Cal – Creative Direction Summary
Contribution Led the transformation of Cal Women’s Basketball’s brand identity and creative strategy, elevating its presence in college sports.
Task
Rebuild an out of date brand to become relevant and recognized in the competitive NCAA College Sports market
The Results
Attracted new audiences with a bold art direction that revitalized and modernized the brand as an up-and-comer in the college sports market.
Built a comprehensive and wildly effective 12 month social media plan for exponential growth. Created magnetic content, successful campaigns, and strategic collaborations including viral features with Steph Curry.
Gained from boosting brand recognition, developing innovative recruiting-marketing campaigns, and crafting in-person experiences to inspire buy-in through brand storytelling & messaging.
The Strategy Behind the Transformation
The Strategy:
New Art Direction
(Creative Direction & Scripting by Karen DeLoy & Kiaira Cooper. Film & Editing by Dalton Boehm & external partners)
1. Aligned Brand Identity
Cool, Gritty, Bay Area Culture & California Love.
The number one goal was to balance the concept of “Bay Area loyalty”, with the desirability and coolness of “California”. The look also needed to shift away from the “traditional” stance the university academics typically emphasizes. I developed textures and elements that captured a “gritty” attitude that matched and represented the culture of the new head coach, Charmin Smith.
2. New Graphics Package
I developed a visual identity for all of our content, which was especially important in for game promotion.
The goal was to use distinct design elements that would help women’s basketball stand out among other sports, yet still feel a part of the Cal brand. Realism in the various textures were cohesive across several different touch points.
3. Next Level Video Content
A big part of the plan in the creative direction was to expand our video content with a video director that could execute the new brand identity with cinematic storytelling, and quick trends. Working collaboratively on content and trend-centered videos, we increased video production output rapidly which was pivotal to our growth plan.
The Strategy Behind the Transformation
The Strategy:
Social Media Growth
1. Full Scale Social Media Plan
Created a content pillar framework and 12-month plan with measurable goals for posting frequency, reel creation and follow count.
2. Research, test, predict
I created goals by analyzing our direct competitors. Our plan was to be the best out of the 12 teams in our region (Pac-12 Conference). Other big name brands with 20-50k more followers (ie. UCLA, Oregon, Washington) were leading in many categories, including average video views (reels).
In just two months we surpassed them and rose to #1 in average views of our video content. The follower total grew exponentially by the 12 month and 24 month mark.
I tracked data in Keyhole and the native tools in each platform. Some important data:
Organically Tripled (3x) on Instagram (approx. 9k-24k).
Organically increased 30x on TikTok (1k to 30k).
Doubled important instagram metrics (follower rate, engagement) in my first 3 months.
3. Collaborations & Campaigns
As part of a campaign to elevate the Cal brand and bring exposure to our star player Jayda Curry, we collaborated with Steph Curry 2 years in a row. The first was a meeting between Jayda and Steph at the warriors facility. The second was inviting Steph to attended a Cal game, and speaking in the locker room after the game.
We leveraged prime content, especially of Steph reacting to Jayda’s court play, that burst into the millions for engagement on TikTok.
Along with collaborations with Steph Curry, I also strategized content with prominent Bay Area accounts such as @hyphyculture and large sports accounts such as @ballislifie
The Strategy Behind the Transformation
The Strategy:
Recruiting Rebrand
1. Rebranded every piece of creative material for a year long recruiting campaign.
The “Golden Ticket” is a project I spearheaded as a rebrand. The former campaign was outdated and mostly dominated by text. I created the graphic based series and logo in conjunction with the needs of the coaching staff.
This recruiting campaign serves as the foremost touchpoint for coaches to communicate with prospective players. Some pieces were sent sent through the mail, and some were sent through text message. The campaign represents 20 of the most important themes about the Cal experience.
Special Brand Messages
This is an example of specific brand messages I scripted (In collaboration with Video Director, Kiara Cooper) for the recruiting campaign “Build it” Narrated by Cal Alumni and NFL player, Marshawn Lynch. The message and visuals depict other Cal Alumni’s that have “built” success and is a call to action for recruits to do the same for an up-and-coming program. (Video editor: Marquez Bura)
(Scripting by Karen DeLoy & Kiaira Cooper. Edited by Marquez Bura)
2. Create Custom Experiences
Strategized custom content based on recruits interests, and other creative themes. As well as in-person photoshoots for top recruits, with the goal of making them look cool, unique and differentiated from other competitors seeking to do the same.
