2020 Promo Campaign Awards
Best Client Promotion
✶ Winner: Wizard Creations (asi/362568)

Luke Freeman called his shot.

More than a decade ago, the president/founder of Miami-area distributor Wizard Creations was sitting in the stands at the Super Bowl with his wife when he told her that one day he was going to be the branded merchandise provider for the nation’s biggest game.

Freeman proved himself prophetic when he landed the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee as a client, earning the opportunity to deliver high-quality merch for a wide array of events and initiatives tied to promoting Super Bowl LIV and Miami, which hosted the game – annually America’s single most-watched event – on February 2, 2020.

“It was just an amazing feeling – a culmination of more than 10 years of dreaming and working to do this,” says Freeman, who founded his firm following a layoff in 2009. He has powered the company to ample success, driving annual revenue toward $10 million pre-coronavirus and appearing on a Counselor Best Places to Work list.

Luke Freeman (pictured above, with his wife) and Wizard Creations handled tons of promos for Super Bowl LIV’s host committee; (below left) the uniforms for official volunteers; (below right) items included branded sustainable straws in cases.

“We got to be part of the big game,” continues Freeman, a past member of Counselor’s Hot List and a previous finalist for Advantages Salesperson of the Year. “It’s something that will always be part of Wizard’s legacy.”

Not surprisingly, Super Bowl Week was a mad dash of manic activity. Crunch-time promo initiatives were popping off in rapid-fire fashion, and Wizard was at the heart of many of them. That was fine; Freeman (who loves hip-hop and goes by “The Swag Father” on Instagram) was in his element, as his company was orchestrating high-profile swag campaigns in conjunction with the host committee, mega multinational brands and even other promo distributors. “It was all hands on deck,” says Freeman, crediting the Wizard crew for collaborating under intense deadline pressure to pull everything off.

Orders for Super Bowl Week included wrapping cigarette racing boats for an international beer company, producing 50,000 units of a kit that featured a pouch, sunglasses and lip balm for a household name electronics retailer, and working with out-of-state promo distributors that needed a local partner to help complete orders for clients. One such order, done in conjunction with New York City-based Whitesone Branding (asi/359741), totaled 40,000 totes for Procter & Gamble. The various products in the orders were co-branded with Super Bowl LIV.

“The economic impact for us, South Florida and the distributors we partnered with was fantastic,” says Freeman. At least it wasn’t all work: “Not only did we go to the game, we went to all kinds of official parties, concerts and events. It was incredible to be part of it.”

Super Bowl Week orders were only a percentage of the campaigns Freeman and the promo magicians that comprise his Wizard team executed. For the 18 to 24 months leading up to the Super Bowl, the host committee was responsible for a variety of small and large promotional initiatives. It was a monumental undertaking, requiring the Wizard team to comprehend the goals of every initiative and the needs of the brands involved with each. “We were dealing not just with the committee, but with their sponsors, so there were literally dozens of different contacts, events and objectives,” explains Freeman. 

During the run-up, Wizard Creations created direct-mail packages for important influencers as well as gift sets for an event for marketing executives in corporate divisions focused on Hispanic communities.

But of all the orders, the centerpiece was providing custom branded merchandise for the more than 10,000 people working as volunteers with the host committee to make the Super Bowl a delightful experience for Miami’s visitors. Worn at various Super Bowl-related events, the custom-made gear served as both uniform pieces and incentivizing sentimental mementos for the volunteers. Items included a backpack, tumblers, lanyards and sunglasses, which bore the Super Bowl tagline of “LIVE IT MIAMI” – the “LIVE” being a play on the Super Bowl’s “LIV” Roman numerals. The gear was co-branded with the official Super Bowl volunteer uniform partner, Perry Ellis (asi/77715), which is based in Miami.

It wasn’t by accident that Wizard landed this monumental campaign. Freeman spent years courting clients in the sports market, earning a reputation as an outstanding partner and thereby building an extensive network. A contact from that network became vice president of corporate sponsorships with the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee. Needing a reliable vendor for promo collateral, the VP judged Freeman to be the perfect partner based on past experience and the dynamite ideas Wizard Creations brought to the table through the prospecting process.

“Identifying the right partners is critical to the success of the host committee and our ability to execute at the highest of levels,” Brian Bishop, vice president of partnerships and marketing for the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee, told Counselor shortly before the Super Bowl. “Working with Luke Freeman and the Wizard Creations team has allowed us to deliver exceptional results.”