Jason Taylor loves to talk his passion, which is group sales. Rebooting the Jacksonville Sharks’ group sales efforts for the Arena Football League team, Taylor talks about why group sales matter, and how to increase those 20 ticket group buys into a 200 tickets group buy. Taylor talks about his original break in sports with the New Jersey Nets organization as part of the inside sales unit, then his time at Muncie as part of PMI College’s out-bound efforts at Ball State University.
One of the major innovators in Sports Digital E-Commerce over the last ten years has been Laura Rozentals. She was part of Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media ticketing system from its implementation, then moved over to the NBA and Turner Sports, before working with Bloomberg Media. Rozentals discusses the various forms of applications with mobile and digital use by consumers, players and coaches, and where the industry is headed, especially in the world of e-commerce revenue streams.
The complexity of leadership is discussed with Jacksonville University Athletic Director Brad Edwards, who brings both administrative and NFL playing experience to the topic, particularly when mentioning his former coach, Joe Gibbs. Edwards broadens the topic to how his leadership skills have developed, especially when dealing with donors, coaches, student athletes, and promises made by previous administrations that he must now fulfill.
John Kuhn talks about how his minor league career was built on learning from the best, that being Mike Veeck. Kuhn discusses how it is more than just sales and promotions in the stands that drives out fans, but also how the experience extends to the bathrooms and concessions stands. Kuhn talks about the differences between affiliated and independent ball, as well as the Fort Myers market, home of the 4:30 buffet.
The evolution of college athletics into the world of building proper sports revenue has been a quick one in the last few years. David Frost talks about how Total Sports Entertainment has helped university athletic departments build out their revenue streams, as well as enhance the fan experience beyond the game play. Frost also talks about how crucial that internships and connects are to getting a job in sports for young professionals.
The complex world of league stadium security is discussed with Evan Dabby, who oversees the operations of the MLS through its league office. Dabby examines some of the best practices that are used to ensure safety and maintain order, as well as how the MLS has succeeded in facilitating its team’s local supporter clubs in order to ensure that its messaging about fan safety are received. Dabby talks about some of the de-escalation practices that the MLS has built into each team’s staff security in order to ensure a pleasant fan experience for each patron. Twitter: @EvanDabbyMLS
Building a crowd isn’t easy, but the Orlando City Lions are doing that in the USL with an MLS launch date in 2015. Kelly Worthen runs a skeleton crew of four full-time employees, trying to develop a crowd in the only outdoor team in Orlando, despite the turbulent weather changes, tourist environment, and a 70,000-seat Citrus Bowl. Worthen talks about how the team achieves a solid price point with its customer base, including using the weather to sell a higher price point in specific areas of the stadium, and developing a great B2B atmosphere for corporate sponsors.
Fan experience is quickly becoming one of the hottest topics in sports business, as teams look to enhance how each customer feels upon a trip to the venue. Ruby Newell-Legner works with several teams and leisure facilities in order to improve every touch point of the customer experience through guest relations, discussing how her 7 Star Service System has increased retention for various teams. Newell-Legner talks about founding her online webinars, The Fan Experience Institute (www.7starservice.com), in order to help mentor those in the sports world at improve the product in the stands and concourses. Twitter: @7StarService
The owner’s box for two minor league clubs is where you’ll find Alan Stein, who has several partners for the Omaha Storm Chasers and Lexington Legends minor league baseball teams. Stein talks about some of the ways that owners involve themselves both on the partnership and team level, as well as how owners can improve their acumen through Minor League Baseball’s instruction.
The discussion of corporation sponsorship activation goes deep with Chris Codington, who examines exactly how to reach the right metrics for business development. Activation from the corporate side doesn’t get talked about as much as it should, but Codington breaks down why businesses spend what they spend on signage, B2B cultivation areas, and other sponsorship activities.