A Storied Comeback
Customer Story · Lumen Technologies
College sports doesn’t forgive instability — and neither does Wall Street.
In the wake of historic conference realignment, I led an elevated documentary customer story about Lumen’s partnership with the Pac-12 Conference and its television network. The film revealed how invisible infrastructure enabled the conference’s survival — and resurgence — during a moment of existential crisis.
The story coincided with a 12% increase in Lumen’s stock price in a single day.
PAC-12
The Story
On August 2, 2024, the Pac-12 faced collapse.
Ten member schools announced their departure in rapid succession, unraveling more than a century of history. A conference synonymous with names like UCLA, USC, Stanford, and John Wooden suddenly found itself on the brink — another casualty of realignment.
What wasn’t visible from the outside was the Pac-12’s quiet advantage: a $30M television network built for flexibility, speed, and remote production. Operating from an unassuming office park in San Ramon, California, the Pac-12 Network had embraced a REMI (Remote Integration) model that allowed live sports to be produced from anywhere — without massive broadcast trucks, without delay, and without compromise. Powered by Lumen’s low-latency, ultra-reliable infrastructure, Pac-12 engineers could spin up broadcasts from across the country using minimal on-site gear — sometimes no more than a single Pelican case — while production flowed seamlessly back to San Ramon.
That capability didn’t just keep the lights on.
It became the foundation of the Pac-12’s recovery.
By September 2025, eight new schools had joined the conference.
The Pac-12 wasn’t surviving — it was rebuilding.
Lumen was there every step of the way.
The Work
Our film was designed as an elevated documentary — grounded in operational truth, not marketing claims.
In a single day, the Lumen Films team captured production across three locations in two states:
College baseball in Pullman, Washington
Arena football in Oakland, California
Behind-the-scenes operations at the Pac-12 Network headquarters in San Ramon
The narrative positioned the Pac-12 as the hero — resilient, technical, and forward-looking — with Lumen as the enabling partner operating behind the scenes.
The film was released on opening day of the college football season, when attention, emotion, and stakes were at their highest.
The Process
Lean, high-pressure execution:
Rapid narrative development under active realignment news
Single-day, multi-state production
Documentary approach rooted in real engineers, real workflows, and real consequences
Tight coordination with Communications, Legal, Product, and Executive stakeholders
Every creative decision was made with one goal: make invisible infrastructure legible at the exact moment it mattered.
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My Role
Creative Director & Director
Led story development, creative strategy, and narrative framing
Directed production across all locations
Oversaw post-production and collaborated on release strategy
Managed and deployed a 15-person in-house film studio
Partnered directly with senior communications and executive leadership
I treated the project not as a brand video, but as a leadership moment — where clarity, timing, and truth had real business consequences.
Impact
Market Response
12% increase in Lumen stock price on the day of release
External Reach
11,156 press release views (3× average)
3 earned media placements
Social Performance
193% increase in impressions
120% increase in video views
74% increase in engagement
Internal Engagement
21,342 internal views
192 employee reactions
Why It Matters
This wasn’t just about making a film.
It was about using story to stabilize perception during crisis — and revealing operational excellence when the stakes were real.
The Pac-12 case study showed how documentary storytelling, deployed at the right moment, can move markets, build trust, and directly impact business outcomes.
And it proved that when infrastructure holds, stories can change the narrative.