Overview
In the summer of 2021, the pitch deck for the San Antonio Spurs was my first project. Over the course of several months, I collaborated with our partnership lead and the Spurs communications team to develop the marketing around this major launch. As a young startup, this was a massive partnership that could possibly lead to similar relationships in the future, so it was important to prove that Hitch could support the Spurs’ initiative to capitalize on Austin fans.
Key Objective
With the prospect of hassle-free transportation, get Austinites excited and willing to go to Spurs games.
Art Direction
Developing a direction that felt like the brand of both Spurs and Hitch was important. The Spurs have a long-standing brand with a sizable following, so I wanted the entire campaign to reflect the excitement of being a fan.
Once the partnership went live, I partnered with our lead product designer to develop an onboarding email that would deploy when users purchase a spurs x hitch trip. In collaboration with our lifecycle manager, I supported the builds of various marketing emails that continue to target our Austin users.
Social & PR
At the time of the partnership launch, social media was still our easiest way to engage followers quickly and effectively. Therefore, I executed a three-month content strategy to keep audiences engaged for the entirety of the 2021-22 season. Creating a buzz around this partnership was also important for prospective investors and users. Some of the artwork was later formatted to fit PR releases and the evergreen event signage our field marketing team used.
Results
While the partnership launched later than we’d hoped—about halfway through the 2021–22 season—the Spurs have continued the partnership. While these bookings don’t take up a majority of our monthly travel, Hitch has greatly benefited from increased awareness. On days that the Spurs or other related partners share our service, we see significant engagement on our content and increased downloads of the app.