Case study · Sports, Fashion & Lifestyle
A Rival Coach's Quote Becomes a Real-Time Win for Blenders Eyewear
Same-day newsjacking around a viral rival-coach comment turned a planned Deion Sanders eyewear collaboration announcement into 115-plus placements and 500 million-plus impressions.
115+
Media placements
500M+
Impressions to date
Overview
The brief from Blenders Eyewear
Blenders Eyewear collaborated with Deion Sanders, known as “Coach Prime,” timed to release ahead of the Colorado vs. Colorado State rivalry game, with a press release ready to go through PR Newswire the week of the matchup.
Discover
5W was tracking the pre-game news cycle when Colorado State coach Jay Norvell made an unexpected comment: “When I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat and my glasses off. That's what my mother taught me.” The comment spread fast and had nothing to do with Blenders yet.
Define
“The internet made a joke about glasses. 5W made sure it landed on Blenders.”
5W recognized that Norvell's comment accidentally made sunglasses part of the rivalry storyline right before Blenders' announcement. Rather than run the planned release on schedule, the team pivoted to connect the two moments as the quote spread.
How 5W ran the program
Drive
- Moved the release when the quote broke. 5W disseminated the Blenders and Deion Sanders news over PR Newswire as soon as Norvell's comment gained traction, not on the planned timeline.
- Pitched across every relevant vertical simultaneously. Sports, lifestyle, fashion, trade, business, and regional San Diego and Boulder press all received the story.
- Tracked the conversation and the announcement. 5W reached out to every outlet covering Norvell's comment or Deion's sunglasses, making sure each one learned whose glasses were part of the story.
Results
115+ media placements · 500M+ impressions to date
Real-time execution turned a scheduled announcement into a moment the rivalry news cycle covered.
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