The document describes a campaign by the Charlotte major league lacrosse team to name the team and build buzz in the community. It involved a multi-stage process on Facebook where fans voted on the team's geographic representation, brand attributes, logo designs, and final name/logo. The campaign grew the team's Facebook fan base significantly and engaged fans to provide input. It also helped promote season ticket sales and generated local publicity for the new team.

1.
Name the team campaign | community buzz building
Charlotte major league lacrosse team
A Case Study
Campaign goals
• Increase awareness of the team through a buzzworthy campaign
• Generate fan engagement/investment in the team
• Identify the team name and color scheme that fans like best
• Capture fan profile information for database
• Build excitement and momentum into the launch of season ticket sales
• Serve as the launch pad for Charlotte MLL to grow and own the social media space for
Lacrosse in the Carolinas
The campaign
As word got out about the new professional lacrosse team coming to Charlotte, fans of the
sport started to join the Charlotte MLL Facebook community where they could receive the
latest information on the team from President, Jim McPhilliamy and Head of Marketing &
Sales, Wade Leaphart. Passionate fans began commenting on the Facebook Page, offering
input on the new team name and colors. Jim and Wade were listening to their fans and with
the season still a year away, they decided to build buzz for the team and create a vesting
interest in their fans by letting them name the team. They hired Buzz Manager, Inc. to help
execute the “Name The Team Campaign.”
Sponsor: OrthoCarolina
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Stage 1: define geographic agenda
April 1‐10
Charlotte MLL asked its Facebook Fans to vote
and discuss the geographic area the team
should represent: Charlotte or the broader
Carolinas?
How it worked:
Wednesday, March 30th:
Team President Jim McPhilliamy released a letter to the fans on the
Charlotte MLL Facebook Page, that outlined the creative process and
reasoning for the “Name the Team Campaign” and in which he stated, “ We
want our fans involved with the team from the very beginning. We believe
sports teams succeed because a community of passionate fans wants to be
engaged on an emotional level with the team. We hope to foster that type
of active engagement with our fans from the outset by involving them in
our “Name The Team Campaign” powered by OrthoCarolina.” (Letter
received feedback from 15 fans)
April 1­10: A customized Facebook Tab (using the Wildfire App) launches to drive traffic to
a microsite where fans can submit votes through embedded fields connected to the
Charlotte MLL CRM database. The database collects contact information for fans who are
opting in to received information about season tickets.
Those that voted were required to fill in the
following selection:
The Numbers
Facebook Fans:
April 1: 1,364
April 10: 1,588
+277 in 10 days
453 votes cast. 294 (65%) opted in to receive more information about tickets.
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Stage 2: identify brand attributes
April 11‐21
Charlotte MLL asked the fans to explore the brand’s
emotive characteristics and discuss the teams
identify, look and feel.
How it worked:
Facebook status updates and
comments promoted discussion
on the Charlotte MLL Facebook
Page. Those fans not on
Facebook could submit their
feedback through a microsite
integrated with the team’s CRM
database.
The Numbers
Facebook Fans
April 11: 1,605
April 21: 1,789
+ 184 new fans in 10 days
648 comments were posted on Facebook during Stage 2, resulting in 249 unique name
suggestions.
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Stage 3: Vote on design concepts
May 2‐13
Based on feedback and voting in Stages 1 & 2,
Charlotte MLL presented 6 names and design
concepts for fan commentary and voting.
How it worked:
Facebook status updates and comments directed
fans to the Facebook Tab displaying the logos.
The Tab linked to a custom built Facebook app that
allowed fans to rank the logos. Live results
generated a heated competition amongst the names.
Ongoing discussion on the Facebook Page allowed
fans to offer feedback and input on the logos and
colors.
The Numbers
Facebook Fans
May 2: 1,917
May 13: 2,400
+ 483 new fans in 10 days
1107 ballots cast in Stage 3
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5.
Stage 4: Final vote
June 1 ‐ 10
Based on feedback and voting from Stage 3,
Charlotte MLL presented the top three design
concepts for a final fan vote.
How it worked:
Facebook status updates and comments
directed fans to the Facebook Tab displaying
three versions each for three logos.
The Tab linked to a Facebook Poll that allowed
fans to vote for their favorite name and logo for
that name.
The Facebook Poll prompted fans to share the
poll on their wall and invite their friends to
vote.
Season Tickets:
During this stage, Charlotte MLL began taking
deposits for season tickets. They sent out a
Facebook status update announcing that they
were accepting season ticket deposits.
In 2 days, they had 55 deposits.
The Numbers
Facebook Fans
June 1: 2,784
June 10: 3,487
+ 703 new fans in 10 days
817 votes cast in Facebook Poll
149 votes cast through microsite
Of the 817 votes cast on Facebook Poll, 258 fans (32%) wanted more information on tickets.
15% of those voting on Facebook shared the poll on their wall and invited friends to vote.
732 friends were invited to vote.
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Name the team Facebook Community growth
Publicity
• Sports Business Journal
• Charlotte Observer
• InsideLacrosse.com
• Fox Charlotte
• WSOC TV
• WFAE
• Charlotte Business Journal
• MajorLeagueLacrosse.com
Picture: Jim McPhilliamy being interviewed
by Charlotte TV station,
WSOC TV.
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