DICK’S Sporting Goods' Greatest Wrapper in the Game

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

DICK’S Sporting Goods transformed a common holiday challenge—wrapping bulky sporting goods—into a culturally driven campaign by naming NCAA star and rapper Flau’jae Johnson the “Greatest Wrapper in the Game.” Designed for modern, digitally native fans, the campaign blended sport, music, and humor through dynamic content showcasing holiday gifting at DICK’S.

A surround-sound approach - including media interviews, targeted seeding, social giveaways, and limited-edition wrapping paper featuring Flau’jae - drove both online engagement and in-store traffic. The campaign generated 45 earned placements and 783 million impressions, with 95% Tier 1 coverage and 100% positive sentiment, while social and experiential elements fueled real fan participation.

Elevated into a national holiday TV spot, the campaign demonstrated how a culturally resonant, talent-led idea can break through seasonal clutter - positioning DICK’S as a destination for holiday gifting while setting a new standard for integrated, engagement-driven storytelling.

How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?

This campaign sets a new benchmark for fan engagement by demonstrating how brands can authentically intersect sports, culture, and commerce. Rather than treating athletes solely as endorsers, DICK’S positioned Flau’jae Johnson as a multidimensional creator - blending her identities in sport and music to drive deeper audience connection through creative, entertaining and shareable content. 

The work redefined engagement by turning a functional holiday task into an interactive, relevant experience. Fans didn’t just see the campaign - they participated through a social CTA and in-store giveaways. This created a seamless loop between digital engagement and real-world behavior.

It also established a new benchmark for earned-first campaigns that scale. What began as a PR-driven idea evolved into a 360 activation spanning media, social, experiential, and ultimately national television - proving that culturally resonant ideas can and do successfully travel across channels.

By tapping into talent authenticity and designing for participation, DICK’S moved beyond traditional holiday marketing to create a moment that felt timely, entertaining, and shareable. This approach will challenge the industry to prioritize insight-driven storytelling that meets athletes online and in-store - and invites them into the experience.

Objective

DICK’S Sporting Goods aimed to break through the crowded holiday landscape by transforming a common challenge - wrapping bulky sporting goods - into a culturally relevant, media-driving moment. Rather than focusing solely on product promotion, we positioned DICK’S as the authority on holiday gifting with an idea that  resonated across sports, lifestyle, and entertainment audiences.

The campaign needed to capture the attention of modern fans who engage with athletes beyond the field, leveraging personality, culture, and content. By partnering with NCAA star and rapper Flau’jae Johnson, DICK’S sought to authentically connect with younger, digitally native audiences and elevate holiday storytelling through her dual identity in sport and music.

Success was defined by the ability to generate high-impact earned media, drive social engagement, and capture outsize attention via timely, entertaining  storytelling. 

Strategy & Execution

The campaign was designed with the younger, culturally fluent fan top-of-mind - one who follows athletes as personalities over performers , on and off the court, and values content that is entertaining and shareable. The strategy leveraged Flau’jae Johnson’s unique crossover appeal as an elite athlete and emerging rapper to create a concept that felt native to both sports and culture.

Execution brought this to life through dynamic hero content featuring Flau’jae wrapping (with a ‘w’) a range of products available at DICK’S, blending humor, product beauty shots, and her signature style. The content also showcased the deep selection for holiday gifts at DICK’S. The campaign extended beyond a single video into a surround-sound approach: on-set media access, embargoed talent interviews, targeted media seeding and social giveaway of wrapping paper featuring Flau’jae’s likeness, and social content from the Greatest Wrapper herself.

A limited-edition rollout of DICK’S x Flau’jae wrapping paper created a tangible fan touchpoint, driving both online engagement through a social giveaway and foot traffic to  the Baton Rouge DICK’S House of Sport for an in-store giveaway .  

Every element was designed for amplification - visually engaging content, talent-driven storytelling, and interactive components that encouraged participation. 

Organizations

• Micole Creative Studios

Featured

• LSU basketball star Flau’jae Johnson 

Credits

Steph Shambo
Senior Vice President
Praytell

Eric VanSlyke
Senior Director
Praytell

Erin Nason
Account Supervisor
Praytell

Julia Main
Associate Director
Praytell

Bobby Strobeck
Vice President
Praytell