Colorado Rapids - New Day
The 6th Annual Awards
- Best Engagement for Good
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
The Colorado Rapids launched their 'New Day' Community Kit in partnership with adidas and local artist Pat Milbery in February, 2023 as part of a season-long community-focused campaign. Traditional team 'jersey launches' don’t typically feature much depth past fans seeing the player wearing a jersey for the first time - the Colorado Rapids wanted to change that narrative with their New Day Kit. The name ‘New Day’ serves as a reminder to our community that there’s always a new day on the horizon and the possibilities for a better tomorrow are infinite. Most importantly, the kit serves as a platform to support Mental Health Awareness and initiatives.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
The Colorado Rapids Digital, Marketing, Community and Creative teams re-defined what engagement with a community can look like in 2023. Not only did the club increase retail and social media metrics around the annual jersey unveil, they shined light and supported a initiative that mattered in Colorado. During the 2023 season, the club found ways to use their platform to activate the 'Rise Above the Stigma' campaign through partnerships, in-person events and content.
Objective
The Colorado Rapids set out to achieve three goals when launching their 2023 ’New Day’ Community Kit in partnership with adidas and local artist Pat Milbery.
- Support initiatives & topics that matter to the Colorado community.
- Create a platform to support Mental Health awareness, initiatives and organizations that are positively impacting the Colorado community.
- Tell Colorado stories and represent the values of our state.
Strategy & Execution
Following the public unveil on February 15, 2023 the club announced a season-long ’Rise Above the Stigma’ Mental Health Awareness campaign that focused on branded content, experiential engagement and local partnerships.
The experiential side of the jersey unveil was geared toward engaging fans and community members in person on two key dates - our Season Kickoff Party and Mental Health Awareness Match. The Party featured different activations from local Mental Health Organizations and provided fans ways to engage in Mental Health focused activities in addition to meeting the full team for the first time. During May, Mental Health Awareness Month, the club featured a Mental Health Awareness theme night, which included community partners, a charity auction for the game-worn New Day kits and in-game content on the video boards.
Finally, the local partnerships began with our primary shirt sponsor, UCHealth, and their ’Ready. Set. CO. campaign to return Colorado to the healthiest state in the country. With their support, and the support of Mental Health Colorado we began finding ways to use resources, expertise and community connections to authentically speak about and motivate Coloradans around the topic of Mental Health Awareness.
Organizations
- Colorado Rapids Soccer Club
- adidas
- LOVETAP
Links
Featured
- Cole Bassett
- Pat Milbery
- Taylor Korniek
- Janine Becker
- GRiZ
Credits
Caitlin Kinser
Senior Director, Community Impact & Events
Colorado Rapids Soccer Club
Jordan Rothrock
Senior Director, Creative & Brand
Colorado Rapids Soccer Club
Alex McGeorge
Vice President, Media
Colorado Rapids Soccer Club
Wayne Brant
Chief Business Officer
Colorado Rapids Soccer Club
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
