2024 BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY
SERVICES
Fabrication
Art Direction
Photography
Event Management
TIMEFRAME
8/2024 - 10/2024
AAC BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY
With the 2024-25 college hoops season on the horizon, the American Athletic Conference kicked things off with its men’s and women’s basketball media day. The two-day event, held at the Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, featured 52 student-athletes, two men and two women from each member institution, the head coach of each team and local and national media.
The Emmy award-winning “Trail to Fort Worth” campaign that Rally Department created for the 2024 American Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship was highly successful, and The American was looking for a way to fully integrate this campaign into the 2024-25 college basketball season, from start to finish. Rally Dept. was tasked with both building the photo set and running the actual photoshoot portion of the conference’s media day. The American wanted a wide array of shots, featuring different poses, angles and lighting, so the conference would be armed with social media content to post not only during media day but throughout the season.
THE CHALLENGE
Inspired by Fort Worth’s rich Western history, Rally Dept. expanded on the “Trail to Fort Worth” campaign by designing an 8-by-8-foot L-shaped set wrapped in vinyl with rustic wood panel artwork. The American’s logo was featured on the set’s main wall as a giant neon sign that could be lit in the color of each school. A red leather restaurant booth styled seat was placed in front of the “A” sign along with a large wooden barrel sitting to its right in the corner of the set. The adjacent side wall had a window created from an acrylic light box with custom LED lighting as a secondary source of light for the set. The American’s brand was extended throughout the set with both walls adorned with custom-designed artifacts including posters, retro-styled newspaper clippings, street and trail crossing signs as well as an American flag and picture of a bald eagle. To incorporate school branding for each of The American’s 13 member institutions in attendance, a custom pennant and newspaper were added to the set. Over the course of the two-day event, players and coaches from each of the conference’s men’s and women’s teams stopped by the set. Along with getting a wide array of traditional pictures taken for social media content for both the conference and schools, our team captured pictures with a Polaroid as a special memento for representatives from each team to take home.
THE DEVELOPMENT
Rally Dept. elevated The American’s brand during Media Day by sourcing, designing, and installing a custom outdoor basketball court outside the Westin Hotel in Las Colinas. The court featured The American’s Media Day logo at center court and large "A" emblems inside the 3-point lines, making it a striking visual centerpiece.
The court provided athletes, coaches, media, and guests with a space for friendly competition during the event. This interactive element reinforced The American’s branding while fostering engagement and connection among attendees, creating a memorable and playful experience that went beyond traditional advertising.