FanWide Provides the Assist off the bench for the NCAA Basketball Tournament
In early 2017, Kayla Fowler took over as
the group lead for the South Carolina
Gamecocks Alumni Club of Seattle. Her
goal was to grow the group and
reinvigorate the local arm of one of the
most prideful and passionate fan groups
in American college sports. To do so, she
enlisted FanWide to help.
As a passionate Game Cock, Kayla Fowler felt deep pride for her new responsibility, but also had a number of
challenges she was facing.
With fans spread out across Seattle and the Puget Sound region, she needed a way to springboard her group’s
growth by bringing together the existing members, engaging other fans who are not yet members and
creating a more consistent cadence of events and meetups.
Fowler also had a finite amount of time outside her own job and other personal responsibilities, and with an
alumni group that totaled eight members to tap for assistance – her resources overall were limited. What’s
more, she had channels to communicate with and engage her core group, but had no way to find additional
South Carolina alumni fans who were not already an active part of her network. Lastly, Fowler needed a hook
to galvanize her group and other fans across the Seattle region to come together for the love of Gamecock
Nation.
With all that in mind, she set out to accomplish three key goals: 1) Nurture and engage her local group 2) find
a way to connect with other alumni and fans, and 3) find an ideal event for bringing them all together.
In late February Fowler found FanWide just in time before the start of March Madness, and got a critical assist
in accomplishing her goals.
She used FanWide’s services to organize a watch party location for South Carolina during the NCAA
tournament, where her current members could meet to watch the games.
“I was intrigued most about the fact that they were able to connect our alumni group with a set bar for our
sports watch parties, which took a huge stress off of my plate when organizing these events,” she stated.
Through FanWide the South Carolina Alumni Group of Seattle connected with Whisky West, a growing sports
bar in Seattle. FanWide’s services also included the company’s patented Event Extras, which included
dedicated TVs and sound, exclusive drink and food specials, raffles and South Carolina themed prizes.
FanWide’s local marketing efforts also helped to grow attendees each game throughout the South Carolina
Men’s Basketball team’s run to the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four round. Each game the number of
attendees grew, as current alumni group members and others from outside the network continued to flock
towards the South Carolina game day destination.
Through these efforts the alumni club grew its local network and by the time the team reached the final stages
of its run, the group had nearly fifty attendees of local alumni and fans at each game.
FanWide’s efforts did exactly what Fowler set out to achieve. Her first big series of alumni watch parties as the
head of South Carolina alumni chapter was a smashing success.
Her small local chapter was able to regroup, connect with their new alumni chapter lead and have a great time
watching Gamecock sports together.
FanWide’s services helped improve entertainment and through the app and mobile website each fan received
exclusive drink and food specials, making their experience the best one possible.
Most importantly, FanWide’s marketing services grew awareness of the group, created buzz amongst local
sports fans and helped other Gamecock fans disconnected from the alumni organization find a club they could
connect with to enjoy South Carolina sports with other fans – setting the stage for a successful 2017 baseball
and football season.
“Our alumni group went from eight to nearly 50 for the Final Four game. This was all due
to the fact that FanWide locked in our location for March Madness viewings and helped to
get us some great discounts each game. who doesn't love discounts? It was truly
rewarding as the leader of my alumni group here in Seattle to watch the group grow in
just a few short weeks during March Madness. Without the help of FanWide doing all the
background work, it would not have been possible.”
- Kayla Fowler, South Carolina Alumni Group Lead, Seattle