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Welcome to week’s edition of The Baseline!

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, make sure you subscribe so you get it straight in your inbox—I publish marketing and creator insights on basketball culture every Wednesday and Friday, and it's always free.

Let’s dive right into it…

NIL BLUEPRINT

This most outstanding player might be college basketball’s next multi-million dollar athlete but it’s not just her jump shot that’s making her personal brand unstoppable.

Most college athletes struggle to balance performance, personality and partnerships but Azzi Fudd cracked the code on how to turn athletic excellence into cultural influence.

With almost 2 million total followers across social platforms, she’s built one of the most valuable NIL portfolios in college sports.

She already partners with top brands like Stephen Curry’s SC30, Bose, Madison Reed and Unrivaled.

What truly sets her apart is how she encapsulates her personality in her social media bio: "Positive vibes and I play basketball."

That’s her brand strategy in less than 37 characters.

She keeps the main thing the main thing while letting brands match her energy.

Her TikToks stay synced to trending songs and viral dances.

At New York Fashion Week, she fit right in aligning with top designers.

She even traveled overseas this summer on a brand tour, expanding her global presence in Asia.

Azzi Fudd isn’t just playing for highlight reels but teaching a masterclass in personal brand building.

Today's modern athletes no longer have to choose between performance and personality, and Azzi Fudd is proof that you can win without ever changing who you are.

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Learn more.

FREE THROWS

Sharing the tools and resources that I’m using this week:

🍌 Nano Banana Pro - There are new and great AI tools every day, but Google Gemini 3’s new image generation with studio-quality levels of precision and control is best in class.

🔟 How To Get Your First 10K Followers - Jim Tang, a former Google engineer turned creator shares his science-based "Copy & Adapt" strategy for new creators to gain their first 10,000 followers.

🔎 Meta Ad Library - An underrated tool most marketers don’t use but research winning ad creative across Facebook’s Ad Library.

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POST-GAME

Thanks for reading—I’ll see you back here later this week!

And if you enjoyed reading today’s newsletter, please share it with one friend.

- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