NCAA Tournament Basketball Marketing: What we can learn from #7 Seed Clemson

Today we continue on our journey into the East Region, from a marketing point of view. We're in search of inspiration - things that all of us can take and apply into our worlds. And, for fans, of each team, that's a look into what makes you special.

Thus far, we've reviewed top seeded Kentucky, #2 West Virginia, #3 New Mexico, #4 Wisconsin, #5 Temple, and #6 Marquette.

We previously broke down Clemson Athletics' marketing efforts (here), and I'll do my best to add a new perspective on the Tigers.

Let's roll.

East #7 Seed Clemson (Link Here)

What's Inspiring About Clemson Basketball Marketing

1. Elevate Future Tigers

I loved seeing this. Clemson is the first team I've come across that elevates future Tigers as boldly as this. Check the image below. Not only are they hyping a future student athlete, but they are using a powerful image around team.

Too often fans gather in other websites, blogs, or message boards to learn what they can about future members of their squad. And Clemson is taking that back, via a pretty solid form of communication.

2. A Powerful Pre-Game video

Repurposing. That's a key for colleges in doing successful marketing. (And for a lot of us who aren't a college program!) Basically it means thinking about what you have and getting more out of it.

Clemson took a smoking hot Pre-Game video and pumped it into their website. That's solid work, and it's a way of firing up prospective student athletes who aren't able to check it out in person. Solid.

3. Why Clemson? They'll tell you why.

I like a lot of what Coach Purnell does on his website (here). But the thing I liked the most was his ability to articulate why you should come to Clemson.

This comes through in a couple of ways. First, in the form of an online resume. Check the image below. Coach Purnell boils it all down to 3 things: success, international experience, and a family like bond. Nice.

Then, if you click into "Why Clemson", you get the image below... which is essentially a map of words that the program stands for. Championships. NBA. Academics.

Nice.

Diving into each word pulls up detail on the topic -- and gives them a platform to build upon. It's nice to have a filter like this that can guide what goes where as their program builds and the content evolves.

That's it. Come back tomorrow as we keep moving through the East Region!