Newly drafted quarterback Matt Ryan will not be a prime player in an advertising campaign planned by the Atlanta Falcons to try to rebuild the team's sagging season-ticket base.

The Falcons acknowledge a steep drop-off in season-ticket renewals in some parts of the Georgia Dome — a tumble precipitated by a disastrous 2007 season and not abated by a price cut — and the team vows an aggressive effort to fill the vacated seats.

But the person drafted last weekend to succeed Michael Vick on the field will not replace the imprisoned quarterback as the marketing face of the franchise — at least not now.

"I don't think we're going to sit there and try to harp on one player," said Falcons president Rich McKay, who oversees the team's business operations. "It doesn't mean [Ryan] won't have some appearances or that you won't see him in the community, but I don't think he'll be the focus of our campaign."

Asked if that is the result of a lesson learned in the Vick era, when the rise and fall of one player defined a franchise for good and bad, McKay said: "It probably is. But in the Michael era, there was an awful lot of focus on Michael that wasn't driven by us — focus that was just a natural byproduct of the player he was. It wasn't by design, but by demand. By design, you focus on the team.

"In this instance, we will focus on the fact there is a unique opportunity for fans to buy pretty good seats in the Dome at a low price, and if they don't take advantage of it the opportunity won't be there in the future. We don't plan to make this about one player."

McKay, who lost his dual role as general manager after last season, has become increasingly involved in sales and marketing matters.

Dick Sullivan, a former Home Depot executive who had been the Falcons' executive vice president of marketing since Arthur Blank bought the franchise, is now on leave from the team to serve as president of PGA Tour Superstores, a retail chain in which Blank has a significant ownership stake. Sullivan remains president of the Blank-owned Georgia Force of the Arena Football League and continues to lead Blank's pursuit of a possible Major League Soccer franchise for metro Atlanta.

McKay said the Falcons' advertising campaign, which will roll out over the next couple of weeks, will stress the availability of season tickets because in recent years "the market became accustomed" to them being sold out. The situation is different now, with the team reeling from a chaotic 4-12 season that included the jailing of Vick on federal dogfighting charges.

McKay said the ad campaign will emphasize the importance of creating a home-field advantage ("Screamers Wanted," billboards will blare), Blank's commitment to winning and the fresh start of a new coach, new GM and new players.

In addition to billboards, the campaign will include TV and radio commercials, and newspaper and on-line ads.

The Falcons' deadline for season-ticket renewals was March 21. The team refused to divulge the percentage of tickets that were not renewed, but made no secret that new season-ticket buyers are needed for a significant number of seats.

Although seats are open in all price categories, McKay said the renewal rate was "right where it's been in the past" in the prime, priciest seats and down significantly elsewhere in the Dome.

"In lower-priced seats and in some upper-deck seats, the renewal rate was not very good," he said.

The Falcons earlier reduced the price of those seats, most by $30 or $40 per season and some by $170 or $270 per season, in an attempt to stave off cancellations. The price cuts put 16,000-plus seats at the lowest price point of $250 per season. But after several years of aggressive price increases, the cuts apparently did not work.

"I can't say I saw impact from that [in renewals]," McKay conceded.

Single-game tickets won't go on sale until summer.

In addition to the fallout from last season, the overall slow economy "has affected all of us in the sales business," McKay said. "It's affected us on the sponsorship side, suites, club seats, whatever, but I don't think it's been a huge negative. We have seen ... people are slower to act."