When we began planning for Brad Guzan’s retirement, we knew the announcement had to feel bigger than a post, bigger than a press release. It had to tell the story of a man who defined not just an era for Atlanta United, but a standard for leadership, resilience, and heart.
From the first conversations, it was clear this wasn’t only about his final match, it was about honoring every chapter that came before it. From the young goalkeeper chasing a dream in Chicago, to a Premier League mainstay, to being one of the best goalkeepers the U.S. National Team has ever seen, to becoming the backbone and captain of Atlanta United. Brad’s story was always one of perseverance, humility, and relentless belief.
As we mapped the content and visuals across platforms, every frame, every word, carried the weight of those years. The goal was to take fans on the same emotional journey Brad had lived, from his debut to the final whistle. It was a chance to tell his story the way it deserved to be told: with honesty, gratitude, and humanity.
But beyond the creative process, this project meant something deeper to me. Over the past year, Brad and I shared conversations about challenges, the kind that test you both professionally and personally. Despite his own rough season, he remained one of the most uplifting voices in the room. His resilience reminded me that true leadership doesn’t come from results on the field, but from how you respond when things don’t go your way.
That attitude inspired me. It pushed me to keep showing up, to lead with empathy, and to fight for the people around me.
In telling Brad’s story, I found myself reflecting on my own, on why we do what we do, and how storytelling can become a mirror for the values we hope to live by.
Brad’s final match wasn’t just a goodbye. It was a thank you, to the fans, to the city, and to everyone who believed in him. And for me, it was an honor to help him say it his way.
Coincidentally, or not, Brad’s retirement in a challenging year for him was also the last plan I would help shape and lead at Atlanta United before my sudden exit from the club.
See below for the timeline of events and creative output:
- First internal meeting: We had our first meeting where it was confirmed Brad was announcing his retirement about a week and a half before the date. Even though we were preparing for this moment throughout the season, we never fully started working in the content plan until then, following the presentation of a brief from the club’s VP of Marketing.
- Video team pitch: The video team pitched in their two main pieces for the announcement a few days after that; the Hero piece, which was to become the announcement video, and a heartfelt piece to celebrate Brad’s contributions to the community.
- The inspiration for the Hero video was this Rafael Nadal tribute from Nike after his retirement.
- The inspiration for the community spotlight one is this Budweiser commercial following Dwyane Wade’s retirement.
- Social Media Plan: Following alignment and consolidation of the two main pieces, my Social Media Manager, Becca Fallon, and I started crafting the Social Media plan that would ultimately be executed for distribution. Working with the rest of the club’s Digital Media team we came up with additional content keeping in mind the direction given to us from the brief, in three stages:
- Announcement
- My first decision to make a greater impact to the announcement was to make Brad post the Hero piece on his own social media accounts. After all, this was his moment and announcement to share with the world. As a club, we would then follow up with the rest of the conent.
- Memory Lane
- We came up with creative that would resonate with Brad’s career and fans throughout the years. Collaborating with MLS, US Soccer, Aston Villa and the Premier League.
- Matchday
- A robust comprehensive plan that included collaboration with so many departments of the organization, from Live Events, to Community Impact, to Soccer Operations, and so on. There were so many movements we needed to take into account for Brad’s last match as a player and we were able to celebrate them with an impressive and timely precision.
- Announcement
- Execution: After a few extensive rounds of review of the Plan by leadership, it was time for Becca and I to align with the Creative Services team, the Communications team, the Photo team and the Video team, to generate the content that was going to be part of a full week of celebrating Brad, including a full night of content shoots with Brad, his family and all the community members that he impacted in his time at the club.
Now, see it all come to life below:
THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Content that followed that day:
Following the video, Brad posted a letter he wrote to the Atlanta United fans around the world, and we then followed with an evolved look and thematic for the club’s “Thank You” graphics that our graphic designers developed using the traditional “Guuuuuz” chant from fans every time his name was announced over the stadium’s PA when announcing the starting eleven lineup. We also worked with our team photographers to plan a photoshoot that involved Brad, all the trophies he won with the club, and more importantly his family. We followed up with a graphic composition that included tweets, and comments from other players and clubs around the world reacting to Brad’s retirement, while also showing them as a brick wall, as Brad is affectionately called.
We worked with the club host Joe Freihofer to create a TikTok video with the green screen filter as he reacted to the mentions.
We also created a video distributed on all platforms that showed the Top 5 saves from Brad with Atlanta United:
MEMORY LANE
To remember Brad’s vast career we created content catered to very specific audiences, including a sports Social Media trend for players with several years of activity:
To go along with that, we developed the same concept of showing him through the years for other platforms (a thread on X, and a carrousel on Instagram):
We repurposed content we had never published before from a past interaction with supporters:
We compiled all of Brad Guzan’s saves (admittedly, this compilation still missed a few):
MATCHDAY
The Matchday stage started with Brad’s press conference two days before his last match, which we streamed on all of the club’s platforms, and from where we clipped the most important and impactful moments, like this heartfelt reaction as his family was also in the room with him:
https://twitter.com/ATLUTD/status/1978898575510667541
We also involved the rest of the players that were going to be with him the day of his last match ever, and created this fun, engaging piece:
We then, dropped the heartfelt hero piece, where members of the community came to surprise Brad letting him know how much he has impacted them:
We also compiled the funniest moments of Brad with Atlanta United showcasing his witty personality that’s far different from the one he shows on the pitch, and we shared a video of all the messages he received from past teammates and friends in the soccer world.
And then, Matchday arrived!
We made sure we included and celebrated Brad as much as possible in the lead up to the game, from tune-in assets, to the match preview, to showcasing the banners the supporters created for him, to the Starting XI graphics, and we had fun with our fans as they entered the stadium asking them to do the “GUUUUZ” chant one last time:
As Brad wore the captain’s armband one last time, his pre-match speech was extremely powerful and we made sure to capitalize on that moment:
Brad was also recognized by the club’s owner Arthur M. Blank with a framed jersey, and we converted a photo we took from the roof into a very special graphic that shows Brad leading the team out into the pitch one more time (this was a moment we had been planning since the moment the plan came together):
And then, after the match it was time for the actual “Thank You” graphic highlighting all his stats with the club:
He hit the Golden Spike of Excellence, a tradition where the fans award the best player of the team, he had one last post-match press conference, and we also created a minute-by-minute compilation of his last match.
It was a very well-thought out plan that was built to honor one of the best American goalkeepers and the person who embodied excellence, resilience and a constant desire to win.
Thank you to Brad and his family for letting us tell their story.
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