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Why The WNBA x Glossier Partnership Is Smart

By Jessica Smith On November 13, 2020 In Uncategorized

The WNBA has its first beauty partner in Glossier, launching a new chapter of their Body Hero campaign centered on a celebration of bodies and individuality. 

Glossier introduced Body Hero in 2017 with two products and a large-scale OOH campaign in NYC and LA. The campaign’s goal was to inspire and spur conversation “around beauty, self-care and individuality.”

Three years later, the Body Hero campaign is in its next evolution by introducing two new products and a new exploration of what Body Hero means: Exploring what our bodies do for us and what we do for them. Through this campaign, they’re celebrating Body Heroes’ stories ranging from a nurse to an artist to a student.

As part of this next chapter in the campaign, Glossier partnered with the WNBA and eight of its stars to use their voices to deliver a message that “all bodies are beautiful and each body is a hero.”

Throughout the campaign, WNBA and Glossier fans will see WNBA players’ daily routines, self-love reflections, and an embracement of their beauty. The content will live across social and Glossier’s editorial arm, Into The Gloss. 

This is an excellent example of a partnership well done.

Digital partnerships are a significant focus for teams and leagues as an opportunity to drive revenue. Too often, though, partnerships lack synergy. The WNBA x Glossier collaboration is an example of a partnership that’s firing on all cylinders. Here’s why:

There’s natural brand alignment. 

Some of the strongest brand partnerships are those where there is synergy between both brands. It’s not always easy to do, but going beyond a logo helps build a memorable campaign that drives messaging and value for all parties involved. 

The WNBA and Glossier may seem like an unexpected partnership at first, but it’s easy to see how this partnership is a natural fit when you dig a little deeper. Both brands have a key focus on championing equality and challenging the status quo. While the vehicles may be different (sport and beauty), the two brands share similar values. There’s synergy in what they want to communicate to their audiences, and that’s key. 

The concept lends itself to content.

The Body Hero campaign is about more than a product and two brands joining forces. It’s about body care, using your voice and changing how people view themselves and beauty. These are all thematics that emotionally connect and resonate with both Glossier and the WNBA’s audiences. The videos, quotes and content coming out of the campaign are content the brands would share naturally — and that’s the beauty in it. 

The best partnerships help elevate what brands would already be doing. If content feels forced, phony and inauthentic it’s going to fall flat. Body Hero is an excellent example of a campaign that not only offers synergy but a platform to tell good stories. Win and win.  

Both brands have something to offer.

This partnership is a two-way street where both brands offer something to each other. Glossier benefits from the stories and voices that the WNBA players provide. There’s a natural connection to Body Hero for the athletes involved and the authenticity is key. Working with athletes like Sue Bird, Lexie Brown and Gabby Williams helps to humanize the campaign, pull people in and create a powerful message and platform for Glossier. It also probably pulls in new people to the brand. 

For the WNBA, my guess is one of the key benefits is the audience that Glossier offers. As a digital-first, DTC brand Glossier has built a cult following of brand evangelist — and it feels safe to assume that their core audience is a key demographic the WNBA is targeting. The partnership not only aligns nicely with the WNBA’s values, but it helps them reach a new audience that’s a key demo in a fresh, elevated and authentic way.  

Creating strong, authentic and unexpected partner platforms that generate buzz is not an easy thing to do. This partnership between the WNBA x Glossier is a great example of a partnership well done. It benefits both brands and their audiences, and I’m not sure there’s much more you could ask for. 

To Make An Impact, Social Media Needs Focus

By Jessica Smith On October 4, 2020 In Uncategorized

Ten years ago, you couldn’t share photos or videos on Twitter. Facebook was dabbling in ads, but it wasn’t sophisticated. And Instagram wasn’t even around. Look at tweets from teams back in 2010 and it will give you a good glimpse into how different things were.


Teams, leagues and brands had little understanding of “why” these channels mattered to the business when they first started investing in them. It was a grand experiment that was extremely unsophisticated (reflecting the newness of the channels).

