Morris White III has his second stint on the podcast (Ep. 190), and has a new title at a new university to talk about. White discusses some of the nuances of his position at North Illinois University, as well as ways to promote the various fan experience options available to fans. White talks about the BDSE, which is part of the National Sports Forum, and how mentoring a diverse group of administrators can help grow the industry overall. Twitter: @morrisewhite3
Markeisha Everett returns to the podcast for a second go-around (Ep. 361). Back then, she was at West Virginia. Now, two years later, Everett is the Director of Marketing, Sales & Fan Development at Georgia Tech. Everett talks about the transition in her career, going from a tailgating culture to a budding opportunity of on. Everett discusses some of the issues surrounding how young people engage when starting out in the sports industry, as well as some of the easy ways to avoid such pitfalls. Twitter: @MarkeishaDenise
Michael Ferguson has just about sold it all. That includes not just sports and concert tickets, but booking venue times and in-arena corporate sponsorship. Ferguson shares his tenure as the General Manager of a minor league baseball affiliate of the Detroit Tigers at the Jamestown Jammers, the VP/GM of the Buffalo Blizzard professional soccer team, the GM of the Wichita Wings soccer, handling Lake Erie Raceway marketing & promotions, and the GM/Promoter of the Jamestown Savings Bank in New York. Ferguson talks about selling soccer to non-soccer fans, creating a venue experience as well as ensuring that corporate sponsorship was handled in-house for venue tenants. Ferguson shares his thoughts on what a lot of the public doesn't understand about selling both sports and concerts, especially when it comes to booking and tour dates. Twitter: @MJFerguson2011
The New Orleans Zephyrs are looking to re-ignite their AAA franchise in 2016 and captivate the entire city. SVP and General Manager Augusto "Cookie" Rojas sets the tone with his viewpoints on marketing and promotions, eliminating the complimentary tickets from years past, and going aggressively after businesses throughout Southern Louisiana. Rojas talks about some of the challenges that the Zephyrs are set to overcome, as well as some of the new strategic planning being implemented to show immediate success. Rojas shares some insight into how he got his nickname "Cookie." Twitter: @TheCookieRojas
When the legendary H.B.C. (Head Ball Coach) retires mid-season from your school, it can change a marketing plan in short order. South Carolina Associate AD/CMO Eric Nichols talks about the differences in a global and local sense, then examines how to best develop a marketing plan that will stand the test of time. A former president of NACMA, Nichols discusses his thoughts on drawing out audiences, including to sports that are 40 miles away from campus and aren't the highest of profiles. Nichols presents his case for why being at the National Sports Forum is vitally important to his growth as a sports marketer. Twitter: @EricNichols
A Super Bowl is not run only in one week, its a two year race. Part of the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee for SBLII, Britt Carlson has had a major sports business impact in the Minneapolis area with the Vikings and Timberwolves since 1997. Carlson discusses her involvement in the entire Bold North campaign, the history of Super Bowl XXVI which was held in 1992 at the Metrodome, along with the legacy that continues from that Super Bowl to this day. Carlson talks about the misconceptions of the Minnesota area, as well as some of the promotions that into building SBLII into the premiere event of 2018. Twitter: @BrittCarlson
Few people have taken as deep of a dive into the licensing side of sports. Jim Neish talks about his passions, especially on the differential between good branding and actually knowing what you're talking about. Neish talks about how merchandise and logo variations can help or hinder a franchise's revenue success, down to the utter complexity of what colors are used. Neish discusses some of the prevalent attitudes when it comes to building, maintaining and keeping a powerful legacy brand like the Toronto Maple Leafs. Twitter: @JWN16
The revenue streams for ultra endurance racing and event management comes down to the participants themselves, who Steve Fleck believes are some of the sport's biggest fans. Fleck talks about the way in which endurance racing, including marathons and Iron Man competitions, have grown and potentially plateaued over the last few decades. Coupled with that is the technological aspects that have both improved the audience experience at the larger events, but created unrealistic expectations by fans when attending smaller events. Fleck talks about some of the issues surrounding endurance sports, such as Tough Mudder, and whether they are pricing themselves out of the marketplace through participant fees. Twitter: @SteveFleck
John Katz returns the podcast after two years (Ep. 183) where he was heading up the challenging situation for baseball in Savannah, with the Sand Gnats. Katz has now moved the Sand Gnats to Columbia, South Carolina, where they are two hours North of Savannah, and rebranded them as the Fireflies. Katz discusses the move and the transition to a new $40 million baseball facility, where technology plays just as an important part in the marketing as anything else. Katz talks about the different demographics of Columbia compared to Savannah, and how the Sand Gnats changeover to Fireflies remodeled an attitude in the brand of selling baseball in the South. Twitter: @JEKatz33
The Vermont Lake Monsters may be one of the few professional teams in The Green Mountain State, but they also play in one of the oldest ballparks in all of Minor League Baseball. General Manager Joe Doud discusses some of the challenges with keeping up on fan expectations of ballpark experience, along with how the Lake Monsters have been able to drive attendance the last few years. Doud talks about engaging the fans as well as the Lake Monsters' own staff, by shagging a few balls in the outfield during batting practice, and making sure that every attendee feels like they are one of the family. Doud shares his insight into making sure that promotions work, and even when they don't, learning lessons on improving the marketing plan each season. Twitter: @JoeDoud