How Michigan Athletics Built a Winning Data Strategy by Breaking Down Silos

The Challenge: Data Rich, But Working in Isolation

When different teams work in silos under one organization, even the best data becomes fragmented and ineffective. We know this story all too well—marketing teams crafting campaigns in isolation while sales teams make calls without coordinated strategy, each focused on their individual tasks and working toward the same goal of fan engagement and revenue growth, just separately. 

At the University of Michigan Athletics, teams were already eager to collaborate, but the workflow in place wasn't as streamlined as it could be. Sharing data meant downloading lists and manually uploading them into Eloqua, a time-consuming and inefficient process. By unlocking Paciolan iQ and Eloqua's integration, taking action on data became much easier. But Michigan understood that while having access to quality data and integrations is important, the real competitive advantage comes from cross-functional teams using those insights together. 

The Solution: Uniting Teams Around Actionable Insights

"People are always pitching us about lead scoring, but we never felt it was actually derived from true data insights," explains Rachel Myers, Director of Ticketing Sales and Service. That changed when Michigan partnered with Paciolan iQ's team to produce data-driven insights analyzing real fan behaviors like attendance, purchase history, and marketing engagements to create renewal likelihood scores on a 1-5 scale. With those affinity scores automatically flowing into Eloqua marketing segments, Michigan finally had a robust technical foundation to activate its data in meaningful, measurable ways.

"The data we get from Paciolan iQ allows us to make strategic decisions rather than just going in blindly. Instead of sending blanket messaging to our fans, we're really using the data to strategically inform what we're doing." - Haley Pfeil, Associate Director of Digital Marketing, University of Michigan Athletics

The marketing team applied the affinity scores to tailor their renewal email strategy. Low-likelihood fans needed additional motivation, so they received educational content about payment plans and benefits, since newer season ticket holders might not be fully aware of available options like payment flexibility. Michigan also partnered with Paciolan’s Marketing Automation team to set up automated drip campaigns to re-engage those who didn't initially open or click. Whereas, the High-likelihood fans received a streamlined approach to avoid email fatigue. Since their tenure meant they already understood available benefits, they didn't receive dedicated payment plan emails or constant renewal reminders.

The same strategic framework extended to digital advertising, where Michigan worked with Paciolan's Digital Marketing team to set up paid campaigns based on the affinity score segments. Low-affinity audiences needed more convincing, so they saw messaging emphasizing how important their support is to the team, with "Learn More" buttons directing to educational renewal pages. Meanwhile, high-affinity fans just needed a gentle nudge, so their copy was simple and direct with "Shop Now" buttons linking straight to renewal login pages.

With Marketing and Sales now working in harmony, efficiency improved across the board. Marketing used sales feedback to proactively address common questions, while sales focused on high-value conversations.

The Impact: When Actionable Data Meets Collaboration

So how did these strategic campaigns driven by Paciolan iQ affinity scores perform?

By matching message content and frequency to each group's renewal likelihood, Michigan optimized its email strategy without overwhelming its most valuable renewal segments. The data insights paired with coordinated execution delivered measurable results—$1.7 million in revenue from its email campaigns.

Their paid advertising campaigns delivered equally impressive results. When comparing this season's paid renewal campaigns to the previous season, Michigan saw a 273% lift in ROAS, nearly 4 times more return on every advertising dollar.

Beyond the impressive numbers, Michigan plans to apply these strategies across future events and shift from its traditional seasonal renewal approach to a 365-day engagement model, staying connected with fans and identifying opportunities throughout the year.

In Closing

Michigan's success story proves that when different departments like marketing and ticketing break down silos and work from shared, actionable insights, they unlock data's true potential to drive revenue growth and fan engagement.

"We have people who understand that working together is going to make us more successful than being in our own silos. That mindset, paired with the data we get from Paciolan iQ has been key." - Rachel Myers, Director of Ticket Sales and Service, University of Michigan.