College.town · Advertiser engagement recap

FanWord weekly engagement

Saturday 19 September – Friday 25 September 2026 · seven sponsored newsletters: D1.ticker, D2.ticker, D2 Jobs, D3.ticker, CRO.ticker, NAIA.ticker, NJCAA.ticker

Section 1

Performance at a glance

Impressions

94,666

-12.5% wk/wk
-3.3% vs 4-wk avg

Verified clicks

-4.5% wk/wk
-34.9% vs 4-wk avg

Unique clickers

-14.3% wk/wk
-40.5% vs 4-wk avg

Sends w/ placement

+25.0% wk/wk
+15.4% vs 4-wk avg

How these are counted. Clicks and unique clickers count every verified FanWord click whose own timestamp falls inside Sat 19 – Fri 25 Sep, whichever issue carried the link. Impressions and sends-with-placement are send-scoped: they describe the 15 issues whose send time falls inside the window, and impressions are the sum of unique opens across those issues. Comparison weeks are computed on exactly the same basis.

Baseline. Verified-click reporting begins 22 Aug 2026, so four prior comparable Sat–Fri weeks are available and the four-week average uses all four. That average is lifted by the week of 22–28 Aug, the FanWord Assist public-demo push, which drew 56 clicks from 52 people — roughly triple a normal week. Read the −34.9% and −40.5% figures against that promotional peak rather than as a decline from a steady state.

One swing to discount. Sends carrying a placement rose 25% week over week, but off a quiet base: 12 of 27 issues carried FanWord last week against 15 of 29 this week. The move is three issues, not a step change in coverage. Impressions fell 12.5% on a near-identical footprint, driven by D1.ticker open volume rather than by placement count.

Section 2

Clicks by placement

Destination	Verified clicks	Unique clickers
lionathletics.com/news/2026/9/14/general-east-texas-am-partners-with-ai-storytelling-leader-fanword.aspx	7	7
fanword.com/fanword-assist-for-small-college-athletics/	5	4
chicowildcats.com/news/2026/7/23/general-chico-state-athletics-announces-multi-year-partnership-with-fanword.aspx	2	2
fanword.com/fanword-assist-for-division-i-college-athletics/	2	2
millersvilleathletics.com/news/2026/9/21/general-millersville-athletics-announces-partnership-with-fanword	2	2
northernsun.org/news/2026/9/24/general-nsic-inks-new-corporate-partnership-with-fanword.aspx	2	2
wssurams.com/news/2026/9/21/general-winston-salem-state-athletics-partners-with-fanword-to-expand-athletics-storytelling.aspx	1	1
Total	21	18

In-window vs earlier issues. All 21 verified clicks came from issues that sent inside the window; none came from earlier issues still drawing traffic. That is unusual — the click-date rule exists precisely because older editions keep earning clicks — and it means the headline click figure and the send-scoped figures below describe the same set of issues this week. Two further clicks on the NSIC release arrived on Sun 27 Sep from one reader of D2.ticker #1801; they fall after the window and will count in next week's report.

Unique clickers are distinct people, so the column does not sum: the 18 people in the total row are the distinct readers behind all 21 clicks, several of whom appear against more than one destination. Destinations are normalised to host plus path with "www." removed, so the same landing page reached from different newsletters is one row.

Section 3

Most-clicked story

FanWord creative: East Texas A&M partnership

East Texas A&M partners with AI storytelling leader FanWord

7 unique clickers · 7 verified clicks · the week’s most-clicked FanWord placement

“East Texas A&M signs a multi-year deal with FanWord to implement FanWord Assist in an effort to streamline its communications efforts.”

This placement reached readers two ways in the same week. D1.ticker ran the line above as its own Deal Corner item in the Evening Standard of Mon 21 Sep and again in the following morning’s edition, and the FanwordETAMU.gif creative shown above ran as a display unit in D1.ticker on Thu 24 Sep and in D2 Jobs the same day. All four placements pointed at the same East Texas A&M release on lionathletics.com.

Of the seven clickers, four came through the editorial mention and three through the display creative. The group skews senior: a sitting Deputy Commissioner at the Southland Conference, NACDA’s Director of Creative Services, a Big 12 assistant coach, and the owner of Momentum Media among them.

Section 4

Ad graphics this period

Eight distinct FanWord display creatives ran during the window, grouped here by creative rather than by destination. Mastheads are excluded.

Creative	File and destination	First appeared	Sends	Clicks	Unique
	FanwordETAMU.gif lionathletics.com	24 Sep 2026	2	3	3
	FanwordChicoState.gif chicowildcats.com	2 Sep 2026	1	2	2
	FanwordLeadingD1.gif fanword.com	6 Sep 2026	1	2	2
	FanwordLeadingSmallCollege.gif fanword.com	1 Sep 2026	3	1	1
	FanwordMillersville.gif millersvilleathletics.com	22 Sep 2026	1	0	0
	FanwordNorthwestern_College_Case_Study.gif fanword.com	8 Sep 2026	1	0	0
	FanwordStThomas.gif tommiesports.com	26 Aug 2026	1	0	0
	FanwordWinstonSalemState.gif wssurams.com	23 Sep 2026	1	0	0
Total — display creatives			11	8	8

Destinations, in row order: the East Texas A&M release, the Chico State release, FanWord Assist for Division I, FanWord Assist for small college athletics, the Millersville release, the Northwestern College case study, the St. Thomas release, and the Winston-Salem State release. "First appeared" is the earliest send on which the creative has been observed since verified-click reporting began on 22 Aug 2026; three creatives — East Texas A&M, Millersville and Winston-Salem State — are new this week.

