Paradise Invitational: Building an Inaugural Event from Zero
As marketing lead and minority owner, I built the brand and go-to-market strategy for the Paradise Invitational, a first-of-its-kind international NCAA women's volleyball event at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in Nassau, The Bahamas, featuring Kentucky, Purdue, SMU, and Houston broadcast on the ESPN family of networks. I led a May press trip with four head coaches and three influencers that produced 31 planned content pieces, rolled out every sponsor and partner announcement, and designed nearly 2,500 square feet of venue signage. The work earned the event a mention in Sports Illustrated's coverage of college volleyball's new venues and delivered a brand built to sell future sponsorships.
Built for Broadcast: Two ESPN Spots for the Paradise Invitational
We produced two commercials that aired on ESPN: one promoting the Paradise Invitational as a whole, and one driving viewers to the championship game. The second spot went from brief to finished cut in two and a half hours and was approved by both the client and the network without a single revision. Broadcast quality, network ready, and delivered on a live event clock.
700+ Pieces of Content across all Platforms
I produced more than 700 pieces of content for the Paradise Invitational, spanning sponsor announcements, event graphics, vertical video, venue signage, and live coverage from Baha Mar. That output drove nearly 4.5 million impressions across every social channel in the 90 days surrounding the event, including 2.8 million views on content captured and published during the tournament itself. For an inaugural event with no existing audience, it built the awareness that sells year two.
College volleyball events usually market themselves the same way: a schedule graphic, a ticket link, and a polite invitation. We threw that playbook out. The Paradise Invitational spoke with a competitive, unapologetic voice, with lines like "Sorry, Milwaukee," and, “Saw Y’all’s Tourney Location, Prayin’ for Y’all” that took direct aim at the status quo, and backed it with bold creative that treated four powerhouse programs like the headliners they are. The result was a brand that fans noticed, partners wanted to be seen with, and the sport had not heard before.
