S24 Swingman · Artist collaborations · March 2022 and March 2023
We didn’t pitch merch. We pitched a message.
S24 is the sportswear brand built on Ken Griffey Jr.’s Swingman symbol. It brought us two artist collaborations: S24 x Trapsoul with Bryson Tiller, and S24 x Queenship Collective with Elle Varner. The Queenship capsule was a women’s collection built around one line, “I Belong To Myself.” We ran the press for both drops and pitched the idea behind each one, not the clothes.
- Client
- S24, Swingman 24
- Contact
- Dorian Washington, SVP Artist Relations
- Collaborations
- Bryson Tiller (Trapsoul), Elle Varner (Queenship Collective)
- Period
- March 2022 and March 2023
Elle Varner in the S24 x Queenship Collective capsule.
The problem
A capsule drop is a product announcement, and editors don’t run those.
Every week, streetwear and sportswear brands send editors news of a new drop, a new colorway or a new collaboration. Most of it doesn’t get covered. A famous name on the tag helps, but merch desks and fashion desks see athlete and artist collaborations every week.
The Queenship capsule had something those drops don’t: a message. A women’s collection from a brand rooted in a baseball legend, fronted by an R&B singer, built around the line “I Belong To Myself.” That’s a story about women in sports and music, and it gave desks outside fashion a reason to cover it.
So the pitch led with the message and put the product second.
Merch gets a caption. A message can get a feature.
The launches
Launch-day press for one drop, a two-week campaign for the other.
The Trapsoul drop in 2022 was a fast wire launch timed to release day. By the Queenship drop in 2023 we ran a full campaign: the message, the pitch list, PR packages and interviews, all ahead of the drop date.
S24 x Trapsoul
We wrote and distributed the release on drop day for the Bryson Tiller capsule of jerseys, hoodies and caps, sent the distribution report the same day, and commissioned a feature article.
The Queenship message
A release built around “I Belong To Myself,” positioning the capsule as a statement on women in sports and music.
PR packages
Pieces from the capsule sent to women in music and sports, so the people the collection was about wore it first.
Accurate copy
Two write-ups for the client. We changed “most powerful” to “talented” before anything went out, because a claim a reporter can’t verify weakens the rest of the pitch.
Thirty outlets in two weeks
Sports, music, culture and fashion desks. VIBE ran the story by March 14 and YouKnowIGotSoul on March 15.
Rated R&B
A sit-down with Elle Varner a week after the drop, which kept the collaboration in the conversation after launch week.
Put the product on people the collection is about.
The placements
Three earned placements, one wire launch.
Each row below is backed by a pitch and a reply, or by the client’s own reaction to the published piece.
| When | Outlet | Placement | Our role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | EIN Presswire | S24 x Trapsoul release, drop day | Written and distributed |
| Mar 2023 | VIBE | Elle Varner, Ken Griffey Jr. and the Queenship capsule | Pitched |
| Mar 2023 | YouKnowIGotSoul | Queenship Collective collaboration | Pitched, confirmed by editor |
| Mar 2023 | Rated R&B | “It’s Elle Varner’s Season” interview | Pitched, interview requested |
The 2022 wire release was reprinted automatically on 118 sites. Those reprints are counted as distribution, not coverage.
Not claimed
SHEEN, Hot97.com and Landon Buford covered the 2022 Trapsoul drop. We have no pitch or reply on file for any of them, so they are left off the table.
The number
This one isn’t measured in impressions.
None of the outlets that covered the Queenship capsule publish an audience figure, so this page doesn’t carry an impressions total or an earned media value. The results are the three editorial placements, a national music title leading with the message, and an artist interview after launch week.
Unanswered pitches included Essence, Ebony, BET and SiriusXM, and the Associated Press declined outright. Clearing the major national tier takes more news than a single capsule drop provides.
What it cost
The honest part.
- You don’t control the edit
- VIBE changed the wording and ran photos the client had asked us not to use. Once a release goes out, the outlet decides what it quotes and which photos it runs. The only protection is to send only what you’re happy to see published.
- Seeding needs tracking
- PR packages went to women in music and sports, but there’s no record of who posted. Without that, we can’t tell the client which packages paid off.
If you don’t want it published, don’t send it.
What transfers
Three rules for any artist or athlete collaboration.
- Pitch the idea behind the drop
- “I Belong To Myself” gave desks outside fashion a reason to cover the Queenship capsule. Find the sentence the collection stands for and lead the pitch with it.
- Keep the copy checkable
- Change any superlative a reporter can’t verify. One inflated claim makes an editor doubt the rest of the release.
- Book coverage after the drop
- An interview a week after the drop keeps the collaboration in the news after launch day. Plan coverage for launch day and the week after.
Collaborations don’t need more drops. They need a reason to be covered beyond the drop.
Playbook MG is a boutique public relations and influencer agency in Brooklyn, working with culture-rooted brands and founders across fashion, music, entertainment, beauty, food and beverage, arts and nonprofits. This page covers the S24 x Trapsoul launch in March 2022 and the S24 x Queenship Collective campaign in March 2023.
All case studiesPlaybook MG · Industry City, Brooklyn · No impressions claimed where no publisher states an audience · As of September 2026