Please create an introductory blog post designed for your revised (Audience A). (15 marks)
a. Please provide your content and explain your planning thought process.
b. How it meets our objectives.
c. Your calls to action and justifications.
d. Please provide in-depth justifications as they relate to elements discussed in class.
a. Please provide your content and explain your planning thought process.
Welcome to The Cycle of Champions!
The Cycle of Champions is more than just a basketball tournament. It’s a movement. Hosted by NBA legend Derrick Coleman and powered by Whirlpool, this one-of-a-kind event is shining a spotlight on Detroit’s incredible youth basketball teams, their dedicated coaches, and the local heroes who make it all possible. Detroit has always been known for its hustle, its heart, and its game—and now, it’s time to celebrate that with a tournament built for the city.
Why Whirlpool? Why Derrick Coleman?
You might know Whirlpool as a company that makes washers and dryers—but here, they’re doing so much more. Whirlpool is teaming up with Derrick Coleman to invest in Detroit’s youth. Together, they’re helping families, schools, and community centers that need support.
Derrick Coleman isn’t just a former NBA All-Star. He’s a hometown hero. He’s walked the same streets, played on the same courts, and faced the same challenges many Detroit kids face today. He knows what it takes to rise—and now, he’s lifting others as he climbs.
Want to get involved?
No matter who you are, you’ve got a part to play in this cycle.
- Encourage local business owners to play a part in the event in whichever way they can! This campaign isn’t just for students, but for the local community of Detroit as a whole.
- Volunteering is a small, but massively impactful part of the tournament. If you’re looking to lend a hand, we’d love to have you involved!
- Donations are greatly appreciated! Funds generated from this campaign go right back into funding local after-school sports in Detroit
The Cycle of Champions is here to prove that Detroit basketball is about more than just buckets. It’s about passion, people, and purpose. And every kid who picks up a ball deserves to be seen, heard, and celebrated.
Planning Thought Process:
When composing the blog post, our top priority was writing it to be primarily viewed by audience A; the youth of this project. The post uses straightforward, accessible language that would be understandable for middle school students while still holding relevance for adult readers. The style of writing is designed to feel inclusive and celebratory without becoming too technical or abstract. The description of Detroit as a city full of “hustle, heart, and game” maintains the blog’s tone as motivational and city proud, which we believe would resonate well with the youth and their families alike.
We wanted to humanize Whirlpool and Derrick Coleman without veering into promotional language. It positions Whirlpool not just as a product company, but as a supporter of youth development, which subtly reframes the brand’s identity in a way that feels authentic. Likewise, Derrick Coleman is presented not just as a celebrity, but as a mentor figure with roots in Detroit. This adds authenticity and emotional weight to our post, and helps our audience relate and connect with Derrick Coleman.
Our content keeps the focus on impact, and how Coleman and Whirlpool are working together to uplift the community. This aligns well with our goal of showcasing corporate-social responsibility and localized leadership. Our blog post utilizes multiple calls to action, segmented by role but aimed at the youth and their families. This approach ensures that different community members can see themselves in the narrative, which is what our strategy calls for.
The penultimate line of the post is memorable, motivating, and aligns perfectly with the emotional goals of the campaign. It echoes language from earlier in the piece and leaves readers with a sense of unity and hope. Most importantly, it reiterates the core values of the event in recognition, opportunity, and celebration for youth, all of which will resonate strongly with students, parents and members of the community alike. From a tone and rhythm standpoint, this ending strikes the right chord. It’s short but impactful, emotionally resonant but not heavy. If the blog post were to be shared on social media or read out loud during the event itself, we believe this final paragraph would serve as a strong rallying cry to inspire and motivate our audience.
b. How it meets our objectives.
Our blog post positions the event as something deeper than simply a competition. The language used when writing reinforces a central theme of community strength through youth empowerment. The blog post is centered on emotion and mission, which clarifies that the impact goes beyond a basketball court. It focuses on the people involved in the campaign, and how everyone can play a part to strengthen their community and uplift the youth of Detroit.
