\u201cOn Brand with Jimmy Fallon,\u201d <\/a>a competition series that premieres at 10 p.m. Sept. 30 on NBC.<\/p>\nAccording to a Sept. 10 news release, the show \u201cfollows what happens when Fallon starts a premier marketing firm \u2014 the On Brand Agency \u2014 and fills it with the most creative, clever and competitive go-getters he can find.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bozoma Saint John, a former C-suite executive at Uber and Pepsi, will serve as the chief marketing officer of the On Brand Agency. Alongside Fallon, he’ll task the 10 competitors \u201cto think out-of-the-box and reimagine marketing in the modern age,\u201d the release states.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn each episode, the On Brand Agency creatives will work with a major brand looking for … a big idea for a massive, high-priority campaign \u2014 from creating earworm jingles and unbelievable activations to producing the most quotable commercials and must-have merchandise,\u201d the release states. \u201cThey will have unprecedented access to the client\u2019s businesses before pitching their vision to a brand representative, along with Saint John and Fallon, with only the best ideas moving on to proof of concept and the opportunity to see their campaign brought to life on the national stage after each episode.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a final assignment, one competitor will be given a cash prize of $100,000, a feature in Adweek, a trip to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the title of Innovator of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only rule? The best idea wins,\u201d the release states.<\/p>\n\n\nStedman native B.T. Hale appears on “On Brand with Jimmy Fallon.”<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
From Cumberland County to TV<\/h2>\n Hale, a 2006 graduate of Cape Fear High School who was once named Kindergartener of the Year for Brentwood Elementary, spoke with The Fayetteville Observer on Sept. 26 about what led to his appearance on the show and hinted at what viewers can expect.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been a huge fan of reality TV shows; \u2018Road Rules\u2019 and \u2018Real World\u2019 were some of my favorites in high school,\u201d Hale said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a bigger personality and like to have fun and make funny videos. I\u2019ve always enjoyed being in front of the camera, and combined with the love for reality shows, I\u2019d always wanted to be on \u2018Big Brother.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Hale said he applied for \u201cBig Brother\u201d several years ago and made it to the finals but was cut after he flew out to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Casting directors still kept his application.<\/p>\n
Hale said that he turned down a few chances to apply for other shows because he didn\u2019t want to be on just any reality show. He wanted to compete.<\/p>\n
Then came the call for a new marketing show. Hale didn\u2019t know it\u2019d involve Jimmy Fallon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it sounded like something fun, so I applied and made it through,\u201d he said. \u201cI was shocked when I found out it was a show put on by Jimmy Fallon. I didn\u2019t expect it to be that big.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nB.T. Hale, a Stedman native, will be appearing on the upcoming competition series “On Brand with Jimmy Fallon.”<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Getting into marketing<\/h2>\n Now a marketing manager and emcee for Cowboys Red River Dance Hall in Dallas, Texas, Hale described his experience in the marketing world as unconventional.<\/p>\n
After graduating from Campbell University in the mid-2000s, he attended law school and worked for a real estate attorney in Fayetteville.<\/p>\n
Hale said his dad was diagnosed with incurable cancer, and Hale, then 27, moved to Texas to help take care of his father, while taking on jobs with ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was figuring out where I wanted to go in my career, and knew I didn\u2019t like law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
During high school, Hale said, social media was just gaining traction and a career field for social media marketing didn\u2019t exist when he attended college.<\/p>\n
Despite having no marketing experience, he leaned into his passion for creative ideas and wanted to market them.<\/p>\n
According to the release, he was raised by a single mother who couldn\u2019t afford many toys, so he made his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure a lot of people asked, \u2018Why is this guy with a law degree applying to be a social media manager?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
By 2017, Hale got his break.<\/p>\n
He was a regular at Cowboys Red River and applied for an open position there as a social media manager.<\/p>\n
He didn’t hear back, but one night, a friend mentioned the job and introduced him to the dance hall owner.<\/p>\n
Hall said he met the owner, who told him interviews were starting that week, and when he later spoke to the hiring manager, she admitted she\u2019d seen his resume but put it to the side because she noticed the law degree and a North Carolina address.<\/p>\n
After the interview, Hale said, he was told the other interviews were canceled because the owners wanted to hire him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that was my first break into marketing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\nB.T. Hale, left, appears “On Brand with Jimmy Fallon.”<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Being on a new show<\/h2>\n Hale said he was able to lean into some of the marketing experience he\u2019s gained while competing on the TV show, but a lot of things were still outside of his wheelhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs much as I do marketing and social media, I\u2019ve never done an official marketing campaign with a full launch,\u201d he said. \u201cA campaign and branding was new to me. I think I definitely have a lot of creative ideas, but the execution part is where I\u2019d said I\u2019m more on the beginner side. I\u2019m not a videographer or photographer, so there were definitely moments where I was like, \u2018Man, am I going to be able to do this?\u2019 I felt like I was stepping into a new world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without revealing the specifics, Hale said that during the casting process, he was given two practice brands. One task was to create a Taco Bell meal deal aimed at those in need of sustenance after a night of partying. The other task was rebranding Ronald McDonald for McDonald’s.<\/p>\n
Hale said that he considers being selected for the show a blessing and thinks it\u2019s cool he was able to work with Fallon, Saint John and big brands.<\/p>\n
\u201cJimmy was awesome,\u201d he said, \u201cExactly what you see on TV of him is how he was in person with us. He\u2019s the same funny, quirky, high-energy guy. I realized Bozoma is top-notch, too. It was crazy to think this show was able to bring me into all these places I wouldn\u2019t be able to get into before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hale said that he hopes Cumberland County residents who tune in to the show realize that even though Fayetteville isn\u2019t as big as Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles or New York, \u201cbig things, big ideas and big inspiration can come from small towns.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNever try to put yourself in a box,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528. <\/em><\/p>\nThis article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County native appears on ‘On Brand with Jimmy Fallon’<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Cumberland County native is among 10 contestants selected to compete on an upcoming show created and hosted by late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon. B.T. Hale, 37, of Stedman, will appear on \u201cOn Brand with Jimmy Fallon,\u201d a competition series that premieres at 10 p.m. Sept. 30 on NBC. According to a Sept. 10 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2059359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[383790,362281,365463,355716,340283,23571,383789,305248,383791,347096],"class_list":["post-2059358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-alongside-fallon","tag-bozoma-saint-john","tag-chief-marketing-officer","tag-cumberland-county","tag-hale","tag-jimmy-fallon","tag-on-brand-agency","tag-reality-tv-shows","tag-the-fayetteville-observer","tag-upcoming-show"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cumberland-County-native-to-appear-on-new-Jimmy-Fallon-competition.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2059358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2059358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2059358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2059359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2059358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2059358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2059358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}