Make FAST5 unmistakable
Refine the visual and verbal identity into a working system for teams, the Battle Box, social, sales materials, signage, hospitality and merchandise.
01 · Market position
The category is validated. The lane must be distinct.
The NFL and TMRW Sports announced a men’s and women’s pro flag league backed by up to $32M. FAST5 cannot win a “more official league” argument. It can win the premium event, cultural ownership and local-story argument.
Opportunity
102K+
Girls played high-school flag in 2025–26.
Participation grew 48.7% year over year. The Olympic debut lands July 15–22, 2028—putting a spring/summer 2027 tour directly in the pre-Games attention ramp.
Sources: NFHS participation reporting; NBC Olympics.
Competitive reality
$32M
NFL × TMRW launch authorization.
Institutional capital and star investors already occupy the mainstream-pro lane. FAST5’s defensible opening is a touring spectacle with a portable production engine and a community-rooted ownership story.
Positioning line: FAST5 is the world’s most intimate football weekend—five-on-five speed, city-owned identity, and the next generation of the game in one Battle Box.
HeyDesignGuy · Agency mandate
One creative partner from strategy through showtime.
HeyDesignGuy will translate the business thesis into the identity, campaign, content, partner tools and guest experience FAST5 needs to launch credibly. The work is sequenced around proof—not hype for its own sake.
Our role
Creative lead. Marketing operator. Launch steward.
We own the connective tissue between the FAST5 vision and what audiences actually see, share and buy—from the first proof film to the first city arrival.
Build anticipation from evidence
Create the launch idea, reveal sequence, channel plan, creator toolkit and editorial calendar—then release each claim only after the underlying asset is secured.
Turn access into distribution
Direct the proof film, athlete stories, owner narratives, city episodes, short-form edits and sponsor-safe stills as one repeatable production system.
Design the premium ritual
Shape the guest journey, tier identities, arrival moment, field graphics, creator capture points and partner environments so every layer feels intentional.
Give sales a sharper story
Build the owner brief, sponsor narrative, activation menus, rights inventory and presentation materials around contracted deliverables and measurable value.
Show what moved
Define recruitment, audience, content, sponsor, youth and trust scorecards before launch; report proof after every event before promoting the next.
PHASE 1 · DEFINE
Strategy + creative foundation
Confirm the event posture, priority audiences, positioning, naming architecture, visual system and release gates.
PHASE 2 · PROVE
APEX capture + launch assets
Design the proof-event touchpoints and capture plan; produce the film, photography, athlete profiles and partner materials from what is real.
PHASE 3 · LAUNCH
Campaign + tour rollout
Operate the reveal calendar, content franchises, city toolkits and reporting rhythm while protecting brand and delivery standards.
FAST5 brings the rights, operations and approvals.
HeyDesignGuy brings the story, system and execution. Venue, permits, athlete eligibility, talent rights, production logistics and commercial terms remain release gates; our creative work makes those secured commitments visible and valuable.
02 · Audience architecture
Four audiences. One desire: get closer to the game.
Every campaign should answer a different question—Can I play? Can I belong? Can I own? Can my brand lead? Use the selector to read each conversion path.
THE ASKPROVE YOUR SPEED. BUILD YOUR NEXT CHAPTER.
Primary conversion
Application → verified combine → city identity → documentary content → roster decision.
Message
- A visible stage for elite 5v5 skill and personality.
- A social-first content package athletes can use, not just a jersey.
- Clear eligibility lanes: recent graduates, Team USA veterans and non-football college athletes first; enrolled football players only after individual compliance review.
THE PROMISESEE THE FUTURE. PLAY IT TODAY.
Primary conversion
Boys’ and girls’ club outreach → school activation → girls’ showcase → clinic → family ticket pathway → return participation.
Message
- Boys remain the larger participation base; girls supply the fastest-growing school-sports story.
- High-school athletes are part of the event, not a halftime afterthought.
