A Holiday Parade with Shaq
Challenge:
Accommodate Shaquille O'Neal
In September 2024, a surprising confluence of events brought us the grand marshal of our dreams... but what does it take for a small city host a Shaq-sized parade?
​
Shaquille O'Neal ​was old friends with one of our police officers. They met when a street basketball video went viral in 2016 and have stayed close.
By lucky coincidence, Shaq would be in town on Dec. 7 to watch his daughter play with the UF Women's Basketball team. He generously agreed to appear in our parade at no cost to the city.
Strategy
Aim High and Ask Experts
I was named project lead and point of contact in our efforts to first secure Shaq for an appearance and then coordinate his visit. Despite his history with our community and friendship with Gainesville Police Officer Bobby White, getting our request in front of him took artfulness and persistence. For several weeks I operated a three-phased outreach strategy:
​
-
Gift bag with 2023 A Very GNV Holiday Parade swag and a letter of invitation; this was driven to the Atlanta area and hand delivered by GPD Officer Bobby White
​​
-
Frequent phone calls and texts with Shaq's close friend and former high school coach Ford McMurtry, a current neighbor who made sure Shaq opened the bag and read the letter
​​
-
Follow-up conversations and detailed scheduling discussions with Cynthia Atterberry, the colleague who handles Shaq's bookings and appearances
Outreach Strategies
The work to publicize the second year of the parade and the visit from Shaquille O'Neal included graphics, newsletters, advertisements and videos:
Results
Earned Media
The appearance by Shaquille O'Neal in our holiday parade brought a great deal of earned media, some of which was national in scope. We maximized the potential for news coverage by inviting a few of the children who he'd played street ball with to the pre-parade Dignitary Brunch. Shaq cranked it up several notches when he called three of them (now young men) to the front of the room and gifted each with an Audi A3.
• NBA legend Shaq to serve as grand marshal of Gainesville's 2024 A Very GNV Holiday Parade (Oct. 3, 2024)
• Shaquille O'Neal named A Very GNV Holiday Parade grand marshal (Oct. 2, 2024)
• Shaquille O'Neal named grand marshal of Gainesville's Christmas parade (Oct. 2, 2024)
• Shaquille O'Neal's 33YO Terror to End as NBA Legend Prepares to Bring Holiday Joy to Florida (Oct. 2, 2024)
• Shaq shares message ahead of "A Very GNV Holiday Parade" (Nov. 27, 2024)
• Shaquille O'Neal shouts out GNV holiday parade ahead of Grand Marshal appearance (Nov. 28, 2024)
• A Very GNV Holiday Parade to kick off holiday season, lights celebration to follow (Dec. 2, 2024)
• NBA great Shaq shares message ahead of appearance in Gainesville's A Very GNV Holiday Parade (Dec. 3, 2024)
• Gainesville celebrates "Very GNV Holiday Parade" for second year (Dec. 6, 2024)
• "It brought the community together": "Very GNV Holiday Parade" spreads holiday cheer (Dec. 7, 2024)
• Gainesville kicks off holiday season with 2nd annual parade (Dec. 7, 2024)
• Shaq gives away new Audis to three young men he met in Gainesville following viral 2016 video (Dec. 9, 2024)
• Shaquille O'Neal Gifts $38,200 Cars to Lucky Kids as 2016 Meeting Turns Into Pleasant Surprise (Dec. 9, 2024)
• Gainesville kicks off holiday season with annual parade (Dec. 9, 2024)
• RECAP: Very GNV Holiday Parade packs University Avenue with festive cheer (Dec. 10, 2024)
Parade Attendance
With 110 registered units (many comprised of school groups, bands, church organizations and clubs), there were an estimated 1,100 people marching, rolling or dancing down the mile-long parade route. Spectators lined most parts of University Avenue in numbers greater than the previous year. Unofficial crowd estimates placed the size in the 7,500 range.
Having learned from the first parade in 2023, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs intentionally piggybacked on the event, moving the Kids Dance Party at Bo Diddley Plaza to a time slot that immediately followed the parade. This resulted in the intended boost in attendance, with approximately 500 children and family members celebrating at the dance party.
Parade Livestream Analytics
​
The parade livestream was the biggest player in the social media landscape, with views on our city Facebook page peaking at 16, 228 for parade day.
​
In the two months between the first announcement of Shaq as grand marshal and the day of the parade, our website and social media reach expanded substantially. This skewed the overall Fiscal Year 2025 metrics into an upward trend. The difference is clear in this side-by-side comparison:
​
Fiscal Year 2024 (Oct. 1, 2023 - Sept. 30 2024)
-
Social Media Reach: 735,949
-
Website Unique Views: 3,493,238​
Fiscal Year 2025 (Oct. 1, 2024 - Sept. 30, 2025)
-
Social Media Reach: 993, 025
-
Website Unique Views: 3,701,000 (by Q3)
Lessons
Itinerary and After-Action Items
Through this experience I learned how to book and plan a personal appearance by a major celebrity in a small-town environment. I reached out to experienced arts and culture events planners for advice.
I developed a Parade Day Itinerary to guide the schedule.
I wrote the Dignitary Brunch Remarks for our city commissioners and the Parade Script for our event announcer, adjusting tone to reflect the impact of celebrity participation.
My team then adapted the script into a Parade Program Booklet, which serves as both reference and keepsake.
Of course, I ran an After-Action Report to assist with streamlining the planning and execution of the third annual A Very GNV Holiday Parade on Saturday, December 6, 2025.