We made sure to emphasize Derrick Coleman and Whirlpool’s involvement and commitment to this campaign, entangling our post’s narrative with Derrick Coleman and Whirlpool’s involvement as an investment in Detroit’s youth and providing beneficial attention and support to their families and community.
The copy positions Derrick Coleman not only as a legend, but as a hometown hero who understands the real challenges people of Detroit face. His story is tied directly to basketball, not just as a sport, but as a life-changing tool. Our closing statement cements the idea that this campaign is about using basketball to create long-term impact and belonging, which perfectly reflects Mr. Coleman’s vision and Whirlpool’s dedication to uplighting members of the community of Detroit.
c. Your calls to action and justifications.
Knowing that the post is targeting our primary audience of youth aged 10-14, we softened some of our CTA’s to be more approachable and welcoming. These CTAs are designed for the youth to spread the word of the event and get members of their families or communities involved in the event.
Under the “Want to get involved?” section, we provide 3 different CTAs designed for different members of the community.
The first CTA is targeting local businesses to get involved. Rather than asking for a specific action, such as sponsoring, we ask them to get involved “in whichever way they can”, which we believe would increase the likelihood of participation. This also creates an inclusive tone that expresses how every contribution can make a difference, whether it’s donating supplies, offering prizes for the event, or even simply sharing the event on social media. This helps develop grassroots support and community ownership of the event, while tying into the campaign’s message that Detroit businesses are part of the same cycle of support as players and families.
Our second CTA, which invites people to get involved through volunteering, is emotionally driven. It frames volunteering as small in action, big in impact. This phrasing lowers the barrier to entry by making the commitment sound manageable, while reinforcing the idea that every helping hand can change a kid’s experience. Spreading the word on how approachable volunteer work is not only targeted towards our second audience, but targets youth who want to get involved in their community (whether they need the volunteer hours or help of the goodness of their hearts). This CTA invites parents, older students, and community members who may not have money or business connections, but do have time and energy, to contribute. After all, the involvement of volunteers is critical to the success of an event like the Cycle of Champions.
Finally, our third call to action is broadly requesting donations in order to impact and fund after-school programs in Detroit. By making the impact tangible and local, we believe it increases trust and motivates donors to feel that their support has real value. It encourages financial support from individuals or organizations who may not be able to volunteer or attend in person but still want to be part of the movement. It reinforces that this is not just a one-time event, but part of a longer-term investment in the youth of Detroit.
d. Please provide in-depth justifications as they relate to elements discussed in class.
Our blog post for The Cycle of Champions positions the tournament as more than just a basketball event, but as a movement rooted in community, youth empowerment, and purpose. This central narrative communicates the event’s mission by emphasizing Detroit’s local pride, the role of mentorship, and the potential of youth to rise when given the right support. By using storytelling rather than pure information, the post creates emotional resonance, making the event feel personal and meaningful to both young readers and their families.
The blog also highlights the partnership between Derrick Coleman and Whirlpool in a way that feels authentic and driven by core objectives. Instead of treating Whirlpool as a sponsor, the post presents the company as a key contributor to the campaign, investing in families, schools, and after-school sports. Derrick Coleman is positioned not just as an NBA legend, but as a hometown figure who gives back to his community and strengthens the campaign’s message of leadership and community upliftment.
The post uses multi-level CTAs, values-based messaging, and accessible language in order to be accessible for our core audience and the broader community. This is done by offering clear, actionable ways to get involved, including volunteering, donating, and encouraging business participation. These CTAs are written in a warm, inclusive tone, making it easy for anyone to step into the campaign, no matter their role. The blog post invites readers into a shared mission and leaves them with a clear emotional takeaway: that Detroit basketball is about more than just the game. The Cycle of Champions is about people, passion, and positive change.
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