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Brands are closing deals with Trucks, Pickleball, and Drones

After launching, AntiMetal sent real pizzas to CFOs across NYC - with QR codes to their landing page.

It was weird. It was brilliant. It worked.

They landed Brex, Mercury, and Ramp.

This is how the best brands win the top of the funnel:

Anvara is the marketplace where you can discover, activate, and measure high-impact IRL placements. Think:

• Branded Pizza Boxes

• Music festivals

• Truck Wraps

• Pickleball Sponsorships

We make it easy to be everywhere that matters, without lifting a finger.

Most brands wait for access.

We’re giving you a way in - Now.

Claim your invite.

How to Build A Referral Flywheel for Your Agency

In the world of agencies, most businesses live or die by their referrals.

Yet, despite how critical word-of-mouth and partner-driven growth are to long-term success, many agencies still treat referrals like one-off wins instead of what they truly are - a compounding engine that can drive momentum.

At my agency, I’ve built a scalable referral marketing flywheel that continues to bring in new business without having to rely solely on paid ads, cold outreach, or non-stop pitching.

Here’s how we’ve done it.

What Is a Referral Marketing Flywheel?

Unlike a traditional funnel, where a prospect enters, converts, and exits, a flywheel generates sustainable growth through ongoing momentum.

Every successful client experience, strategic partner relationship, and collaborative project builds energy and trust that feeds the next opportunity.

The more value you deliver in every interaction, the faster your flywheel spins.

In agency life, that means building long-term relationships with past clients, other agencies, consultants, freelance partners, and aligned service providers.

Instead of chasing transactions, we invest in relationships that scale.

1. Relationships First, Referrals Second

One of the biggest mistakes I see agencies make?

Treating referral partners like lead sources instead of allies.

At our agency, we flip the script: we lead with value, connection, and curiosity.

We take the time to understand what our partners do, how they win, and where we can align.

Whether it’s sending a thoughtful intro, sharing resources, grabbing coffee, or just checking in with zero agenda - this consistent, human-first approach builds trust.

And trust is what fuels the flywheel.

When people feel seen and supported, they remember you when opportunities arise.

2. Make Referring Frictionless

Even the strongest relationships won’t yield referrals if the process feels clunky.

That’s why we make referring us as seamless as possible:

• One-pager and short explainer deck to help partners position us easily

• A simple Typeform referral link for warm intros

• Quick response time for every lead, with transparent communication

• Partner updates on progress and wins

The less friction there is, the more likely someone is to pass your name along.

3. Communicate Outcomes Like a Marketer

Your referral partners want to know: "Did this work out?" We make it a point to close the loop on every referral with a short update.

If we won the client, we share a quick message of thanks and a bit about the work.

If we didn’t, we still say thanks and share what we learned.

This small step builds credibility and keeps the momentum alive.

Plus, when your partner sees you consistently delivering results, you become a no-brainer to refer.

4. Stay Visible… Even When You’re Busy

The flywheel slows down when you go dark.

Even during busy seasons, we maintain visibility with our referral network.

We share updates on LinkedIn, invite partners to events, celebrate shared wins, and keep in touch with a cadence that doesn’t feel forced.

You want to be top-of-mind before someone asks, "Who should I send this to?"

5. Track Your Referral Ecosystem

Just like you would with a paid campaign, you should track your referral channels.

Who sends the best-fit leads? Who sends high-retention clients? Where are the gaps?

We track our referral data in a simple CRM pipeline, tagging each lead source and using that data to prioritize our energy.

This allows us to double down on what’s working and iterate on what’s not.

Relationships Scale, If You Build Them Right

The flywheel we’ve built didn’t happen by chance.

It happened because we invested in people.

We focused on trust, clear communication, making the referral process easy, and delivering results we’re proud of.

If you’re a marketing leader, stop thinking about referrals as one-time wins.

Start thinking about them as a compounding channel of growth.

That’s where the real momentum is.

If this resonates with you and you want to chat about building a flywheel of your own, reply to this email - let’s chat!

How The Minecraft Movie Benefited from “Anti-Marketing”…

The Minecraft Movie just hit theaters, and it is a HIT.

After months of speculation as to whether or not this movie should even launch, it has… and I bet Warner Bros is glad it did.

Minecraft is arguably the most popular video game of all time - so when a blockbuster movie was announced, it’s easy to understand that fans immediately had high expectations.

Well, the first trailer rolled out… and the reception was bad. Like, really bad.

What’s weird is that nothing changed in their marketing strategy.

They continued to push the movie according to plan, and to everyone’s amazement - the movie became an instant hit, but not in the way you’d expect.

Memes quickly circulated about the movie, showing general interest with a comedic twist.

Now, people are pouring into theaters - strictly for the comedic purpose of filming the video inside of the theater itself, while cheering on during the “memey” or otherwise firstly scrutinized parts of the movie when the trailer was initially published.

This form of anti-marketing is very peculiar, and makes the movie out to be a laughing stock of the film industry.

At the end of the day, Warner Bros is laughing all the way to the bank, because this movie has done $157 million in revenue at the box office during its opening weekend.

It’s a classic case of “Any PR is good PR” good or bad.

Have you ever seen a case like this before? If so, what was it? How did they benefit long-term from this similar “anti-marketing” angle?