Case Studies

Peacock Student Deal at Big Ten

How Peacock took research insights to build their Big 10 campus activation

Noah Wong

May 25, 2024

6 MINUTE READ

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For students, gamedays are a classic part of the college experience, particularly at Big 10 schools, where their stadiums can hold more than 100,000 people. When Peacock acquired the rights to stream Big Ten sports, including basketball and football, back in August of 2022, they knew that they wanted to find authentic ways to connect with college students on these campuses so that they could bring them into the Peacock family and continue watching the sports that are such a massive part of their campus community. 


In January of 2023, Peacock embarked on a journey to understand the habits of college students at Big 10 schools when it comes to game days. Through extensive interviews, focus groups and ethnographic studies, we delved into the unique routines and traditions at each Big 10 campus around football. We listened to students' experiences interacting with previous activations from brands on college game days and heard their honest feedback on what about these activations stuck with them and made them excited to check them out. We gained a deep understanding of how students get ready for game days at home and how they consume away games, ensuring that Peacock’s offerings align with their preferences. 


Through this qualitative study, along with a more extensive quantitative study of college students across the United States on their perception of bundle deals and student offers, Peacock developed their Big 10 Yards Activation for the 2023-2024 college football season. Throughout the fall, Peacock would launch large-scale activations on major Big 10 school campuses like Ohio State, Purdue, and the University of Iowa to integrate themselves into the excitement of game day and let students know that they can easily stream their team’s games when they’re playing on the road with the Peacock student bundle. 

Using Home From College, Peacock carefully selected and recruited two ambassadors on each Big 10 campus. These ambassadors, as the face of Peacock, were entrusted with the important task of driving traffic to the Big 10 yard activations and promoting the student discount to clubs and high-traffic areas on campus. Their role was crucial in hosting watch parties with their friends and sharing flyers with students in Greek Life houses and off-campus apartments, ensuring that their peers were getting the best deal to watch their college teams. 


As the football season wrapped up, Peacock ambassadors continued highlighting the applicability of the Peacock student discount by featuring relevant movies available on the platform, such as Five Nights at Freddy, and promoting the streaming of Big 10 basketball games. Throughout the continued ambassador promotion during the fall semester, students at Big 10 schools grew very familiar with the Peacock streaming platform. They saw the immense value it brought them in watching the shows and sports they loved.  


Peacock Story Promo

Overall, Peacock developed a strong ambassador program that supported its brand activations and grew awareness and sign-ups for the Peacock student discount. They did so, by listening to students and understanding their habits and routines when it comes to watching college sports so that they could authentically integrate themselves into college campuses.