PURPOSE-DRIVEN CAMPAIGNS

MENTAL HEALTH & SPORTS

As Digital Communications Manager (North America) for Hercules Tires, I led the strategy behind omnichannel campaigns activating the brand's partnerships with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL), New York Mavericks (PBR) and five NCAA conferences.

These campaigns amplified athlete voices and championed mental health through authentic storytelling, to drive awareness, impact and brand equity across sports at every competitive level.

The goal of these campaigns was to expand Hercules Tires' brand message by redefining strength beyond tire performance.

KEY OBJECTIVES

  • Redefine Strength

    Reduce stigma and spark conversations around mental wellness across professional and collegiate sports.

  • Strategic Storytelling

    Leverage brand partnerships and athlete voices to amplify authentic stories about mental health in sports.

  • Build Trust

    Position Hercules Tires as a socially responsible, purpose-driven partner in sports culture.

  • New Initiative

    Launch Hercules Tires' first-ever NIL campaign to align brand values with student-athlete stories.

  • Authentic Connection

    Drive meaningful engagement across fans, athletes and communities through shared experiences.

OPPORTUNTIES

  • Launch social series featuring Ti-Cats players, including quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, to amplify continuously-relevant stories highlighting mental health awareness.

  • Leverage New York Mavericks partnership to highlight the importance of mental strength in bull riding for World Mental Health Day

  • Launch first-ever, conference-wide NIL initiative across five NCAA conferences during Mental Health Awareness Month.

Each campaign elevated real athlete voices while reinforcing the brand's identity: strength redefined.

CHALLENGES

  • Stigma

    Mental health remains a sensitive, and often polarizing, subject in the sports sector, requiring careful navigation to ensure messaging is both resonant and respectful.

  • Awareness Gap

    The topic of mental health is underrepresented in sports sponsorships, despite increased interest in wellness and athlete well-being.

  • Complex Coordination

    Executing unified campaign across three sports organizations requires alignment on timelines, approvals, budget allocation and messaging

  • Defined Purpose

    As Hercules Tires’ first NIL initiative, campaign carried risk of being perceived as transactional or performative without a clearly-defined mission.

Each campaign featured authentic storytelling,
not polished ads.

EXECUTION & RESULTS

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Recurring Campaign, 2022 - 2024

  • Strategic Alignment

    Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts included hyperlocal dealer partnerships, incentivized community engagement and targeted media outreach to amplify visibility.

  • Moments of Strength Hercules Tires Hamilton Tiger Cats

    Evergreen Content

    Moments of Strength was a platform-optimized social series featuring stories from team members, collaborative Q&A content and long-form episodes to amplify mental health awareness in sports.

  • Experiential Branding

    In-stadium mental health signage and QR-driven activations offered real-time brand engagement opportunities, incentivized offers for lead generation and targeted traffic to the Hercules Tires website.

CAMPAIGN RESULTS

  • 218K+ IMPRESSIONS

    @HerculesTires mentions across @Ticats channels during 2024 season

  • 10K+ ENGAGEMENTS

    Cross-channel interactions, including likes, reactions and comments

  • 1M+ AUDIENCE REACH

    Unique accounts that campaign content reached across channels

  • 2,500+ SHARES

    Moments of Strength brand content, assets shared across social channels

Moments of Strength

This original content series featured a 4-part series with quarterback, Bo Levi Mitchell, sharing personal anecdotes and stories to inspire all.

New York Mavericks
2024 World Mental Health Day

  • TIMELY RELEVANCE

    Campaign served as a relevant, high-visibility opportunity to amplify brand partnership and tap into a trending conversation on World Mental Health Day.

  • SOCIAL-FIRST CREATIVE

    Developed platform-specific graphics for real-time release on World Mental Health Day with original quotes from New York Mavericks about mental health, performance and strength.

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CAMPAIGN RESULTS

  • 1K+ ENGAGEMENTS

    cross-channel content interactions,
    achieved in less than 24 hours

  • SCALABLE FRAMEWORK

    Assets and messaging format intentionally designed to be evergreen and adaptable for future brand campaigns around strength.

NCAA DIVISION I CONFERENCES

Mental Health Awareness Month

  • Inaugural Campaign

    Launched Hercules Tires’ first-ever Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) partnership, activating a new brand initiative with 50+ student-athletes across five NCAA conferences

  • Mental Health awareness ncaa

    Timely Awareness

    Timed campaign to join May’s national conversation around mental health, with campaign featuring candid video submissions addressing student-athlete challenges

  • ncaa nil hercules tires campaign

    Cross-Platform Stories

    Repurposed short-form video content for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, X and Facebook to maximize campaign reach and resonance

CAMPAIGN RESULTS

  • 783K+ IMPRESSIONS

    Campaign content generated over three-quarters of a million impressions in just 30 days

  • 413K+ VIEWS

    50+ submissions drew more views across platforms

  • 301K+ REACHED

    Unique accounts, collaborative content extended brand exposure to new audiences

  • 5.3K ENGAGEMENTS

    Fans, students and NCAA conference accounts liked, commented and shared content

  • 120+ HASHTAG USES

    Campaign hashtag, #motivatedbymentalstrength, gained traction among athletes, students and conference channels

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