OPPORTUNITY

2006. Ford is bleeding cash, staring down the possibility of a shutdown. The Atlanta Falcons are mired in PR trouble and a fading fan base. And sitting between them, inside the Georgia Dome, is a multimillion-dollar sponsorship doing almost nothing — a logo on a wall, collecting dust while both brands took on water. Passive placement wasn't going to save either of them. The partnership needed to actually mean something.

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So instead of pitching fans another ad, we gave them ownership of that spirit. The sponsorship stopped being signage and became a rallying cry: Defend the Dome.

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PLATFORM

"Defend the Dome" only worked if it showed up everywhere fans did — stadium, digital, retail. So we built it that way:

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• Player integration: Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez, John Abraham, Roddy White, Keith Brooking, Michael Jenkins, Alge Crumpler

• he first branded Falcons player intro video, opening every home game

• Ford's first 3D online driving game, starring All-Pro defensive end John Abraham

• A microsite and digital takeover push that became the brand's best-performing program site at the time

• Exceptional overlay integration on Falcons' website

• A custom halftime concert integration

• An interactive tackling experience that tied real athletic performance to Ford's safety engineering​

• Limited-edition action figures and retail activations that drove fans into stores

• Every touchpoint pulled the same thread: this isn't a sponsor, this is part of the team.

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LEGACY

Most sponsorships get a new theme every couple of seasons. Defend the Dome ran for 11 straight years — 2006 to 2016 — becoming the longest-running NFL partnership platform Ford had in the region. It helped pull the brand's affinity numbers back up during one of its most dangerous stretches, and it kept fans genuinely engaged, not just exposed to a logo.

It only ended when the Falcons packed up for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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The Takeaway: Defend the Dome didn't sell cars by interrupting the game. It sold cars by giving a city something to stand behind.

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RESULTS

• Ran 11 consecutive seasons (2006–2016)

• Longest-running regional NFL partnership platform in Ford's history

• Helped reverse declining brand affinity during a critical economic downturn

• Delivered sustained engagement, retail momentum, and earned community participation

• Ended only with the Falcons' move to Mercedes-Benz Stadium