I like to compare hitting up a brand to sliding into an IG model’s DMs. (In case you don’t know, an IG model is a beautiful woman with a lot of followers that hardly ever responds to anyone) (not that I've ever tried DM'ing an IG model or anything).

When you have so many people reaching out to you, you've heard every line in the book and see right through the tactics.

They’ve seen all the generic pitches and the half-baked attempts to get their attention. And guess what? Most of those messages get left on read because they’re all about taking instead of adding value.

Brands have their guard up because they know people only hit them up when they want something. So if you want to actually break through, you’ve got to flip the script—stand out, add value, and make them see why they should even bother replying.

How to Get Noticed in a Crowded Inbox

🎁 Lead With Value

If your first message is about what you want, you’ve already lost. The goal is to make them feel like working with you is a win for them.

Come with ideas — Show up with a fresh campaign concept or a unique way to integrate their brand into your content.
Solve a problem — Identify a challenge they’re facing and pitch a creative way you can help.

📝 Do Your Homework

A copy-paste pitch? Instant L. If you haven’t done your research, you’re wasting everyone’s time.

Find the gaps — Look at what they’re already doing and find ways to make it better.
Reference something specific — Mention a campaign, value, or initiative that aligns with your audience.

🚨Make It Impossible to Ignore

This is where you separate yourself from every other DM flooding their inbox.

Get creative — Send a video pitch, a custom mockup, or an idea that visually brings your collaboration to life.
Go beyond basic — Use humor, storytelling, or an unexpected approach to grab attention.

The Secret to Getting a Response

Effort. Creativity. Value. If you lead with those three things, you’re already ahead of 99% of people shooting their shot.

At the end of the day, brands—just like IG models—are human. If you want them to notice you, make it clear why you’re worth their time.

This was the 3rd super bowl I’ve been able to go to and I’ll say that it is worth the investment to be there. Every single person that works with athletes, brands, media, etc. are there. No matter how many Zoom meetings or LinkedIn messages you send out, it will not compare to what you can make happen at Super Bowl week.

Here’s What I Learned:

Figure out the events beforehand and how to get in. 

This one isn’t easy. It’s chaos figuring it out, but you have 363 days before next year’s so here is how to get started.

There are parties with a ton of celebs like Uber, Spotify, Sports Illustrated, Fanatics, GQ, etc. Some events you can buy tickets for and others will need to know someone who knows someone.

There’s the industry parties - Athletes First goes all out. Wasserman, Octagon, etc. have events. Meta was pushing threads this year and a networking event which was pretty cool.

Radio Row is probably the one centralized location to run into someone you’ve been waiting to meet in the industry. Bounty has their Wingmates booth set up, Pat McAfee and Kay Adams are doing shows. It's cool.

Navigating Brand Activations 

We had 3 brands we worked with this week: Abbott, American Heart Association and Invisalign.

These are all brands I have great relationships with and have worked with for awhile.

They’re usually looking for a mixture of in-person appearances, interviews and social activations.

AHA had a luncheon with Damar Hamlin. Abbott had him booked for Radio Row and Invisalign brought him to the NFL Experience to coach at a kids camp.

Activations Done Right

It seems like Invisalign is making a huge push into the NFL with advertising dollars. (If you’re looking for data on sponsorships, you should check out SponsorUnited’s newsletter. I created this one to focus on the creative/ideation element of sports marketing)

We landed an Invisalign partnership with Damar before the season. They recently partnered with Jayden Daniels as well. But what surprised me the most was their investment in NFL honors and sponsoring the MVP award.

They had 11 year old Taylen Biggs on the red carpet interviewing athletes, which gives you great organic social.

We work with their agency, Multiplier who honestly does an incredible job.

Some things I love that they do that others don’t

• They provide a lot of detail in the brand brief so that we don’t have to guess what to do.

• They’re also open to changes to fit the athletes voice

• The content isn't heavily produced.

• They understand that working with athletes can be complicated because of their schedules and account for that beforehand.

There are agencies & brands who just don’t put that much effort into the pre-activation process and it ends up being a waste of money.

Anyone can find an athlete and get them to agree to get paid to post on social media. The real expertise is in making the activation meaningful and authentic.

Big Takeaways 

Plan ahead. If you don’t have money for a big event, plan a small event with you and a few people with others in the industry. The glitz and glam is cool but it’s about connections.

Make a list of who you didn’t get to meet with. Get ahead of it and schedule talks with people for next year. Set a calendar reminder for 6 and 3 months til the Super Bowl, and make it known to these contacts that you’ll see them next year in Santa Clara.

Super Bowl Commercial Thoughts

There will be plenty of thought pieces on the commercials but I had a few things to share:

• I’d love to know the motivation / return for companies that make it super ambiguous to what they actually do. I know what Rocket Mortgage is but their commercial wouldn’t have given you any indication of what they do. I’m all for human-centric marketing but not sure of the effectiveness if no one ends up knowing what to do with the story you just told them.

• On the flipside, I thought it was interesting seeing Myfitnesspal do a spot with a watermark. It seems like a lot of brands love to build intrigue from who the spot is from, but I feel like with Super Bowl commercials, people are stuck watching them anyway. 

• Hellman’s spent a ton of money to recreate When Harry Met Sally and Dukes Mayo spent $0, incorrectly tagged their own brand in their post and is currently going viral with this witty comment.

It seems like the best social strategy as a brand is to make it look like you don’t have one.

Athlete Partnerships Post-Super Bowl

Cooper DeJean x Ritz Crackers

Is this my most risk-averse idea? No. Would I pitch this to the brand? Probably not. But I love the idea of Cooper DeJean (who was called an exciting white by Pat McAfee) to do a deal with a cracker brand.  We don’t need to make any connections to race, it can be something entirely different - but people will come to their own conclusions. (BTW I’m a D3 white Cornerback and I would have taken this deal in a heartbeat)

AJ Brown x Barnes and Noble

Are books back? It’d be a nice comeback for 2025. That book is always with him on the sideline and he’s made that guy a fortune. Some sort of book-adjacent brand should partner with him because of this. There’s also a great opportunity for a charity involved with reading to partner as well.

Saquon Barkley x Ramp

I just want to comment on how cool this spot was. Saquon is an investor and has become a spokesperson for the brand. I love seeing athletes get a seat at the table and take ownership over their brands.

My Dream Collab

I unfortunately don’t have anything else to look forward to in life because I accomplished everything I have wanted by meeting the AJ and Big Justice (The Costco Guys)

If you don’t know them, then you don’t have TikTok or your screen time isn’t as embarrassing as mine is.