Specific beats broad.
“We want to reach Gen Z” is a budget-killer, not a strategy. Broad demographics tell you who is breathing. Specific behaviors tell you where the value is.
About Erin
Find what connects people, then make the connection matter.
About Erin
MediaGamingSportsEntertainmentCultureCommunity
Hi, I’m Erin Ashley Simon. I’m a cultural strategist, host, and producer.
For the last 17 years, I’ve bridged the gap among subcultures, mainstream industries, and business growth for brands like PUMA, Nike, Xbox, Red Bull, AT&T, and Columbia Records.
Most brands fail to reach a specific audience because they act like outside advertisers, treating people like data points instead of humans who want to belong. I help businesses decode the subculture, find the native intersection, and execute in ways that feel natural to the ecosystem.
I connect sports, gaming, anime, music, film, identity, and entertainment through storytelling, ecosystem integration, and front-facing hosting. Tell me the community you are entering, the behavior you are unlocking, and what has to be true for your brand to earn participation.
What I believe
Find the reason to care.
Culture is not a trend to borrow or a language to imitate. The work is to understand what already matters, then create a bridge with a reason to participate.
Build for everyone involved. The community, company, creators, and local partners should each have a clear, unforced reason to participate.
That is how an idea becomes more than a campaign. It becomes a cultural mechanism that makes people want to opt in, care, and buy into the brand on their own terms.
People belong to more than one community.
A gamer can also be an F1 fan, sneaker collector, anime fanatic, or creator. Use those natural intersections to build a multi-dimensional bridge.
The connection needs a reason.
Two logos sharing a flyer is not a partnership. Every connection needs a mechanical reason that gives the community something useful, joyful, or culturally additive to do.
Build for everyone involved.
The community, company, partners, and audience should each have a clear reason to participate. That is how an idea becomes more than a campaign.
The goal is not to make people feel targeted. The goal is to build a genuine reason for them to care.
Speaking & live conversations
On stage, in the room, on camera.
Hosting is not separate from strategy. It is the visible expression of the same work: listening closely, making meaning, and helping people move together.
Book a conversationBuilding brands people want to belong to
How community context changes the brief.
From audience to community
What it takes to move from attention to participation.
Culture, creators, and credible participation
How to make the right partnership feel useful, not borrowed.
In the room
The work is lived, not just discussed.
Erin brings cultural fluency into the conversations, stages, and communities where brands earn trust.
Before we start
The useful questions, answered.
Enough context to decide whether this is the right conversation for your team.
Who is this for?
Brand and marketing leaders entering gaming, sports, entertainment, creator culture, or younger communities, especially those who want a sharper decision before they spend.
What happens first?
Start with a Culture Signal Session: bring the community, category, moment, and desired outcome. We clarify the cultural question and decide what deserves to happen next.
How does hosting fit?
Hosting is the outward expression of the same strategic work. The conversation reveals what people care about, what the brand can contribute, and where participation can be earned.
What should I send?
A short brief is enough: what you are entering, what you want people to feel, what you have tried, and what has to be true for the work to earn participation.
Contact
Have a brief that needs a cultural read?
Tell me what ecosystem you are entering, what behavior you want to unlock, and what has to be true for the brand to earn participation.
Bring me the briefContacterinasimon@gmail.comThree lines to start
- 01What ecosystem are you entering?The exact subculture, space, or moment.
- 02What behavior are you unlocking?The cultural participation or response you need to spark.
- 03What has to be true for them to care?Why the brand earns the right to be there.