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The Tao of Sports Podcast – The Definitive Sports, Marketing, Business Industry News Podcast

Sports Revenue Analytics veteran and sport management professor Troy Kirby interviews the team behind the teams in Front Offices and Athletics Departments throughout the world, revealing an industry of specialists and minds unseen by the local or national media. Examined in this podcast are current or long-standing industry topics; tickets, business, analytics, moneyball, revenue, finance, economy, sales and jobs of the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Also included are topics surrounding third party vendors, sports business, revenue, marketing, mentoring interns, facilities, managing employees, as well as how to not only break into sports, but stay in the industry long-term. The often-invisible side of the industry is where the Tao of Sports Podcast attempts to pull back the elusive curtain, providing information both to industry insiders and those who want to work in sports. Troy Kirby is a sport management professor at Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington.
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The Tao of Sports Podcast – The Definitive Sports, Marketing, Business Industry News Podcast
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Now displaying: April, 2015
Apr 29, 2015

Stefan Szymanski has had an interesting week ever since launching his April 23, 2015 blog post which was the shot heard around professional soccer. Using information from a source close to Major League Soccer, Szymanski detailed what he felt were specific issues with the MLS financial model, comparing it to both a pyramid scheme and suggesting the potential for the league's collapse. This created a firestorm of online controversy, with readers both for and against his assertions, and even fostered a response from the MLS Commissioner Don Garber. Szymanski covers his post, point-by-point, on the podcast, as well as explains some of the reasonings behind each factor listed, addresses some of the issues that critics of his post had, and whether any new information has come out that has either confirmed or changed his view points. Twitter: @SSZY

 

Note: This podcast episode was the first time that I felt the need to expand the intro (over 10 minutes, which you can skip if you feel its not necessary) to explain not only my thoughts on the entire subject, but some of the issues surrounding Szymanski's interview and blog post, as well as sports business financial systems in general.

Apr 27, 2015

Jens Sejer Anderson serves as International Director of Play the Game is an international conference and communication initiative aiming to strengthen the ethical foundation of sport and promote democracy, transparency and freedom of expression in sport. It is run by the Danish Institute for Sports Studies (Idan), an independent institution set up by the Danish Ministry of Culture. The task of Idan is to create overview over and insight into the field of sport nationally and internationally. Jens covers several of the current problematics issues surrounding sport, including the 2022 World Cup, as well as match-fixing, doping and massive stadia construction amid national debt. Twitter: @JensSejerA

Apr 24, 2015

Ishveen Anand has been working in the sports sponsorship space for over 7 years, helping develop engagement and impact for her clients. Founding her own company, OpenSponsorship, in the summer of 2014, Anand has taken her talents onto a global scale. Anand discusses some of the ways in which international sponsorship have affected sports revenue, as well as the hindrances of American teams to understand that with their regional restrictions developed prior to the Internet and Satellite television. Anand crafts some of the issues around messaging, as well as how each style of the sponsorship must create a significant reaction, including to those on Madison Avenue who may not fully comprehend why it is important to go outside the United States when spending marketing dollars. Twitter: @IshveenAnand

Apr 22, 2015

Understanding how to draw out fans is a tough job that Andy Rowdon has performed as more than a few athletic departments. Being able to decipher what is important to a fan, and being able to utilize that perspective is part of Rowdon's skill set. Rowdon discusses how he crafts promotions overall in order to maximize their effect on an audience as well as why college athletics tends to avoid theme nights overall. Rowdon doesn't shy away from what truly makes fan engagement a necessary component of any marketing conversation, and how to relate to attendees even in a massive football stadium. Twitter: @ARowdon

Apr 20, 2015

Sports marketing has transformed from a simple signage solution to an analytical data dump. But what data is worthy of inclusion? Dorian Pieracci breaks down several of the current solutions out there to ensure that an ROI is feasible given the structure of the current B2B and B2C marketplace in sports. Pieracci examines how businesses are starting to think about team sponsorship involvement, as well as their apprehensions about not being a dominate market partner with a team. This discussion then transitions to the secondary market, and how under-utilized it is with ticket systems and sales practices that have been from the last century, or as Pieracci defines it, pre-Internet. Twitter: @Dorian_Pieracci

Apr 17, 2015

Athlete brands are starting to become the new norm, beyond what the team actually wants to define as their brand. That's where Pro Merch, a company founded by Austin Casselman, Luke Rodgers and NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, come in. Pro Merch has redefined how athletes creating their own branded inventory, selling directly to fans through their social media channels and with an exclusive Target store deal. Casselman discusses the founding of the company, and how it has helped propel some of the bigger names in the NFL and MLB through officially licensed merchandise to take over their branding images, as well as implement a customization that each athlete approves of. Twitter: @MyProMerch

Apr 15, 2015

A former student-athlete at Liberty University, Dena Freeman-Patton understands the educational needs of those she mentors. Heading up the academic side of the athletic department at CSU-Bakersfield, Freeman-Patton shares her view on the challenges facing current student-athletes, as well as attempting to beat back some of the misconceptions that the educational system may have on athletes and academics overall. Freeman-Patton talks about remodeling an academic support system in order to best coordinate over 500 student-athletes each quarter. Twitter: @BMoreDFP

Apr 13, 2015

Fewer people have seen the dawn of online ticketing like Jim Goodman, who was the first person to advocate for Ticketmaster to have a presence on the web. After that point, Goodman left to run ticketing for Walt Disney, then established Tickets.com's presence as a Ticketmaster competitor, including a merger that yielded Major League Baseball as an owner. Goodman explains some of the ways that online ticketing got started, including how his efforts resulted in those $16 service fees on a $17 ticket, and why those service fees continue to exist today. Goodman spares no punches in his wide-ranging opinions on promoters, teams, service fees, the StubHub vs Ticketmaster & Golden State Warriors lawsuit, and the secondary market as a whole. Goodman speaks about having 'boots on the ground' experience and why the ticket industry has hurt itself by not hiring those with that type real work experience into their upper eschelon. Twitter: @JimGoodman

Apr 10, 2015

Brad Smith has been an idea maker in sports since 2003, when he had to sell tickets in the south with the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Now moving onto stints at Texas A&M, Middle Tennessee State, Alabama-Birmingham and Morehead State, Smith has used his revenue generation skills to drum up business and fan support for the athletic departments he has served in. Smith talks about how to navigate old traditions, starting some new ones, in the hopes of innovating while respecting the institution's past efforts. Twitter: @BradSmithMSU

Apr 8, 2015

Steven Ziff is no stranger to the podcast, having been a guest on Ep. 181 as VP of Brand Marketing for the Florida Panthers of the NHL. Now at the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, Ziff has unveiled a sweeping new premium hospitality program called "Jaguars Black" which may revolutionize how local businesses and sponsorships interact with professional luxury experiences. Ziff frames some of the challenges that he saw coming into the Jaguars, especially when the team had half of the NFL's norm for business involvement, as well as how to engage those community members to be a part of the team's overall scope of brand. Twitter: @SteveZiff

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