OVERVIEW
Empowering Black teen athletes to
take healthy risks instead of those associated with sports betting.
I partnered with Russell Herder and the Minnesota Department of Human Services to help a non-profit organization, Neighborhood Youth Academy, develop and execute positive messaging around sports betting and athletics.
SERVICES PROVIDED
Strategy
Creative Direction
Video Production
THE PUZZLING CHALLENGE
Sports betting is gambling which is illegal for anyone 18 and under, with the risk player eligibility. So how do you inform athletes of these hazards without making a boring infomercial doesn't resonate? Also, what is the alternative to things you're telling athletes to not do?
THE DISCOVERY
Over the course of four sessions with teen athletes and their coaches, we discovered the core motivation for betting was ego. The players craved respect and recognition. They felt disappointed when they were not chosen for an award, knowing they were the better player.
I crafted a script targeting players' self-esteem. This provided us with a strategy to propose an alternative to sports betting and acknowledge their existing greatness. We wanted these athletes to take risks of self-investment that build healthy esteem and avoid sports betting that crumbles self-esteem.
CREDITS
Client: Neighborhood Youth Academy
Client: Minnesota Department of Human Services
Agency: Russell Herder
Strategist / Producer / Director / Editor: DANAMI
Cinemetographer: Victor Rukavina
Narrator: Pneuma Pierre