Josh Berry Announcement . Social Content

Background.
With Kevin Harvick's retirement announcement, our social and content team at Stewart-Haas Racing had a tall task: announce the racer, Josh Berry, filling one of the most coveted rides in NASCAR, the No. 4 Ford Mustang. Josh Berry is a grassroots racer who would be stepping into the NASCAR Cup Series full time for the first time. Given Harvick's immense popularity and his integral role in shaping our brand, we wanted to make sure our approach was right:

First, we wanted to seamlessly transition Harvick's loyal fanbase to embrace Josh Berry, the new driver of the No. 4. We needed to foster a sense of continuity and respect for Harvick's legacy while ushering in a new era with Berry.

Secondly, we wanted to solidify Josh Berry as the right guy for this ride and add credibility. Our organization would never get this passing-of-the-torch moment back, and it was crucial that we positioned Berry correctly and fans knew he was their guy.

Finally, just like fans have an emotional connection to Harvick, we wanted to help build an emotional connection to Berry with our fans.

Significant moments in sports, like a driver announcement, are an opportunity to reinforce what your brand stands for. In these moments, sports teams have the attention of their fans, and knowing that, it was important our launch video not only passed the torch the right way but also was unique and ownable for Stewart-Haas Racing. 

Concept.
From a concept standpoint, our team landed on the theme of moving 4WARD with Josh Berry. We crafted an emotional letter from Harvick to Berry explaining why he was the right guy for this ride. The letter focused on the SHR brand DNA of racers and how Berry fits that mold. Having Harvick narrate a letter and focus on how Berry fits SHR was strategic for us. If we wanted to add credibility to Harvick's successor (who was a wild card pick), there was no one better to do it than Harvick himself. And because the letter was written from an emotional lens, it allowed us to facilitate an emotional connection with the new driver to fans.

My role.

— Developed the concept and theme for the unveil moment
— Led the team responsible for all execution of video, graphics, social, etc.
— Wrote the script for the video in collaboration with our team