In June 2025, I started exploring unexpected places where Arby’s could show up and spark conversation online. Knowing professional basketball teams and fan accounts always share pre-game tunnel walk photos, I saw an opportunity for us to enter the space, but we just needed the right partner.

When the Arby’s social team resurfaced a TikTok Sophie Cunningham posted in April 2025 reviewing (and loving) Arby’s, I knew she was the perfect fit. Between unapologetically backing her teammate Caitlin Clark and her overnight fame, we knew we had to partner with her.

I blurred the lines between strategy and creative, developing a pitch deck with multiple ways into the tunnel walk concept—including the idea we ultimately executed: Sophie walking through the tunnel in the T-shirt. After consulting with the creative lead, we landed on that approach because it felt buzzy enough to drive conversation.

Before the game against the Chicago Sky, we shot photos of Sophie in the shirt for an Instagram collab, then watched posts roll in on X of her strutting through the tunnel in a "Hot Girls Eat Arby’s" tee. Fan accounts rallied behind it, and we jumped into the conversation in real time to keep the momentum going.

The partnership generated:

• 800% lift in brand sentiment

• 15M social views

• 334 earned media hits — including Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and Fox News