The North Carolina Courage has a new rallying cry. The Triangle is The Place to BE. And the club is calling on this community to make First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park home.

It's the place to belong. The place to believe. The place to be unapologetically yourself. The place to be bold, fearless, and exceptional. The Courage's The Place to BE campaign is the ethos of the club on the field, in the stands, and in the community.

“To build an influential brand, we must lead with conviction — clearly defining who we are and communicating it with consistency and confidence. True brand leadership doesn’t come from playing it safe or appearing overly refined; it requires embracing what makes us unique and being authentic, spirited, and undeniably proud of who we are,” said Courage Chief Operating Officer Ralph Vuono.

The club, alongside nationally acclaimed marketing and creative agencies Name & Number and Exactly, landed on The Place to BE following a comprehensive research process that included interviews with a diverse selection of fans and club leadership.

The research proved that no single term or theme alone would fully capture the identity of Courage Country. The Place to BE instead represents the multitudes that encapsulate the club's culture. It represents the on-field success, both in terms of the team’s league-record seven NWSL trophies, the style of play, and the connection fans feel to the team. The balance between grit and ferocity with welcoming inclusivity.

“We have multitudes. Our community and fans view us through that lens, we didn’t want to shy away from that. We are The Place to BE, but that means more than just a great place to watch a soccer match. It is the place for fans to be unapologetically loud, the place to be proud of our players, to be fierce, bold, and powerful. From a community perspective, it’s the place to belong,” said Courage President Francie Gottsegen.

The campaign includes a complete visual overhaul in club messaging, combining motion and emotion to highlight the two sides of sports.

“Right now, you usually see the physical prowess front and center with action shots and things like that. We have tried to expand that story to peel another layer of these players and start presenting them in a way that isn’t the standard NWSL Napoleon shot, but instead in the way you fall in love with them. You see them as human beings, you invest in them as human beings and that combination of motion and emotion helps visually share that we contain multitudes,” said Exactly Founder Svetlana Legetic.

For Name & Number Founder Kyle Sheldon, the key to any project like this isn’t just all of the backend work, it is how it gets brought to life and is responded to.

“I’m really excited to see how people respond to the visuals. They are unique within sports and the women’s game. They will stand out, both in terms of the look of them and the photography, which turned out well. I’m excited to see how people respond to the digitals as they roll out more widely,” Sheldon said.

The launch of The Place to BE comes at a crucial time for the Courage. Women’s sports are booming and the Courage are part of that rising tide.

“The momentum behind women’s sports is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s our responsibility to seize this moment and lead the charge. If we’re not proactive, we risk letting this incredible movement pass us by. That means taking bold action. To truly make an impact, we need to know exactly who we are—not just within our market but across the entire landscape of professional sports. We needed to define what our brand stands for, what we mean to our fans, our organization, and most importantly, our players. In that discovery process, we found our rallying cry,” Vuono said.

Legetic says much of women’s sports marketing has historically leaned on very general concepts and ideas rather than a specific team identity and campaign. Creating something unique and specific to the Courage identity was at the forefront of the agencies’ mission.

“We had this sort of formula. A strong regional presence, not being afraid to occupy the space that you need, and something that resonates with both the team and the fans. One thing that kept coming up was that both the Courage and The Triangle area are not easily defined. They contain multitudes,” Legetic said.

The agencies caught the club’s attention as partners for the project due to Name & Number's expertise in soccer and Exactly's recent success with the Washington Spirit.

The collaboration between the agencies is a partnership 16 years in the making, having not collaborated to this level until now. Legetic and Sheldon first worked together on David Beckham’s first game in the U.S.

“We had a great time and then went our own ways but stayed in touch. We connected around the Spirit work and Kyle had to opportunity to talk with the Courage about this project and brought us on for it. It was a beautiful thing. People like working with people they like, and this is a testament to that. It’s a partnership a decade and a half in the making,” Legetic said.

The Place to BE isn’t just about this moment, it is about pushing boundaries.

“The Courage is a club with a great foundation, a winning tradition and a hardcore, avid fan base. But there’s still a lot of opportunity in the market and I’m hopeful that this campaign can serve as a connection point and rallying cry for the greater Triangle area and soccer fans in the area,” Sheldon said.

First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park is the perfect blend of intimidation and intimacy, and that balance is found throughout the campaign. But The Place to BE also serves as a message: This club is North Carolina.