Affinaquest Announces AQ Advantage for Collegiate Athletics

Opportunity for innovative collegiate athletics departments to partner on their data journey, supplementing resource and personnel limitations. 

(Scottsdale, AZ) January 17, 2023 – Affinaquest, the leading collegiate athletics and higher education provider for fostering audience affinity and generating revenue through industry leading data management and analytics technology, announced today the launch of AQ Advantage. AQ Advantage is a suite of managed services designed to help athletic departments maximize their revenue opportunity, foster meaningful and effective engagement, and increase institutional affinity. AQ Advantage will allow athletic departments to activate campaigns in the most effective and efficient manner – particularly those departments working with limited time, resources, and personnel.

With AQ Advantage, the goals of clients are Affinaquest’s top priority. AQ Advantage will provide focused and dedicated staff who will lead in developing data-driven campaigns that maximize results through strategic planning and collaboration. AQ Advantage is built upon three core pillars necessary for a data-driven department:

• Instruction – Guidance and training in useful techniques to expand key skills with Affinaquest’s industry-leading solutions.
• Tactical Execution – Administration of the client’s Central Intelligence and Salesforce CRM systems to ensure consistent, optimized and data-centric platforms.
• Strategy – Strategic assessments of the client’s constituent data to support effective targeting for ticketing and fundraising efforts. This includes the development of key customer profiles based on ticketing and donation campaigns as well biographical data.

Through a personalized assessment of the needs of each organization, AQ Advantage recommends various strategic efforts to drive additional sales and revenue. These activities may include—but are not limited to—strategic analysis of consumer behavior such as spend, attendance, donations, and digital engagement; development of fan profiles and implementation of campaigns to drive ticket sales or donations, as well as dashboards for reporting and campaign measurement.  Affinaquest will closely collaborate with client organizations through weekly, quarterly, and annual meetings, selecting the sports with greatest opportunity for impact and activating campaigns that align with annual sales and marketing calendars.

“With years of professional strategy experience and the success of your department as our common goal, Affinaquest can bring your program to new heights,” says Steve Hank, Executive Vice President for Collegiate Athletics at Affinaquest. “We believe this new service will assist athletic departments to drive ticket sales, increase donations, and maximize fan engagement. This is done through effective and timely campaigns, and engagement strategies that connect with fans like never before.  With historic turnover and limited resources throughout the industry, Affinaquest is excited and prepared to represent and support the needs of our clients on the field by executing strategic initiatives to meet and exceed their goals.”

The collegiate athletics landscape is evolving at a rapid pace, with institutions across the country facing limited time, resources, and staff, while administrators are challenged with distractions on a daily basis. With decades of experience in professional sports and Power Five conference environments, AQ Advantage becomes an extension of the client organizations, helping to elevate their athletic department to the next level and overcome these challenges.

Collegiate athletics institutions such as the University of Maryland, the University of Florida, and the University of Mississippi have already enlisted AQ Advantage to address their specific data needs and drive more effective strategy within their departments.

For more information about AQ Advantage and how Affinaquest can help institutions achieve their data goals, schedule a meeting today or visit the Affinaquest website.