Offseason Playbook: Turning Non-Gameday Events into Revenue with Digital Marketing
- Keano Mestre
- May 28
- 4 min read
As higher education institutions face increasing financial pressures, athletic departments are being challenged to think beyond traditional revenue streams. While gamedays generate significant income, they represent only a fraction of the calendar year. We’ve seen a trend in schools hosting more non-traditional events, with the hopes of driving incremental revenue.
In this article, we’ll explore how athletic departments are successfully leveraging paid digital advertising to reach both traditional and non-traditional fans for their various events.
Spotlight: Brett Young at Ole Miss
Heading into the fall semester, Ole Miss aimed to generate additional revenue by hosting country artist, Brett Young, in the SJB Pavillion on August 30. To drive as much revenue as possible our campaigns included audiences who were both known Ole Miss fans and past purchasers for similar events. The campaign ran exclusively on Meta and utilized two sets of graphics to engage potential customers.
Where the engagement came from:
We leveraged data from a previous Ole Miss concert featuring Morgan Wallen to create look-a-like audiences. These audiences accounted for 43% of our overall conversions for the campaign.
With the Rebels hosting a Football game the day after the concert, we wanted to target those who had already purchased tickets to the football game. These audiences yielded a 14% conversion rate.
We also targeted individuals who had an affinity for Country Music within our geo targets. This was our best performing audience and drove 45% of our overall conversions.
Spotlight: Texas Duel - Mexico vs. Brazil at Texas A&M
On Saturday June 8th, Texas A&M transformed Kyle Field from its usual football powerhouse into a neutral ground for Mexico vs. Brazil. The GOAL was bigger than a summer showdown. It was a test of whether a college venue could host and commercialize a globally historic soccer rivalry. The digital results speak for themselves:
674 conversions and over $265K in attributable revenue across both Meta and Google Search. This produced a ROAS (Return on ad spend) of $68.14 for every advertising dollar spent.
Google Search remains the engine of the team capturing those ready to buy audiences:
395 conversions with over $151K in revenue generated from intent‑based clicks, what we like to call “low hanging fruit”.
This signals to us how fans of world class national teams such as Brazil and Mexico default to Google for a stateside match such as this one. On the flip side paid social continues to be a staple for incremental reach:
Meta delivered 279 additional conversions with over 151k in revenue.
Utilizing this multi-channel approach is a historically proven recipe for success.
Spotlight: Manchester City vs. Celtic FC at UNC
On a warm July evening, the University of North Carolina swapped Tar Heel blue for green and blue as two of the world’s most recognizable clubs, Manchester City and Celtic FC, faced off on North Carolina soil in an international friendly at Kenan Stadium. Brought with them was a unique opportunity for UNC to tap into the fandom that is European football.
The results confirmed how we can continue to capitalize on these off-season events and turn them into serious revenue opportunities:
123 conversions for over $67k in revenue, powered by a paid social campaign that ran exclusively on Meta resulting in a $38.93 ROAS (Return on ad spend)
Creative that converted: Clean, simple graphics, followed by 15 to 30 second hype videos, and a timely Father’s Day promotion helped move the needle!
Hosting global giants such as Manchester City and Celtic FC in events like this allows schools and in this case, UNC to reach beyond their traditional athletic markets and tap into global fan bases while building brand equity.
UNC took advantage of this moment with a focused digital game plan and in doing so, they filled seats, boosted revenue, and added buyers to their ecosystem, a long-term win that goes beyond the scoreboard.
Spotlight: Professional Bull Riders "Last Cowboy Standing" at Colorado
Colorado State is hosting the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Last Cowboy Standing event July 21-22 in Canvas Stadium. PAC Digital works with both PBR and CSU and are able to leverage our experience and relationships with both entities to drive significant revenue for the event.
This overall campaign strategy focused heavily on awareness efforts using Instagram Reminder ads and a traffic campaign on Meta. To capture this interest we’ve launched ads across Google Search, Performance Max, and Meta. The overall campaign is currently yielding a $41 ROAS across all channels.
Where the engagement came from:
We launched a Meta traffic campaign leading up to the on-sale which yielded over 7,000 clicks and reached more than 139,000 users on Meta. Our Instagram Reminder campaign generated nearly 1,500 opt-ins which translated to 75 conversions
Using a multi-channel approach across Meta, Performance Max, and Search for our on-sale efforts has helped us cast the net wide across all placements on Google and Meta. This strategy has resulted in more than 1,700 conversions and counting for the event.
Spotlight: Wrexham AFC Tour at UCLA
On Friday, July 19th UCLA’s Drake Stadium swapped its usual Big Ten conference feel for Hollywood soccer when Wrexham AFC Women's team fresh off a hit docuseries met Liga MX Tigres stateside. UCLA proved once again that a on‑campus venue could tap the global Wrexham phenomenon and funnel new supporters into its own ticketing ecosystem.
193 conversions from a single channel campaign on Meta. Evidence that well targeted paid social media can stand alone when the narrative is hot enough.
The variety in creative kept frequency high without triggering ad fatigue:
Where the engagement came from:
Soccer affinity led the charge: 99 conversions, as U.S. soccer fans grabbed seats when Ryan Reynolds’s club hit their feeds.
UCLA affinity segments weren’t far behind: 84 conversions. Friendlies like this don’t just fill seats but also create an environment that cultivates future season‑ticket and donor pipelines by re‑engaging your own community with new content.
Retargeting kept the cart warm: 10 last‑mile conversions from visitors who needed one more reminder.
A single, well defined social campaign can move real inventory. Layering search and additional platforms would likely have unlocked even more scale. However, this campaign confirms that starting narrow with high‑intent affinities is a low risk, high‑return way to validate market appeal.
Conclusion: As you plan for future non-gameday events, whether it’s concerts, stadium tours, or something else, consider the impact of paid digital marketing. With the right strategy, you can maximize event awareness, sell more tickets, and create new revenue streams throughout the year.
Questions?
For more information or personalized strategy advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Digital Marketing contact today!