- Local programs receive coaching, visibility and a direct line to the FAST5 stage.
THE DEALDON’T RENT ATTENTION. OWN A STORY.
Primary conversion
Private briefing → city thesis → operating commitments → proof event → definitive deal.
Message
- Scarce founding territory and a year-round content vehicle.
- Equity and activation—not a one-night appearance fee.
- Attach the celebrity to a college/pro alumni story and a city mission.
THE VALUEBUILD THE EXPERIENCE. OWN THE CATEGORY.
Primary conversion
Category fit → custom activation → content deliverables → hospitality → renewal evidence.
Message
- The Battle Box is branded real estate and a production platform.
- Clubs, stages, combine tests and creator content beat static logo placement.
- Contracted deliverables and transparent reporting protect trust.
03 · College talent strategy
Recruit the athlete. Protect the eligibility.
Post-House, college NIL operates under more centralized review. Paying enrolled football players to compete in a football-adjacent pro league is an unsettled and high-risk foundation.
Recent grads & free agentsLead the competitive roster. They can sign clean participation, content and appearance agreements without current NCAA eligibility risk.Priority lane
Team USA / elite flag veteransBring format credibility and a powerful “flag specialists vs. crossover stars” storyline. The Fanatics Classic showed flag veterans can beat NFL stars.Priority lane
Non-football college athletesTrack, basketball, baseball and soccer athletes have a cleaner “different sport” argument under Bylaw 12.1.3; still require school and counsel review.Review individually
Enrolled football playersUse NIL appearances, creator content and scouting visibility—not paid play—unless compliance counsel and the athlete’s school approve the exact arrangement.Do not anchor model
A / DISCOVER
Digital combine
Invite verified skill clips, measurable drills and personality prompts. Create shareable athlete profile cuts; do not promise Olympic selection or official pathway status.
B / PROVE
Regional auditions
Run standardized tests inside the Battle Box content system. Publish transparent selection criteria and obtain media releases before filming.
C / CONVERT
City draft content
Turn roster selection into episodic content. Pair every athlete with a city, owner narrative and community activation—not just a stat line.
Grounding: House settlement explainer; NCAA amateurism summary. The NCAA’s same-sport classification for flag versus tackle football remains untested.
04 · Youth participation
Boys lead the base. Girls lead the momentum.
FAST5 should serve both truths: recruit from the sport’s established boys’ ecosystem while making girls’ high-school flag the visible growth story and clearest bridge to LA28.
Direct answer
BOYS PLAY MORE TODAY.Absolute participation remains boys-led across the broader youth flag ecosystem. Girls’ flag is the fastest-growing school-sports segment—not yet the largest.
The numbers are directional, not directly comparable
- 4.1M is the reported total U.S. youth flag population across the broader recreational ecosystem.
- 102,360 is the girls’ high-school flag count for 2025–26, up 48.7% year over year.
- Girls’ youth participation rose 85% over three years, while NFL FLAG-In-School reached 17M+ students through 40,000+ school kits over roughly a decade.
Measurement caveat: the girls figure is a clean high-school count; the 4.1M figure covers the wider youth game. Do not subtract one from the other or claim a precise boys-to-girls ratio from these datasets.
Sources: NBC Sports, Mar. 30, 2026; USA Today, Sept. 27, 2026; NFHS participation reporting.
Two-track youth engine
Recruit the base. Spotlight the growth.
Use boys’ club and recreational networks to drive player volume, creator reach and family ticket demand. Open every tour stop with a local girls’ showcase and coach clinic, then follow those athletes through short-form profiles. The recurring story is not “FAST5 saved the sport”; it is “the next generation already arrived.”
Growth context: USA Today, Sept. 27, 2026.
48.7%year-over-year participation growth
~37states sanctioned or on the path by Sept. 2026
4.1MU.S. youth flag participants
17M+students reached by NFL FLAG-In-School
05 · Celebrity ownership
Target operators with cultural distribution.
