Protect where we play
Mobilizing millions of fans to turn their passion for sports and entertainment into action for our ocean with Ocean Conservancy.
Strategy
Activation
Content & creative
© Parallel Sea
THE CHALLENGE
Extreme weather, exacerbated by climate change, threatens every part of our lives, including the sports, art, and music that bring us together.
For Ocean Conservancy, the world’s leading ocean health organization, the challenge wasn’t awareness. It was action.
Despite the ocean being critical to life on Earth—producing 50% of our oxygen and absorbing 90% of excess heat*—engagement for regeneration efforts remained low.
Their research revealed a key barrier: “No one I trust has asked me to act.”
Ocean Conservancy had successfully partnered with sports before. But, after becoming the first ‘national ocean partner’ for a Super Bowl in 2020, they found that their efforts remained peripheral to the fan experience rather than embedded within it.
The opportunity became clear. Turn fandom into a driver of action.
Our challenge was to create a unifying, multi-year platform that moves beyond awareness to integrate ocean conservation into sport and entertainment in a way that feels relevant, accessible, and actionable at scale.
*United Nations: “The ocean – the world’s greatest ally against climate change.”
OUR SOLUTION
To inspire action at scale, we needed a bold, shared mission rooted in the emotional core of fandom.
We created Protect Where We Play: a multi-year initiative designed to embed climate action into the moments fans already care about most.
Built on the insight that people are more likely to act when asked by someone they trust, Protect Where We Play uses the power of sport and entertainment to lower barriers to entry, making ocean action accessible, relevant, and easy to engage with for all fans.
The initiative is designed around four key principles:
A long-term commitment that moves beyond one-off campaigns
A bold brand that meets fans where they are, grounded in joy, hope, and action
A model of radical collaboration across partners, teams, and leagues
A curated, long-term roster of athletes and artists driving the mission forward
Protect Where We Play engages fans through three interconnected channels:
Athletes and entertainers using their platforms to inspire action
Teams, leagues, events, and venues integrating the message directly into live fan experiences
Strategic partnerships scaling impact through cross-sector collaboration
“I’m joining Protect Where We Play because I believe that if we can harness the joy, passion, and fighting spirit that sports creates in us all, we can achieve incredible things.”
Napheesa Collier,
WNBA All-Star and Team Ocean Captain
17 sport’s role
Strategy and initiative management
01
Brand strategy and positioning
02
Team Ocean Captain and partner recruitment and management
03
Brand identity and communications
04
Campaign and activation design
05
Website development
06
Video production
07
Activation planning, production, and measurement
08
BRINGING A VISION TO LIFE: BRAND IDENTITY & LAUNCH CAMPAIGN
We built Protect Where We Play on a powerful visual and narrative identity designed to unite fans, athletes, and artists in a shared mission. From a bold, recognizable brand system to a multi-channel communications strategy, we ensured consistency and scalability across every touchpoint.
Nominated for Campaign of the Year at the Sports Positive Awards, the Protect Where We Play launch campaign featured:
The Anthem film as an emotional campaign centerpiece
A dedicated digital platform and CRM ecosystem
Social, press, and content amplification
Scalable partner toolkits for teams, leagues, and events
ACTIVATION
THE PROTECT WHERE WE PLAY TOUR
The Protect Where We Play Tour, developed in partnership with GOAL, is a program designed to reduce plastic waste at sports and entertainment venues through a reusable cup system. Supported by in-stadium messaging and fan engagement, the tour connects everyday actions—like the cup in your hand—to protecting the experiences fans love, with the ambition of preventing 1,000,000 single-use cups from entering the waste stream.
Aligned with wider industry efforts to decarbonize live events, the Tour demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration between nonprofit and venue operators can deliver scalable, real-world impact.
By making reuse a visible part of the fan experience, the initiative goes beyond sustainability. It creates a new platform for storytelling, brand integration, and measurable impact across waste reduction, cost efficiency, and engagement.
This initiative won the Sports Positive Award for Purpose-led Partnership with a Non-Profit.
The Protect Where We Play Tour achieved an 88% reusable-cup return rate, demonstrating that sustainable behavior can be successfully integrated into live fan experiences at scale.
TEAM OCEAN CAPTAINS
We identified and recruited an elite group of athletes and entertainers committed to using their platforms to inspire action.
Mobilizing their collective fanbases, Team Ocean Captains lead the charge for Protect Where We Play.
As part of our strategy, we develop personalized, purpose-driven narratives for each Captain, aligning their individual voice with the wider mission through tailored content and storytelling.
Currently on our star-studded roster are:
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Napheesa Collier
WNBA All-Star, Olympic Champion, and ‘Unrivaled’ League Co-Founder
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Ezra French
Double Paralympian, Gold Medalist, and World Champion Athlete
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Kelvin Beachum Jr.
NFL Athlete and Activist
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Katherine Barkman
American Ballerina
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Brent Suter
MLB Athlete and Sustainability Advocate
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John Florence
3x World Champion Surfer, 2x Olympian
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John Slattery
Actor, Director, Surfer
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Leigh Steinberg
Sports Agent, Philanthropist, Team Ocean Coach
PARTNERSHIPS TO DRIVE CHANGE
Protect Where We Play is activated directly within live fan environments, partnering with teams, leagues, and venues to integrate ocean action into the moments fans care about most.
Featured partners include the 2026 Super Bowl winners, the Seattle Seahawks; the U.S. SailGP Team; the Cleveland Monsters; Team USA Artistic Swimming; the Green Sports Alliance; EcoAthletes; and GroundTruth Productions.
THE IMPACT
Protect Where We Play is an influential movement uniting sports and entertainment for a critical environmental cause. The initiative launched in February 2025 and has since achieved:
100,000+ new action-takers mobilized through #TeamOcean
7 Protect Where We Play Tour stops delivered across the United States, driving behavior change, increasing brand awareness, and growing Team Ocean sign-ups
88% reusable cup return rate through the Protect Where We Play Tour
1,000,000 single-use cups targeted for prevention through the Tour
100,000+ fans reached through live sports and entertainment experiences
Fan engagement has translated into tangible action, from large-scale beach cleanups removing 750+ pounds of waste, to storytelling initiatives like the KULEANA film using sport to connect audiences with the impact of microplastics.
Protect Where We Play continues to scale and demonstrate the power of sport and entertainment as a catalyst for long-term environmental action.
© Cincinnati Reds
numbers
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100%
of life on our blue planet is supported by the ocean*
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50%
of the world’s oxygen is produced by the ocean*
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90%
of the excess heat from climate change is absorbed by the ocean*
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MILLIONS
of unique species rely on habitats and ecosystems provided by the ocean*
*United Nations: “The ocean – the world’s greatest ally against climate change”
AWARDS
Sports Positive Awards – Purpose-led Partnership with a Non-Profit
(Protect Where We Play Tour, in partnership with GOAL)
Winner
Shortlisted
Sports Positive Awards – Campaign of the Year
(Protect Where We Play launch campaign)
“At Ocean Conservancy, we believe sports is one of the most powerful tools we can use to influence popular culture and get more people to care about protecting the ocean and our planet. 17 Sport’s experience, insight, and creative excellence were critical to us bringing to life our most ambitious campaign ever in sports."
Jenna Dipaolo
Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Ocean Conservancy