Is social media marketing, communications, ticketing, community, etc.? That was the question back then. Eventually, if you throw enough things at a wall, the hope is that something sticks. Social media dabbled in a little bit of everything because there wasn’t a defined purpose yet.

It’s no longer 2010, and social media is no longer a new kid at the table. The platforms support media of all forms. Consumers have endless options with where and what they consume. Ad platforms are sophisticated and actually play a part in driving revenue. Innovation and competition is everywhere for teams, leagues and brands.

As the world of social media has grown more sophisticated, there’s been a tendency to pile on to social teams. These channels offer more now, so why aren’t we doing more? We can produce more. We can service more. We can publish more. We can drive more engagement. We can hit more goals. More, more, more.

In the quest to do more, social media has become muddled. Instead of taking a step back and reflecting on what we’ve actually learned about these channels and their purpose the last 10+ years, we’ve kept piling on.

Just because social media can technically “service” across the entire business doesn’t mean it’s moving the needle across every touchpoint. We are no longer in the grand experiment of social media, and the idea that it should be everything to everyone is nonsense and has to stop.

These channels have grown up. We should understand the role that social and content plays in business. Instead of focusing on the meaningful work, though, we’ve turned social media into a dumping ground. We’ve added more clutter. We’ve burnt out teams. We’ve lost focus.

If we want social media to impact the business truly, we need to permit teams to focus. This starts with defining the things that matter:

What are our two to three goals?
Focus starts with defining how social media ladders back to the broader organization and business. Beyond vanity metrics, teams must understand how their work plays a role in the business. Set two to three clear and distinct goals for the channels that help drive meaningful business results.

How will we get there?
Defining the “how” helps guide the work that needs to get done. Instead of aimlessly clicking, posting and creating, the “how” gives a clear path for where to invest energy. It is crucial teams don’t get bogged down in a bunch of tactics. Define the why AND the how.

What will we say “no” to?
Part of focusing as a team means understanding that you can’t be everything to everyone. If we’re going to break the cycle of more, more, more then teams need to be empowered to focus. The goals should be the North Star for where the team will spend its energy.

When teams feel like they have to say yes to everything, they get caught doing a lot of “stuff” but not actually driving meaningful work forward. Teams should be empowered to say no to certain things. Not because they don’t want to do the work, but because it’s not part of the strategy and won’t drive meaningful results for the business.

What will it take to execute?
One of the most misunderstood aspects of working in social media is what it takes to execute and execute well. Behind every post is some level of concepting, creative thinking, copywriting & [often] production. It’s rarely as simple as just “making a post”. Every team needs to have the hard conversation on what it takes to execute and execute well.

Why do our fans care?
Just because you can technically put anything and everything on social media does not mean that is what your audience wants and why they follow you.

You’re lucky if your social content makes people pause. You’re even luckier if your social content makes people take action. You’re the luckiest if it helps build real affinity. On the crowded internet, none are easy. We have to understand why our audience cares and focus on the things that drive our business while also capturing fans’ attention.


These questions scratch the surface of what it takes to get to the core of actual, meaningful work. If we want social media to impact our businesses truly, though, we need focus. Imagine the work that could be done if we permitted ourselves to put our energy into what makes an impact.

Focus over daily churn, always.

Social Is Not A Silo

By Jessica Smith On June 13, 2019 In Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Once upon a time social media was a new tool that companies knew they needed to take advantage of but didn’t know why and how. As a result, the recent college grad in the office got the keys and had to figure it out.

Ten years ago, I was handed those keys right out of college. This was a time in the industry before Instagram was a thing and algorithms controlled the news feed. Facebook and Twitter were the core of social. Content meant text posts that drove people to a blog (big gasp). Social media was “free” (eyes roll).

In my first few roles, I had a lot of freedom to do what I wanted and make those decisions alone. The organizations I worked for had strong visions and strategies in place, but social was still such a grey area. We needed to be there, but did not really know the business case. Hence, the free reign.

The early days of social are long gone now. We no longer need to try without understanding why. Social media has grown up, matured and proved its business case. It’s the front door to brands today. It drives brand affinity and also revenue. And as a result, social media roles need to evolve from what they were “way back when” and stop treating them like a silo. There are two big keys that need to be addressed with this:


First, social is a marketing tool.

At the start of my career, I had very little marketing foundation. I wasn’t thinking about the brand, voice, big ideas and integrated planning. Everyday was a tactical playground where I posted and tweeted without a larger understanding of the why.

I have to guess that I’m not the only young social hire who did not quite understand what building a strong brand foundation means. And in the endless playground that is social, it’s easy to get distracted in the things that (quite frankly) don’t move the needle.

After years in this industry, one of the biggest frustrations I have is that people who work in social are too often put in a corner. Social media managers aren’t “just social” people. They are marketers who happen to specialize/work in a channel. And, they should be embedded in the larger marketing vision.

If someone works in social, it’s not their job to understand the platforms alone. It’s their job to understand marketing, brand and creative. Period.

People who work in social should not be disconnected from the overall marketing picture. This is true in how we hire, train and set people up for growth.

If you hire a new college graduate for a social media role, expose them to projects beyond social. They need to know more than the platforms. They need to grasp marketing as a whole and how their work maps back to the larger goals. Give them that foundation.

If you hire a more senior leader for social, make sure they have a seat at the marketing table. Understand that they have more to offer than their knowledge of the platforms.

And, for anyone that works in social, they should be encouraged to expand their scope. This means leading projects beyond the platforms and providing a path for growth that does not pigeonhole them to the platforms.

Social is part of the larger marketing vision. Employees should be adept in the brand vision, strategy and plan. They should be able to translate that vision and the brand to the channels.

Long story short, stop putting social in a corner.


Second, social is a collective effort.

In a similar vein, the voice and tone of how the brand comes to life on social media should not be the sole job of one or two people. Companies would never let one person dictate a brand campaign, so why should one person dictate the entire presence of a brand?

Yes, there will always be someone who plays gatekeeper on the channels. I believe in defining lanes, having gatekeepers and knowing who ultimately is the final decision maker. But the “big picture” of the presence should never be dictated by one or two people. It’s imperative to make sure there’s a team that contributes to the collective strategy – a strategy that starts with the brand and larger vision.

When one person dictates the entire presence, too often it becomes about personal preference. Social media is not about the person behind the account. It’s about the brand, the brand, the brand.

Just like social media is part of marketing, social media should be a collective effort within the marketing function. Breakdown the silos, open up the doors and make sure the work is mapping back to what everyone is driving towards. When a team contributes to the channel it becomes about the bigger picture and helps leave egos at the door.


The old ways of social being a role that lives in a silo should be long gone. Yes, organizations need people who are experts and gatekeepers of the platforms, but it should still be a collective effort.

At the end of the day social is part of the larger marketing ecosystem. It’s time to structure how we hire and work in that way.

Insight Into The Royals’ Social/Digital Approach

By Jessica Smith On May 9, 2019 In Uncategorized

The Royals have stepped up their content game this season . Since the launch of their Always Royal campaign in February, it’s clear that their team has a strong vision and creative arm power to support it.

Not only do the Royals have a strong brand identity, but they also experiment and diversify their content. Their ability to create engaging content for the platforms — that still feels right for their brand — has made their creative shine this season. Here are a few things that stand out about their approach:

Consistent & Cohesive Campaign

The Royals rolled out their “Always Royal” campaign in February and it works for a couple different reasons.

First, the messaging works well because it’s easy to understand and multifaceted. Always Royal can be molded to many different scenarios, whether the team is on a roll or going through a downtime. As seen in the video below, it’s easy to make this messaging “always on”.

Second, their look and feel is incredibly strong. All of their creative and content ladders up to their season campaign with consistent font, textures and visual branding. They’ve done a good job defining their box to play in so all the content looks cohesive, but also unique enough to capture attention.


Built For Social & Always Diverse

The Royals have been building a team of digital content creators and it shows. It’s clear their hires live and breathe the platforms and understand the nuances of what makes digital content different from traditional formats. Their content has been fun, fresh, diverse and built with the platforms in mind. Below are a few highlights:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxCzteVHteV/


Full Experience Outside Of Baseball

And finally, the Royals don’t focus just on baseball. They do a really good job showcasing the full experience. Their accounts give fans a feel for what the gameday experience is like well beyond the scores and highlights.

When you work in sports it’s easy to take simple moments for granted, but it’s so important to be the eyes and ears of your fans. Whether it’s a moment between a young fan and player or the calm of the stadium before the game begins, teams need to think about capturing content well beyond the game and provide something beyond what people see on a broadcast.


Feeling inspired by the Royals content? Well, there’s more! Erin Sleddens, the Senior Director of Digital & Social, was kind enough to answer a few questions on their team and philosophy.

1. First, can you just give a little background about yourself and your role at the Royals?

Joined the Royals in 2006 as the Manager-Community Outreach. Then quickly shifted roles to become the Manager-Online Marketing and oversee the club’s digital properties at the time (website/email). As digital evolved, my role expanded to include all strategic new media planning for the club including social, mobile, digital advertising, web/email, market research etc. I’ve led the Royals digital department for the past nine years (13th season overall with the club) and this is my third year as the Senior Director-Digital and Social Media.


2. What does your digital team look like at the Royals? And, how has the team changed and evolved over the past several years (hires you have added)?

I currently oversee a team of five including Manager-Digital & Social, Digital & Social Intern, Manager-Content. Content Producer-Real Time Specialist, Content Producer, Editor and Animation. The digital video team (Content Manager and two Content Producers) were brought on this season. In 2018, we had a single contracted position to assist with video but knew that we needed to evolve the digital team even further to assist with content capture and storytelling.


3. At a high level, what’s the Royals’ overall philosophy on social media? I would love to hear a brief overview on what you all are looking to accomplish and your approach.

Our overall goal is to tell the story of the Royals brand in an engaging, relatable, fun way while keeping it family friendly to correspond with the core values of the Royals organization. We’ve been through the ups and downs with team performance during the rise of social media and understand the storylines may change season to season but we have not strayed from this club being a place that welcomes everyone and truly values the dedication of our fans.


4. Your team’s work has always been really strong, but this year the creative and video content has been taking to another level.

Can you talk about how your content strategy at high level and how you all have built up your creative arm to support it?

Thank you! We have a very strong creative team that supports our digital team. It is a collaborative effort between both groups within the marketing department to consistently produce engaging relevant content that stays on brand. We hold weekly content meetings to update on projects and brainstorm upcoming content. We also have a space to share any on the fly ideas anyone may have. We keep an eye on the industry but also look at the content we, as fans ourselves, like to consume.


5. In a similar vein, what are the three biggest things you and the team have learned about creating content specific to digital?


1) It’s easy to get lost in the clutter these days. The rule use to be to make sure you utilized a piece of creative with every post, now each piece needs to be carefully created to make sure it will capture the most eyeballs and resonate with the most people while also remaining cognizant of the time and effort it will take to produce it.

2) Buy-in is extremely important to the success or failure of a content team. You can have amazing resources but lack the access that you need to create that content. Getting everyone on the same page with the importance of storytelling and connecting fans to your brand is not always easy, but it’s definitely necessary.

3) We all want to make content that goes viral, however, we’re also here to sell tickets. There is a way to accomplish both but not necessarily every promotion has the capacity to make that kind of a splash. Tempering the want/need to make only viral content with the necessity of some of the sales responsibilities is a learning process for everyone.


6. One thing that has really impressed me about your team’s creative work is how consistent and cohesive everything is. Your look is distinct. Your voice feels consistent. And you all do a great job laddering back to “always royal”.

