Salute to Service is the NFL’s initiative to honor and recognize the military community within each club market. During our month-long campaign, the Seahawks held multiple activations around Seattle to thank veterans and engage with active duty service members. In addition, we pulled together in-game elements to recognize those who served and announced Jon Rhattigan as our Salute to Service Award nominee for his work with local branches.
One particularly powerful activation was Jon Rhattigan and DeeJay Dallas’ visit to Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) to spend time learning from the elite 1st Special Forces Group. While there, DeeJay called his brother Amauri: who was stationed in Fort Moore, training to become an 11C indirect fire soldier, to tell him how proud he was. “You’re gonna have some stories to tell,” DeeJay told his brother. “I can’t wait to see you. Keep being yourself. Keep being a leader.”
Another arm of the Seahawks’ Salute to Service campaign included our longstanding partnership with USAA, who helped us bring unique, impactful integrations to life. “Change of Command” is one such event, where we celebrate & recognize a different military service branch each year: rotating through the Army, Airforce, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines in a passing of the baton ceremony. In our 11th year of activating, the Marines (2022) handed off the honor to the Army (2023).
Integrations on gameday included goalpost wraps, on-field paint, coach and player engagement, a military flyover, Lumen Field veteran employees holding the American flag during the National Anthem, a military challenge coin toss, a 12 Flag raising veteran, and more. After gameday, we continued celebrating Salute to Service month with a Turkey Bowl watch party, a Military Family Day practice, and a recap article to summarize the team’s efforts.
Role: Campaign Strategy, Media Planning, On-Asset Copy, Project Management
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Kelsey Mihachik 