In the 2014 NFL Draft, Michael Sam was set to become the first openly gay player in the NFL. We all knew this was going to be a historic milestone, but we didn't know how the public would react.

To proactively steer the news cycle the right way, we created a film that twisted people's expectations of the story by treating him like any other NFL athlete, cheered and booed, judged for his flaws and feats, but only as a football player on the field.

Our strategy was to twist the expectations of the audience and media, treating him like any other NFL athlete, cheered and booed, judged for his flaws and feats, but only as a football player on the field. As the clock started in the NFL Draft, Visa’s Michael Sam film was launched through social channels and an ESPN.com exclusive, letting the news cycle tell the story for us.

The message immediately struck a chord spreading across news, sports, pop culture, and LGBT channels. By the end of the draft coverage, Visa received 49MM total impressions from PR and social media. This resulted in 47% positive sentiment compared to 4% positive buzz from last season’s entire NFL campaign -- signifying a huge shift in support for Visa’s brand beliefs and willingness to take a stand on an important issue.