Why a gaming studio chose Alonso over Lando for their partnership.

The exact questions, scorecards, and frameworks Parallel used to choose Alonso over Lando - and how you can replicate their approach.

I’m Niru, and each week I tackle reader questions about commercial strategy, partnerships, comms and growth in the sports and entertainment industry. Send me your questions, and in return, I’ll humbly offer actionable, real-talk advice.

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Hey there,

If you've ever pitched an athlete or driver to a brand, you know the scenario well: the proposal looks great, the driver’s got a huge following, and the presentation deck is slick. But then you hit a brick wall when someone asks, "How exactly do we know they'll actually drive business results?"

You know fame alone doesn't guarantee real growth, but you're stuck guessing what goes through a brand's mind when they say yes or no.

Today, I’m taking you directly inside that room. Here’s exactly how Swish Goswami and the Parallel team made the call to partner with Fernando Alonso instead of Quadrant, Lando Norris's gaming brand.

This is a detailed breakdown of the actual process, conversations, and the strategic questions Swish’s team asked internally to justify their choice. Use this insight to dramatically sharpen how you pitch your driver or athlete to brands.

Why Parallel chose to partner with Alonso

Swish and the Parallel team faced a tough strategic decision: partner with the obvious choice, like Lando Norris. Or take a calculated risk on Fernando Alonso, an iconic F1 veteran who seemed like an unexpected choice.

They knew their decision would shape user growth, brand perception, and overall business momentum. To make sure their choice was bulletproof, they went beyond gut feelings and follower counts. Instead, they developed a systematic evaluation framework that scrutinized:

• Audience relevance—were Alonso’s followers genuinely aligned with Parallel’s core users?

• Surprise factor—could Alonso spark curiosity in entirely new communities?

• Real engagement—was Alonso authentically invested in their brand and willing to actively participate in content creation?

• Proven results—did Alonso have a track record of driving tangible business outcomes in past partnerships?

• Risk mitigation—did the partnership include built-in safeguards to minimize risk if things didn’t go according to plan?

This careful approach allowed them to justify their decision internally and clearly articulate the potential benefits to stakeholders.

Here’s what they did step by step:

Step 1: The deeper strategic questions Parallel asked (the ones most brands never say out loud)

Instead of asking generic questions like "Who has more followers?" or "Who’s cheaper?" Parallel went a layer deeper: