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A
Foreign. Welcome to a new special series called the Bathroom break. That extra 10 minutes, you either have to listen to marketing tips or use the bathroom. Or both. But I don't recommend both. But that's your choice.
B
This collab is going to be super fun. We have Daniel Murray from the Marketing Millennials, and me, Jay Schwedelson from the do this, not that podcast and subjectline.com each episode in the series, we are going to go over quick tips about different marketing top. And if you want to be in the bathroom, fine. Just don't tell us about it. Thanks for checking it out.
A
We are back with another episode of the Bathroom Break. I am here with the Jay Schwedelson of Do this, not that podcast and Mr. Acquired. And one thing I've been thinking about a lot is you get very basic lunches sent to your place. And right now, he just ordered truffle foods. And I feel like everybody, True Foods is just like a natural chain. And what. What is your order? Like, what is your, like, daily lunch order that you order?
B
Yeah, so I have a rotation of different salad places, and they're all some version of not good. And the reason I get a horrible salad at lunch, usually with salmon on it, first of all, it makes me nauseous every time I eat it. But then the other thing is, my theory is if I eat really healthy during the day, then I could eat a little bit unhealthier at night. But eating salmon in the middle of the day when you have, like, a lot of stress and anxiety and you're mixing it with coffee is so disgusting. And by the afternoon, I want to throw up on my computer. So it's not a good plan. I wouldn't copy it. What about you? What do you do for lunch?
A
I'm in kind of the bloat of small lunch, big dinner. So I normally Ari hates that I do this, but I like, literally get, like, yogurt and, like, this is so bro. And I'm gonna say, go, bro. But yogurt, protein powder, blueberries, Mix it in, and that's my lunch.
B
Oh, yeah, Protein powder. Get that protein. Way to be. You're so millennial.
A
So, yeah, I'm just like the. I think I was. I'm so football player. That's like such a football player. Like, adding protein to everything. So you get that.
B
Wait, can I ask you a question? To. When you. For everyone that doesn't know that Daniel played football at the University of Cincinnati. He was a big dude. What did you have to eat on a daily basis to like maintain weight and stuff, everything.
A
But we had like unlimited swipes at our cafeteria. So I would go like three, four or five times a day. And then they have this in like D1 schools. They have a fridge and we had a fridge and like a snack room and they couldn't. I think at the time they like NCAA laws is like you couldn't supply like lunch types. They would have like bagels but no peanut butter because I would consider a lunch and they would have the. It's. But I would just down chocolate milk like after everything.
B
Trying to keep your weight, were you trying to get bigger?
A
Yeah, I kept losing. I. I mean I. I had to be like 295 and I kept getting down to like 280. That's a lot of weight. It's disgusting. I don't even want to think about that weight again. But. But I eat a lot.
B
Speaking of disgusting, there is the biggest event in, in the country coming up, the super bowl. And everyone's about to tune out what I'm about to say. But you shouldn't. And the reason I say disgusting, I'll tell you in a second. For marketers, boring business to business brands, consumer marketers, nonprofits. If you lean into the super bowl and we're going to share with you how to do that, you will see significant increase in your engagement. I don't care how boring your brand is. I don't care if you hate football. It doesn't matter. And I say it's disgusting because the amount of chicken win and pizza and times your toilet is flushed while you're watching the super bowl, we should all be embarrassed, mortified. It's gross. But putting that aside, Daniel, how do you feel about leaning into something like the super bowl even though there's nothing like it from a marketing perspective?
A
I think the number one thing in marketing when you're doing content is relevancy. And that's what's like more relevant than the super bowl at the in when it goes on. So what I at least what I think about and I'm going to send it from like a social content point of view. You could you have more data back things. But I like to be heavily involved so I can take trending meme templates, trending things that are happening, to use it in my content, to make my content more relevant. So if this team's in the super bowl or this performer did something funny and it could be clippable or a fan did something, I'm always trying to figure out what's going on the Internet. And the best place to look during a Super bowl is like on X, because X, like everything is like live tweeted there. So if you want a trending thing that's happening for the next, the week leading up to the super bowl and the super bowl and maybe the day after, things will be trending. So that's something I think about is like if you want to be relevant, you need to know what's happening. So be in the feed knowing and add those things. Sprinkle it to your content. Sprinkle into your social, social game.
