NFL × NSAC

I sat on both the Strategy and Creative Committees. On strategy, my focus was defining who the casual fan actually was, writing the creative brief, and building the strategic foundation the creative team would work from. On creative, I functioned as a strategic lens, keeping every execution on brief and grounded in our insights.

In practice, that meant conducting consumer research to define and segment the casual fan audience, reorienting the research framework when initial data contradicted our assumptions, writing the creative brief, and pressure-testing creative executions to ensure strategic consistency.

Over eight months, we conducted 3,224 total research impressions across qualitative interviews, Qualtrics surveys, focus groups, concept testing, and social listening.

The NFL defined the casual fan by how much football a person watched, and we started there too. Three Qualtrics surveys and 497 respondents later, the frame collapsed: viewership and self-reported fandom were nearly identical across casual and avid fans. Behavior wasn't the dividing line. So we rebuilt the research around perception — how people felt about the league, not how often they watched it.

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Perception was where the difference lived. Casual fans thought more highly of the NFL than avid fans did, and held its controversies more loosely. They were optimists who saw the league as a force for good but couldn't see how its youth programs touched their own lives. The programs were doing meaningful work; the story wasn't reaching the people who mattered most.

There are worse things going on today than 20 years ago, but I also believe the younger generation has a lot more opportunities now than there were 20 years ago.

I believe challenges are increasing for younger generations, but I also see opportunities for resilience and positive change ahead.

Human Truth: Casual fans believe in the power of possibility.

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From the perception research, we segmented the casual fan into three audiences. Nurturers (primary) see the NFL as a force for good but need to understand how its programs fit into an already full schedule. Players are potential participants, motivated by fun and physical activity. Connectors are former Players who can connect the NFL's programs to the next generation.

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Trust wasn't the problem; awareness was. Casual fans already believed in the league — they just didn't know its youth programs existed or how to get involved. The opportunity was to connect the NFL's initiatives to the everyday moments of individual growth these optimists were already primed to notice.

The brief framed the casual fan as someone who already believed in the NFL's values but needed a reason to feel personally connected to its youth programs.

The brief's single most persuasive idea: The NFL's youth health and wellness initiatives inspire individuals to maximize their potential.

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With Heart was built around the idea that the NFL develops better people, not just better athletes or bigger fans. Heart isn't only on the field in a goal-line stand — it's in the scraped-knee moment when a kid gets back on their bike and tries again. The campaign unified all six of the NFL's principal youth initiatives under one flexible, scalable platform.

Executions included Works of HeART (a community mural series), Primetime Valentine, a children's book, a campaign microsite, and With Heart Week activations tied to key NFL moments — each with authentic storytelling, an uplifting tone, and a direct call to action under #NFLwithHeart.

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A $10.4 million budget across a 12-month flight (September 2026 – September 2027), meeting casual fans across the fandom journey through social, partnerships, out-of-home, experiential, and in-game moments. Partnership concepts included Uber Eats for Super Bowl LXI, Quaker Chewy Bars, a Marriott Bonvoy sweepstakes, and a Dude Perfect collaboration to reach Players.

A year on one problem — research through strategy, brief writing, and into creative — taught me something a semester can't: strategy only matters if creative can use it. Two things stuck with me. First, question the research frame early. The pivot from viewership to perception was a small methodological call, and it produced the insight With Heart stands on. Second, the brief isn't a handoff. Strategy and creative have to stay in conversation, which is why I wanted a seat in both rooms.