To support the launch of American Afterlife, I helped develop and execute a strategic partnership with lifestyle apparel brand Pair of Thieves, transforming a traditional sponsorship into an immersive brand experience. Rather than treating the partnership as a standard promotional campaign, the goal was to create meaningful touchpoints that reflected the tone, quality, and storytelling of the podcast while delivering value for both brands.
The Opportunity
American Afterlife is a cinematic scripted audio drama built around atmosphere, emotion, and immersive storytelling. We wanted our presenting sponsor to feel like a natural extension of that experience, not simply a logo attached to the campaign or a promo code ad read.
Together with Pair of Thieves, we developed a creative activation that combined custom-designed merchandise, editorial photography, media outreach, influencer engagement, and integrated audio sponsorship to tell a cohesive story across every audience touchpoint.
My Role
As Director of Marketing, I managed the partnership from concept through execution, collaborating with the Pair of Thieves team, internal stakeholders, creative partners, production, and distribution teams.
My responsibilities included:
Managing fulfillment of all partnership obligations across social media, podcast episodes, radio promotions, earned media, and other contracted marketing placements.
- Managing the overall partnership timeline and deliverables.
- Collaborating on the concept and creative direction for the activation.
- Designing three custom sock patterns inspired by the world of American Afterlife.
- Ensuring production timelines aligned with the podcast launch so merchandise could be included in media and influencer kits.
- Sourcing and hiring renowned editorial photographer Sheva Kafai to capture campaign imagery.
- Developing the creative shot list and coordinating the editorial lifestyle photoshoot featuring lead actress Scarlett Estevez and Pair of Thieves co-founder Cash Warren.
- Designing and coordinating custom-branded packaging, including presentation boxes, product tags, informational inserts, and QR codes directing recipients to the podcast.
- Serving as the primary marketing liaison between Benztown and Pair of Thieves, ensuring all creative assets, messaging, and campaign materials adhered to both brands’ visual identities, tone of voice, and brand guidelines.
- Coordinating the production of radio and podcast network sponsorship commercials featuring Pair of Thieves as the presenting sponsor, working with both teams through copy approval, audio production, and final asset delivery.
- Delivering promotional audio to podcast and radio distribution partners and coordinating campaign flight schedules.
> See the Campaign in in Action
Results
The Pair of Thieves partnership extended the American Afterlife launch beyond traditional podcast marketing, creating meaningful opportunities to introduce the series to new audiences through lifestyle and consumer channels.
Key outcomes included:
Successfully managed a cross-functional partnership, ensuring all creative assets, messaging, and deliverables remained aligned with the brand standards and objectives of both American Afterlife and Pair of Thieves.
Expanded awareness of American Afterlife through the Pair of Thieves ambassador program, introducing the podcast to audiences beyond traditional audio listeners.
Designed, assembled, and distributed 100 custom media and influencer kits to journalists, creators, ambassadors, and industry partners to support press outreach, social sharing, and launch awareness.
Executed a fully integrated sponsorship campaign across podcast episodes, radio promotions, social media, and branded content while ensuring all partnership commitments were fulfilled.
Produced a premium library of creative assets, including editorial photography and branded content that supported ongoing marketing and reinforced the premium positioning of both brands.
Susan Aksu Magarian 