Sponsored Content & Influencer Marketing
I led a multi-channel influencer strategy spanning YouTube, Twitch, podcasts, and endemic channels, with a focus on prioritizing authentic alignment and long-term value. These initiatives became a key growth driver for Ting Mobile, delivering high conversions at a lower cost than traditional paid media.
YouTube Creators
Working with some of the world’s leading creator agencies, including Linus Media Group, Nebula, Rogue Rocket, and Bottle Rocket Management, I led the end-to-end execution of YouTube ad integrations with over 200 creators for Ting Mobile.
By partnering with trusted, high-profile YouTube creators whose content and audience aligned with Ting Mobile, I developed one of our most effective and scalable marketing channels rooted in authenticity, consistency, and long-term brand affinity.
Strategy & Execution
Identified YouTube as a high-potential channel to reach Ting’s core demographic (ages 25–44), with a focus on creators whose audiences skewed older and more financially independent.
Evaluated creator alignment by analyzing channel metrics, viewer demographics, and tone to ensure brand fit and message authenticity.
Prioritized creators with high audience trust and credibility, discovering that well-integrated, unscripted ad reads significantly boosted conversion intent.
Long-running sponsorships with creators like Linus Tech Tips, Philip DeFranco, and LegalEagle consistently delivered high-volume, low-CAC growth, and only ended following Ting’s acquisition by DISH in 2020.
Built strong relationships with top creators (and their teams), enabling us to experiment with varied formats, giveaways, and surprise-and-delight campaigns to keep messaging fresh and community focused.
Utilized giveaways to build a sizeable and engaged list of leads
Used Google Analytics and CRM to measure and report on traffic sources, attribution, and conversions.
Results & Impact
📌 70,000+ new customers acquired
📌 550+ million total views across sponsored videos
📌 40% lower CAC vs. other paid media channels
📌 10% conversion rate on traffic from top creators
Twitch Streamers and Tournaments
I partnered with over 70 Twitch streamers, gaming events, and tournament organizers to bring Ting Mobile into passionate, underserved communities. Long before Twitch sponsorships became mainstream, I helped pioneer brand integrations and creative content that felt native to the platform.
By investing in tournaments and streamers with dedicated fanbases, I created campaigns that fans genuinely wanted to support. Ting Mobile wasn’t just another sponsor, we earned lasting brand loyalty by becoming an authentic part of the gaming and Twitch communities.
Strategy & Execution
Identified niche gaming communities whose audiences skewed older (25+) and aligned with Ting Mobile’s value-driven, no-nonsense brand.
Developed commercials, custom segments, and branded content like the “Ting call-in line” with top streamer Kripparrian, which hit the front page of Reddit twice and gained coverage from major gaming outlets.
Sponsored pro gamer, Alex “Neeb” Sunderhaft, who became an 8x Premier tournament champion and the best American StarCraft 2 player ever, with features on ESPN three separate times.
Sponsored Classic Tetris World Championship 2018 in Portland, OR, which became the most popular Tetris tournament ever—eventually hitting 19 million YouTube views and a shoutout from top esports journalist @Slasher.
Launched the Ting Open tournament series with BaseTradeTV, culminating in a live Season 4 finals event hosted at Corsair Gaming’s event facility in San Jose, drawing over 500 in-person attendees and 100,000+ unique viewers on Twitch.
Sponsored TeamLiquid StarLeague 5 alongside Shopify, which included a Ting call-in segment that generated 2,400 landing page sessions in just one hour.
Sponsored ShoutCraft Kings alongside Blizzard Entertainment, a monthly StarCraft 2 tournament hosted by prominent esports commentators TotalBiscuit and iNControl.
Sponsored many other streamers on Twitch and YouTube including chessbrah and JoshOG, and tournaments in Rocket League, Smash Bros, Warcraft 3, and more.
Results & Impact
📌 20,000+ new customers acquired
📌 175+ million views on Twitch
📌 200+ million views on YouTube
📌 Millions of impressions on Twitter, Reddit, and other social channels
📌 Became a recognized face of Ting Mobile within gaming communities as TingJesse, regularly approached for interviews and autographs at live events
Branded Content
To build trust and visibility with Ting Mobile’s ideal audience, I partnered with influential creators and publishers known for their expertise and credibility, especially in the mobile tech, budgeting, and Android communities. These campaigns paired product education with giveaway-driven engagement to boost awareness, generate large numbers of leads, and improve Ting’s search visibility over time.
By deeply understanding each community and building genuine relationships with partners, I turned branded content into a high-performing growth channel, building awareness, credibility, and a pipeline of leads ready to convert.
Strategy & Execution
Partnered with mobile-focused publishers like Android Police, Payette Forward, and PhoneArena to run editorial content, interviews, and giveaways that aligned with their readers' interests.
Collaborated with budgeting influencers like The Frugal Girl and The Penny Hoarder to reach value-conscious consumers looking to cut their phone bill.
Coordinated sponsored posts and giveaways on subreddits like r/Android and /r/ting, using community-friendly messaging to drive high engagement without coming across as overly promotional.
Utilized branded giveaways as a lead generation engine and developed segmented email nurture flows for giveaway participants.
Ensured all partner content was optimized for SEO and backlinks, contributing to a higher PageRank for ting.com and boosting visibility for high-intent search terms.
Results & Impact
📌 Over 100,000 leads generated via branded giveaways
📌 38% avg email open rate and 5% avg CTR from nurture campaigns
📌 Tangible improvements to search visibility and PageRank
📌 Positioned Ting as the smarter choice for value-conscious users across mobile, tech, and budget-focused communities
Podcasts
Podcasts provided a powerful channel for Ting Mobile to reach focused, highly engaged audiences. I ran sponsorship campaigns across a wide range of shows, from popular indie podcasts to some of the most respected names in media.
By combining dynamic targeting with smart creator alignment, podcast sponsorships became a scalable, cost-effective part of our marketing mix, earning listener trust and driving meaningful conversions over many years.
Strategy & Execution
Tested dozens of ad read styles and call to actions across a range of formats (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll) to determine the best-performing approach.
Early sponsor of Reddit’s Upvoted podcast hosted by reddit founders Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman. After meeting Alexis at TomTom Festival in Charlottesville, Virginia, he personally shouted me out during a Ting Mobile ad read.
Sponsored NPR’s most popular shows, including Hidden Brain and Invisibilia, using dynamic ad insertion to reach US only listeners in our target demographic—maximizing efficiency and reducing wasted impressions.
Sponsored the H3 Podcast, one of the most popular podcasts in the world, which drove over 7,000 sessions in a single day.
Ran one of our longest and most successful partnerships with Hello Internet, hosted by CGP Grey and Brady Haran. Ting was a recurring sponsor for years and ad reads consistently drove high-quality traffic to their custom URL.
Results & Impact
📌 Utilized dynamic ad insertion, allowing us to reach US audiences at a lower acquisition cost
📌 Hello Internet acquired 2,000+ new customers at a $70 CAC
📌 Podcast reads consistently drove high value traffic (>3min avg session duration) when delivered by the host of the show
📌 Ting’s early support of Upvoted and other emerging shows helped position the brand as a champion of internet culture and tech-savvy communities