ricky jean francois

In July 2016, veteran defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois tabbed Swanson Communications to handle his public relations efforts. As a veteran entering his eighth season in the NFL, and having previously played for San Francisco, and Indianapolis, Jean Francois was already well established around the league and within NFL media circles for his work on the gridiron. Our task was to generate more attention for the well-liked and respected Jean Francois. 

We diligently worked to expose the other sides of the smart and dedicated gentle giant—the loving father, sneaker god, tech wizard, and businessman.  We connected him with Reddit, the website for conversations about everything, for a sensational “Ask Me Anything,” Life of Dad, a popular online lifestyle site dedicated to fathers, to talk about family, Mashable, a leader in the tech space, for a conversation about his reputation as FedEx Field’s undisputed electronics genius, Nice Kicks, a sneaker blog, to discuss his most beloved rare sneakers, and Black Enterprise, the premiere business resource for African Americans, to chronicle his financially-wise investments.  Additionally, we were able to secure a special guest appearance for Jean Francois to join other sneaker collectors at Sneaker Con DMV 2016.

Most poignantly we chronicled and publicized Jean Francois’ humanitarian visit to his father’s homeland of Haiti. In September 2016, after Hurricane Matthew ravaged the country, Jean Francois and fellow Redskins teammate, Haitian-American Pierre Garcon, traveled there on team owner Dan Snyder’s private jet to help deliver water and medical supplies to the grief-stricken region.

Upon his return to the U.S., our team launched a full-scale publicity campaign to generate attention for Jean Francois’ efforts. This included interviews with Bleacher Report, Complex, NPR radio, NBC Sports radio, CBS Sports radio, FOX Sports radio and SB Nation radio. The story Jean Francois told during a full-day New York City press tour, at stops including Sports Illustrated, USA Today, ESPN, The Players’ Tribune, Black Enterprise, SiriusXM radio and The Shadow League,  helped the humbled athlete connect with millions of new eyes and ears while reiterating the importance of the humanitarian work that he and Garcon completed the week before.

Be on the lookout for much more coverage to come on Jean Francois.

Photo Credit: Ricky Jean Francois