Hunt's courtship of Patrick Mahomes began the way so many other relationships originated in 2018.
The brand slid into his DMs.
After seeing Heinz offer Mahomes ketchup for life if he threw 57 touchdown passes _ a tribute to the original Heinz 57 varieties advertising campaign _ Hunt's executives knew they had to up the ante.
So they reached out to Mahomes in a personal Twitter message.
"So about the ketchup thing," the message read, including a smiley-face emoji. "We got you, no strings attached. We're putting together a special care package for you.
"Let us know if there's a good address to deliver it to. Your mac and cheese will always have ketchup. And that's a promise."
Within minutes, Mahomes responded with a laugh and his address.
And now, what started as a direct message is a match made in marketing heaven. The company has in-store displays, Twitter videos and more planned for the offseason.
But why this partnership, and why now?
Because it's genuine, from Mahomes' love of ketchup to the organic way the partnership formed. And the timing was right.
After laying low for his first year and a half in Kansas City, Mahomes is starting to pop up more in advertising campaigns for various brands on a local and national level.
That's by design.
As carefully as Andy Reid has molded Mahomes on the field, the quarterback's agents have gone to great lengths to shape him off the field. Led by agents Leigh Steinberg and partner Chris Cabott of Steinberg Sports, Mahomes' image is carefully managed through selective brand partnerships and calculated marketing decisions.
With Mahomes' affable personality and natural talent, marketing him isn't much of a challenge for the duo. Instead, the difficulty comes in selecting which brands and companies with which to partner.
Just because Mahomes hasn't been in many commercials or on a lot of billboards around town doesn't mean he's not doing endorsements. He's just doing them quietly.
"We cannot overpromote," Steinberg said. "The point is not to saturate so people become tired of Patrick. There's a timing with how much shows up on television or social media and the rest of it."
Through limiting his commercial exposure and valuing relationships over transactions, Mahomes' agents are setting him up for even greater success in the not-too-distant future.
