Same Game. New Wins.

Written By Dakota Crawford

🏎️ I spent a decade writing, editing, designing, posting and strategizing in sports. From rural high school football games for newspapers to tentpole events for the National Hockey League, I grew into an exciting career and helped build some of the most recognizable brands in North America.

🇺🇸 Then, Donald Trump’s extremism inspired (scared? forced?) me to organize locally and build a better politics in Indiana. I am now proud to serve in various Party roles:

📣 Professionally, I write award-winning ads, create organic social content and guide messaging strategy that helps left-of-center causes, campaigns and candidates win on digital with COMPETE.

🫡 All told, I’m using the same digital skills in pursuit of a new set of wins. Here’s a little more on my half-reporter, half-marketer, half-political-consultant career arc:

1. From 600 to 6,000 grassroots followers

I 10x’d the Carmel Dem Club Instagram as a volunteer in 2025, primarily through three social content verticals:

Person-on-the-street videos

Creator partnerships

Breaking news graphics

2. I helped elite athletes grow their social presence

I grew the NHL’s Player Publishing Program from zero to 6M+ views.

My secret was aligning player brands with NHL goals to create breakthrough content like this:

3. I’m an outside-the-box creative strategist

My original NIL Dream Deal content series was a SaaS business driver:

  • It helped 20 athletes land $5,000+ in NIL deals

  • It racked up thousands of views for MarketPryce’s social channels

  • It tallied earned media like this from The Herald-Dispatch

As MarketPryce’s Founder and CEO puts it: “Give (Dakota) an inch with an idea, and he’ll turn it into a full-blown execution.”

Later on, I planned (with minimal budget) and captured (on iPhone) this follow-up irl activation:

4. I’m versatile: A writer who they let download Adobe

“Whether it's strategy, branding, copywriting, content creation, or marketing, Dakota consistently delivers with precision and creativity.” - Lindsay Calabrese, Brand Partnerships & Culture Director, Team One (and former MarketPryce teammate).

I’m a writer first. I cut my teeth in newsrooms, where I covered basketball stars fighting through mental health challenges and WNBA moms raising newborn twins.

After joining the NHL’s social team, I taught myself photoshop from the IKEA bed that made my one-room, short-term Airbnb on the Upper East Side a home. The learning curve was steep but I eventually built enough skill to design the league’s Stanley Cup Champion graphics in 2021.

I kept learning and creating; you can see all the content on my Gondola.

5. I create memorable moments

Sparking a sharable moment in the room? That’s magic for content creation.

As a player in the Name, Image and Likeness space, I helped the hoops teams at Arizona and UCLA execute fun, sharable brand partnerships.

6. I’m a community builder

I was always good at this part of the work. At the NHL, I built a community of agents, club social leaders and athletes who supported the Player Publishing Program. At MarketPryce, I built an engaged community of nearly 2,000 student-athlete SaaS users who loved our product and experiences.

I helped grow the Carmel Democratic Club by 52% YoY in 2025, to one of the largest grassroots political membership tallies in the state.

7. I’ve managed a lot of social accounts

Social media is the common thread through every job I’ve worked. I’ve managed content calendars, day-to-day posting, overarching strategy and supported accounts for newsrooms, founders, politicians, non-profits and more along the way. Here are highlights:

  • I’ve created viral TikToks for NHL players:

@trevorzegras bold strategy 🤝 @Zac Bell ♬ original sound - Trevor Zegras

  • I’ve edited hype videos:

  • I’ve managed content calendars and written day-to-day copy:

  • And I’ve designed graphics:

Dakota Crawford
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