Shaq and Odell Beckham Jr. are archetypes—not implied commitments. The outreach case should be built around their documented investment styles.
OPERATOR ARCHETYPE · SHAQ-LIKE
Equity + consumer platform
Best fit for a founder who can open doors across food, retail, licensing and broadcast—and who has a record of operating, not merely endorsing.
- Lead with a city and category thesis.
- Offer ownership economics plus a branded hospitality or franchise activation.
- Require recurring appearances, content days and partner introductions.
CULTURAL-CAPITAL ARCHETYPE · OBJ-LIKE
Fashion + media + new-sport credibility
Best fit for an athlete-investor whose audience crosses football, fashion, music and emerging sports ownership.
- Lead with creative control and a distinctive team identity.
- Build a documentary and limited-drop program around the owner.
- Require scheduled social, event and recruitment participation.
01 · OwnershipDefinitive equity or sponsorship structure; no vague “advisor” halo.
02 · ActivationContracted appearances, social posts, content days and partner access.
03 · NarrativeCity connection, alumni affinity or mission strong enough to sustain a season.
04 · GovernanceBrand-safety, approval, disclosure and exit terms established before reveal.
Proof model: Big3 sold franchises at roughly $10M and built celebrity-led identity; TBT proves alumni affinity and winner-take-all stakes can mobilize existing fan bases. FAST5 should combine both without depending on one-time franchise fees.
06 · The premium product
Five thousand is the feature.
Derby and F1 economics show that scarcity, ritual and hospitality create value. FAST5 should sell access layers, not just seats.
Capacity discipline
≤5K
Every person should know where they belong—and why their access feels different.
Invite layerowners, athletes, creators, cultural connectors
Private hospitalitysuites, brand salons, team-hosted tables
Club experienceall-inclusive sightlines, style, food, concierge flow
General admissionenergy, standing sections, music and social capture
The event is the content engine
- Arrival ritual. A dress language, step-and-repeat and city-specific motif create the first post before kickoff.
- Girls’ showcase. Put the growth story on the field while the room is fresh.
- FAST5 competition. Short-format games designed for clear highlights and personality.
- Owner moment. Team introduction, stakes and community commitment.
- Headliner finale. Contracted music and a sponsor-integrated stage—announced only when secured.
Benchmark, not promise: 2025 F1 Miami ranged from roughly $430 for a three-day campus pass to $1,500–$4,000 for premium clubs, with top hospitality above that. Derby pricing spans accessible infield to five-figure hospitality and six-figure suites. FAST5 pricing requires venue-specific modeling before release.
07 · Launch campaign
Borrow FYRE’s ignition. Reject its operating model.
The synchronized reveal, iconic visual code and creator seeding worked. Selling an unbuilt fantasy destroyed trust. FAST5’s campaign order is: contract → rehearse → document → reveal.
Prove the frame
- Lock venue, permits, event producer and participant releases.
- Capture the Battle Box, combine tests and sponsor inventory honestly.
- Build the founding-owner private briefing from real footage.
Release the proof
- Publish a proof film, not a concept trailer.
- Open verified athlete interest and city ambassador pipelines.
- Secure first operating owner and category partners.
Reveal the tribe
- Roll out team identities one at a time.
- Run a synchronized visual reveal only after agreements are signed.
- Turn auditions, drafts and owner decisions into episodes.
Compound the ritual
- Repeat the same premium arrival, field and headliner grammar.
- Let each city customize its team story and school activation.
- Publish post-event proof before promoting the next stop.
Five recurring content franchises
The TryoutOwner’s RoomCity vs. CityNext GenInside the Battle Box
Every franchise should produce short vertical cuts, a mid-form episode and sponsor-safe stills. Athletes receive approved clips quickly enough to become distribution partners.
Channel jobs
Short-form social: reach and player personality.
