Introducing “Name & Number” A Brand New Soccer-Specific Marketing And Creative Agency
CHICAGO (November 1, 2022) - Built to connect teams and brands to American soccer culture, “Name & Number” formally launched today in Chicago. The soccer-specific marketing and creative agency has brought together a network of soccer specialists with expertise in growing fandom, brand relevance, and revenue to serve brands, teams, leagues, federations, players, and media properties.
“With the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place in North America in less than four years, the popularity of soccer is set for another massive leap forward in the U.S.,” said Name & Number Founder and CEO Kyle Sheldon. “We’ve intentionally built Name & Number to serve those who want to connect to young, diverse, tech-savvy soccer consumers in North America. At our heart, we’re a group of creative storytellers who share a deep love for the world’s game and are motivated to contribute to its continued growth.”
NAME & NUMBER CHANNELS
The agency’s network of collaborators includes specialists in the areas of marketing, campaigns, paid media, content and video production, social media, graphic design, brand identity, fan experience, and sponsorship activation, among others.
Name & Number’s Founder and CEO, Kyle Sheldon, has spent almost the entirety of his career marketing soccer in the U.S. His award-winning career has included stops at D.C. United, Seattle Sounders FC, and Chicago Fire FC, serving as the head of marketing at each club.
“Despite the sport’s massive - and growing - popularity in the U.S., there are very few agencies wholly focused on soccer,” said Sheldon. “The American soccer fanbase is the most complicated and nuanced of any sport in the world, and more traditional sports marketing strategies simply don’t translate. We’ve built our agency to tackle one thing and one thing only - connecting teams and brands to American soccer culture.”
Sheldon is currently supporting Seattle Sounders FC’s “March to the 50th” campaign, providing strategic counsel on the exploration of an evolved brand identity in preparation for the club’s 50th anniversary in 2024. Earlier this year, he supported the development of commercial spots and social content for the club’s Concacaf Champions League campaign starring former NFL star Marshawn Lynch. The content series generated more than one million organic video views across owned channels and saw media coverage from the likes of The New York Times, Seattle Times, ESPN, FOX Sports, Bleacher Report, and MLSSoccer.com, among others. The campaign helped drive the biggest crowd in the tournament’s history as 68,721 fans packed Lumen Field to see Seattle defeat Mexico’s Pumas UNAM 5-2 on aggregate - and become the first MLS team to lift the Concacaf Champions League trophy.
Name & Number also announced today the formation of the “Name & Number Collective,” a group of soccer-obsessed individuals who have worked across multiple levels of the sport. The collective is part of the extended Name & Number team that will service agency clients. Bios for each member of the collective can be found at the bottom of the release.
NAME & NUMBER COLLECTIVE
Zhaneé Anderson - Austin, TX
Jemma McQuillan - Glasgow, Scotland
Becca Payne - Boston, MA
Cam Rizzardini - Columbus, OH
Katlyn Stevens - Atlanta, GA / Santiago, Chile
Name & Number has also strategically selected design studio Column [website] as an agency partner. Based in Seattle, Column specializes in creative design, brand identity, and design systems. They’ve worked with Seattle Sounders FC since 2018 and are supporting the club’s exploration of an evolved brand identity. The studio also designed the Name & Number identity system, Seattle’s 2026 World Cup identity, and has worked with a host of other iconic brands including Microsoft, Red Bull, Stumptown Coffee, Gordon Ramsey, and Darigold, among others.
“The Far Post,” Name & Number’s new email newsletter, will highlight interesting business and sponsorship stories from the world of soccer, share research and insights about the American soccer consumer, highlight the latest employment opportunities in the sport globally, and share tips for those looking to break into the soccer industry professionally.
ABOUT NAME & NUMBER
Based in Chicago, Name & Number is a soccer-specific marketing and creative agency built to connect teams and brands to American soccer culture. The agency has assembled a team of soccer specialists to serve brands, teams, leagues, federations, players, and media properties who want to leverage the growing popularity of the world’s game in North America.
The agency’s name is inspired by the legend of St. Louis soccer club Vesper-Buick, founded in the 1920s and the first soccer team in the world to stitch numbers on the back of their kits. The team - owned by F.W.A. Vesper of Vesper-Buick Auto Co. - reached the pinnacle of the sport in 1924, falling to the Fall River Marksman 4-2 in the U.S. National Final in front of a standing-room-only crowd. The agency’s name is a nod to Vesper-Buick’s innovation and soccer’s century-long history in the U.S.
KYLE SHELDON, FOUNDER & CEO
Kyle Sheldon has nearly 20 years of experience marketing professional soccer in the United States. His award-winning career in Major League Soccer has seen stops at Seattle Sounders FC, D.C. United, and Chicago Fire FC where he has overseen a host of areas including advertising, brand and design, content and social media, events, matchday experience, corporate partnership sales, corporate partnership marketing, social media, supporter relations, and video production, among other areas. Sheldon has a B.A. in Communication and Media Studies from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota – where he also played collegiate soccer – and an M.A. in Public Relations from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He lives outside of Chicago and his favorite number is 5.
THE NAME & NUMBER COLLECTIVE
ZHANEE ANDERSON
Zhaneé Anderson is a graphic designer and photographer who currently works in the athletic department at The University of Texas. She serves as the design lead for several teams, including her favorite - Women’s Soccer. Anderson previously had stints at the Carolina Panthers, Temple University, and the University of Miami and has also done creative work for two NWSL teams, the Washington Spirit and San Diego Wave FC. She played collegiate soccer at Valdosta State University.
JEMMA MCQUILLAN
Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Jemma McQuilan is a self-taught graphic designer who has established herself as one of the leading football designers in the world. She has done design work for the likes of Liverpool FC, Aston Villa, FC, Chelsea FC, the French Football Federation, Sky Sports, the Scottish FA, MLB, NHL, and Roc Nation.
BECCA PAYNE
Becca Payne has spent nearly 15 years working across marketing, digital, and corporate partnerships. She spent five seasons between the Colorado Rapids and D.C. United prior to leading global sports partnerships at Marriott International, including managing the NFL, NBA, MLB, and USTA accounts. She also worked at a travel technology start-up and The Knot Worldwide. She played competitive youth soccer in the DC area while growing up and club soccer at the University of Colorado.
CAM RIZZARDINI
Cam Rizzardini is a Clio award-winning brand strategy and content specialist. His unique background as both a writer and performer brings a unique perspective to his storytelling approach. Over the past decade, he has worked for a host of notable Pacific Northwest teams and brands including Seattle Sounders FC, the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Kraken, Helly Hansen, and evo, among others.
KATLYN STEVENS
Katlyn Stevens is a digital strategist and content producer who specializes in modern-day social media storytelling. She played collegiate soccer at Pfeiffer University and professionally in Chile. She was part of the social media team that launched Atlanta United FC in 2016 before moving to Spain to become fluent in Spanish. She’s worked in the music industry, as on-camera talent for Soccer.com, and currently travels the world full-time. With roots in Atlanta, GA, Katlyn is based in Santiago, Chile. She loves to play pick-up soccer wherever she can find a game.
