If you aren’t already familiar with the name Cody Latimer, you will soon see more of him when football season starts. The former wide receiver for the Hoosiers at Indiana University was recently drafted as a wide receiver by the Denver Broncos (picked in the second round, 56th pick overall), with sports analysts calling the Dayton, Ohio native another weapon for the NFL team, alongside quarterback Peyton Manning.
To participate in the draft, Latimer had to travel to New York City. But how do you take part in an important moment in your career, without missing Mother’s Day celebration with the person who raised you? For Latimer, he took his mother with him to New York – his and her first trip ever.
Latimer has been using social media to document his football career, and now he “gets to go to a great organization with a great quarterback, and that’s what I wanted,” Latimer told NFL Network. “It was worth the wait.” Having seen his potential, the folks at R&J PR and their sister creative agency decided to help bring more attention to this rising talent.
“He’s a good kid, hard worker, and not your typical draftee, so we thought he was a nice fit for our clients’ brands, as they are both family-friendly brands,” R&J told us. The agency supplied him with products from its clients Polaroid and iLuv, outfitting him with the Z2300 and Selfy camera case to capture his NYC family vacation and NFL draft.
Tweet: this is pretty cool.. #iluvselfy pic.twitter.com/6IUK8e5Thb
— Cody Latimer (@CodyLatimer14) May 8, 2014
“It’s been a phenomenal week for me and my family,” Latimer told us. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without them, especially my mother. Being able to share our first trip to New York together, during the NFL draft and with Mother’s Day around the corner has been a blessing. Being able to capture our moments with Polaroid and iLuv has made it all the more memorable.” (Yes, the kid has to plug his sponsors, but every future star athlete needs to start somewhere!)
Although he did fewer media appearances than most draftees, you can expect Latimer to receive more media attention moving forward. His team has already started working on bigger promotion strategies through social media.