Can you talk about why this consistency is important to your team and any secrets to success for executing so well on the vision?

We spend nearly six months working on campaign theme ideas for the upcoming season. We talk through every scenario including how the concepts will live on social throughout the season before determining a final theme. We also rely heavily on the expertise of our Creative Services team to make sure all of the creative aligns throughout no matter who is working on the project. The consistent voice goes back to sticking with the core values of the organization and making sure everyone is on the same page with those expectations.


7. You all did some hiring this off season, and I imagine those hires have planned a role in the creative/content part. For those looking to get buy-in from leadership to hire more creator/content roles, what advice do you have?

Yes, we hired three full-time associates to build the new digital video team within the digital department. We spent several months gathering data to present to executive leadership to showcase the importance of storytelling, how our fans connect with the club on a day to day basis and how video would impact the bottom line through ticket sales and most notably sponsorship revenue.


8. Finally, what do you think is the next big thing in the social media and sports industry?

I see digital roles expanding or shifting even more towards assisting players with their content strategies. We’re seeing a little bit of that now but I can see that becoming a full-time role for someone within a team to help players build their brands through their social media channels. It will be interesting to see how teams navigate assisting players while also making sure their team channels continue to engage using player content as well.


If you are looking for inspiration in your work, I hope the examples above and Erin’s insight will prompt you to give the Royals a follow. Not only do they have a strong vision, but they have an incredible creative team that is cranking out fun and different content daily.

A big thank you to Erin Sleddens for taking the time to answer the questions. You can follow her on Twitter here: @esleddens

Playing Gatekeeper In Social

By Jessica Smith On May 6, 2019 In Uncategorized

Let’s talk about one of the biggest challenges in social: Playing gatekeeper to what goes on the platforms.

In the early days of the channels, social media was thought of this to place to “put up everything”. Oh, we don’t have a communication or marketing plan for x initiative? No worries! We’ll just throw it on social. Quickly the platforms became an answer for people in organizations to check a box whether it moved the needle.

As social media has matured and platforms have evolved, it’s become clear that social media is not meant to be a dumping ground for “stuff”. Everything a team, league and brand posts should add up to the larger picture. Even though it’s “easy” to upload a piece of content and hit send, doesn’t mean it belongs on social media. Content needs to add value, entertain or inform in any interesting way — otherwise, people will unfollow and algorithms will deprioritize content. Essentially, using social media to simply check a box ends up cannibalizing your own reach.

As the noise continues to grow online and consumers turn off more and more, we have to be thoughtful in how we approach things.

This means that not everything belongs on the platforms and that’s okay. Easier said than done though, right?

If you work in digital, your job supports teams across the organization from marketing to community and sponsorship. It should 100 percent be a priority to collaborate and find solutions with partners. But, that doesn’t mean that you should not protect the platforms and audience you’ve built.

So, how do you protect what’s been built online while still building bridges within an organization? Here are some tips I’ve learned about the art of saying no, finding solutions and working with internal (and even external) partners:


Put the strategy to paper.

Yes, I realize I’m a broken record here but anyone that works in digital should be putting their strategy to paper. When you put things to paper, people understand the vision and rally around it. If executing the vision requires cross-functional support (which most likely it does) it does not leave any type of guessing game. It makes sure everyone from leadership to the team executing are aligned.

Additionally, if you put your strategy to paper and get buy-in from the top, it helps you push back when things don’t make sense. It lessens fire drills. Helps drive projects forward. And, allows you to say no when needed (but not just for the sake of it) because you have a reason for being. Put your strategy to paper.


Get buy-in from leadership.

Once you have the foundation of your strategy, it’s imperative to get buy-in from leadership. First, this will make sure that the work is truly tied back to what matters for the organization. And second, getting buy-in from leadership will ensure you have others who will advocate for the work and have your back when you have to pushback. A good management team will also be honest when you’re pushing back just for the sake of it.

