Case Study
An enhanced activation concept that brought Atlanta's sneaker culture into the WNBA arena and proved the best experiential moments live online at the same time.
The Atlanta Dream had a Sneakerhead Night that had lost its impact. The team was enjoying its best season on the court in years, but struggled to penetrate the streetwear and sneaker communities that dominate Atlanta's cultural conversation. Sneakerheads weren't against women's ball, they just hadn't seen consistent reasons to show up.
The team needed a signature moment that could do two things simultaneously: drive real ticket revenue and generate the kind of authentic content that spreads on its own. Something the city's tastemakers would actually want to be part of.
I first established a Theme Nights Playbook that helped give Sneakerhead Night at the Dream more context given the goal: a fully immersive in-game takeover built around Atlanta's sneaker culture from the ground up. The concept wasn't a wrapper thrown over a normal game. With the playbook, it was a platform where every touchpoint, from the parking lot to the final buzzer, was designed to deliver content worth sharing to feed a Diggy/Fizzy loop that would draw more fans in.
I brought together external partners to deliver a plan that started at the door with a Dream "AJ1" keychain giveaway. Concourse activations included sneaker designer Lxrd V, who we paired with Rhyne Howard in advance to develop a custom design, creating great content to hype the theme night. Lxrd V gifted Rhyne a pair, and completed a second version live on the concourse as fans entered the arena. A lucky fan won the second pair during a 4th quarter timeout contest.
Also on the concourse was a 360° Shoe Cam, "Shoe-lrey" vendor, 2K gaming station, photo booth, and a VIP sneaker cleaning station by SNKRR BAR — a two-person team who set up shop and cleaned fans' kicks on the spot in VIP. Every activation was designed to stop people in their tracks and put a phone in their hand.
I booked Trinidad James as the game's halftime act, knowing he would bring it for the performance and outfit. I then led a retail collab with HommeWrk, Trinidad's streetwear brand based in downtown Atlanta. The capsule was an in-arena exclusive, driving ticket sales and early entry to get the pieces before they sold out. Trinidad performed in the collection, and created some dope content to help promote via collab posts. Great partner!
The activation also unlocked new money. Cash App was a new sponsor for the Dream in the 2025 season. When they saw the Sneakerhead Night plan, they gave incremental dollars to fund a live trivia activation and add their logo to the AJ1 keychain giveaway. I negotiated the contract with influencer Ms. Basketball to host the trivia and worked with the Content Director to program it in and allocate content budget. A new sponsor saw an activation plan worth investing in...and the activation got bigger because of it. That's the Diggy/Fizzy loop generating revenue in real time.
I brought Social and Content together to boost TJ's (I can call him TJ now right?) post, the content between Rhyne and Lxrd V, Ms. Basketball's trivia clips, and organic ideas to drive excitement for the game.
"Every element was designed to be filmed. If it wasn't share-worthy, it didn't make the cut."
That's the Diggy/Fizzy framework in practice. Diggy is the invitation to participate we built into every content decision and the shareable moments created on the concourse. The event didn't end when the final buzzer sounded. And it started before tipoff thanks to my close, personal friend Trinidad James and Lxrd V, the world's dopest sneaker designer, bringing great stories to life before the game. That content and more was shared, drawing more fans to experience a Dream game live. The loop repeats.
Sneakerhead Night delivered a sellout, keeping the Dream's multiyear streak alive for a game that was historically slow-selling. The capsule collaboration sold out. And Trinidad James brought pregame energy he delivered on at halftime with scroll-stopping clips to promote, and a team of double dutchers to accompany his performance. Sneakerhead Night content drew among the highest engagement of the season. A win considering gameday content was among the lowest performing for the team.
More importantly, it proved you don't find new fans by waiting for them to come to you. You build something worth their time and build in Diggy/Fizzy thinking to feed more growth.
Want to build something like this?