Kickoff to a New Era: Scoring Big with Your Coach Announcement

The hiring of a new head coach brings about a lot of excitement to a program. With that excitement also comes massive opportunity as a department to increase revenue, generate new leads, tap into new markets and grow your database. Here are some of the things you should look to do to capitalize on the momentum of a new Head Coach.

The Announcement – Build the Hype, Capture the Audience, Celebrate a Change

Probably the most important step in this journey is the announcement. It is in this step where the foundation of the entire campaign is built. A strong announcement covers a few different elements:

1. Revenue Growth (Tickets & Fundraising) – No matter what part of your sales cycle you’re in, your announcement email, story and social posts should have an element that promotes a revenue component. Encourage fans to put their money down now for next season, whether that’s through renewing their tickets, buying new season tickets, or placing a deposit for next year. For fans of your brand that may not live close enough to justify season tickets, ensure there is a donation option available as well.  

2. Database Growth – A new face, brings new excitement every time. Marketing Automation clients should look to leverage Eloqua Forms and Landing Pages to capture new contacts and leads for your database. (PAC Mail clients should link to existing ticket interest forms) Include links to an interest form in all releases involving the new coach, drop them in social posts and work with your PAC digital contact to get digital ads running to generate some growth in your database.

3. Event Attendance – There will almost certainly be some sort of welcome event, where the coach will be introduced to the fan base that may be private to donors, or open to the general public. During the announcement timeline, encouraging attendance at the welcome event is a great opportunity to cover the other elements above in person. You should also look to promote streaming or video on demand options for those that cannot attend.

The Follow-Up – Keep the Hype Train Rolling

After the announcement is over, the job is not done. The follow-up content is what maintains relevancy in an otherwise slow time during the year. Stay in the spotlight by delivering digital content over the next several weeks. Things like videos and images of coach’s first few days on campus, press conference quotes and staff announcements all serve as vessels for more revenue generation. Utilize web tracking in Eloqua’s segment builder to target those that visit high value web pages during this time: Sport Specific home page, schedule page, roster page, announcement article, etc. For Paciolan Marketing Automation clients, this is an excellent opportunity to work with your Marketing Automation Rep to start web nurturing and donation abandonment campaigns using assets from the coach’s arrival on campus.

Building the Brand – Establishing the “New Face of the Program”

With the heavy use of the transfer portal in today’s college athletics landscape, it is far more reliable and evergreen to use a coach’s presence for marketing purposes rather than a student-athlete’s. Start building your new coach’s identity with the fanbase early and often. Sending out a message to the fanbase from the coach, updating any previously running automated campaigns with the coach’s image and starting coach-centric thank you messages for new purchases are all great ways to establish the new coach in the community and start building a connection to your fanbase.

The introduction of a new head coach is more than a personnel change—it’s a marketing moment with the power to redefine your program’s trajectory. By building excitement through a strategic announcement, sustaining engagement with consistent follow-up content and developing the coach’s personal brand as the face of your program, you can transform short-term buzz into long-term growth. Every communication, event, and digital touchpoint becomes an opportunity to generate revenue, expand your database, and strengthen the bond between your fans and the program. A new era doesn’t just begin on the field—it begins with how you tell the story.

Looking for more inspiration? Check out other email examples here!