SPECIAL SERIES ==> 🏆 The "MVP" Subject Line Trick 🏈 <== | BATHROOM Break #92 COLLAB: The Marketing Millennials + Do This, Not That

26 Jan 2026 · 11 min · 3 chapters

Ask about this episode

Ask anything about it. ChatGPT or Claude reads this page and answers with the times it was said.

Connect VO and ask about every podcast you hear, including the moments you saved. Add to ChatGPT · Add to Claude

In short

Podcast Notes: Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson

Episode Title

SPECIAL SERIES ==> 🏆 The "MVP" Subject Line Trick 🏈 <== | BATHROOM Break #92 COLLAB: The Marketing Millennials + Do This, Not That

Episode Summary

In this episode, Jay Schwedelson and Daniel Murray discuss how B2B marketers can leverage the Super Bowl to enhance their marketing strategies, even without a large advertising budget. They share effective tactics for email marketing, social media engagement, and relevance during this major cultural event.

Key Concepts and Takeaways

  1. Relevance of the Super Bowl
  2. Cultural Significance: The Super Bowl is a major cultural event with widespread attention, creating an opportunity for brands, including B2B companies, to engage audiences.
  3. Content Creation: Marketers should align their content with Super Bowl themes to increase engagement.
  1. Strategies for Engagement
  2. Utilizing Social Media:
  3. Trending Topics: Monitor platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to share relevant memes and trends during the Super Bowl week.
  4. Active Participation: Engage in conversations and use trending topics to create relatable content.
  • Email Marketing Techniques:
  • Subject Line Keywords: Incorporate Super Bowl-related terms like "MVP", "QB", and relevant emojis to boost open rates.
  • Cultural References: Use fun facts (e.g., chicken wings consumption statistics) to connect with audiences and drive interest.
  • Localized Targeting:
  • Tailor messages for specific geographical areas depending on the teams involved in the Super Bowl.
  • Create personalized offers or content to appeal to local fans.
  1. Creative Ideas for Boring Brands
  2. Campaigns During the Event: Even if a brand is perceived as boring, they can create campaigns centered on the Super Bowl.
  3. Personalized Messaging: Use localized audience insights to create tailored communications, enhancing relevancy and connection.
  1. Personal Anecdotes and Humor
  2. Jay and Daniel share amusing personal stories about their eating habits and Super Bowl preferences, showcasing their personalities and creating an engaging atmosphere.

Important Moments

  • (01:25) Discussion on Jay's unusual lunch choices.
  • (03:37) Emphasis on why B2B companies should engage with the Super Bowl.
  • (06:00) Introduction of specific keywords for email marketing during Super Bowl week.
  • (07:15) Clever strategies for targeting based on competing teams.

Additional Resources

  • Follow Daniel Murray:
  • [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing/)
  • [The Marketing Millennials Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-marketing-millennials/id1527434899)
  • Jay Schwedelson's Channels:
  • [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelson)
  • [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelson)
  • [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/)
  • Book Release: Pre-order Jay's upcoming book Stupider People Have Done It, with proceeds benefiting The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Conclusion

This episode provides valuable insights for marketers looking to adapt their strategies for major cultural events like the Super Bowl. By focusing on relevance, targeted messaging, and creative engagement, even brands with smaller budgets can effectively capture audience interest and drive marketing success.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Lunch Choices and Healthy Eating

0:46 to 2:30

Discussing personal lunch habits and the balance between healthy and unhealthy meals.

“And by the afternoon, I want to throw up on my computer.”

Leveraging the Super Bowl for Marketing

2:31 to 7:00

How marketers can capitalize on the Super Bowl to increase engagement.

“What did you have to eat on a daily basis to maintain weight and stuff?”

Final Thoughts and Social Engagement

7:01 to 10:39

Discussion on social engagement during the Super Bowl and wrapping up the episode.

“So, or like send them a hat or say congrats or things like that and be hyper personalized with your content during that time.”
Hear the part that matters, and keep it.Open this episode in VO. Double tap your headphones to save a moment as you listen.
Get VO free

Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:07Welcome to a new special series called The Bathroom Break. That extra 10 minutes, you either have to listen to marketing tips or use the bathroom or both. But I don't recommend both, but that's your choice. This collab is going to be super fun. We have Daniel Murray from the Marketing Millennials and me, Jay Schwetelson, from the Do This Not That podcast and Subjectline.com. Each episode in the series, we are going to go over quick tips about different marketing topics. And if you want to be in the bathroom, fine, just don't tell us about it. Thanks for checking it out. we are back with another episode of the bathroom break i am here with dj schwedelsen of do this not that podcast um and mr acquired um and one thing i've been thinking about a lot is you get very basic lunches sent to your place and right now he's just ordered true foods and i feel like everybody true foods is just like a national chain and what what is your order like what is your like daily lunch order that you order yeah so i have a rotation of different uh salad places and they're all some version of not good and the reason i get a horrible salad at lunch usually with salmon on it first of all it makes me nauseous every time i eat it but then the other thing is my theory is if i eat really healthy during the day then i can eat a little bit unhealthier at night, but eating salmon in the middle of the day when you have like a lot of stress and anxiety and you're mixing it with coffee is so disgusting.

