Champion What Moves You: No Permission

Champion's legacy of pioneering the sportswear industry gives it a unique edge in forging genuine connections with creators driving today’s cultural movements. Many of the world’s most iconic streetwear brands have leaned on Champion to ignite their own success.

With this in mind, we launched a bold awareness campaign to elevate the Champion What Moves You platform, giving the brand the recognition it deserves for its profound influence on culture.

Campaign components:

  • Experiential at the Brooklyn Museum

  • Media and creator partnerships

  • PR & Influencer campaign

  • Creators Fund

  • Full-funnel Media

Impact:

  • 4% life in both brand loyalty and awareness

  • 47% higher ad recall than average brand on TikTok

  • 20% brand search lift on Champion

  • 5% lift in purchase intent

New Brand Direction: Champion is Now a Verb

How do you refresh a brand more than 100 years in the making? You honor its legacy—while speaking directly to a new generation. Be bold, inspiring consumers to not only connect with the brand but to make it their own rallying cry.

For Champion, this meant transforming the name from a static noun to an active VERB. Champion What Moves You redefined how the brand engages with the market, aligning with Gen Z’s belief that the journey is as valuable as the destination.

This platform lets Creators align their passions with Champion’s purpose, telling their stories through the brand’s lens. At its heart, Champion What Moves You puts Creators with Purpose front and center, showcasing who they are, where they come from, and what they Champion. Each communication stands as proof of Champion’s dedication to inspiring and empowering creators—inviting audiences to follow their journey and be part of something meaningful.

This refined version sharpens the messaging, highlights the platform’s purpose, and emphasizes the invitation for audiences to engage with Champion.

Creative: Champion Weighted Hoodie

We weren’t just launching a new product—it’s our purpose, and it’s deeply personal. This innovation is about more than features; it’s about helping people. We knew we had to make a genuine human connection. I wanted to ensure that we linked the brand and product to the real people behind it—their passion, their stories, and the impact they’re striving to make.

It was equally essential to get the Weighted Hoodie into the hands of those who would genuinely benefit from it and could authentically share their take on its quality and impact. To amplify this, the brand collaborated to produce engaging social content, while creators documented their personal experiences through VLOG content for their channels.

Creative: Champion Eco Future Introduction

The objective: To launch our new sustainability platform and unveil our latest product innovation with inspiring, groundbreaking creativity. We aimed to deliver something never before seen from Champion—or any other brand. This wasn’t just about making a statement; it was about redefining what’s possible and setting a new standard for innovation in the industry.

Design Direction: Champion A Better Tomorrow Platform

HanesBrands Inc. and Champion have been pioneers in the sustainability space, yet their story remained untold. From concept through execution, I spearheaded the launch of Champion A Better Tomorrow, transforming our sustainability commitment into a consumer-facing, engaging narrative. This also included the product marketing design direction for Champion Eco Future, our new product platform, to spotlight purpose-driven innovation and inspire consumers to join us in shaping a more sustainable future.

Brand PR Activation: Bringing Jeff Goldblum to adidas

For adidas' 2019 global brand campaign, I was tasked with creating a breakthrough PR moment to spotlight our running category and Boost midsole technology. After identifying a unique opportunity with a contact at Discovery, I pitched an exclusive feature on a highly anticipated new show set to debut on Disney+.

The result? The World According to Jeff Goldblum filmed an episode on sneakers at the adidas Sports Science Lab in Portland. Goldblum, sporting the 2019 Ultraboost, underwent a series of tests as our innovation team analyzed his running form and mental performance. The episode not only showcased adidas' cutting-edge technology but perfectly amplified our campaign message through an unexpected yet credible source.

This joint PR effort between adidas, Discovery, and Disney created a media moment that extended across platforms, including promotions on social media and through the Disney+ app. The campaign earned an estimated 400 million impressions, solidifying adidas' position at the forefront of performance innovation.

Engagement & Creative Strategy: adidas Changes the Game on Social

Ahead of the 2015 NBA All Star Weekend, I pitched and executed a groundbreaking strategy that handed over creative control of all product photography to influential Instagram photographers in New York, the host city. This might not sound groundbreaking now, but neither adidas nor its competitors had ever used this influencer approach, which was in its infancy at the time and hadn’t yet been adopted by many brands. 

Adidas dominated All-Star Weekend in consumer engagement and earned media impressions,  boosted its NPS score in New York, and played a pivotal role in the adoption of influencer strategy, which led to adidas Originals being named the most engaged sneaker brand on social media that year.

We successfully expanded our network of Instagram photographers across four key cities in North America, transforming our brand’s approach to creative execution, community engagement, wholesale support, and media reach.

  • Faster Creative Production with Cost Savings: We accelerated our creative production timelines while achieving significant cost efficiencies.

  • Utilized Photographers for Event Coverage: Strategic partnerships with photographers enabled us to capture live events more effectively, providing vibrant and authentic content for our channels.

  • Localized Creative for DTC and Wholesale Retail: The localized approach allowed us to tailor our creative assets, ensuring resonance with diverse audiences in both direct-to-consumer and wholesale markets.

  • Extended Reach on Influencer Channels: The integration of photographers into our influencer strategy broadened our outreach, allowing us to tap into new audiences and engage with potential customers more dynamically.

  • PR Coverage from Influencer Work and Strategy Shift: The collaboration with influencers not only enhanced our brand visibility but also yielded valuable PR opportunities, amplifying our storytelling and elevating brand perception.