NerdWallet
NerdWallet
Sports Meets Smart Money
When NerdWallet set out to expand its reach to Gen Z, the brand partnered with brand awareness PR agency Startr Co. to bring its “Smartest NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) Deal Ever” to life. The goal was to transform athlete collaborations into a broader cultural conversation around financial confidence, accountability, and smart decision-making.
This was the first-ever NIL deal to contractually obligate an athlete to commit to a smart money action using trusted financial guidance while publicly sharing contract terms for accountability. As a brand known for credible, unbiased financial advice, NerdWallet sought to use NIL not simply as sponsorship, but as a real-world demonstration of what smart financial decision-making looks like in action.
A Cultural Strategy Built for Gen Z
Startr Co. supported the program from concept through execution, shaping narratives that linked each athlete’s ambition and discipline with NerdWallet’s mission of empowering people to make informed financial choices. The strategy was designed to meet Gen Z where they already engage: at the intersection of sports, culture, and social conversation.
We launched the program during March Madness with NCAA basketball standouts USC’s JuJu Watkins and University of Kentucky's Robert Dillingham. Their breakout tournament moments were paired with custom wallet drops designed by The Shoe Surgeon, blending athletic performance, design culture, and practical money decisions in a way that felt authentic and relevant to a younger audience navigating finances for the first time.
Sustaining Momentum Through Culture and Collectibility
To extend cultural relevance beyond the tournament window, NerdWallet expanded the program with University of Colorado Boulder two-way football star and Heisman contender Travis Hunter. This phase of the campaign introduced a one-of-one “Smartest NIL Deal Ever” trading card, engineered to spark social conversation, sports culture credibility, and sustained media interest among a digitally native audience.
This expansion reinforced NerdWallet’s ability to show up consistently in cultural moments, not as a financial brand borrowing relevance, but as one shaping the conversation.
Startr Co.’s PR work focused on elevating NerdWallet’s message across sports, business, lifestyle, and Gen Z–driven media through a coordinated, multi-channel approach:
Collaborating with NerdWallet and award-winning marketing and advertising agency Deutsch to build a seamless timeline for each athlete partnership and support every marketing component of the program
Positioning the brand and its financial expert for thought leadership and reputation management
Working with the talent to identify and coordinate top-tier media opportunities and interviews
Amplifying the “Smartest NIL Deal Ever” program across national and regional media through targeted media relations
The Results: Cultural Relevance at a National Scale
Startr Co. ensured that NerdWallet’s “Smartest NIL Deal Ever” was talked about everywhere, securing:
48 National Media Placements
64 Regional Media Placements
2.1 Billion+ Impressions
Coverage spanned Associated Press, USA Today, Women’s Health, Forbes, Men’s Health, Athlon Sports, Yardbarker, and more. These placements reinforced NerdWallet’s position as a brand that understands where culture, athletics, and financial confidence intersect.
Through athlete storytelling, timely cultural alignment, and strategic media relations execution, creative PR agency Startr Co. helped transform NIL from a sponsorship tactic into a credible platform for reinforcing NerdWallet’s role as a trusted resource for smarter financial decisions.