1:40And by the afternoon, I want to throw up on my computer. So it's not a good plan. I wouldn't copy it. What about you? What do you do for lunch? I'm into kind of the bloat of small lunch, big dinner. So I normally, Ari hates it. I do this, but I like literally get like yogurt and like, this is so bro. And I, I'm going to say, go bro, but yogurt, um, protein powder, blueberries, mix it in. And that's my lunch. Oh yeah. Protein powder. Get that protein. Way to be, uh, you're so millennial. So yeah, I'm just like the, I think I was, I'm so football player. That's like a, such a football player, like adding protein to everything to, so you get that.

2:24Can I ask you a question? So for everyone that doesn't know, Daniel played football at the University of Cincinnati, D1. He was a big dude. What did you have to eat on a daily basis to maintain weight and stuff? Everything. But we had unlimited swipes at our cafeteria. So I would go three, four, five times a day. And then they have this, in D1 schools, they have a fridge. And we had a fridge and a snack room. and they couldn't i think at the time the like ncla laws is like you couldn't supply like lunch types they would have like bagels but no peanut butter because i would consider it a lunch um and they would have the but i would just down chocolate milk like after you're trying to keep your weight were you trying to get bigger yeah i kept losing i i mean i i had to be like 295 and I kept getting down to like 280.

3:21That's a lot of weight. It's disgusting. I don't even want to think about that weight again, but I got to eat a lot. Speaking of disgusting, there is the biggest event in the country coming up, the Super Bowl. And everyone's about to tune out what I'm about to say, but you shouldn't. And the reason I say disgusting, I'll tell you in a second. For marketers, boring business to business brands, consumer marketers, nonprofits, profits if you lean into the super bowl we're going to share with you how to do that you will see significant increase in your engagement i don't care how boring your brand is i don't care if you hate football it doesn't matter and i say it's disgusting because the amount of of chicken wings and pizza and times your toilet is flushed while you're watching the super bowl we should all be embarrassed mortified it's gross but putting that aside daniel how do you feel about leaning into something like the Super Bowl, even though there's nothing like it, from a marketing perspective?

4:13I think the number one thing in marketing when you're doing content is relevancy. And that's what's like more relevant than the Super Bowl when it goes on. So what I, at least what I think about, and I'm going to send it from like a social content point of view, You have more data back things, but I like to be heavily involved so I can take trending meme templates, trending things that are happening to use it in my content to make my content more relevant. So if this team's in the Super Bowl or this performer did something funny and it could be clippable or a fan did something, I'm always trying to figure out what's going on there.

5:03And the best place to look during a Super Bowl is like on X because X, like everything is like live tweeted there. So if you want a trending thing that's happening from the next, the week leading up to the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl and maybe the day after, things will be trending. So that's something I think about is like, if you want to be relevant, you need to know what's happening. So be in the feed knowing and add those things, sprinkle up to your content, sprinkle up into your social game. Yeah. And so what I would be thinking about is the week leading into the Super Bowl and then 24 hours after.

5:42That is the period of time. Let's say you are a boring B2B brand because consumer brands, they get it, right? At least you should get it. But for any kind of brand, there are certain words, for example, that if you put in the first word of the subject line of your emails, you will see an engagement lift. Example, if you use the phrase MVP, like most valuable player, MVP colon, who's the MVP of your HR solutions, right? If you use QB, like quarterback, who is the QB about sales process, right? If you have a football emoji in your subject line, if you have the champion emoji of the trophy emoji in your subject line, believe it or not, and you lean into it in the body copy, it doesn't matter how boring your brand is or how cool your brand is.

6:30You will see a significant lift in your open rates, your click-through rates, because this is what's on the mind of people. And then if you really want to get into it, which is I recommend, so that way you could kind of lean in, use a little bit of wild stats that are out there as part of whatever you're doing. You just look them up and it'll say, did you know 8 billion chicken wings get eaten at halftime? And also this dot, dot, dot. And then you open it up. You say something about your brand or whatever. Lean into this cultural moment. And this is how you win. I don't care if you don't like football.

