CASE STUDY — ATHLETES & SPORTS TALENT
Pe'Shon Howard
From Athlete to Brand, Content Platform & Live Basketball Experience.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Build the infrastructure around the athlete.
Pe'Shon Howard already had something that could not be manufactured: authentic basketball credibility. His story stretched from high-level college basketball into professional competition and an established basketball network.
The opportunity was to build an ecosystem around that credibility — one that extended beyond games and social posts into original basketball properties, branded content, partnerships, digital experiences and live events.
Ayanna Henderson Marketing worked across strategy, creative, production, marketing and execution to elevate the overall Pe'Shon Howard brand. The objective wasn't simply to promote an athlete. It was to build the infrastructure around the athlete.
FULL SCOPE OF ENGAGEMENT
AFTER DARK NIGHT RUNS
Turning Basketball Runs Into an Event Property
Competitive basketball runs combining high-level play with entertainment, community and digital content.
A $500 jackpot added stakes and created an additional promotional hook around the competition. AHM's involvement extended far beyond advertising the event — from concept through execution, including pre-production, player recruitment, promotional strategy, logistics, referee coordination and full production planning.
PRE-PRODUCTION
RECRUITING THE COURT
A basketball event only works if players show up. AHM developed promotional efforts specifically designed to recruit teams and players into the runs, turning registration itself into a campaign. The broader strategy also explored opportunities involving recognizable basketball personalities including Hezi God and Julian Newman.
PROPERTY GROWTH CONCEPTS
WATCH US WORK
WATCH ON YOUTUBE
LIVE EVENT PRODUCTION
From marketer to producer.
On event nights, AHM's role shifted from marketer to producer. The experience incorporated the operational and entertainment components necessary to make the runs feel like a produced basketball property rather than an informal pickup game. The result was an experience designed simultaneously for the athletes on the court, the audience in the building and the audience watching through digital content.
PRODUCTION + POST-PRODUCTION
Every event became fuel for the next.
The event did not end when the final buzzer sounded. AHM developed a production workflow around the games so every event could generate additional storytelling and marketing assets. Videographer/editor Joyce Blackmon was part of the production work supporting the project.
THE REPEATABLE CYCLE
TELLING THE PE'SHON HOWARD STORY
The archive becomes content.
AHM also looked backward in order to move the brand forward. The storytelling process included reviewing footage from Pe'Shon's previous games — including his college career and basketball journey beyond college — to identify moments capable of telling a larger story.
This gave the brand historical depth and allowed new audiences to understand the basketball résumé behind the entrepreneur and event creator they were seeing today.
Where he started.
How he played.
Who he competed against.
How his game evolved.
Where basketball took him.
What he was building next.
DRIP'S CHEESECAKES × PE'SHON HOWARD
Athlete Partnership Development + Branded Content
AHM helped secure the partnership through research, outreach, proposal, negotiation, partnership communication, creative development and production. The campaign concept brought together seemingly opposite worlds — and demonstrated how Pe'Shon's identity could extend naturally into lifestyle and consumer-brand partnerships without disconnecting him from basketball.
KC CRÊPES × PE'SHON HOWARD
Extending the Athlete Into Lifestyle
Rather than repeating the exact creative formula of the Drip's campaign, the KC Crêpes partnership expanded the larger strategy: Pe'Shon wasn't limited to basketball sponsorships. His personality, audience, lifestyle and community relationships created opportunities for consumer brands to enter his ecosystem through authentic content. Together, these campaigns demonstrated a repeatable partnership model that could be extended to additional brands.
BUILDING SPONSORSHIP INVENTORY
Turning attention into structured brand opportunity.
The larger strategy transformed basketball activity into assets that brands could actually sponsor. AHM also developed partnership concepts involving basketball media properties, including a Lab Boyz × Ballislife concept centered around West Coast player recruitment, co-branded jerseys, promotion, live activation and recurring weekly video content.
THE AHM DIFFERENCE
AHM wasn't brought in simply to make graphics.
STRATEGY
Brand positioning, campaign development and monetizable concepts.
CREATIVE
Campaign concepts, visual direction, graphics and storytelling.
DIGITAL
Website, registration, social media and digital promotion.
MARKETING
Audience development, team recruitment, partnerships and event promotion.
PRODUCTION
Pre-production, talent/player coordination, videography, photography, live event execution and on-site entertainment.
POST-PRODUCTION
Footage review, editing, highlights, social cutdowns and archival storytelling.
EXPERIENTIAL
Building an environment where basketball, entertainment, community and brands could meet.
FROM PLAYER TO PLATFORM
An athlete's brand doesn't have to end with the game.
Games become content.
Content builds audience.
Audience attracts partners.
Partners create revenue opportunities.
Events create experiences.
Experiences generate more content.
And the athlete becomes the center of an ecosystem that can continue growing beyond the court.
PE'SHON HOWARD × AHM
Watch us work.
The full case study playlist — every campaign, event, partnership, and production moment from the Pe'Shon Howard engagement.
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