Case study 05

Bracket Challenges

A study comparing the designs of programs for a Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge for two different political action committees and how I was able to create distinct design systems that followed each organization’s branding guidelines and existing collateral.

Digital
Engagement
Brand Integration

Role: Designer — two distinct campaign systems
Organization: Sagac Public Affairs for WABPAC & Constellation Employee PAC
Timeline: 2023–2026

At a glance

Overview

01
Challenge

Create NCAA tournament campaigns that could drive employee engagement and PAC participation for two different clients while keeping each program distinctly connected to its own brand.
02
Approach

Used each organization’s existing visual language as a foundation, then introduced the energy and personality of March Madness through custom campaign concepts.
03
Execution

Created campaign identities, digital and print materials, fillable PDF brackets, email graphics, and supporting promotional assets.
04
Collaboration

Worked with internal teams and clients to develop distinct creative directions and adapt each campaign to its organization’s goals and brand requirements.
05
Outcome

The campaigns generated new members, additional fundraising, and hundreds of participants, while earning multiple Pollie Awards and producing strong email engagement.

WABPAC annual receipts by 2025, up from $215K in its first year (2023): $325K
New WABPAC members by the end of 2025: 267
Constellation bracket entries: 789
Click-through on the Constellation 2025 Annual Report email: 6%

Same structure, two brands

Differentiation by design

Sagac had two different clients, WABPAC, the political action committee for Western Alliance Bank, and Constellation Employee PAC, the political action committee for Constellation Energy, wanting to develop a contest to drive engagement around the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments in March. While these programs may be similar in structure, it was important to create differentiation between each program in order to ensure we were providing our clients unique experiences that feel connected to their respective brands while also being dynamic and engaging. The deliverables for each client were slightly different, but each required custom branding for the program as well as branded deliverables like brackets, emails, and meme imagery.

WABPAC

WABPAC Materials

To get a better appreciation for how each bracket challenge program relates to the PAC brand in general, here are various PAC materials I designed for WABPAC. They would often ask us to produce a branded graphic for a program or event that would then be included in a monthly newsletter or other email communication. Following these images is a multipage Ambassador Guide I developed for WABPAC.

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Open WABPAC Ambassador Guide (PDF)

WABPAC

WABPAC Bracket Bonanza

WABPAC asked us to produce a logo for the program along with fillable PDF brackets for both the Men’s and Women’s Tournaments. These designs feature the brand colors, typefaces, and branding elements to create dynamic collateral that is also functional for the operation of their program. We would input the team names as soon as they were announced. The PDF is laid out such that you can intuitively tab through the document to input your picks and then save the document. In addition to the primary logo, we also created a special St. Patrick’s Day version for a reminder email.

The 2024 WABPAC Bracket Bonanza won two Silver Pollie Awards for Best Fundraising for Independent Committee, PAC, or Super PAC and for Fundraising Best Use of Email. This campaign led to 16 new PAC members and raised $6,000. The 2025 Bracket Bonanza program led to at least 10 new PAC members and raised conservatively $10,000. In conjunction with the other materials we created for WABPAC, we helped them move from $215,000 in annual receipts in their first year as a PAC in 2023 to $325,000 in annual receipts and 267 new members by the end of 2025.

Silver Pollie Award for Best Fundraising for Independent Committee, PAC, or Super PAC
Silver Pollie Award for Fundraising Best Use of Email
2024: 16 new PAC members and $6,000 raised
2025: at least 10 new PAC members and conservatively $10,000 raised

Fillable 2025 Women’s Bracket Bonanza bracket

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Constellation

Constellation Employee PAC Materials

Here is a small sampling of some of the materials I designed for Constellation, including banners, an enrollment form, and two of the Constellation Employee PAC Annual Reports. The 2025 Annual Report generated a 6% click-through rate among all eligible employees, resulting in their best-performing email so far in 2026 by click-through rate when it was distributed.

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Open Constellation Employee PAC 2024 Annual Report (PDF)

Open Constellation Employee PAC 2025 Annual Report (PDF)

Constellation

Constellation Employee PAC Bracket Challenge

Constellation Energy utilizes wave patterns in their design language. I referenced this through the use of the seam pattern on a basketball to introduce texture and movement into the design. I wanted something that felt poppy and vintage in this campaign, while still referencing the design language and colors of the PAC. We were also asked to create some fun meme images featuring executives within the company. We were provided images of these executives that I was able to adapt with AI tools. I added a basketball into one of their hands in one image and had them holding a basketball together on a basketball court in another image. The client enjoyed these fun images. This campaign was purely for participation, so there were no fundraising objectives or associated donation data, but it did result in a rate of 7-10% participation across the entire company, which was a strong success.