7:01It doesn't matter. Everybody's involved with this thing. And I think another thing you do, like carve out your ICP that are in the areas of where those teams are playing and do certain targeted messaging to those type of things or offers like, hey, the LA Rams are in the Super Bowl. like here like book a demo and get we'll send you food for your super bowl party or something like that's pretty a lame offer but i'm thinking of the spot but like said but like an offer that is around like giving something for the super bowl and hyping up that they are fans and like people like to know that you're part of that group or they're in a group and they're very proud of being in the group.

7:48So, or like send them a hat or say congrats or things like that and be hyper personalized with your content during that time. I think that's a really, really good tip. Even if you're not giving an offer, right? If you isolate out, let's say it is the Rams that make the Super Bowl. We actually should know that by the time this is airing, we don't know it yet. We'll know it by the time this airs, but let's say it is the Rams, right? And now you have the LA area. There's always data that shows that the watch rate, the penetration in the local market for the Super Bowl is like 80 % or something of all people watching TV or something ridiculous.

8:25So you really want to lean in within those geos, put in their subject line, put in the lead on your landing pages, put on your social posts as best as you could direct it within those markets. I think that's a super, I'm going to steal that idea. I'm going to do that idea because it's going, it's going to work. So I love it. So Daniel, before we wrap up here, as it relates to the Super Bowl, do you like to go to somebody else's house or do you watch it in your own or do you not care? Like, what is your vibe? I used to like going to people's houses. And it depends if I really want to watch the game or not.

8:58But I don't like being the one hosting. I'm not going to barbecue or order a thousand pizzas or something like that. I feel like I'm more of a tend to Super Bowl party, but I don't think I'll get invited to any of these years this year. So it's all good. That's a you problem. I get invited, but I just lie and say I'm going to another one. Say, oh, my God, I would totally come, but I have to go to this other one. And meanwhile, I'm not going to another one. You're probably not watching the Super Bowl, to be honest. Oh, no, I'll watch the Super Bowl. You've got to watch the Super Bowl. Why not? Could you watch it for the halftime show or do you watch it for the game?

9:35I listen I like Bad Bunny I think I like Bad Bunny I don't know anything he's saying you're from South Florida you have to like no no but like like I I like the noise whatever I don't know what he's saying you mean like the music am I the biggest boomer of all times I just I like the noise I like the noise that's so lame whatever I have no idea alright follow everybody see you in the next one Daniel, come on, man. I got to get back to work. Get out of there. All right. While he's still in there, this is Jay. Check out my podcast, Do This, Not That, for marketers. Each week, we share really quick tips on stuff that can improve your marketing.

10:18And I hope you give it a try. Oh, here's Daniel. He's finally out. Back from my bathroom break. This is Daniel. Go follow the Mark and Millie podcast, but also tune into this series. It's once a week, the bathroom break. We talk about marketing tips that we just spew out and it could be anything from email, subject line to any marketing tips in the world. We'll talk about it. Just give us a shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear. Peace out. Later.

From the publisher

Everyone assumes the Super Bowl is strictly for consumer giants with massive ad budgets, but that mindset is a huge missed opportunity for B2B marketers. Jay Schwedelson teams up with Daniel Murray to break down exactly how boring brands can ride the wave of the biggest cultural event of the year without spending a dime on commercials. They share specific keywords that trigger higher open rates during game week and explain why hyper-targeting the cities of the competing teams is the smartest play you can make.

ㅤ

Follow Daniel on LinkedIn and check out The Marketing Millennials podcast for sharp, no-fluff marketing insights. Subscribe to Ari Murray’s newsletter at gotomillions.co for sharp, actionable marketing insights.

ㅤ

Best Moments:

(01:25) Why Jay eats a "disgusting" salmon salad for lunch every day

(02:24) Daniel's diet while playing D1 college football at Cincinnati

(03:37) Why even the most boring B2B companies need to lean into the Super Bowl

(04:45) How to use X (Twitter) during the game to find relevant memes for your brand

(06:00) The specific subject line keywords like "MVP" and "QB" that spike engagement

(07:15) A clever strategy to target prospects based on which teams make the big game

ㅤ

Check out Jay’s YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelson

Check out Jay’s TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelson

Check Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/

ㅤ

Pre-order Jay Schwedelson’s new book, Stupider People Have Done It (out April 21, 2026). All net proceeds are donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research—let’s kick cancer’s butt: https://www.amazon.com/Stupider-People-Have-Done-Marketing/dp/1637635206

More from Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson

All 462 episodes
SPECIAL SERIES ==> 🏆 The "MVP" Subject Line Trick 🏈 <==Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson · 11 min
Listen in VO