Case Study: Wilson × The Charlotte Hornets × Clifford Taylor × Johnny Barú Media
The game changed. The drive and ambition didn’t. We make visuals that help brands believe and invest in you.
The Launch of a Brand Activation and Creative Partnership. For Wilson × The Charlotte Hornets, we captured the shift of an athlete becoming an architect performance meeting purpose and creativity finding its court.
Clifford Taylor celebrates with a Wilson x Charlotte Hornets basketball a moment of drive, ambition, and creative energy captured under bold teal and green lighting.
We’ve all felt that hunger to prove ourselves to perform to evolve. We’ve all spent late nights chasing the same dream that built us. This campaign captured that same feeling the discipline the focus the quiet work that’s done before prime time.
Through this Wilson × Charlotte Hornets brand activation we brought that mindset to life of connecting athletes creators and the culture that refuses to stop grinding.
When Clifford Taylor landed in Los Angeles, he wasn’t chasing fame he was chasing focus. Fresh off graduating from the University of Florida, Clifford had stepped away from the field and into the creative space, joining the Los Angeles Rams media team while building his own lane as an athlete turned creator. But that transition wasn’t easy. New city. New culture. New expectations. Wilson a brand built on empowering athletes and pushing performance forward embodied exactly where Clifford stood on the edge of his evolution. He wasn’t just representing a sport anymore. He was representing what was next and on the horizon.
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Close-up of Clifford Taylor holding the Wilson x Charlotte Hornets basketball a visual nod to precision, empowerment, and performance. The image captures Wilson’s values of teamwork and innovation.
The Mission
Wilson’s mission at the helm: empower every human to live like an athlete.
To move with authenticity. To innovate with purpose. To lead with integrity.
Our mission was to mirror that vision through our cameras on behalf of Clifford Taylor, an athlete creator transitioning from the field to the creative space. We set out to build a campaign that didn’t just showcase apparel or gear but the mindset behind it discipline, creativity, and drive in motion. CT a young athlete redefining what performance looks like, and a global brand empowering him to do it.
Editorial-inspired shots highlighting the Hornets’ teal and purple color palette. Dynamic textures, high contrast, and sports-inspired grit create a timeless campaign look.
THE CHALLENGE
Wilson’s legacy already speaks for itself. The challenge wasn’t to redefine the brand it was to translate its values into visuals that resonate with a new generation of athletes and creators.
Clifford was the perfect representation of that shift. A player-turned-creator balancing performance and purpose.
The task: deliver a campaign in one day that reflected the same energy, focus, and precision Wilson stands for.
Clifford Taylor in motion bold purple and blue lighting emphasizing energy and focus. The campaign helped Raymond Representation secure new partnerships and positioned Clifford as a rising athlete-creator.
The Collaboration
This collaboration brought together Wilson, the Charlotte Hornets, Raymond Representation, Clifford Taylor, Zuleta Unltd. and Johnny Barú Media all connected by a shared mission: to prove that dope things can happen when the right people come together even if they’ve never met. We approached it as a proof of concept a campaign that showed brands the ROI of building genuine partnerships around talented people doing what they do best. From representation to talent creatives and shooters everyone brought their best.
Clifford Taylor framed against studio lights confidence meets composure. Proof that visuals can convert attention into belief.
OUR FRAMEWORK
Authenticity: Real athlete. Real moments. Dope Visuals.
Innovation: Bold color design and lighting.
Integrity: Mindful to reflect Wilson’s mission and brand values.
Empowerment: Capture Clifford’s evolution from athlete to creative and turn that into brand equity.
THE EXECUTION
Creative Direction: Merge Wilson’s precision with Clifford’s ambition and personality.
Lighting: LED system in team tones for depth and identity.
Visual Tone: Editorial contrast with tactile grain.
Turnaround: 48-hour turnaround. Fast. Efficient. Effective.
We built a brand asset library designed to perform across retail, social, and editorial platforms. The images were also leveraged to further to build CT’s brand equity…land more brand deals…and create long lasting partnerships. Our creative direction centered around performance and presence. Lighting inspired by Hornets teal and royal purple built the visual DNA. High contrast setups symbolized strength and focus soft edge light captured personality and movement. We layered texture and grain to create depth and an intentional Sports Illustrated × Nike type feel.
We wanted viewers to feel the images the squeak of sneakers, the hum of the lights, the moment that makes you want to pick up a ball and just play.
THE RESULTS
Measurable impact.
Strengthened Clifford Taylor’s positioning as an athlete-creator.
Provided Raymond Representation with high-value visuals that helped secure new brand partnerships.
Extended Wilson’s “team-first innovation” narrative through a fresh, culture-driven visual language.
What started in a studio became a proof point showing brands the ROI of building campaigns around genuine partnerships and talented people doing what they do best.
For Wilson, this campaign reaffirmed what the brand stands for: authenticity, innovation, and integrity.
For Clifford, it marked his transition into a visual identity that brands believe in.
For Raymond Representation, it validated their eye for talent with Clifford’s success serving as proof of concept and the visuals helping open doors to more partnerships.
For Johnny Barú Media × Zuleta UNLTD, it stood as another testament to our belief that visuals built with purpose create real-world, measurable outcomes.
The Takeaway
This Wilson × Charlotte Hornets brand activation campaign was built on drive, ambition, and proof that when the game changes, the hunger to build legacy never does.
Partnering with Johnny Baru Media means every visual earns its keep.
We don’t shoot throw away content we create hero visuals that make you money. This brand activation drove sales, and visibility.
We help brands:
Build cultural credibility through authentic visual storytelling.
Create campaigns that turn emotion into action.
Deliver assets that drive sign-ups, sales, and community.
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