Miami Dolphins Cheer Branding
One of my main tasks when coming into the Dolphins was to take a look and find a new way to change the way the Cheer Branding was conducted. At first it was just about elements of messaging, design and aesthetics but then it became much more. As I got closer with the staff and squad I started to see and realize how much it was an importance to find young female to help empower them through dance, community work and sisterhood. I started to shift the branding mantra towards a feeling rather than a look. We wanted to show the girls in the best light. We wanted to show them that they were more than just sexy dancers on the sideline. Many of the cheerleaders had goals, aspirations, careers and even deep rooted stories. Our mission was to share that with the world so that we could turn the the Cheerleaders into more of an ambassadors for the organization. We re-designed their branding, the way we conducted photoshoots, how much they got paid during events, their dance style and practices, all the way down to the way we revealed their Annual Cover (formerly was a cheer calendar). We went away from things that subjected the girls and found new ways to showcase their power, strength and beauty. Here is the dawn of cheer in a new night. A trend that has been taking notice in the NFL for a few years now after we started to shift the perspective. We hope that this continues so that these cheer programs in the league continue to improve over time.
Samples of previous cheer calendars from the Miami Dolphins and various other teams:
The Miami Dolphins 2018 Branding Campaign
This year we took a new approach to showcasing the cheerleaders. We had a contract with MSC Cruise line where we did our Annual shoot. We shifted our focus to showing the girls in a more lifestyle manner as they explored not only the boat but also the locations we stopped at. In pervious years the images of the girls would be extremely compressed showing just them and their bodies and barely any background for context of where they were. We wanted to change that and treat it like a travel/lifestyle influencers Instagram page by showing fun, adventure and friendship. We also did a special series with each girls who went on the trip inside the book to show their stories as to what makes them who they are. We let them write their narrative which gave them a voice for once. We also photographed portraits of them using a Leica camera with no make up to show how striking, vulnerable and beautiful they were in their own skin. This started all the way from auditions and how we promoted it to the way we approached photoshoots for social media. The end result was a reveal of the Annual to the public with a video that showed how strong willed these young females were. They are here to empower and inspire others to chase after their dreams and be unapologetically themselves.
Social Media Applications
Instagram designed feeds & story content to promote brand ethos as well as auditions for future cheerleaders
Audition promotional video using storytelling to drive audition numbers
Lifestyle photoshoots throughout the year to convey fun, strength and personality. Used for promotional material, social content, and merchandise advertising.
