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When Mississippi State University Athletics set out to boost season ticket renewals for the 2025 football season, they turned to a powerful tool: text messaging. By leveraging Vozzi’s targeted SMS platform, MSU launched a simple yet powerful four-text campaign that drove over $171,000 in revenue and nearly doubled last year’s results.
Background & Challenge
Mississippi State had long used Vozzi to send last-minute season ticket renewal reminders. But with a standout home schedule featuring Texas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Arizona State, the team knew it had an opportunity to go bigger.
Instead of waiting until the final days, the athletic department decided to launch an early, proactive texting strategy. This year, they used Vozzi earlier in the renewal window and included direct, clickable links—allowing fans to renew instantly from their phones with minimal friction.
strategy
Mississippi State rolled out a four-part texting campaign over the month leading up to the football season ticket renewal deadline. Each text was strategically timed to land on “quiet” days—when there were no conflicting emails, social posts, or sporting events—giving each message room to breathe and stand out.
Send Schedule:
Each message targeted only non-renewed fans, with the list size shrinking as renewals came in. Messaging was aligned across all channels and designed to feel personal while maintaining consistency. Most importantly, texts included direct links to the renewal portal, allowing fans to take immediate action right from their phones.
execution
With Vozzi’s user-friendly platform and Mississippi State’s internal tools, each send took under 10 minutes to build and deploy. The list was updated before each message to ensure only non-renewed fans were included.
Send Breakdown:
The very first text alone drove $61,000 in revenue—setting the tone for a high-impact campaign.
results
The texting campaign proved highly effective, surpassing even the dedicated renewal page in driving revenue by 41%. It also helped re-engage fans who had unsubscribed from email communications and sparked community conversations around the renewals.
lasting impact
The success of this renewal campaign cemented Vozzi as a key part of Mississippi State’s overall ticketing strategy. It’s now a recurring topic in weekly department meetings and has expanded into Text to Buy campaigns for baseball and softball.
“The goal is to train fans to start purchasing via text now, so that when we do have those higher-dollar events come football season, it’s not a sticker shock to pay hundreds of dollars through a text message because they’ve been doing it all spring.”
— Jonathan Eaton, Assistant A.D., Analytics and Business Strategy
advice to other departments
When asked what he’d tell other athletic departments considering texting for renewals, Jonathan didn’t hesitate:
“If you’re not texting your fans, you’re losing out on revenue. Just plain and simple.”
— Jonathan Eaton, Assistant A.D., Analytics and Business Strategy
He emphasized that for many fans—especially younger ones—texting is the most reliable way to reach them.
“For a certain demographic, it’s all they use. They don’t check email. They’re not surfing the web looking for tickets. They’re on their phones doing other things. If you can reach them via text—something that lives on their phone—they’ll not only see it in the moment, but they’ll also come back to it later as they scroll through their messages.”
— Jonathan Eaton, Assistant A.D., Analytics and Business Strategy
looking ahead
Mississippi State’s success is a powerful reminder that effective communication doesn’t have to be complex—it just has to meet fans where they are. With smart timing, tight targeting, and frictionless user experiences, texting has become more than a reminder tool; it’s now a revenue-driving channel.
As more departments look for ways to boost renewals and engage fans in a mobile-first world, Mississippi State’s results offer a blueprint for what’s possible. With Vozzi, turning texts into ticket sales isn’t just achievable—it’s repeatable.
The texting campaign proved highly effective, surpassing even the dedicated renewal page in driving revenue by 41%. It also helped re-engage fans who had unsubscribed from email communications and sparked community conversations around the renewals.
