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
As the esports revolution continues, so does the separation from the original game tournament structure to an actual revenue generation model focused on corporate sponsor activation and player rights. Strategic Project Partners' David MacKay shares his knowledge of the esports space from Australia's arena, discussing how the growth of the vertical within the sports industry has shown some dynamic growth, but also some cautious issues still to be worked out. MacKay presents a vision of where players have to continue to build their brands in order to stave off the inability to capitalize on them effectively.
Mike Forman has entered into the unique experience of helping on-board his new ownership group at the Carolina Hurricanes, which has helped re-invigorate the local fan base as well as create dynamic, outside the box thinking. Forman describes the process of meetings, which has solidified direction toward a fan-focused model of customer service and branding. Forman talks about his new ownership group has also connected older fans from the Hartford Whalers days in a way not thought possible under the old regime. Twitter: @MForman5
Debra Fine's latest book, The Fine Art of Small Talk, is about revolutionizing how we engage with each other in ways that lead toward relationship building, as well as business development. Fine discusses ways to not only break the ice, but avoid a "Stage Five Clinger" who isn't going to buy but merely absorb your time. Fine talks about how to engage with people on a personal level and move it toward getting them to want to buy from you. Twitter: @DebraFine