How a hard-nosed contract negotiation led an NFL star to a sweet new gig at DQ.

Just before the start of the NFL season, Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le’Veon Bell was locked in a contract dispute with the team. With the entire sports world watching to see if he would report to training camp, he spent an afternoon filling out a job application at a local Dairy Queen store (and sharing it across his social media) instead.

We immediately invited Le'Veon in for a tryout. Soon he was back in the store making treats for fans (and sampling a few for himself) with dozens of news crews following closely behind. The opportunistic campaign appeared across the sports media and the internet on sites including ESPN, Bleacher Report, Washington Post, and many more. The effort racked up 205 million earned impressions, and a 991% increase in brand mentions. On top of that, Le'Veon got his new contract from the Steelers and some free Dilly Bars.