Play Small to Win Big

Coming off the Super Bowl and The Grammys – two massive pop culture moments – I’ve been thinking differently. Ratings were up across the board and the Super Bowl was the most watched event in the history of television. Between the Swift Effect and an OT playoff win, the NFL couldn’t have written a better script.

Music was a key theme throughout Super Bowl weekend – from the amazing, diverse performances, to so many of the commercials highlighting musicians and new music. We could spend all day at the watercooler discussing Usher, Taylor, Beyoncé’s country turn, and even J.Lo dropping new tunes, so plan to add 10 minutes at the top of all your Zooms this week.

As much as I love major pop culture movements and ideas that connect with the masses, I believe this is the era of the niche. In order to win in a world where everyone has access to the same information, it’s important to train your mind to think, for lack of a better term, small. Authenticity is the highest frequency and the key to winning small is going deep into the niches.

This weekend I’m exploring some niche passions of my own. There’s a boutique tennis festival called The Delray Beach Open which has quietly gained steam. It’s got some marquee players, solid sponsors, and growing buzz on the circuit. Plus, they draw in local coaches and heroes to play. I’m excited to check out the finals on Saturday.

Sunday, I’m headed to Viva Urbana’s music festival to dive deeper into Miami’s rich, Latin music culture. The bill is stacked with artists on the rise. You can livestream it if you’re not in town, or grab tickets here.

Miami is a smaller city but its collection of cultural niches has proven global reach. I made my career finding artists, trends, brands, and investments, so Miami makes sense for me. Being early and using innovative tactics was our strategy when we went deep into the college market where the major agencies weren’t focused at the time. We repeated this approached by embracing technologists early, when many people thought these companies were ruining the industry. We befriended tech leaders and championed them wherever we could, which ultimately gave birth to Beats + Bytes.

The tactics used to help break artists early on in their careers apply when working with brands, start-ups, events, conferences, or any marketing campaign. Early discovery and connection don’t discriminate.

Patrick Mahomes dismantled the 49ers defense on the last drive of the Super Bowl with small, contained playmaking. He put together an orchestrated sequence of highly skilled, high touch plays that won him the MVP and the championship. There’s something so smart about thinking differently, thinking small, thinking niche, and creating momentum play after play. The next big brands, bands, and categories will emerge that way. When you say “emerging,” it means something different to everyone. But one thing is clear: executing small and leveraging a unique skill set intelligently and consistently is how to put points on the board in 2024.

Jesse Kirshbaum

Co-Founder of Nue

P.S. In the spirit of one small step for art & culture, tonight Alex is on site at Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center for the launch of Jeff Koons “Moon Phases” as it heads out, to the Moon. This is a project we worked closely on and we are excited to see it finally taking off. More on this soon... ?