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ACC Unveils New Creative Campaign, “ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS,” Highlighting the Conference’s Success in Athletics, Academics and More

PSA: ACC: ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS
PSA: ACC Football: ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) –The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced its new creative campaign, “ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS,” a multi-part brand campaign highlighting the vast success of the ACC’s athletics and academics alike. The campaign launched with a football-focused spot ahead of the ACC’s official college football season kickoff on Thursday, Aug. 31. The series will continue with two multi-sport spots highlighting the ACC’s incredible accomplishments in all sports throughout the academic year.

Developed in partnership with sports, music and culture agency Wasserman and its creative agency Laundry Service, ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS emphasizes the enduring success that ACC schools and student-athletes have and will continue to achieve as the conference looks to the future. ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS will roll out nationally and in the ACC’s member school markets throughout the 2023-24 academic and athletic year.

The campaign debuts the same week the ACC held a flag-raising ceremony on Tuesday, Aug. 29, to celebrate the opening of its new league headquarters in Charlotte. The campaign and headquarters opening are part of the conference’s strategic approach to best position the conference for its continued future success nationally.

“We’re thrilled to announce ‘ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS’ which showcases the ACC’s commitment to our student-athletes, coaches, and institutions by highlighting the league’s successes across all areas of athletics, academics, community service and beyond,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “I’m proud of the incredible achievements our conference continues to have, and we look forward to building upon this campaign. We appreciate the terrific work by our partners – Wasserman and Laundry Service – as well as the involvement of our 15-member institutions.”

ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS is the result of a conference-wide research effort conducted by Wasserman to understand the conference’s strengths and positioning. The research included quantitative and qualitative data that helped direct the campaign creative.

The campaign will include TV and radio spots, social media creative, digital media promotion and school-specific campaign design assets for each member school. ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS will begin its rollout this weekend when the ACC opens its college football season with 12 games in five days and will continue with future assets throughout the year.

The ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS campaign will highlight the incredible success the ACC and its 15 member institutions have enjoyed, including: 
  • No other conference has won more NCAA national championships in the last two years than the ACC. The league has won 16 national titles in the last two academic years, including a league-record nine in 2022-23.  
  • The ACC has had a team in either the College Football Playoff or the BCS National Championship Game in eight of the last 10 years, including two teams in 2020. The ACC has placed the second-most teams and has the second-best record in the CFP since its inception. 
  • With the addition of women’s gymnastics on July 1, 2023, the ACC leads all Autonomy 5 conferences with 15 women’s sports offerings. In total, no peer conference sponsors more than the league's 28 sports. 
  • The ACC has won seven national championships in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and baseball since 2015. The ACC is the only conference to win a national title in each of those sponsored sports over that stretch. 
  • Sixteen ACC programs finished the 2022-23 season ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in their respective sports, and all 15 member schools captured either an ACC championship or regular-season championship. 
  • The ACC’s current men’s basketball programs have combined to win 17 NCAA Championships. In women’s basketball, the ACC has had nine different institutions represented in the Women’s Final Four. 
 
What they are Saying: 
“It was a priority for the ACC to embark on this branding effort to illustrate and amplify how exceptional our member institutions are both academically and athletically. We are the most accomplished conference nationwide in both realms. Through this campaign, we are striving to raise awareness of our many successes across all sports. Our conference led the country last year with nine NCAA championships,” said University of Pittsburgh Director of Athletics and the previous Chair of the Athletics Directors Heather Lyke. “The ACC is building a brand that is progressive and innovative. We have a rich history and an even greater future ahead. I commend the Commissioner and ACC staff for thinking differently in launching a brand campaign that also coincides with the move to Charlotte.”

"We're enormously proud to support the 'Accomplish Greatness' message and story for the ACC – an authentic testament to the spirit of the conference," said Head of Laundry Service Jordan Fox. "The dynamism of the ACC directly inspires the call to greatness, as strong academic performance complements their nine national championships in the last academic year – comprising a mix of large and small schools, private and public, rural and metropolitan. This campaign aims to drive more partnerships and human connection for their community."

"The exciting creative challenge – fulfilled across all our campaign elements – was to take all that is great about the ACC and combine it into an integrated story and experience," said Laundry Service Group Creative Director Larry Gordon. "To illustrate the shared qualities of 15 schools – each with their own unique strengths, incredibly strong athletic and alumni history, and in-progress innovations – provides an embarrassment of riches and drives a call to everyone who wants to support the next chapter of the ACC story."

About the Atlantic Coast Conference 
The Atlantic Coast Conference, now in its 71st year of competition and 15 members strong, has long enjoyed the reputation as one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest continue to build upon the cornerstones on which the league was founded in 1953 with a consistent balance of academics, athletics and integrity. The ACC currently sponsors 28 NCAA sports – 15 for women and 13 for men – with member institutions located in 10 states. In August 2019, ESPN and the ACC partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports and league-wide original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow @accsports on Instagram and @theACC on Twitter and on Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).

About Wasserman 
Wasserman powers the business of sports, music and culture. We serve clients with exceptional insight, influence and creativity, while making a positive impact on our industry and each other. Founded in 2002, Wasserman represents the world’s most iconic sports figures, musical artists, brands and properties, empowering them to shape culture and captivate audiences worldwide.