Houston Texans Digital Campaign

OWNING THE MOMENT

How a real-time decision turned a meme into a cultural win

Overview

Leadership in the Age of Virality

When Houston Texans Chair and CEO Cal McNair was accidentally left hanging by star quarterback C.J. Stroud on national television, the internet quickly latched onto the moment. Rather than treating it as something to manage or correct, McNair chose to join the conversation – responding in real time with a fan-first, culturally fluent video that extended the moment and became one of the most impactful social posts in Texans history, generating over 23 million video views across owned channels and spreading organically through national sports and culture accounts.

IT STARTED WITH A MISSED HIGH-FIVE

Sunday Night Football. National television. Cal McNair reaches out for a high-five. C.J. Stroud doesn't see it. The internet sees everything.

THE INTERNET REACTED

HOW DID WE DO IT?

Driven By Ownership, Executed By Social/Digital Video & Comms

This approach worked because it was earned. Over time, Cal's own social presence has consistently shown up as culturally relevant and genuine – creating credibility before moments like this ever occur. That trust was built through actions such as becoming the first NFL owner to host a Reddit AMA and engaging fans in real time around moments like uniform leaks. Because of that history, when ownership stepped into this moment, it didn't register as a stunt. It felt authentic – and fans responded accordingly.

Cal McNair repping the rebrand
Cal McNair Reddit AMA
Cal AMA Response
Fan response
Uniform reveal
Cal with H logo

Cal McNair recognized the missed Sunday Night Football high-five before the moment hardened into a narrative. By recreating the moment, he participated directly – without over-engineering the response.

With that clarity, Cal McNair proactively reached out to the Texans social and digital team, signaling clear intent rather than reactive approval. After exploring multiple ideas, the team aligned quickly around a single narrative with a clear payoff.

That discipline turned the meme into a story.

ACT I
The Beginning
The national TV clip
ACT II-III
The Middle
Cal's quest around the facility, still waiting
ACT IV
The Payoff
C.J. Stroud completes the high-five

By extending the moment instead of correcting it, the narrative shifted from potential ridicule to celebration. Instead of "LOL he got left hanging," the new narrative became "Look how fun and unified this team is, starting from the top."

This wasn't self-deprecation. It was self-assurance. The response signaled confidence, comfort with the moment, and trust in the audience.

This was never about controlling a narrative – it was about meeting fans where they already were and trusting them to carry it forward. Because of that choice, the moment traveled organically and the narrative shifted because we gave fans a better version of the moment to share.

ACT I

THE QUEST BEGINS

The execution was intentionally restrained. Keeping his hand raised throughout the day was absurd but played straight. The humor emerged from the situation rather than from performance. One creative rule guided the entire execution: no one else could give him the coveted high five.

ACT II

PATIENCE & PERSISTENCE

This wasn't self-deprecation. It was self-assurance. The response signaled confidence, comfort with the moment, and trust in the audience.

ACT III

THE WAIT CONTINUES

One creative rule guided the entire execution: no one else could give him the coveted high five. That discipline turned the meme into a story.

Player Buy-In
ACT IV

THE MOMENT ARRIVES

C.J. Stroud did not expect to see Cal McNair. This is his genuine reaction in the moment. Capturing that realness was key.

FINALLY.

After three days. After millions of views. After the world watched and waited. The high-five happens.

Victory
Social comment
Social comment
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OWNED THE MOMENT

A call-back to The Breakfast Club. A wink to those who stayed until the end. This is how you own a moment.

The Framework

The Strategy

A self-aware, real-time storytelling strategy built around participation, restraint, and earned credibility – extending a viral moment by joining fan culture rather than managing it.

  • Humanize leadership through behavior, not messaging
  • Choose participation in culture over explanation and control
  • Extend a fleeting meme into a positive narrative arc with a clear payoff
  • Design the response to invite fan and third-party amplification, rather than rely on brand messaging
  • Strengthen long-term brand equity through likability and trust, not hard-selling

The Process

A compressed, leadership-driven sprint where ownership, social, digital, and public relations aligned quickly around a clear creative rule – enabling speed without sacrificing judgment. From identifying the moment to publish, the response came together in just over 24 hours.

  • Sunday Night: The missed high-five occurs on national television
  • Tuesday Morning: The clip gains traction organically across social platforms
  • Tuesday Afternoon: Cal McNair proactively reaches out to the Texans social and digital teams, signaling clear intent to participate rather than react. The team explores multiple creative directions
  • Tuesday Night: Concepts are shared with ownership and the idea is locked
  • Wednesday Morning: A simple script is written, guided by the core creative rule
  • Wednesday afternoon: The video is filmed and edited on-site. Final reviews focus on tone and authenticity
  • Wednesday Evening: The post is published and begins spreading organically across platforms

The Results

The response delivered outsized organic performance by traveling well beyond the Texans' owned audience. The simplicity of the premise and restraint of the execution made the content easy to understand, easy to share, and easy to amplify – often outperforming the team's original posts when reposted by third parties.

  • Often outperforming the team's original posts when reposted by third parties
  • Reposted by major sports and culture accounts
  • Featured across national platforms including SportsCenter and The Pat McAfee Show
  • Comment sections became part of the content itself
The Results

By The Numbers

23M+
Total Video Views
▼ Click for breakdown
  • Instagram: 11.9M (92% non-follower reach)
  • TikTok: 8.3M (97% non-follower reach)
  • Facebook: 2.5M
  • X (Twitter): 600K
2.6M
Total Engagements
*Overindexed average performance by 10,900%. Seriously.
▼ Click for breakdown
  • 1.3M engagements on Instagram
  • 1.3M engagements on TikTok
  • 957K likes on Instagram
  • 292K shares on Instagram
  • 1.2M likes on TikTok
  • 102K shares on TikTok

Follower Growth Domination

The Texans outpaced every other NFL team in social growth during this campaign

TEXANS
The Team

The People Behind The Moment

Cal McNair • Will Cornell • Chris Schnabel • Lindsey Fox • David Wolf
Adam Cann • Steven Goldfried • Ryan Records • Joanna Marks
Doug Vosik • Omar Majzoub • Jay McDevitt