The Situation
On February 5, 2020, baseball legend Henry “Hank” Aaron turned 86-years-young. The Atlanta Technical College (ATC) wanted to honor Hank by renaming its academic complex after him. Hank and wife Billye had been funding scholarships at ATC for over 20 years. When the Aarons got the call from Stephen McDaniel, ATC’S vice president of Institutional Advancement, they were overwhelmed with pride and joy – and knew that they needed help publicizing this historic moment. Hope-Beckham received a call from Billye Aaron asking if the team would be willing to help promote the new Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron Academic Complex at the Atlanta Technical College – and the answer was a resounding “yes.”
The Approach
Under the direction of Account Director Wendy Hsiao, HBI took on promoting Hank Aaron’s building dedication ceremony as a pro bono account. The HBI team needed to publicize and promote the event as both Hank Aaron’s birthday celebration and a moment to solidify Hank’s legacy off the field. With a turnaround time of just three weeks, the HBI team needed to get approved proclamations from both Georgia Governor Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Bottoms, invite top-tier former athletes and business leaders, and secure as much media coverage as possible.