These 8 clicks are the display-unit share of the week’s 21. The remaining 13 came from the recurring FanWord Assist sponsor text (4) and from editorial mentions (9), which are listed in Section 5. Because this section is send-scoped and covers display units only, its click column is not meant to reach the headline total.

Section 5

Editorial content mentioning FanWord

Four FanWord mentions ran in the newsletters’ own editorial voice during the window, each a Deal Corner item written by the College.town desk and linking out to the partner school’s or conference’s own release. None is sponsor-supplied copy.

Newsletter’s own writing · links to a partner-school release

East Texas A&M signs with FanWord

“East Texas A&M signs a multi-year deal with FanWord to implement FanWord Assist in an effort to streamline its communications efforts.”

D1.ticker · Evening Standard, Mon 21 Sep and morning edition, Tue 22 Sep · 2 sends · 4 clicks · 4 unique clickers

Newsletter’s own writing · links to a partner-school release

Millersville signs with FanWord

“Millersville signs a multi-year deal with FanWord to support its storytelling efforts.”

D2.ticker · Edition #1799, Mon 21 Sep · 1 send · 2 clicks · 2 unique clickers

Newsletter’s own writing · links to a partner-school release

The NSIC partners with FanWord

“The NSIC partners with FanWord to support its content creation efforts.”

D2.ticker · Edition #1801, Fri 25 Sep · 1 send · 2 clicks · 2 unique clickers

Newsletter’s own writing · links to a partner-school release

Winston-Salem State teams up with FanWord

“Winston-Salem State teams up with FanWord to support its content creation efforts.”

D2.ticker · Edition #1800, Wed 23 Sep · 1 send · 1 click · 1 unique clicker

Together these four items drew 9 of the week’s 21 verified clicks from 9 people — more than the 8 clicks earned by the display creatives in Section 4. No editorial item from just outside the window drew clicks inside it.

Section 6

Everyone who clicked

Every verified FanWord clicker in the window, 18 people in all, VIP subscribers first and then everyone else, each group alphabetical by surname.

Name	Notes	What they clicked
VIP subscribers (2)
Thomas Samuel VIP	Deputy Commissioner Compliance @ Southland	East Texas A&M release — D1.ticker editorial, Mon 21 Sep
Joshua Smith VIP	Senior Associate Athletic Director @ UC Riverside	FanWord Assist for small college athletics — D2 Jobs, Fri 25 Sep
All other subscribers (16)
M Dolan Evanovich	Retired; former Senior VP for Enrollment and the Student Experience @ Syracuse	East Texas A&M release — D1.ticker display, Thu 24 Sep
Mark Goldberg	Owner of Momentum Media	East Texas A&M release — D1.ticker display, Thu 24 Sep
Laanna Goldena	Not on file	NSIC release — D2.ticker #1801, Fri 25 Sep
David Hicks	Athletic Director @ West Virginia State University	Chico State release — D3.ticker #1450, Mon 21 Sep
Jeff Konya	Director of Athletics @ San Jose State	FanWord Assist for Division I — D1.ticker display, Mon 21 Sep
Austin Lagesse	Director of Athletic Communications @ Bethel University	NSIC release — D2.ticker #1801, Fri 25 Sep
Jessica Lende	Assistant Athletic Director for Internal Operations @ Cal Poly Humboldt	FanWord Assist for small college athletics — D2 Jobs, Wed 23 Sep
Wesley Mallicone	Director of Sports Medicine @ Shippensburg University	Millersville release — D2.ticker #1799, Mon 21 Sep
Tom McMillen	Partner @ Moran Global Strategies; former President and CEO @ LEAD1 Association	FanWord Assist for Division I — D1.ticker display, Mon 21 Sep
George Pincock	Assistant Coach, Cross Country and Track & Field @ Arizona State	East Texas A&M release — D1.ticker editorial, Mon 21 Sep
Jonathan Platten	Director of Creative Services @ NACDA	East Texas A&M release — D1.ticker editorial, Tue 22 Sep; Millersville release — D2.ticker #1799
Julie Soriero	Athletic Director @ MIT	FanWord Assist for small college athletics — D3.ticker #1451, Wed 23 Sep (2 clicks)
Joseph Stimart	Sports Management Graduate Student and Athletic Operations GA @ Middle Tennessee State	East Texas A&M release — D1.ticker editorial, Mon 21 Sep
Andy Thurston	Senior Director for Strategic Communications @ Summit League	FanWord Assist for small college athletics — D2 Jobs, Thu 24 Sep
Pheadra Wyche	Executive Assistant to the Commissioner and Business Administrator @ CIAA	Winston-Salem State release — D2.ticker #1800, Wed 23 Sep
Samantha Zipperer	Graduate Student @ Wisconsin-Stevens Point	East Texas A&M release — D2 Jobs display, Thu 24 Sep

None of the 18 entries is publisher-internal, so net external reach is the full 18 people. Titles and employers are as held in the College.town subscriber record at the time of the click.

Prepared for FanWord · College.town · generated 28 September 2026