initiative to get more fan feedback.
“It’s a little bit of a play on the whole ‘12th Man’ deal,” said Ben Chulick, assistant athletic director for marketing. “We came up with Arizona football being 11 plus one and from that we came up with ‘be the one.’”
The poster features Arizona football players poised to run onto the field with fans cheering in the background. Last year it featured players, and in 2012, football head coach Rich Rodriguez was the dominant photo.
“The one represents the unified, hopefully full, packed Arizona Stadium rocking with fans,” Chulick said. “The fan base is our one, so we’re trying to reach out to people to try to make them understand that they’re a big part of the equation and we want them to be the one.”
The intro video for football games will feature players putting on their pads in preparation for a game, as well as fans getting ready for a game.
This season, the UA will likely have less ads and more of a social media and YouTube presence, Chulick said.
The campaign will also be featured in traditional advertising venues, like billboards, TV and radio commercials and print ads.
The student section aspect of the “Be The One” campaign will show the type of impact the ZonaZoo has on games to emphasize how important it is to come to games and stay, Chulick said.
Arizona also launched the Fan Alliance Network. The UA picked 25 fans to act as liaisons between the school and supporters.
Chulick said the FAN will give feedback on customer service, game experience and in-game presentation. He added that more than 180 people applied by writing essays, and that they tried to have each segment of fans represented from long-time season ticket holders, to first timers, to families to single fans.
Arizona will meet with the representatives four or five times a year and fans can find their representative by referring to the first letter of their last name on a list, Chulick said.
“We continue to look at a number of ways to engage our fan base and we felt the Fan Alliance Network would be a great way to work through the issues that are directly impacting those that attend our games,” director of athletics Greg Byrne said in a press release.
ZonaZoo executive director Jacob Borcover said that while there are no plans for a similar student committee, they always listen to student input and that the ZonaZoo is for the students and by the students.
“We are always interested in what our students have to say,” Borcover said. “We gain a lot of great feedback from students through social media. In addition, students recognize us [the ZonaZoo Crew] at games and make suggestions for improvements.”
—Follow James Kelley @JamesKelley520
