REPLIESFor all Discussions, each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation in the current APAformat and 1 Biblical principle/verse (Note: for each reply for the Discussion: DisruptiveMarketing, at least 1 Biblical verse needs to cited, in current APA format, under the BiblicalIntegration subject header). Any sources cited must have been published within the last fiveyears, except for the Bible.*Note: Scholarly Marketing authored references are an authored source in which a human’sname is associated with the work.
Reply# 1
A Need for Cultural Rebranding
This week’s project was both challenging and deeply personal. It allowed me to build a disruptive brand strategy centered on culturally responsive mental health care for Black men. The rebrand, Ayana Black Men, emerged from the need to address not just the underutilization of services but the underlying cultural and systemic reasons that prevent Black men from seeking therapy in the first place. While Ayana Therapy already focuses on identity-based therapist matching for diverse populations, it lacks the specificity, emotional resonance, and cultural trust that Black men require to engage meaningfully with mental health services.
Barriers Beyond Awareness
The most eye-opening aspect of the research was realizing how layered the stigma is. It’s not just a lack of education or awareness. Trauma passed through generations, spiritual conflict, and expectations of stoicism rooted in survival (Johnson et al., 2024; McKenzie et al., 2022). According to Bennett et al. (2024), Black men face disproportionate pressure to suppress vulnerability, leading to underdiagnosis and chronic emotional distress. Mental health campaigns often fail because they rely on generalized messaging that doesn’t speak the language of this lived experience. That’s where disruption comes in—not just changing what is marketed, but how and where it is delivered.
Reframing Therapy as Power
The new platform reframes therapy as an act of power, not weakness. The product itself offers a suite of culturally immersive services: therapist matching that prioritizes shared racial identity, peer-led support circles, journaling features that integrate faith and reflection, and a curated media library rooted in Black resilience and manhood (Doornbos et al., 2024). In designing this model, I leaned heavily on Staiger et al. (2020), who emphasize that therapeutic engagement increases significantly when users feel culturally seen and emotionally safe.
Creating Access Through Pricing
Equally disruptive is the pricing model. Ayana Therapy charges $60–$90 per session, consistent with competitors like Talkspace and BetterHelp (Cloud, 2024). But this model automatically excludes many Black men, especially those without employer benefits or consistent income. Ayana Black Men will adopt a freemium pricing structure. Essential tools—peer support groups, motivational content, devotionals—are free. Premium services such as therapy and coaching will be subsidized through partnerships with churches, HBCUs, and nonprofit organizations. Sweeney et al. (2024) argue that affordability must be addressed as a justice issue, not just a pricing strategy.
Meeting the Community Where It Is
Where Ayana Black Men truly departs from the industry norm is in its approach to distribution and promotion. Most therapy platforms rely on app stores, SEO, and paid digital ads. But research shows this strategy doesn’t work for everyone—especially for populations whose first instinct is not to seek out mental health help (Aguilar Silvan et al., 2024). Distribution for Ayana Black Men will be relational. It will appear in barbershops, Black-owned gyms, fraternities, churches, and alumni events at HBCUs. These are places where trust already exists—places where men gather, lead, and let their guard down.
Telling the Right Story
Promotion is the heartbeat of the brand. Rather than rely on diversity statements or celebrity endorsements, the strategy centers on storytelling. It amplifies peer voices, testimonials, spoken word content, and faith-integrated wellness campaigns. Murphy et al. (2024) found that Black men who engaged with peer-led mental health podcasts or content experienced greater openness to therapy. This shaped how I designed Ayana’s promotional tools: barber-led conversations, Sunday devotionals, pastor-endorsed messages, and culturally timed campaigns around Juneteenth and Father’s Day.
Faith as Foundation for Wellness
Spiritually, this project also challenged me to think about healing not just as a medical process, but as a God-led one. Mental wellness is not separate from spiritual peace. Psalm 34:17–18 reminds us, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (New American Standard Bible, 1971/1995, Psalm 34:17–18). Black men often feel the pressure to remain unshaken, but this verse assures us that brokenness is not disqualifying—it is a place where God meets us.
Jeremiah 30:17 further affirms this: “For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord” (New American Standard Bible, 1971/1995, Jeremiah 30:17). The wounds in our communities—emotional, psychological, and spiritual—cannot be healed by therapy alone. They require an integrated approach that includes faith, restoration, and collective responsibility.
Proverbs 11:14 speaks to the value of communal wisdom: “Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in an abundance of counselors there is victory” (New American Standard Bible, 1971/1995, Proverbs 11:14). This verse serves as a foundation for the peer-led design of the Ayana Black Men platform. Healing happens in circles, not silos.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, this project showed me that marketing mental health to Black men must be more than inclusive—it must be intimate, intentional, and deeply relational. Disruption happens when strategy becomes service, when business models yield to cultural empathy, and when faith and wellness are no longer separate. For many Black men, wellness has long been a quiet hope. This brand strategy declares it can be a loud reality.
