Gaming × sports
Competition, fandom, and shared play mechanics already connect these worlds.
Strategy & partnerships
Don’t try to buy culture. Start building the bridge.
Most non-endemic brands waste money trying to force their way into communities they do not belong to. I find the exact intersection where a brand’s business goals overlap with existing behavior, then turn that overlap into content, partnerships, and experiences people want to participate in.
Operating across the intersections
New communities are connected to the ones you already know.
Streaming, fandom, creators, and culture map across these and other entertainment intersections. The work is to find the exact overlap where a brand’s business goals meet a community’s existing behavior.
Music × gaming
Sound, virtual worlds, and creator ecosystems can move through the same crowd.
Entertainment × identity
Storytelling, belonging, and cultural validation can give people a reason to lean in.
How the work shows up
The relationship is the work.
Cultural strategist
I help teams see the cultural connections around a brief, then turn those signals into a sharper decision.
Host & moderator
I bring the right people into the room, ask the question that opens things up, and keep the conversation moving.
Creator & storyteller
I make the idea legible through stories that feel recognizable and invite a response.
Community translator
I link brand ambition to the people, contexts, and behaviors that make a partnership feel earned.
The method
Read closely. Choose clearly.
A practical route from a broad audience idea to a partnership people can understand and trust.
01
Listen
Notice what the trend is pointing toward.
Before a single idea, I read the room: what a community values, how it talks, who it trusts, and where a brand would be welcome versus tolerated.
02
Translate
Give the team a direction it can use.
Signals become direction. I translate what I hear into clear choices a team can act on: what to make, where to show up, and what to leave alone.
03
Activate
Make the idea feel natural in the room.
The work shows up as content, hosting, partnerships, and experiences, built so people want to participate, not just watch.
Proof to build from
The work already shows the method.
Publicly shared examples that make the strategy visible.
Case story
PUMA: trust before the ask
Erin publicly shared how PUMA brought her into marketing meetings, product reviews, and a gaming talent rollout so the work could land with more credibility. She reports that the approach saved more than $100,000 in influencer fees.
Community trust can change the economics of activation.
Content proof
Lived identity becomes shared truth
In a public post, Erin described building culture-led content from family, friendship, identity, and community rather than chasing trends. She reported 14M views across 90 days from two to three videos a week without paid boosts.
People share what helps them recognize themselves.
Strategic point of view
Creator fit before casting
Erin has argued that brands should understand the unique value a creator brings before asking talent to apply or choosing from a wide list. The right match starts with a reason, not a database.
Better cultural decisions begin with better questions.
The offer
The Culture Signal Session
A focused working conversation for a brand entering a community it does not own, so you pressure-test the cultural question before investing in creative, partnerships, or activation.
Book a Culture Signal SessionWhat we’ll do together
- 01Clarify the cultural question
- 02Identify community assumptions
- 03Evaluate participation opportunities
- 04Pressure-test creator or partnership direction
- 05Decide what the brand should do next
Before we meet
Bring better questions to the room.
Download The Community Test and work through 10 questions before your Culture Signal Session.
It will help you surface assumptions, participation opportunities, and avoidable risks before we talk about creative, partnerships, or activation. Bring your answers, including the unfinished ones.
Download The Community TestAlready have a brief? Start the conversationContact
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.