INDIANAPOLIS—The inaugural “Crafted by Kelley” networking and fireside chat series kicked off with Kelley School of Business Indianapolis alumna Shayna Sangster, MBA’13, giving the Kelley Indy network a look behind the Indiana Fever’s marketing strategy.
Sangster works as the Indiana Fever’s associate vice president of marketing. She is a 2013 graduate of the Kelley Evening MBA Program and a 2024 Fellow of the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence.
In a moderated discussion hosted at Guggman Haus Brewing Co. by Kelley Indianapolis Vice Dean Julie Manning Magid, Sangster shared about her experience at Kelley and role with the Fever.
B.C. and A.C. — Marketing Strategies Before Caitlin and After Caitlin
One of the most significant parts of Sangster’s career has been marketing the WNBA’s superstar: Caitlin Clark.
However, Sangster’s experience with the Fever spans years before Clark joined the team. She described those years as a different time not only for the team, but the league overall.
“In 2020, we did a Fever brand study, and brand awareness was 47% in the state of Indiana. On a multiple-choice test, people did not know the Indiana Fever and that we’re a women’s basketball team,” Sangster said. “Before Caitlin, so few people really knew the WNBA and the phenomenal players already in the league which was always the struggle.”
That dynamic, however, shifted almost overnight. As soon as Clark declared for the 2024 draft, and the Fever had the No. 1 pick, strategic marketing planning for her arrival quickly followed. It also brought more responsibility for the Fever brand.
“I have a bigger scope now: more eyeballs on what we’re producing, more attention, and a bigger budget,” Sangster said. “In terms of social media, we’re competing not only with the WNBA (teams) but with the NFL, too.”
And while promoting the Fever’s superstar player is vital to marketing, Sangster said it is also a balance and important to recognize all the team’s players.
“I want you to know Aliyah Boston, and I want you to know Kelsey Mitchell. Just from social media, I see a lot of people saying they came for Caitlin, but they stay for Aliyah and Kelsey,” Sangster said. “The fans get to know them, and that’s important. At the end of the day, we are proud to be and compete as one team.”
While Sangster now balances marketing strategies and execution, her foundation of learning how to do so started years earlier.
From Kelley to the Court: How the MBA Experience Prepared Sangster
Before joining the Fever, Sangster worked for USA Track and Field, headquartered in Indianapolis. During that time, Sangster recognized her desire to pivot to a marketing-focused role and went back to school.
She chose the part-time Evening MBA Program at Kelley Indianapolis and concentrated her MBA studies on marketing and entrepreneurship.
“At the time, I was working at a small non-profit. Kelley broadened my perspective of business. And going to school while working gave me a better understanding of how to apply what I learned to the real world,” she said.
Shortly after graduating from Kelley, Sangster took a role with the Fever and, in 11 years, has worked her way up to associate vice president of parketing.
“The Kelley Evening MBA Program was phenomenal. I truly loved the program and the people,” she said.
In 2024, Sangster spent a year building relationships, gaining actionable insights, and developing key leadership competencies as a Tobias Fellow in the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence. Sangster said that experience reaffirmed her values as a leader.
“I have team members who report to me, and it’s important my team sees me working with them placing 20,000 shirts on chairs before games, for example. I have to be out there because they’re my team,” Sangster said. “It’s really important to me to show up and to be as understanding.”
From strategic planning to creative execution, Sangster has helped lead some of the Fever’s most memorable marketing campaigns—each one reinforcing the team’s growing brand identity.
Marketing Highlights: “Stranger Things” Jersey, “Now You Know” Campaign, and All-Star Weekend
Sangster has been the driving force behind several of the Fever’s recent high-profile marketing campaigns. Among them was the 2025 WNBA weekend hosted by Indianapolis.
Sangster said with favorable weather and expectations of people being outdoors, it was a priority for the marketing team to make an impact in outdoor spaces, including WNBA All-Star signage in high-visibility areas.
“We knew people would be out exploring downtown, and we wanted everyone, no matter where they were, to know the WNBA All-Star weekend was taking place right here,” Sangster said.
Sangster also played a major role in the return of the “Stranger Things” and Indiana Fever jersey collaboration. The jersey, which replicates the show’s signature red and horror-style font, debuted in 2021 and sold out. The franchise re-released the jersey last month in honor of the show’s final season. It was the second best-selling jersey across all sports leagues the day it was re-released.
“When I heard a year ago that ‘Stranger Things’ was coming out with its final season, I reached back out to the league, to Netflix, and to Nike and said, ‘Hey, I think we should bring this back for the final season,’ and everyone said absolutely,” she said. “It went viral for us the first time, and that was before Caitlin. I am thankful we had the opportunity to bring back the jersey.”
Another highlight for Sangster has been executing the “Now You Know” campaign. While admitting it was not the team’s first choice after weeks of hours-long meetings and planning, it proved to resonate best with fans.
“I think we needed this campaign, at this time, for the position we’re in. Now you know women play sports. Now you know Indiana is the center of basketball. Now you know who the Indiana Fever are,” Sangster said. “The women are here and compete and are just as entertaining. The women deserve this.”
As for the Fever’s future, Sangster acknowledges this time for the Fever is significant, and the sports world is unpredictable.
“I can tell you what this beer is going to taste like and what experience you’re going to have when drinking it,” Sangster said as an example. “But I have no control over a player or what happens on that court. That’s what is different in sports. I think we have to do our best to capitalize on the moments while also plan and invest in our future.”
The “Crafted by Kelley” networking and fireside chat series is designed to foster meaningful dialogue and personal connections through shared experiences, insights, and ideas from Kelley Indianapolis alumni, partners, and faculty.
To stay tuned for details on the next “Crafted by Kelley” event and other stories from Kelley Indianapolis, subscribe to our blog.
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