#WingsForTheWin

A social media campaign designed for the Maryland Mens

Lacrosse team in partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings for
the 2015 season

By: Briana Murphy

COMM386

During the first week of my internship at

Maryland Sports Marketing I was assigned
the task of designing an innovative campaign
in partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings. They
wanted our team to create a promotion that
would give away two free tickets to a mens
lacrosse home game per week, while engaging
our audience in a fun, creative way.

I began by jotting down some of my ideas for the campaign that I would later pass along to my boss Jordan for review. They are as follows:

Approximately two weeks after my

brainstorm, Jordan decided to turn my
work into a real-life campaign. The first
images were posted on February 26, 2015 on
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Design Credit: Jordan Looby

Design Credit: Jordan Looby

Design Credit: Jordan Looby

The postings ran weekly on each social media site from February 26 to April 6, 2015, one day before each Maryland Mens
Lacrosse game. The following graphs indicate the increases and decreases in audience responses over this timespan.

My analysis yielded interesting results. The responses on Instagam increased steadily throughout the
campaign, while those on Facebook and Twitter fluctuated. However, each week we managed to get a
number of fans who participated in the contest. Here were a few of the submissions:

*These photos were submitted publicly on

Twitter, while all other submissions were
sent directly to the Maryland Mens Lacrosse
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
For this, the privacy of all other participants
will be upheld*

We received submissions from people from varying demographic backgrounds, showing that the implementation across a
number of social networking sites was a vital element in the success of this campaign. The snapshots below are results of a
study conducted by Pew Research Center, called Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms.

This study corresponded with the results of our social media

campaign:
The majority of participants on Facebook were white,
college-aged women (ages 18-22)
The majority of participants on Twitter were white men
(examples on previous page)
The majority of participants on Instagram were collegeaged women (ages 18-22)


Throughout this process I have learned that, in order to develop a successful social media campaign
you need to find a way to get the audience engaged on a personal level. In this day and age promotions
cannot be one-sided, as followers need to feel as though they are involved in the process. The reason the
#WingsForTheWin campaign was so successful was because it captured the audience in an entertaining
way. By making it a weekly event, fans knew what to expect and could prepare for the week ahead, making
them excited about the contest as well as the upcoming game. It also attracted fans of different ages and
sexes, which greatly contributed to its success. By designing a campaign that is fun for kids, parents and
college students, you are likely to receive a lot of positive attention and feedback.

Past attempts at a Buffalo Wild Wings campaign have failed because they were executed in-venue. I
feel that social media was the best outlet for this campaign, as it increased attention to the sporting event
before it actually occurred. If people were not already planning on going to the mens lacrosse game, this
contest likely increased their willingness to attend. I am extremely proud of the work that I put into this
campaign, and feel it will make an excellent addition to my portfolio. This will show future employers that
I am able to create and execute a campaign over an entire sports season that maintains participation across
the board. I am eager to see if the #WingsForTheWin campaigne will be re-implemented next season, and,
if so, I am excited to see how it progresses.

#WingsForTheWin

Works Cited
Duggan, Maeve. Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms. Internet, Science & Tech. Pew Research Center,

9 Jan. 2015. Web. 15 May 2015.