CIAA Overview
Founded in 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is based in Hampton, Virginia and is America's oldest historically black college athletic conference. Ranked third behind the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Big Ten Conference amongst all NCAA basketball tournaments, the CIAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament is one of the largest African American cultural events in the nation. The Tournament is the conference's marquee event for raising money for the General Scholarship Fund (GSF), which benefits the 10 member institutions.
French/West/Vaughan (FWV) has been representing the CIAA for close to 10 years and was an essential player in the Tournament's transition to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2006. That same year, FWV won PRWeek's Multicultural Marketing Campaign of the Year for its CIAA work. FWV set objectives to position the conference and the Tournament as the country's premier African American cultural event, and to leverage the past success and new elements to increase the amount of the bid packages each bid city would submit. FWV also had to plan for the public fallout of awarding the Tournament to Charlotte (after several successful years in the state capital of Raleigh).
Other awards received by FWV for the CIAA Tournament campaign includes:2008 Sir Walter Raleigh Award - Excellence In Communication - CIAATournament.org
- 2008 Sir Walter Raleigh Award - Honorable Mention - 2008 CIAA Publicity Playbook (Media Kit)
- Winner of the Silver Anvil Award, The Sabre Award and PRWeek's Multicultural Marketing Campaign of the Year in 2001.
Each year, FWV is charged with developing and executing a totally integrated multicultural marketing program, including creative development (logo, theme, tagline, ads), public relations, grassroots mobile marketing, sponsorship initiatives and national media relations.
The CIAA Tournament is one of the largest and most financially successful tournaments in the United States, experiencing tremendous growth in economic impact, attendance, scholarship dollars the CIAA generates for the GSF and media exposure. FWV strives to continue this growth on all levels, as well as assist the conference in expanding the reach of the CIAA brand outside of the Eastern Seaboard.
Key Marketing Initiatives Implemented by FWV
National/Local Media
The CIAA is nationally known for its Fan Experience, sponsor activation and marketing and media outreach. National publications and multiple awards mark the success and the growth of this Tournament. Stories have been featured in USA Today, EBONY, Jet, GQ, Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal, VIBE, PRWeek, Business North Carolina and various other publications across the country.
FWV has assisted the CIAA in developing relationships with targeted national African American media outlets including EBONY, VIBE, JET, Black Enterprise, UPTOWN and Upscale magazines. These relationships are crucial to expanding the CIAA brand aongst the African American community. Partnerships were developed with VIBE, which sponsored the CIAA Ford Fan Experience, EBONY, which brought in its traveling fashion show to the CIAA during Tournament Week, and UPTOWN, which provided media support to the CIAA and its corporate partners.
FWV has established relationships on behalf of the CIAA with key urban hip-hop and contemporary adult stations in 11 markets (Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Richmond, V.A., Norfolk, V.A., Raleigh/Durham, N.C., Fayetteville, N.C., Greensboro/Winston Salem, N.C., Charlotte, N.C., Greenville, S.C., Columbia, S.C., and Atlanta). FWV continues to work closely with local African American media outlets (Charlotte Post, Triangle Tribune, PRIDE Magazine, The New County News, Celebrity Power Magazine, etc.) to position the CIAA as a community supporter, as well as manages the following efforts:
Mobile Marketing Tour
The CIAA Mobile Marketing Tour has been in existence for seven years. This eight-month program consists of two vehicles and is planned, operated and executed by FWV. The Tour spans from Atlanta to Philadelphia and during 2007-08, it reached over 348,000 fans, alumni and students and traveled more than 26,000 miles. The associated media equivalency value is over $100,000.
CIAA Publicity Playbook (Media Kit)
In 2007, FWV developed the annual CIAA Publicity Playbook (media kit) to advance its strategic approach on educating the media about the history, culture and success of the Tournament in a creatively appealing manner. The media book was designed much like a basketball program, creating a visually pleasing, easy-to-use, all-access informational guide to the conference and Tournament.
CIAA Tournament Web site
To effectively convey the ‘CIAA Experience' through the Web site, the Tournament's brand messages (theme/logo/tagline) were incorporated within its design. The site was redesigned to ensure a seamless connection between all Tournament marketing collateral. Elements such as a CIAA news section in the form of a blog, CIAA TV, music player, fan gallery slide shows, etc., allow the CIAA to inform fans immediately of any news, information and updates related to the Tournament. Micro sites were created for the official CIAA events and each one provides up-to-date information on event locations, times, photos, artists, etc.
Summary of Results
Increased economic impact to host city from $15.4 million in 2006 to $30.7 million in 2008
- Increased attendance among non-CIAA graduates from 45 percent in 2006 to 65 percent in 2008
- Increased CIAA Scholarship Fund contributions by sponsors from $1.8 million in 2006 to $2 million in 2008
Media Summary
National media placements include: EBONY magazine, VIBE magazine, Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal
- Local media placements include: Charlotte Post, Charlotte Observer, News and Observer, Celebrity Power Magazine, Charlotte Magazine, Business North Carolina
- More than 40 million media impressions for the 2008 Tournament
