ESPN Fantasy Playoffs Popeyes Ad Experience Case Study

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Status

Shipped in Sep 2023

🗓️

Timeline

Jul - Oct 2023

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Platform

Mobile App (iOS & Android)

🧰

Tools

Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop

Impact at a Glance

>$10M

Ad revenue growth from 2023 to 2024

>300M

Impressions growth across advertisers

Ad revenue growth from the scalable system I built

Challenge

Our static banner ads were turning users off 😬, and we had to deliver a three-part sequel in the Playoffs user flow for our top advertiser of the season, Popeyes. Users needed a better experience, and our partner expected results. On top of that, we faced a tight timeline and the challenge of aligning across the advertiser and internal teams.

Solution

I led the end-to-end Fantasy Playoffs ad design, partnering with cross-functional teams to deliver high-impact Popeyes moments shaped by product strategy and user insights. This success became the foundation for a scalable ad model now powering future ESPN Fantasy ad experiences across brands, devices, and sponsorships.

Product Design Lead & Team

My Role as Product Design Lead

UX Design, UI Motion Design, UX Research, Stakeholder Interview, Competitor Analysis, Graphic Design

Our Team

1 Product Designer (Myself), 1 UX Writer, 1 Motion Designer,
2 Product Managers, 3 Engineers

I surfaced UX friction in the Playoffs flow and aligned with Product to redesign formats, placements, and interaction.

UX Research

What Our Users
Want From Ads

Data showed users valued ads more when tied to familiar brands and woven into gameplay.

User Interview

Validate Ad Formats
with Users

Due to the feature's confidentiality, we couldn’t test externally before launch. To validate direction, I tested concepts internally and confirmed that skippable formats that preserved gameplay flow resonated best.

Emotional Journey Mapping

Deliver Ad Moments Around User Emotion

I mapped 3 high-impact ad moments in the Playoffs flow based on user emotion. Partnering with Product, we cut the journey from 4 taps to 2 and placed ads where user intent, business goals, and UX all clicked.

Competitor Analysis

Turn Competitor Patterns
to Our Ad Strategy

Direct competitor

Interactive, on-brand visuals with high CTA visibility

Director competitor

Static welcome screen with minimal co-branded placement

Director competitor

Static embedded ad with creative visuals

I spotted ad trends across competitors and shaped a hybrid format that elevated brand impact and our storytelling strategy.

Stakeholders Feedbacks

Popeyes brand recall

Visual hierarchy

Message readability

Playoffs feature clarity

WIP 005

Low

Weak

Low

Unclear

WIP 021

Moderate

Unbalanced

Fair

Clear but need text to be readable

Very Strong ✅

Well-balanced ✅

Strong ✅

Clear flow narrative ✅

I partnered with our UX Writer to align messaging with brand voice and address stakeholder feedback. The final solution used ESPN typography and 3D text effects to spark Playoffs energy from the start.

I framed the animation around Poppy to extend the brand story, using Popeyes’ commercial as creative inspiration. It wasn’t a request, but I pursued it to make the biggest impact.

The Animation Banner
That Hyped the Moment

Stakeholders Feedbacks

Message readability

Best UX practice

Popeyes brand presence

Animation prototype

WIP 006

3D effects reduced legibility

Close button
included

Dominant brand presence

Character entry
too slow

WIP 033

WCAG AAA 7:1 compliant

Close button
included

Shared branding
with Fantasy

Disruptive brand
color transition

WCAG AA 4.5:1 compliant ✅

Close button
included ✅

Popeyes as
primary ✅

CTA timing + animation
pacing optimized ✅

I prototyped the animation with Figma Smart Animate, collaborating with cross-functional teams through multiple critiques. The final design became the emotional peak of our ad sequence and drove home the visual storytelling strategy.

Stakeholders Feedbacks

Celebratory visual design

Best UX practice

WIP 004

Festive but Fantasy
green is clashing

Placement preserves
bracket visibility

WIP 010

Missing visual
energy

Placement preserves
bracket visibility

On-brand & lively 🎉

Placement preserves
bracket visibility ✅

I wrapped the ad story arc with a celebratory graphic banner, refined through team feedback to boost brand recall and keep the bracket clear.

Live Production Prototype

Popeyes Ad Success

$1.88M

ad revenue generated

78M+

impressions delivered

1st

ad series pattern established

8.33%

YoY user engagement growth

After launching the successful Popeyes campaign, I developed this system to accelerate approvals, align engineering and brand teams, and scale creative storytelling. It turned a single ad win into a repeatable, revenue-driving model.

Scaling Across Brands with $8.19M Revenue Impact

Miller Lite 2024 – 2025 Draft Campaign

Wingstop 2024 Playoffs Campaign

T-Mobile 2024 Matchup Recap

I developed a scalable ad design system that aligned internal teams and advertiser goals. This approach secured $8.19M in revenue and established the playbook for future brand sponsorships at ESPN Fantasy.

Key Learning

🤝🏻 From Pushback to Partnership

I learned to bridge the tension between advertiser goals and internal feedback by crafting data-backed, story-driven proposals that aligned both sides. This approach led to a successful Popeyes launch and earned me the lead role on future ad experiences for Miller Lite and Wingstop.

From $1.88M to $8.19M:
Scalable Ad Design That Drives Revenue

Impact at a Glance

Challenge

Solution

Product Design Lead & Team