INSTITUTE FOR ATHLETES - IFA
EVP of BRAND STRATEGY & CREATIVE: Kevin Hughes
I came in as a partner at IFA to help evolve the core brand as well as enhance the internal creative capabilities and brand strategy offering for our clients. IFA is a full-service agency operating at the intersection of athletes and brands. We specialize in athlete representation that includes: NFL contract negotiations, athlete brand strategy, marketing partnerships and creative content. We currently represent over 30 NFL and 10 NIL football athletes.
One of our critical differentiators in the athlete representation space is our ability to build authentic relationships with our athletes. We only choose to work with a certain type of client which allows us to create lasting bonds beyond their playing days. What we’re building at IFA is unique. Our guys call it a brotherhood.
In the summer of 2023 we had 20 of our NFL athletes, 8 of our NIL athletes and a handful of our alumni come to Minnesota for our Empowerment Summit. The goal of our summit was to allow our athletes the opportunity to network with the fortune 100 brands in the area as well as get them thinking about their career after they’re done playing football. Below is an overview of IFA through the years that kicked off our event.
The first project I worked on at IFA was the Brand Evolution Project. I was brought in to analyze the athlete representation market and find white space that the brand could move into, both from a design aesthetic and from a brand strategy POV. Clearly defining our service offering and understanding our value proposition was the best place to start. Where we ultimately landed was a clean and minimalist identity system that was perfect for our boutique offering.