B
Yeah. And so what I would be thinking about is the week leading into the super bowl and then 24 hours after that is the period of time, let's say you are a boring B2B brand because consumer brands, they get it, right? At least you should get it. But for any kind of brand, there are certain words, for example, that if you put in the first word of the subject line of your emails, you will see an engagement lift. Example, if you use the phrase mvp, like most valuable player mvp, colon, who's the MVP of your HR solutions, Right. If you use qb, like quarterback, who's the QB about sales process, right. If you have a football emoji in your subject line, if you have the champion emoji of the trophy emoji in your subject line, believe it or not, and you lean into it in the body copy, it doesn't matter how boring your brand in or how cool your brand is, you will see a significant lift in your open rates, your click through rates, because this is what's on the mind of people. And then if you really want to get into it, which is I recommend, so that way you could kind of lean in, use a little bit of wild stats that are out there as part of whatever you're doing, you just look them up and it'll say, did you know 8 billion chicken wings get eaten at halftime? And also this. Then you open it up, you say something about your brand or whatever, lean into this cultural moment and this is how you win. I don't care if you don't like football. It doesn't matter. Everybody's involved with this thing.
A
And I think another thing you do, like carve out your ICP that are in the areas of where those teams are playing and do certain targeted messaging to those type of things or offers, like, hey, the LA Rams are in the super bowl, like here, like book a demo and get we'll send you food for your super bowl party or something like that's pretty lame offer, but I'm thinking of the spot. But like an offer that is around like giving something for the super bowl and hyping up that they are fans. And like people like to know that you're part of that group or they're in a group and they're very proud of being in the group. So or like send them a hat or say congrats or things like that and be hyper personalized with your content during that time.
B
I think that's a really, really good tip. Even if you're not giving an offer. Right. If you isolate out. Let's say it is the Rams that make the Super Bowl. We actually should know that by the time this is airing. We don't know it yet. We'll know it by the time this airs. But let's say it is the Rams. Right? And now you have the LA area. There's always data that shows that the. The watch rate, the penetration in the local market for the super bowl is like 80% or something. Of all people watching TV or something ridiculous. So you really want to lean in within those GEOs, put in their subject line, put in the lead on your landing pages, put on your social posts as best as you could, direct it within those markets. I think that's a super. I'm gonna steal that idea. I'm gonna do the idea because it's going, it's gonna work. So I love. So Daniel, before we wrap up here, as it relates to the super bowl, do you, do you like to go to somebody else's house or do you watch it in your own or do you not care? Like what is your vibe?
A
I used to like going to people's houses and it depends if I really want to watch the game or not. So like. But I don't like being the one hosting. I. I'm not gonna barbecue or order a thousand pizzas or something like that. I feel like I'm more of a attendance super bowl party, but I don't think I'll get invited to any of these years this year. So it's all good.
B
Yeah, that's a you problem. Yeah, I, I get invited, but I just lie and say I'm going to another one. Say, oh my God, I would totally come but I have to go to this other one and meanwhile I'm not going to another one.
A
You're probably not watching the super bowl, to be honest.
B
Oh no, I'm watching. I'll watch the Super Bowl. I. You gotta watch Super Bowl. Why not?
A
Could you watch it for the halftime show or do you watch it for the game?
B
I listen. I. I like Bad Bunny. I think I like Bad Bunny. I don't know. Anything he's saying you're from South Florida.
A
You have to like Bob.
B
No, no, but, like, like, I. I like the. The noise. Whatever. I don't know what he's saying. The.
A
No, you mean the, like the music.
