Case Study
VisitPITTSBURGH x NFL Draft 2026
CLIENT: VisitPITTSBURGH
SCOPE: AGENCY OF RECORD
CAMPAIGN: VisitPITTSBURGH X NFL DRAFT
The Situation
Pittsburgh Didn’t Need a New Story
It already had one. Full of history that you could feel while walking Market Square before kickoff. Crossing the Roberto Clemente bridge shoulder-to-shoulder with fans donned in black and gold. The challenge was helping the rest of the world finally experience the Pittsburgh locals knew.
The Approach
The Coverage Started With Football, Then Pittsburgh Took Over
At first, reporters came looking for Draft coverage. Then they started talking about the neighborhoods. The food scene. The walkability. The way the city somehow felt massive during the Draft and still personal at the same time. Turns out, a city with this much character is impossible to define by one headline.
Summary
Between the yellow bridges, Primanti’s sandwiches, riverfront crowds at Point State Park, and neighborhoods buzzing long after the final pick, Pittsburgh started feeling less like a host city and more like somewhere people wanted to come back to. KHM partnered with VisitPITTSBURGH to turn Draft Weekend into a national reputation moment built from the things locals already knew made the city special.
You Can’t Fake that Pittsburgh Feeling
The best moments happened walking across the Andy Warhol Bridge at sunset. Eating pierogies between interviews. Hearing “yinz ready?” from somebody on the street before the first pick of the night.
That’s what changed the coverage. National reporters stopped writing about Pittsburgh like a host city and started talking about it like a place they connected with personally. One People Magazine editor called it “the best trip ever.” Another writer from Variety admitted they already missed their daily walks across the bridges before they’d even left town.
Pittsburgh Started Showing Up in Everyone’s Feed
People saw packed bars in the Strip District. Crowds gathered along the river. Fans flooding downtown in their favorite team colors. The storytelling extended through influencer partnerships and a three-day-takeover on People Magazine’s Instagram account, helping Pittsburgh show up online the same way it felt in person: full of energy, welcoming, and impossible to scroll past.
Results
Digital Placements
Broadcast Clips
UVM
Broadcast Impressions
Earned Media Value
Attendees
Of Visitors Came From Outside The Region
