The biggest dog in the fight is sometimes a little yapper. That's what El Paso Chihuahuas' general manager Brad Taylor discusses as he joins the podcast, covering exactly how the MiLB team has created one of the hottest merchandise brands across the country. Taylor talks about perception versus reality with the El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico marketplace, as well as how the El Paso Chihuahuas' mascot is the biggest ambassador of the team in the greater community. Taylor specifically mentions his advocacy against discounted or free tickets, pushing for group sales over even season tickets, as well as how the Bowling Green Hot Rods became a top group sales effort with a small county population. Twitter: @BTinEP
Since 2012, Alicia Jessop has had one of the premiere sports legal blogs called Ruling Sports. Jessop has parlayed that platform into a full-fledged website, as well as a career change from a practicing assistant city attorney to an assistant professor at the University of Miami and Pepperdine University. Jessop discusses her path, as well as provides insight into various aspects of sport law, especially on how it impacts cultural norms and society as a whole. Twitter: @RulingSports
David Crawford is one of the top industry advocates for the game of Floorball, which is fast becoming one of newest off-season training options and intramural sports in the world. Crawford shares his story of how he first engaged with the sport of Floorball, and quickly because one of its staunchest promoters. Crawford talks about launching his own business, Floorball Guru, LLC, and some of the new endeavors it has allowed him to do. Twitter: @FloorballGuru
Mackie Feierstein doesn't have the ability to focus on a single successful sport, because the University of Miami athletic department has several winning programs to sell. Feierstein talks about serving several masters, including men's basketball and football, as well as picking up prospects between both. Feierstein discusses the issue of playing in an NFL stadium, with a heavy-premium focus, and how he trains his staff to work toward selling out the house. Twitter: @MackieFire
Harris Peskin works for the leading esports law firm in the world, ESG Law. Peskin talks about representing various ownership groups and teams in leagues throughout esports, and how that shakes out as the landscape begins to solidify from a wild west atmosphere into a structured tier system. Peskin describes governance and esports economics, as well as where the industry has to go in order to be successful long term. Twitter: @HarrisPeskin
The core principles of design and branding are discussed beyond the idea of logo, focusing on environment for both the staff member and the fan. John Roberson covers some of the dynamics of what his company, Advent, has done in the marketplace in order to create an atmosphere that people want to touch and feel connected by, that includes the Stanford Cardinal's Home of Champions and the Dallas Cowboy's The Star display of The Ring of Honor Walk.
Indoor football has had hundreds of defunct teams or franchises switching leagues. The practice is considered almost common place. Yet when the Bloomington Edge decided to depart the Champions Indoor Football League for another, they were sued. Edge general manager Charles Welde talks as much as he can about the lawsuit and where the team sits today, as well as how it trains its staff and interns to sell experiences in such an uncertain environment.
Growing an account representative into a skilled sports sales professional is Eric Platte's goal at the Atlanta Hawks. Platte discusses his mindset in how to foster growth from each new hire to develop a pipeline of success for the Hawks organization. Platte talks about allowing the curtain to be pulled back on what selling in sports is, as well as the time commitment required up front of all employees. Twitter: @EricPlatte
The bridge between the accumulation of consumer data and actionable data in sports revenue generation is narrowing in focus daily. Lenny Goh discusses how the advent of social media data collection is now starting to yield out measurable returns for sports teams and concert ticket buyers, as clients are starting to figure out exactly what makes an online transaction occur. Goh talks about the methodology that transforms a message into a marketing sale. Twitter: @lennygoh