B
Am I the biggest boomer of all time? I just. I like the noise. That's so lame. Whatever. I have no idea. All right, follow everybody. See you the next one. Daniel. Come on, man. I got to get back to work. Get out of there. All right, while he's still in there. This is Jay. Check out my podcast, do this, not that, for marketers. Each week we share really quick tips on stuff that can improve your marketing and hope you give it a try. Oh, here's Daniel. He's finally out.
A
Back from my bathroom break. This is Daniel. Daniel, go follow the Mark and Millennials podcast, but also tune into this series. It's once a week, the Bathroom Break. We talk about marking tips that we just spew out. And it could be anything from email subject line to any marketing tips in the world. We'll talk about it. Just give us a. A shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear.
B
Peace out. Later.
Podcast: Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson
Episode: 🏆 The "MVP" Subject Line Trick — Bathroom Break #92 COLLAB: The Marketing Millennials + Do This, Not That
Date: January 26, 2026
Theme:
This special "Bathroom Break" edition features Jay Schwedelson (Do This, Not That) and Daniel Murray (The Marketing Millennials) sharing quick, actionable tips for marketers—using the upcoming Super Bowl as a prime example of how to harness timely cultural moments for a bigger impact. They break down strategic subject line tricks, discuss personal routines, and deliver rapid-fire ideas for both B2B and B2C brands to boost relevance and engagement.
Universal Relevance:
The Super Bowl is the most relevant event for broad audiences, making it fertile ground for marketers—even if your business, product, or audience seems far removed from football.
Jay's Key Point:
"For marketers, boring business to business brands, consumer marketers, nonprofits. If you lean into the Super Bowl... you will see significant increase in your engagement." ([03:27])
Daniel’s Social Take:
Use memes, trending moments, and real-time content to stay relevant during the Super Bowl week. “If you want to be relevant, you need to know what's happening. So be in the feed... sprinkle [trends] into your social game.” ([05:04])
Actionable Tip:
Jay shares that inserting football terms (MVP, QB, etc.) and relevant emojis (football 🏈, trophy 🏆) in subject lines during Super Bowl season increases open and click rates, even for "boring" B2B emails.
Example Subject Lines:
Supporting Advice:
Continue the theme in email body copy and include wild or surprising Super Bowl stats as hooks (e.g., “Did you know 8 billion chicken wings get eaten at halftime?”).
“If you have a football emoji in your subject line... you will see a significant lift in your open rates, your click through rates, because this is what's on the mind of people.” ([05:34])
Daniel’s Geographic Angle:
“Carve out your ICP that are in the areas where those teams are playing and do targeted messaging... like, ‘Book a demo and we’ll send you food for your Super Bowl party!’” ([07:04])
Group Inclusion:
“People like to know that you're part of that group... be hyper personalized with your content during that time.” ([07:37])
Jay’s Validation:
"If you isolate out... the LA area [if Rams are in the Super Bowl]... put it in their subject line, in the lead on your landing pages, social posts... direct it within those markets. I think that's super. I'm gonna steal that idea." ([07:57])
On the power of relevance:
"I think the number one thing in marketing... is relevancy. What's more relevant than the Super Bowl?" — Daniel Murray ([04:13])
On using football language in email:
“If you use the phrase MVP... QB... a football emoji... it doesn't matter how boring your brand is, you will see a significant lift in open rates.” — Jay Schwedelson ([05:34])
On personalized local offers:
“People like to know that you're part of that group, or they're in a group, and they're very proud of being in the group.” — Daniel Murray ([07:37])
On targeting local fans:
“The watch rate... in the local market for the Super Bowl is like 80%... really want to lean in within those GEOs.” — Jay Schwedelson ([07:57])
On Super Bowl parties:
“I used to like going to people's houses... I feel like I'm more of an attendance Super Bowl party, but I don't think I’ll get invited this year.” — Daniel Murray ([08:53])
On halftime music:
"I like Bad Bunny. I don't know anything he's saying... I just like the noise." — Jay Schwedelson ([09:35])
The episode is rapid, casual, full of practical advice, and packed with relatable humor and real-life anecdotes. The hosts keep it friendly, self-aware, and direct—making even B2B marketing sound like something you can (and should) have fun with.