One Nashville Under Gold
Launched January 10, 2020
Major League Soccer (MLS) | Sports and Entertainment | Creative Direction | Advertising Campaign | Project Management | Season Ticket Sales | Marketing | Merchandise | Brand Identity | Community Engagement | Grassroots Marketing | Concepting
Overview
As the creative director and lead for the "One Nashville Under Gold" campaign, I was responsible for building a unifying campaign that rallied the city around Nashville SC’s inaugural MLS season.
We needed to launch the first real call to action showing we as a team and brand were something real they could experience. Before it was all anticipation - now it was time to shine. With the newly-launched MLS brand front-and-center, we launched with a message of pride and unity.
Key Elements:
New brand front-and-center | The campaign focused on using the colors Acoustic Blue and Electric Gold as symbols of pride and unity. By focusing on our colors, this stood out and zeroes in on our identity.
Authenticity: Our fans are diverse, passionate, and relatable. We reached out to our supporters group to include our actual, real fans in this campaign - building stronger relationships and encouraging brand ambassadors. We also used all-local creative teams to execute this campaign from the photographer to photo locations.
Efficiency for Maximum Content | As an inaugural season, we didn’t have footage and photoshoots to use in this new brand. So we focused on our fans! I oversaw the deliverables of over 400+ video and photo assets for a rande of traditional, digital, and experiential advertising.
The campaign resulted in significant fan engagement, a visually impactful flag project across the city, and a successful season ticket drive that brought the community together under a shared identity.
The Challenge
Nashville SC’s inaugural MLS season wasn’t just about playing soccer—it was about uniting a city that had never had a top-tier soccer team before. The challenge was to create a campaign that would bring together fans from all corners of the city, build anticipation for the season, and generate excitement around Nashville SC as a symbol of community pride.
We have been building buzz, consistently building momentum around the MLS bid and announcement. Now we really had to put our work to the test: would people support us with their pocketbooks too?
Uniting a Diverse Fanbase
We needed to create a campaign that resonated with Nashville’s diverse population, bringing together long-time residents, newcomers, and sports enthusiasts under a common identity.
Creating Widespread Visibility
We aimed to ensure the brand was visible across the entire city through symbolic assets like the Electric Gold flags. Nashville is no stranger to entertainment, so we not only needed to gain awareness but stand out.
Engaging Key Community Sectors
The challenge was to involve various community stakeholders, including local businesses, influencers, and fan groups, to rally behind the campaign.
Driving Season Ticket Sales
The campaign needed to generate buzz and urgency, directly leading to an increase in season ticket sales and long-term fan commitment.
Generating Momentum for a New MLS Team
The campaign had to build excitement for Nashville SC’s debut season while establishing the team as a key part of the city’s identity. We needed to launch the first real call to action showing we as a team and brand were something real they could experience. Before it was all anticipation - now it was time to shine. With the newly-launched MLS brand front-and-center, we launched with a message of pride and unity.
The Solution
As the creative director, I led the development and execution of the "One Nashville Under Gold" campaign. The concept was simple yet powerful: we wanted to use Nashville SC’s signature color, Electric Gold, as a unifying symbol of the team and the city.
Creative Direction & Storytelling
The heart of the campaign was the idea that Nashville is a city of unity and pride, brought together under the team’s Electric Gold. We developed a narrative that emphasized how every fan, every neighborhood, and every part of the city was connected through their support for Nashville SC, making the city "One Nashville Under Gold."
As the creative director, I developed the "One Nashville Under Gold" campaign to unite the city through the club’s Electric Gold color. The narrative focused on the idea that all fans, no matter their background or neighborhood, were part of one cohesive community supporting Nashville SC. The storytelling emphasized pride and unity, making the brand more than just a sports identity—it became a symbol of Nashville’s cultural spirit.
Targeted Fan Engagement
To ensure authenticity, we used real Nashville SC fans as models, representing different neighborhoods across the city. This approach not only showcased the city’s diversity but also made the campaign relatable and genuine. Fans could see themselves in the campaign, strengthening their emotional connection to the team. We also engaged key community groups and influencers to help spread the message, ensuring that authenticity and local pride were at the heart of our outreach.
Marketing and PR Strategy
This was a unifying campaign designed to spread the Nashville SC brand across the city and beyond. We deployed a multi-channel marketing strategy that included digital ads, radio, TV spots, partnerships, and community engagement initiatives. These efforts ensured the campaign reached diverse segments of the city and reinforced the message of unity and pride leading up to the club’s MLS debut. This included a mix of earned and paid advertising.
Living Beyond Just a Marketing Campaign
The "One Nashville Under Gold" campaign wasn’t just about marketing—it created a movement. We produced genuine video content featuring fans as ambassadors for the club, building deeper connections. Additionally, the campaign inspired a Tifo project, a fan-driven effort that visually embodied the spirit of the campaign during matchdays, ensuring it lived beyond just the launch and continued throughout the season.
The Outcome
The "One Nashville Under Gold" campaign successfully united the city behind Nashville SC and helped generate excitement for the club’s debut MLS season.
Significant Fan Engagement
The flag project became a citywide symbol of support, and the campaign drove thousands of social media interactions and shares.
Season Ticket Sales
The campaign contributed to an impressive season ticket drive, with a high percentage of sales attributed to the buzz generated by the "One Nashville Under Gold" campaign. Nashville SC SOLD OUT of season tickets before it’s first MLS match.
Widespread Visibility
The gold flags became iconic, visible in homes, businesses, and public spaces, symbolizing Nashville SC’s place in the city’s cultural identity.
Personal Reflection:
This campaign was incredibly special for me because it wasn’t just about marketing a team—it was about creating a movement that united a city. Seeing the Electric Gold flags fly all over Nashville was a powerful reminder of how a brand can transcend sport and become part of a community’s identity. I’m proud of the work we did to make Nashville SC a true reflection of the city and its people.This project taught me how powerful collaboration and precision are in ensuring a brand launch is successful—especially one that so many people have been eagerly awaiting.