#PhillyWantsLeBron → #PhillyGOTLeBron

We always say that investing in PR is playing the long game — we didn’t necessarily mean 8 years, but the wait sure makes the victory feel that much sweeter. 

Let’s rewind 8 years: “Strive for Greatness.” The motivational phrase has long been synonymous with its source, basketball star LeBron James. In 2018, A&G and Power Home Remodeling took that sentiment to new heights — literally — with three rounds of billboards recruiting James to the Philadelphia 76ers during his free agency. The integrated campaign sparked a viral social media conversation, inspired copycats trying to leverage the billboard medium, excited 2,400 employees nationwide, and put the city of Philadelphia in the national spotlight.

Power Home Remodeling is the nation’s largest full-service exterior home remodeling provider, and had experienced unprecedented growth over the previous ten years. Rapid expansion can often strain the connection between employees and senior leaders, but Power has always built its business around investing in its people — and as the company grew, keeping that culture alive stayed core to its mission. So when Power’s CEO, inspired by Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (fresh off its Best Picture win that year), pitched the idea of using billboards to recruit LeBron James, the goal was never just to make headlines. It was to give employees something to rally around, spark a national conversation, and position Power as the brand to watch.

Power and A&G built the campaign in three phases, reviving a retro media tactic to tap into the LeBron free agency buzz that had become a pop culture moment in its own right. It opened with billboards near Cleveland’s arena, timed to a 76ers-Cavaliers game, landing an ESPN earned media exclusive that launched the #PhillyWantsLeBron hashtag. Phase two turned the campaign inward: the boards were swapped out for the names of every Power employee, paired with a digital portal where staff could find and share their name. Then, as free agency neared, our media and PR teams sent aerial billboards flying over Manhattan and Brooklyn on NBA Draft night — one last plea, timed for maximum visibility, that earned media coverage from CNN, USA Today, AP, and Sports Illustrated.

The results spoke for themselves. Twitter impressions jumped 231%, Instagram impressions climbed 280%, and the buzz translated into double-digit gains in sales appointments and revenue. The campaign earned 3 billion total impressions across 344 placements, inspired copycat billboards in other cities, and even drew a public reaction from LeBron himself, who called the boards “dope.” It also strengthened Power’s employer brand, driving a 25% year-over-year increase in new talent applications — and set a new standard and PR metric: Power and A&G became the “LeBron of newsjacking.”