brad van schaik

NFL PLAY60 Rising Star COMBINE

This is a big story to read through. if you only have time for the highlights, check out this case study video.

nfl play 60 needed a Canadian relaunch.

Play60 is a grassroots initiative, created by the NFL, that encourages kids to complete 60 minutes of physical activity (play) each day. Big events with big budgets are hosted in the US every year, to facilitate that 60 minutes and to give kids an opportunity to hang with their favourite NFL teams. Canadian events had never had the luster of the American versions, so it was time to step things up. NFL Canada wanted to host Play60 events that had a bit more flare and could attract more families than ever before. My agency ultimately did exactly that. I lead a pitch team to propose a relaunch of NFL Play60 that would take place in 10 major Canadian cities, with a brand new theme.

The PLay60 rising star combine was designed to cast kids in their very own NFL Dream come true. It’s why we designed the experience like we were writing a story.

Storyboard artists, traditionally used for bringing narratives to life, were taken through what we wanted each kid’s story to be and then helped visualize it. I break down every chapter below.

Our version of PLAY60 was about Far more than throwing balls and Taking Selfies with NFL stars.

We crafted the events to make kids feel like they were joining real NFL teams. From the moment they arrived, their stories began. With the help of the host team’s cheerleaders, mascots, players (and a smoke machine) every single kid got to run onto the field like real stars.

Then each little all star got drafted in front of their proud parents.

A partnership with New Era helped sell this moment. As each kid stepped up onto the stage, they were presented a New Era cap, just like the pros on draft day. Each kid was then asked to strike a pose for their player card, which they got to autographed on the signing table… because let’s be honest, to a kid the most important thing you must learn on your way to becoming a famous athlete is a great signature.

Then it was time for those 60 minutes of play. Special QB armbands introduced kids to six 10-minute activity stations, and made it impossible not to complete them all.

Upon completing a station, kids received a sticker to track their progress. Not only did it help give them an instant sense of achievement, it nearly ensured no kid would let their parents take them home until they had eared every sticker (I saw this happen on more than one occasion). When the kids completed their arm bands, it was clear they had completed their 60 minutes of play that day.

The six interactive activity stations gamified football in a kid friendly way.

The throwing station for instance, was inspired by popular apps like Angry Birds. Throwing footballs is fun, but throwing footballs at a tower of different targets that break away when you hit them is waaaaaaaay more fun.

At the Catching station, kids got to take passes from NFL players over top of a crash pad. The goal here, as described to the kids, wasn’t just to catch the ball but to make the most highlight-worthy grab they could. Each epic snag was filmed in super slow motion and played on monitors in the replay tent.

Visiting players even got into the action. Cam Jordan, Saints Pro Bowler, caught balls until he got the exact slow mo video he was looking for. Don’t worry, the kids gladly waited their turn, watching Cam took catches.

The Defense station was a reflex drill where NFL players or PLay60 staff tried to toss balls passed young defenders. The goal was to have no balls in the net when the time clock ran out.

Saints all-star running back, Mark Ingram, had his own way of teaching Defense at this station.

Kids raced each other, or had the opportunity to challenge NFL players or mascots to a series of ladders and cones.

The Patriots got pretty into the Footwork station at the Combine. Some took it seriously like Lawyer Millory (right), others had a hard time not letting their inner kid out… like Pat (left).

Kids we given routes to run, hitting a randomized combo of alphabetized pylons before being thrown a pass by an NFL player. The… catch? Mascots played defense, trying to disrupt the routes and deny passes.

Cheerleaders and mascots taught every superstar a few superstar moves, or at least that was the plan. What really happened was the kids brought some serious TikTok swag and taught the pros a few moves.

Every kid ended their day with an interview at the press table. They were asked how it felt to join an NFL team for the day and what advice they’d give future superstars who were on their path to the NFL. Some mentioned staying active (win) while a few suggested working on your autograph. :)

Having ten NFL teams in Canada during the same summer Never happens, so we encouraged NFL Canada to invest incremental dollars into a couple tv spots that would tell their story.

We used the events to shoot two full 30 second spots that aired on Canadian networks. The spots introduced a side of the NFL that not many get to see and showed Canadian fans that the NFL appreciates them; it all laddered up into the NFL’s bigger acquisition strategy.

incremental dollars also helped us show some cheerleaders and mascots around Canada. Seriously, I drove them around in minivans.

We shot a series of simple gifs that we geotargeted on social to let Canadians know which team was arriving in their city.