Northwestern Will Highlight Coaches' Local Ties In A Yearlong Ad Campaign

Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald and men's basketball coach Chris Collins -- both Chicago-area natives -- will be the "focal point of a yearlong advertising push highlighting their hometown history," according to Danny Ecker of CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS. TV and digital ads that started yesterday "tell Fitzgerald's story as an Orland Park native and former NU football star." Closer to basketball season, ads will "focus on Collins' background as a former Illinois 'Mr. Basketball.'" The #HOMEGROWN campaign is "beginning as the athletic department lays the groundwork for season ticket sales this summer and fall." The TV ads "will be on the Big Ten Network and CSN Chicago." Billboards around Chicago will "feature the campaign, including ads in high-traffic areas" and on "public transit signage." The school's campaign is a move to "seize the momentum Northwestern sports generated over the past year with headline-grabbing seasons for each of the school's revenue-making teams." Northwestern Deputy AD/External Affairs Mike Polisky said that "spending for the campaign is on par with previous years." The campaign comes two months after the school "announced long-term contract extensions for both coaches at an event in downtown Chicago." Highlighting the coaches' local ties also "helps NU keep away from the slippery area of using athletes to help sell tickets" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 6/26).