2021 NFL Draft and NBA All-Star 2022 · Cleveland, Ohio
Event
Marketing
two events on the national stage with overlapping game plans
Cleveland hosted back-to-back national events in the middle of a pandemic. For both host committees, I led marketing and communications and chaired the marketing, communications and city decor committees.
My role
Marketing and communications lead, and chair of the marketing, communications and city decor committees
Timeline
2019 to 2022
Budget
$500K per event in signage and out-of-home, managed separately
Services
Campaign strategy, media relations, media buys, crisis communication, city decor and partner deliverables
The challenge
Two national events, one community.
The 2021 NFL Draft was the third major fan-facing event to welcome fans back since the pandemic began. With limited capacity and constant COVID concerns, every plan needed a backup, and every message had to keep fans informed as guidelines changed. Planning started two years out, and for a full year it overlapped with NBA All-Star 2022, the first fully fan-facing, multi-day All-Star weekend open to the public since the pandemic began.
The play
One city, dressed for two of the biggest events in sports.
For both events, I led marketing and communications for the host committee and chaired the marketing, communications and city decor committees, leading teams from the City of Cleveland, Destination Cleveland, Downtown Cleveland Alliance and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, plus the Cleveland Browns for the Draft.
I managed two separate $500K signage and out-of-home budgets, one for the Draft and one for All-Star, dressing downtown with pole banners, bus shelter wraps, building wraps and murals. The Draft came in under budget.
As an appointed spokesperson, I led the local media cadence and crisis communication as COVID guidelines shifted. For All-Star, I served as a main point of contact with the NBA, made sure every partner deliverable was met and led artwork placement for the first-ever citywide shoppable NBA All-Star NFT art gallery.
The final score
What the events delivered
2021 NFL Draft
160K
fans over three days
40.1M
viewers, the third most-watched Draft ever
$118.6M
in publicity value from the media efforts I led
$42M
in economic impact to Northeast Ohio
NBA All-Star 2022
121.6K
fans from 45 states and 24 countries
11.9B
in total media reach
$2B
in publicity value from the media efforts I led
$248.9M
in economic impact to Northeast Ohio
Your move.
Ready for your own big-stage moment?
