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This story is part of our CSC 360 package for August 2023, to view more stories, click here.
Pictured above: Kelsey Tibbs, assistant director of IPTAY with an emphasis on graphic design and communication at Clemson, has joined CSC and attended #CSCUNITE23 in Orlando.
Brooke Robbins and Kelsey Tibbs of Clemson's athletics development staff (IPTAY) ready to connect with other communications professionals in CSC
by Laurie Bollig – College Sports Communicators, Director of Membership Engagement
When CSC instituted the All-In membership for 2022-23, the intention was to include all storytellers in a college athletics program — from traditional communications staff members to the creative staff to sport-specific graphic designers and social media managers. Literally, everyone in the department who works to promote the brand and extend the program’s reach.
With a record 4,123 CSC members last year and more than 600 of them with a creative identifier in their title, it’s safe to say those storytellers are looking for professional development, continuing education and networking opportunities and are opting to join CSC to find those things. In addition to providing these benefits for all storytellers, the connective tissue of CSC membership encourages cross-department collaboration and opens the door for increased strategy development.
Long seen as the standard-bearer for creative staff development at the Division I level — Clemson recently became the first school to add two members to its CSC roster who are in the university’s athletics fundraising department, IPTAY.
Brooke Robbins is the director of communications for IPTAY.
Kelsey Tibbs is an assistant director of IPTAY with an emphasis on graphic design and communication.
Brad Brown, chief operations officer for IPTAY, saw the benefit in adding the two to Clemson’s All-In membership.
“In their respective positions with IPTAY, Brooke and Kelsey play a critical role in strategically communicating with a variety of Clemson Athletics and university constituents,” Brown said. “We felt that adding them as CSC members would be beneficial in continuing to connect with other professionals in our ever-changing industry. Their involvement with CSC will continue to build upon and further diversify their skillsets and networks.”
Following is a question-and-answer with the communications professionals in IPTAY.
Brooke Robbins
Why was it important that you have membership in CSC?
BR: It goes without saying that communication in intercollegiate athletics impacts every unit within a department. Alignment in communication strategy across each unit within an athletic department is essential for a high-functioning organization with a positive culture. Having both worked within the world of athletics development as well as in the world of strategic initiatives/revenue generation, I’ve seen firsthand how much integration of the two worlds creates a positive impact. By joining CSC, we feel it is another opportunity to gain a unique perspective on storytelling from other professionals in the industry with diverse areas of focus.
KT: Communication is a big part of our daily job. Being able to join an organization that can educate and allow for development would allow for a great opportunity to work with others and broaden our current roles. The ability to strategize with others in the same field who can help create new opportunities and ideas outside of our current circle is a phenomenal opportunity. By joining CSC, we now have the opportunity to gain a new perspective from other professionals within the industry and share our own unique stories and ideas along the way.
As an attendee at CSU Unite in June, Kelsey, what did you learn and what were some of your ah-ha's from the experience?
KT: Storytelling. The sessions that I attended continued to come back to the main idea of storytelling and the best ways to go about it. Storytelling from a development standpoint is a crucial part of what our communications and design team focuses on. In one of my sessions, they talked about making the most of what you have when you have the least amount of funding. The group talked about different tactics to help implement storytelling while having a small budget to work with. One of the ideas was about a mini-microphone series. The idea was to use a small microphone that attaches to your phone, and then an athlete or staff member could do a live video with an update or an announcement to post on socials. This gave me the ah-ha moment, as I realized I did not need to have a vast knowledge of videography or huge production to get a meaningful and purposeful video onto social media for our donor base. The idea that the content shared can be a manageable process and can always be something simple to get the point and the story across to the viewer.
Brooke, your background is in marketing communications, branding and strategy. How do you think telling the stories at Clemson intersects among the different departments?
BR: I was ecstatic to join the IPTAY team at Clemson for a variety of reasons. Clemson is a special place with a storied history and a bright future. In working with the Clemson athletics marketing and communications teams among others, there is a great opportunity to highlight student-athletes of the past, present and future in a way that celebrates competitive and academic success while also inspiring those who continue to invest generously in our programs. Our priority is setting our student-athletes up for sustained success with the necessary resources, and sharing the impact of how support from our members plays an integral role in their time on campus and beyond.
What is your interaction with Clemson's communications or creative solutions staff?
BR: Every week I interact with both the communications and creative solutions staff members on a variety of department and university priorities. We take a comprehensive approach discussing week-to-week what is upcoming from a content creation and outbound communication standpoint, and how we can amplify our messaging across different audiences.
KT: The creative solutions team that we have at Clemson is phenomenal. They are continually working on breaking new barriers and wanting to be the best in their craft. Every few weeks, I work with creatives to make sure that our designs are balanced and coherent. Also, whenever I have a larger project, I reach out to the creatives team to get their ideas on how to improve the initial idea and what techniques they would suggest for the development of the design.
How do communication, storytelling and marketing skills help you perform your job on a daily basis? What resources do you use for professional development to help you hone those skills?
BR: Every day I am working on the projects set forth to strategically engage current and prospective donors – whether that means a solicitation, a stewardship/impact piece, informational materials, or something intended for cultivation. We are working to tell stories across print and digital media platforms while targeting the right demographics with the right messaging and putting the right products in front of the right audience. We are also actively working toward enhancing our approach in terms of data-driven strategy and segmentation. I have been a member of NAAD, NACMA, and Women Leaders in College Sports, and continue to engage with other professionals in the college athletics community on best practices in the dynamic landscape we all experience.
KT: We are continuously working through various platforms to enhance communications and storytelling within our department. We focus a lot on engaging our current and prospective donors through the items that are being created. Storytelling through design is a big part of my job on a daily basis. I am constantly creating content from email headers, postcards, brochures, social series, and our magazine that all revolve around the idea of storytelling. The skills I have developed through color theory, typography, and design correlation helped me create meaningful and purposeful pieces. Behance is a great way to try and learn from other creatives within the industry. A lot of other designers add their content to Behance and it is a great platform that allows the ability to showcase new ideas for others to view within the industry.
What's one thing you wish you were better at as far as communications goes and why? How can CSC help you improve that skill?
BR: We live in a world where the amount of data we are able to consume from those whom we communicate with grows daily. In my previous roles, I’ve worked to implement different tools to collect data as well as identify opportunities to act on the information collected and enhance strategy. I think there is always a balance to be found between collecting information and making adjustments accordingly. With the overwhelming amount of collectible information, I’d like to become more focused and targeted when it comes to key performance indicators that will help guide and align overarching strategy.
KT: The design world for college athletics is constantly changing. I hope to learn more from other graphic designers about new ways to implement new ideas within the creative realm. Also, the use of new technology within the design world. Adobe products are constantly being improved to help with different design tasks, and learning from others would be a great way to help improve those skills.
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