Find those people in your leadership corner who will be champions for the strategy and vision. It matters a lot.


Evangelize & education.

After you have your strategy to paper and buy-in from leadership, the next step is to evangelize and educate on the strategy. Every potential partner internal and external should be briefed on the strategy for the year. They should walk away understanding what the focus is, why that’s the focus and how their work potentially fits into the bigger picture.

Evangelizing and educating is one of the most important things a digital team can do within an organization. It’s hard to push back on things if people feel like there isn’t a reason for it. But, when you are able to walk partners through the big picture, they’ll have a better understanding of what fits and what doesn’t. It gives your work a reason for being and allows people to understand the “why” behind the no. That’s important.

Make sure you also leave your partners with a takeaway, whether that’s the full deck and presentation or a one-sheeter they can reference like the example below.


Move people away from the channels.

One of the biggest challenges I see with social media is that it’s become a catchall for people. Instead of taking a step back and figuring out solutions, people immediately start with the platforms.

Everyone that works in marketing within your organization should help push against this. Good work does not happen by starting with the platforms. Every marketing and communications project should start with the challenge, not with the tweet. It’s important to nail the idea, then tackle the execution and tactics.

Channels are a vehicle to distribute and not the answer to everything. Make sure everyone internally is moving people away from starting with the platforms.


Implement a process.

One thing that is often lacking within organizations is a more formal process to get something up on social. You know the drill. Too often people come to the team the day of saying “we need this up on Twitter now”.

To fight constant fire drills and make sure that everything is mapping back to the larger picture, implement a requesting process. Think of it as a brief for social where internal partners must fill out their goals, what they are looking to do and how it fits into the larger strategy outlined for digital.

Implementing a process like this will help internal partners give thought to the why and hopefully make them think twice before requesting something to check a box. It also gives your team the time to think through solutions other than “posting this now”.


Find solutions.

As mentioned, if you work in social your job touches multiple departments within an organization. Your job is not to say no for the sake of saying no, and as a result, you should work hard to find solutions for partners.

Sometimes, this simply means approaching work differently. Do not make assumptions that internal partners know all of the digital tools we have at our disposal. It’s your job to find creative solves and make sure it aligns with the larger strategy.

For example, if the sales team is constantly coming to you to post organically about ticket sales but you know that does not move the needle, then propose a paid strategy. If your community relations team is constantly asking you to post a picture that gives no context or emotion, then talk about approaching community events through a new creative lens (video storytelling). Find solutions.

There will be times when simply no is the answer. But no should never be your first instinct. Make sure you do your due diligence to find the solutions for partners and when you have to push back do so by articulating the why.


Show the results.

Numbers and results are your friends, especially for building a case on why the team should approach things a certain way. As you look to get buy-in across the organization on the strategy, make sure you educate and show what is working.

At one organization I was with, we used to do a weekly email called “7.5”. Each week we highlighted “7.5” things the team and senior executives needed to know about our digital channels. This included big wins, lessons learned and industry updates. The extra “.5” was always something more lighthearted and fun. Sure, the email highlighted the success of the team, but it was also informational, educational and fun. And, most importantly, showed how the team was helping to move the needle for the company. It wasn’t boastful, but educational, and made people more invested and interested in the work.

The weekly email is a very small example of how you can help advocate and educate others about the work of the team. Every organization responds to information differently, so find the best medium to bring the work to life. But remember, it’s not about boasting as much as it is educating and showing how the work back to organizational goals.



Playing gatekeeper to what goes on the platforms is not an easy job. It’s important to build bridges with the organization while also protecting the audience you’ve built. As a result, it’s important to lay the foundation of what digital means for your organization and how internal partners can play a role in the larger vision.

Don’t say no for the sake of saying no. Do the hard work to put your strategy to paper, get buy-in, evangelize the work, implement a process, find solutions and show the results. This is how you build advocates with an organization and get buy-in for the larger picture. It’s not easy, but if you can do this, it will be a huge win.