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Amazon · Wondery

New Heights: From Podcast to Franchise

The New Heights Tailgate

A hit podcast. A new live franchise. YW3 helped Wondery develop, package, market and launch The New Heights Tailgate, turning the Kelce brothers’ podcast into an integrated, sponsorable Brand Experience.

Walnut Street, game day.Film
Where
Walnut Street and KC Live!, Power & Light District, Kansas City
When
September 14, 2025, Chiefs vs. Eagles
Practice
B2C Brand Experience
Programs
Franchise Development · Experiential · Integrated Marketing

The brief

A podcast had become a cultural property. What could it become next?

New Heights had built an influential community around Jason and Travis Kelce. Wondery’s opportunity was to extend that cultural relevance beyond the podcast into a live experience that fans could participate in and brands could support.

YW3 helped develop The New Heights Tailgate, presented by Audible, as an expandable Brand Experience franchise, bringing together experience strategy, sponsorable environments, integrated media, creative programming and production.

YW3 delivered

Franchise DevelopmentExperience StrategyIntegrated MarketingVenue SponsorshipProgrammingProductionAdvertiser Hospitality

01

The platform

One franchise. Multiple ways to participate.

The inaugural Tailgate connected a public takeover of Walnut Street with a ticketed venue experience at KC Live!. Across both environments, YW3 integrated branded activities, live entertainment, programming, sponsor-ready placements, hospitality and digital screens.

A two-week integrated comms and media package carried it beyond the street: in-feed social posts and stories, New Heights creative on KC Live! digital out-of-home, a sound-on New Heights sizzle in the venue and a press release announcing the event and its sponsors.

  • PublicA street-level fan activation: a custom tailgate truck, games, branded photo moments, merchandise, food and room to gather.
  • LiveThe KC Live! venue: ticketed fans, stage programming, entertainment, fan competitions and premium fan hospitality.
  • MediaAn integrated sponsorship layer: digital displays, event branding, live programming, video, social amplification and content.
02

Cultural signal

The podcast left the studio. The fans showed up.

New Heights had already become a cultural phenomenon, connecting professional football, entertainment and a fiercely engaged fan community. YW3 gave that community a physical destination. Timed to the Chiefs–Eagles game, the inaugural Tailgate brought the Kelce brothers’ rivalry into Kansas City’s Power & Light District, where podcast fandom became something fans could experience together, and the personality of New Heights extended beyond the show itself.

Podcast × NFL SundayKelce vs. KelceHometown prideFandom as franchise

The cultural backdrop, 2025

  • Aug 13  Taylor Swift appears on New Heights
  • Aug 26  Swift and Travis Kelce announce their engagement
  • Sep 3  The Kelces announce the Tailgate on the podcast
  • Sep 14  The inaugural Tailgate, Chiefs vs. Eagles
03

The commercial idea

Build the audience experience. Package the brand opportunity.

The program was more than an event. It established an integrated set of experiences, media and sponsorship touchpoints that could be presented to brands and prospective advertising partners.

YW3 also designed a separate advertiser showcase, bringing selected executives inside the experience to understand the franchise’s potential firsthand.

Explore the Advertiser Showcase →

04

The results

Reported by the venue KC Live! campaign wrap, September 2025

  • 1.4M+total social views across the campaign
  • 25K+social interactions
  • 2 weeksof integrated comms, social and digital out-of-home
05

Inside the franchise

From the feed to the street to center stage.

The New Heights Tailgate announcement post: the Kelce brothers, presented by Audible, September 14 at KC Live!
The marketing engine: the launch post, presented by Audible
The New Heights LED ribbon wrapping the KC Live! rotunda
Venue media: New Heights on the KC Live! LED ribbon
The KC Live! courtyard on game day with New Heights creative on the venue screens
Venue media: KC Live! screens on game day
The New Heights Tailgate truss marking the Walnut Street entrance
The street: the Walnut Street entrance
A fan celebrating in front of the wrapped Tailgate truck, presented by Audible
The street: the Tailgate truck
Fans lining up for branded cornhole on Walnut Street
The street: games
Fans in the football-wall photo booth
The street: the photo booth
Fans collecting free food and swag from the truck
The street: free food and merch
Chiefs and Eagles fans packing KC Live! for the stage programming
The ticketed venue: KC Live!, center stage
Picnic tables and co-branded umbrellas along the turf
The sponsorship platform: co-branded environments
Aerial view of the Tailgate turf on Walnut Street
From above
06

Selected coverage

The Tailgate, in the news.

Independent articles covering The New Heights Tailgate, not profiles of YW3. Original publication dates shown.

Explore the Advertiser Showcase →

The takeaway

A podcast became an experience. The experience became a platform.

YW3 helped transform entertainment IP into a culturally relevant, commercially marketable Brand Experience, bringing fans, brands, media and live participation into one integrated opportunity.

YW3 delivered

  • Franchise Development
  • Experience Strategy
  • Integrated Marketing
  • Venue Sponsorship
  • Programming
  • Production
  • Advertiser Hospitality
Client
Wondery, an Amazon company
Sponsor
Audible
Franchise
New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce
Venue
KC Live!, Power & Light District
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