YouTube / episodic: narrative depth and ownership proof.
Creator network: trusted third-party discovery.
Email / SMS: conversion and event operations.
PR: earned credibility around Olympic growth, ownership and city impact.
Fanatics Classic benchmark: about 641K–649K linear viewers, 909K peak, but organizers claimed 300M+ cross-platform views in 24 hours. Treat social distribution as acquisition, not evidence of retained fandom.
08 · Sponsorship
Sell environments, not impressions.
The strongest package makes a brand materially responsible for a piece of the guest or athlete experience—and gives it a measurable content output.
The partner brief
Each deal should answer four things: what the brand builds, where it appears, what content it receives and how FAST5 reports delivery.
Do not imply Adidas, Nike, artists or athletes shown in client materials are committed.
Tour presenting partnerTour naming, broadcast open, city proof films and hospitality.
Battle Box partnerProduction technology, replays, athlete data capture and studio content.
Team presenting partnerCity identity, owner content, uniforms and local activation.
Combine partnerVerified drill, product integration and athlete profile content.
Club / suite partnerBrand-built hospitality environment, guest list and premium service.
Next Gen partnerGirls’ showcase, coach clinic and school-story content.
Recruitment
Qualified applications, verified combines, roster acceptance, compliance clearance.
Audience
Sell-through by tier, waitlist quality, referral source, return intent.
Content
Qualified views, completion, saves/shares, athlete-owner amplification.
Sponsor
Deliverable completion, hospitality use, earned content, renewal intent.
Youth
School participation, clinic attendance, showcase reach, coach follow-up.
Trust
On-time milestones, refunds/issues, safety events, disclosure compliance.
09 · Controls & decisions
Premium raises the cost of every broken promise.
This launch must be operationally conservative and creatively bold. Public marketing begins only after the underlying delivery is real.
NCAA / NIL
Retain specialist counsel; route third-party NIL agreements through required review; never characterize paid play by enrolled football athletes as safe.
Olympic language
Say “on the road to LA28” or “in the Olympic era.” Do not imply qualifier, sanction, selection rights or affiliation without a signed agreement.
Celebrity & artist rights
No name, image, logo, lineup or owner reveal before definitive rights and activation obligations are signed.
Fan ownership
The 2,400 “Skybox Seats” concept may implicate securities and franchise rules. Do not market returns or liquidity before securities and franchise counsel approve structure and disclosures.
Data & betting
Do not market biometric, scouting or micro-wagering products until consent, data governance, integrity monitoring and applicable gaming approvals are designed.
Event readiness
Venue, permits, transport, food, security, medical, accessibility and contingency plans are release gates—not back-office details.
Decisions FAST5 must make now
The unresolved items determine the campaign—not vice versa.
- Is APEX a public ticketed event, an investor demo, or both?
- Which six city rights are actually available and on what legal basis?
- What is the sanctioned 2027 playing format and roster policy?
- Who is the experienced event-production partner?
- Which athlete cohorts can be paid, and for what?
- What contracted proof is required before ticket sales open?
10 · Evidence base
Research notes & caveats.
Facts are sourced to public reporting read Oct. 5, 2026. FAST5 projections and claims are labeled as client-provided. Open questions remain open.
Olympics, governing pathway & competition
League landscape & media benchmarks
NIL, youth growth & ownership models
- Front Office Sports — House settlement
- NFHS — sanctioning and rules
- NFHS participation via Youth Sports Business Report — girls’ high-school count and growth
- USA Today — youth participation and school-program growth
- NBC Sports — U.S. youth flag participation
- BusinessWire — Big3 transaction
- TBT — tournament model
Premium event & launch marketing benchmarks
OPEN QUESTIONS · NFL–TMRW format, team count, cities and launch date are not public. NCAA classification of flag football versus tackle football for eligibility is untested. Startup-league sponsor price cards, Derby per-capita spend and detailed sponsor pricing were not verified.