Hard-working Americans don’t know Guild exists as an option for them. As an Official Education, Skilling, and Career Mobility Provider of Team USA, Guild saw an opportunity to change that. But we knew we had to approach our partnership differently to stand out. Instead of shying away from our low brand awareness, we leaned into it, juxtaposing our role as a proud Partner of Team USA with a bold question: “What The Heck is Guild?”
By embracing the curiosity sparked by “WTH is Guild?”, the campaign crafted a compelling narrative to put Guild on the map and answer a key question: What can Guild mean to me? Featuring the voices of athletes, whose inspiring stories showcased how Guild’s programs helped them reimagine career possibilities beyond their sport, the campaign aimed to motivate America’s frontline workforce to see similar opportunities for themselves.
Aligning with the Olympic and Paralympic Games—symbols of dedication and resilience—Guild reinforced its commitment to accessible education and career growth. Through Guild, eligible Team USA athletes access 250+ tuition-free education and skilling programs from top providers, including Purdue Global, the preferred online university and degree provider of the Guild & Team USA Learning Network.
By putting athletes at the center, the campaign highlighted how Guild transforms lives and careers. Designed to captivate frontline workers and athletes alike, it underscored Guild's leadership in opportunity creation and talent development. By harnessing Team USA’s values, Guild solidified its role as a trusted leader in education and skilling, providing meaningful pathways for career mobility.
We kicked off the campaign by teasing the question WTH is Guild? on billboards in cities with large frontline worker populations (including future host city, Los Angeles). Next, we answered it through the voices of Team USA athletes whose stories inspire frontline workers to reimagine their career possibilities. Additionally, our influencer strategy played a key role in connecting the message more directly to our frontline worker audience. While the athlete stories served as inspiration, influencers helped bridge the message in a more relatable way, ensuring deeper engagement with our core audience.
Our media strategy was rooted in audience insights to connect with frontline workers. Rather than competing for premium placements in the most highly watched sports, we focused on sports like BMX, breaking, boxing, and skateboarding that have high affinity among frontline workers.
Similarly, our athlete ambassador roster included Victor Montalvo (Breaking), Hannah Roberts (BMX), and Matt Stutzman (Para Archery). Each athlete shared relatable yet inspiring stories of how Guild’s education opportunities can transform their career outlook, amplifying the campaign’s relevance. For Hannah, who is pursuing a degree at Purdue Global while competing, the ability to balance her Olympic training with education was crucial. "I knew I wanted to go to college, but I have a busy schedule with training, so having something that I could do on my time makes Guild really perfect for me," she shared. "What the heck is Guild? Guild is the flexibility to chase my dreams as a rider and go for my college degree."
To further grow campaign impact, Guild enlisted evangelists like Olympian Summer Sanders, USOPC VP Carrie White, and Olympian Meghan O’Leary, to emphasize the importance of career support for athletes transitioning beyond sports.
By leveraging NBCU’s streaming coverage and taking over major commuter hubs — alongside placements across CTV, YouTube, Spotify, Meta, TikTok, Peacock, Hulu, and ESPN+ — Guild reached its audience in hyper-relevant contexts. This approach allowed us to showcase the transformative power Guild provides to athletes to inspire people from all walks to imagine new possibilities for themselves.
A dedicated microsite, guild.com/wth, anchored the campaign by sharing Guild’s mission and partnership with Team USA, while targeted social media initiatives engaged companies and prospective learners, sparking conversations about Guild’s transformative impact.
“WTH is Guild?” reached an impressive 79% of our target audience at an 8.9% frequency, driving a 4pt lift in brand awareness and an 8pt lift in brand familiarity, both well-above benchmarks. It also generated above-benchmark engagement with more than 25 million completed video views and a 1.26% CTR (Rich-Media) leading to 450,000 website visits, a 75% increase over expected traffic.
LinkedIn growth surged with 1.9K new followers, a 6.4% increase compared to previous periods, with 26% of impressions reaching individuals within our target audience.
On X, 192 voices, including former Olympians, shared posts about Guild and Team USA, driving 295,000 impressions with an 89% positive sentiment. Additionally, the campaign secured 442 earned media placements—including an exclusive with the Associated Press, 137 broadcast hits, and a live feature on CNBC's Squawk Box featuring Summer Sanders during the Paris Games.
TikTok creators were engaged to extend Guild’s reach to new audiences, bringing the "WTH is Guild?" message to life in an authentic, relatable way. This content drove a .47% engagement rate and 10.58% Video View Rate (both above benchmark) over 18 million unique viewers, generating 32,909 likes, 1,207 comments, and 242 shares.
Leveraging Guild’s role as the Official Education, Skilling, and Career Mobility Provider for Team USA, along with strategic endorsements, influential athlete ambassadors, and a targeted multi-channel approach, the campaign drove cultural conversation, engaged new audiences, and solidified Guild’s reputation as a leader in education and career growth for diverse communities.
