CELEBRATING CHAMPIONS WITH WHATABURGER
In 2021, the South Oak Cliff Golden Bears became the first Dallas ISD high school football champion since 1955—five years before the Dallas Cowboys were even founded in 1960. When “SOC” repeated in 2022, I led the effort to celebrate their historic achievement with a one-of-a-kind day at Cowboys headquarters.
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Dallas had a budding football dynasty when the South Oak Cliff Golden Bears took home a second high school title in as many years.
Most looked at it and saw a nice local story. As a marketer for the Dallas Cowboys, I saw it is as an opportunity to engage the next generation of fans and strengthen community ties.
I developed the idea and drove the effort across departments of the franchise to host the champs for a special day at the team’s HQ.
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I quickly established two clear goals:
Recognize the historic nature of SOC’s back-to-back titles
Show high schoolers with a passion for the game that they can still strive to be part of the it in other ways if they don’t go pro
From there, I reached out to the partners needed to achieve my goals:
Community Relations for contacting and hosting South Oak Cliff High School
My own Merchandise team to put together player gift bags
Legal to help us safely execute this first-time activation
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Once a date for the visit was locked in, celebratory swag bag materials were fulfilled, and the hosting plan was approved, we set out to elevate the activation by adding elements:
I recruited people from across nearly every department to manage different check points on a customized tour route. From accounting to media to football operations, they spoke to their role in the franchise.
We collaborated with corporate partnerships to feature Whataburger. They presented a check to the team’s head coach, provided meals, and contributed to the swag bag.
We secured Cowboys media team videographers to capture the event as part of an overall NFL Draft activation recap.
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The original activation that I developed, established, and elevated helped us prosper on multiple fronts:
We connected the franchise to a historic moment within the local community
We proactively brought a new initiative to Whataburger that proved to be a natural brand fit
We bolstered an organization-wide goal to engage the next generation of football fans
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What more would I do today:
Sell the “champions tour” to Whataburger as an activation that triggers every time a 5A or 6A North Texas high school football team wins a title
Extend the invitation to the NFL’s Houston Texans to adopt a similar playbook covering the South Texas area
Integrate more sponsored gifts for the swag bags