Reply # 2
Discussion Thread: Disruptive Marketing
The NFL is a dominant sports brand that promotes their high caliber players each week. However, in a world with rapid technological innovation and constant stimuli, consumer’s attention span is shortening. As a dynamic and everchanging field, sports brands must incorporate innovative strategies that maximize its impact in our digital and interconnected world (Ladik et al., 2025). Therefore, the NFL must look for ways to expand their foothold within the U.S. as well as make the game even more interesting. The Savannah Bananas are an organization that the NFL can look to as an example of a sports organization that has effectively expanded into surrounding areas as well as added unique elements to the game that increased their popularity. This post will discuss the new initiatives that the NFL can implement to further disrupt the sports market as well as how the NFL can work towards God’s image.
New Initiatives
The NFL has contributed greatly into football becoming the dominant sport throughout the United States. However, sports organizations must continue to evolve beyond the game day event or simply focusing on the sport itself (Ladik et al., 2025). The Savannah Bananas serve as a prime example of a sports organization that evolved beyond their sport to promote a product centered around keeping their fans entertained. After experiencing struggles during the beginning of their inaugural season, the Savannah Bananas owner, Jesse Cole, looked to unique ways to make the game more interesting and grab the attention of fans worldwide (Sproul et al., 2024). The initiatives of the Savannah Bananas include teaching their players dance moves to do during lulls in the game, creating a unique team name, and looking for ways to keep their fans entertained from the purchasing of the tickets to exiting the game (Brooks & Peters, 2022). Additionally, the Savannah Bananas invested heavily in social media initiatives, like TikTok, to market their product and into making baseball more entertaining, even forgoing promotion revenue to invest more into these efforts (Brooks & Peters, 2022). These efforts resulted in the Savannah Bananas have sold out every game since the middle of their inaugural season while expanding into neighboring states, playing in football stadiums, and receiving free publicity from countless major media outlets (Sproul et al., 2024). Seeing the success of the Savannah Bananas, the NFL should look to incorporate several of these initiatives into their own game. If the NFL were to provide incentives for players to learn dance moves to do between lulls in the game, the fans would have a continuous source of entertainment. Furthermore, the NFL should encourage, instead of penalizing, celebrations from their players as it creates emotion from fans, making them more engaged in the game. Finally, the NFL lacks in their geographical influence throughout the U.S. as twenty-eight states do not have an NFL team (States without NFL teams 2025). This presents mass opportunity for the NFL to continue to grow and offer their product to consumers who previously did not have the ability to experience it. Emulating the Savannah Banans strategy, the NFL should consider dipping into these neighboring states by hosting NFL games at college campuses. This will allow the NFL to have a cost-effective way to gage the interest in their product within these states while offering colleges the opportunity for free publicity. Furthermore, hosting games in college stadiums offers the NFL the opportunity to give back as these colleges, as well as the town they are in, will likely gain a lot of revenue from this initiative. Furthermore, if the interest in the games hosted within the neighboring states as well as within the NFL’s survey research shows enormous interest, the NFL could look to add a franchise within these states. As the Savannah Bananas owner, Jesse Cole, states, organizations must think exponentially and be willing to take risks (Brooks & Peters, 2022). Therefore, the NFL must take the risks necessary to continue to excel as the dominant sports marketing brand. However, the NFL could benefit greatly from following the teachings found within the Bible.
Biblical Integration
The Bible has been an everlasting guide for leaders as they navigate the increasingly complicated world. As stated in Romans 1:22, “Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools” (English Standard Version Bible, 2018). This emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, a concept that many organizations fail to encapsulate. Furthermore, the Bible teaches us about the importance of being unique. Romans 12:2 states, “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (English Standard Version Bible, 2018). This teaching should encourage the NFL to look to ways to expand their influence through innovative and unique ways, like encouraging creative celebrations. Additionally, Philippians 2:4 states, “let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (English Standard Version Bible, 2018). This is an aspect of biblical teachings that the NFL lacks as they can do much more to encourage spreading God’s message as well as God’s intent as the organization does not give back to the community as much as they should.
Conclusion
Although the NFL is the dominant sports brand throughout the United States, opportunity is there to expand their influence and increase their revenue. The Savannah Banana’s unique approach to the sports industry presents ample opportunity for the NFL to expand their influence by making the game more interesting as well as expanding into areas where their product was not previously offered. Furthermore, the NFL has a lot of room for improvement as it relates to following God’s intent. The NFL currently restricts players from religious expression, like having Bible verses on their face paint, as well as fails to give back to the external community in a generous way. Through innovative approaches to the football and expansion plans as well as encouraging corporate social responsibility, the NFL can develop a strategy that strengthens their foothold within the United States as the dominant sports brand while working to better their community the way that God intends.
