2024 NFL Draft Detroit Graphic Design Support
The NFL Draft comes to Detroit — and we were chosen to give it Motor City flair
When you’re asked to “Bring It!” you do. And we contributed tenfold. Yeah, we’re super proud of our involvement in the makings of this record-breaking party that showed off Detroit to millions of football fans around the world.
Challenge: Give the NFL Draft a dose of Detroit attitude
At Octane Design, we take great pride in our love for Detroit — and our ability to convey its BIG personality in creative ways. The 2024 NFL Draft event gave us a massive canvas. The sheer scale of the draft and the number of assets needed before, during and after was, well, impressive to huddle our heads around.
Boy did we ever deliver. Banners, vehicle wraps, window displays, signage, animations, videos, fliers, visitor guides, credentials, posters, business kits, impact reports … the list goes on and on.
Strategy: Become a small, yet mighty, arm of the NFL creative team
You have to understand a client’s goal to interpret and plan the best path to success. That’s why our starting point for the NFL Draft assets was to immerse our designers in the NFL brand. We spent quality time getting ourselves acquainted with the NFL, its draft portfolio and its creative team, working directly with them to understand established assets and in-place guidelines for the 2024 NFL Draft. We also took the initiative to become leads for Visit Detroit’s and the Detroit Sports Commission’s creative teams, acting as a safety valve so they wouldn’t get overwhelmed by the shear amount they were tasked to create.
We did what we do best, team play — taking an established brand, masterfully applying it and delivering a monumental collection of assets on time, every time for our client.
Result: Detroit glowed — the epicenter of the best sports party in America
Nearly a million fans (775,000 to be exact) descended on Detroit April 25-27, 2024, for the NFL Draft. Nearly 6,000 media stories were generated during the 2024 NFL Draft. Fan sentiment about the city of Detroit was a whopping 97% neutral/positive.
And that’s just a few of the impressive stats and facts.
Here’s a peek at what Octane Design accomplished on behalf of the Detroit Sports Commission and Visit Detroit for the 2024 NFL Draft, helping to create a record-breaking event and solidify Detroit as a premier sports destination.
Some of our NFL Draft products and services needed a bigger blowout. Links to related case studies are included here. Make sure to scroll and click.
Services:
Graphic design layout and production
Creative and art direction
Video production and editing
Editorial – Copy writing and proofreading
Before the Draft — Building Buzz
On the Clock Tour
This regional tour hit the road months before the 2024 NFL Draft to build community excitement with sports-themed activities and much more. 30 stops in 19 communities.
What We Did:
- Designed the NFL Draft-branded vehicle wrap for Visit Detroit’s D-Rover
- Attended site visits with client to gather banner dimensions, window cling sizes and needs
- Designed NFL-branded banners, light boxes, outdoor truss signage and animations for tour’s mini draft countdown clock
- Created Spirit of Detroit label pin
- Designed Visit Detroit-branded directional and wayfinding signage, fliers and credentials
See the On The Clock Tour case study for more information.
NFL Draft Business Resource Kit
To prep the Detroit metro area’s hospitality industry for the draft, Visit Detroit dropped a comprehensive resource kit with all the marketing do’s and don’ts in early April.
What We Did:
- Designed Visit Detroit’s 15-page NFL Draft Business Resource kit. See it here https://visitdetroit.com/business-resource-kit/
- Designed draft welcome posters for use in hotels and venues
Community Impact Draft
The Detroit Sports Commission’s Community Impact Draft officially kicked off draft week on April 22, awarding grants to grassroots and nonprofits organizations in and around Detroit in a fun, celebratory mock-draft style. Octane Design was asked to give the event its own brand identity, one that spoke to the Detroit-based audience, and one that illustrated the event’s purpose and connection to the community. We had two weeks to get the job done.
What We Did:
Branded the Community Impact Draft event and designed, produced all related assets including backdrop banners, digital stage backgrounds, signage, table top clings, pop-up banners, lightboxes, credentials, brochures, jersey giveaways for grant recipients and much more
See the Community Impact Draft case study to learn more.
During the Draft — Coming Together
Being part of the massive team that made the draft a reality was humbling, yet ultimately very rewarding. With all the collaboration, incredible things happened. As Detroiters, experiencing the draft from behind the lens of our video cameras, and producing materials to help visitors enjoy our town, was an extraordinary opportunity for our team. Capturing and feeling the pure joy, sense of family, community pride and heartfelt hospitality from everyone was an experience beyond measure.
What We Did:
- Designed QLine NFL Draft-branded wraps, SMART bus wraps
- Orchestrated the People Mover’s Financial District station takeover
- Created multiple sets of access credentials for Visit Detroit VIP events, invited social media and influencers
- Designed sponsor step and repeat backdrop, sponsor digital ads and pop-up signage, table toppers and table topper clings
- Produced the Detroit Draft City visitors guide. See https://www.octanedesign.com/case-study/detroit-draft-city-newspaper/ for case study.
- Filmed each day of the draft to build up a video library for our BTS and thank you videos
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After the Draft — Sharing the Impact
The 2024 NFL Draft was more than a singular event for Detroit, and its effect on the city, its business communities, residents and hospitality industry transcended three days in April. Octane Design was tasked with giving a voice to what the city, Visit Detroit, the Detroit Sports Commission and all the collaborative partners accomplished.
What We Did:
- Produced the Detroit — We Got You behind-the-scenes recap video, including filming, editing, production, script, showing off the capabilities of the city to host an international event of the magnitude of the NFL Draft https://youtu.be/FiQeE_vcPik?si=OQ2FFPlJ4939ZGfQ
- Produced the I Believe — Detroit thank you video for Visit Detroit, including filming, editing, production and script to recognize hospitality workers https://vimeo.com/998287063/558126f52a ∙
- Designed the NFL Draft Impact infographic https://www.octanedesign.com/infographics-help-tell-a-story/
- Designed and produced the NFL Draft Impact Report – the Detroit Sports Commission’s 36-page showcase touting accomplishments and outlining efforts to make the draft a success in Detroit
Let's do stuff
If we can do it for the NFL, we can do it for you! We’re ready to support and brand your next big event.