Sports Business Strategy

After last episode's convo with James Bunbury of McLaren Racing, the gang keeps it international with Julian Mellini (12:50) of Real Madrid to talk about what it's like building a Strategy team with a 100+ year old organization. But first, Brittany talks a little about her team's new sellable asset: The draft war room. (Or in the Rams' case, "The Rocket Mortgage Draft House.")

More about the Rocket Mortgage Draft House:

• Press Release
• Teaser video
• 3 min highlight package w/ Rebel Wilson
• Sweepstakes to stay at the house   

We're going international this episode with James, discussing the opportunities and differences in leveraging sponsorship through the McLaren Racing team. Enjoy!

A two for one this episode with two members of the KSE's strategy team in Denver! 

After the gang does a brief mental health check-in -- we all just want people to see us in our Jordans! -- Lauren (Director, Strategic Business Development) & Alyssa (Partnership Insights Manager) discuss how their new naming rights partner, Ball Corp, came to be and also how that deal has led to future opportunities with other brands focused on community and sustainability.

Starting of the podcast with exciting naming rights news from Armaan (0:30), we briefly tip our toes into cryptocurrency talk (5:20). Related: If anyone knows how to help Will with mastering the Top Shot marketplace, please email him directly.

Then, we dive into a great conversation with Keira Emerson, discussing how to leverage a championship for more data, engaging fans outside of the arena, and some best-practice talk on surveying fans. (15:30) By the end of the convo, you'll be screaming, "Play Gloria!"

(Also, for context, here's some background on the "Power Play Dance" that's discussed in our interview.)

After a week delay, we're back with another episode, just in time to celebrate Women's History Month! First, the crew has their own mini-discussion on WHM in relation to sports (0:30) before bringing on Katrina to talk about all things esports/gaming -- and, as it turns out, music and traditional sports, too! (8:45). Near the end, Katrina & Brittany share more compelling stories about what it's like being a woman in sports, the importance of allies stepping up, and things we can do to change the current dynamic (41:40).

As always, this episode is brought to you by St. Lucia. Not the band, which plays our outro every week, but the country that doesn't pay us anything to be the official sponsor of the podcast. We are terrible negotiators.

The crew discusses the highlights from Super Bowl LV -- literally zero conversation about the actual game -- and they all pick their favorite commercial (0:45). They're then joined by Cole Cook, who discusses what life is like living "hockey the hard way." (13:00) A surprise entrant to the interview (25:00) threatens the stability of the podcast, but all is resolved by the end of the episode. 

This podcast episode is brought to you by Mountain Dew Major Melon, but not really because they have not yet paid us any sponsorship dollars. Money please.

Let's just get this out of the way: The Kansas City Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl. Again. Yay. On to more important things...

After some Life in a Pandemic talk (2:00), the crew plays a new game -- Olympic Sport or Eat My Shorts (10:30) -- before an interview with Zaileen (15:00).

It's the first full-length pod with the entire gang! Brittany basks in her Wild Card victory over the Seahawks, Armaan wakes from his hibernation after a 1st week Bye, and Will has started making candles as a hobby! (The last part is not mentioned in the podcast at all, but still worth mentioning.)

The gang discusses their thoughts on teams implementing a Second Screen Experience™ and what some best practices might be for attracting a targeted market. (5:00) Then, they're joined by Hunter Renfro, who discusses his experience working in Research/Analytics during a pandemic-influenced season and why he wishes more people would stop focusing on "impressions" as a metric for successful sponsorships. (15:30)

Book Recommendation: The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

Brittany Ramos rejoins Will and Armaan, but this time as the new co-host! After some discussion about the current situations in the NFL/NBA, the gang plays a new game that's sweeping the nation, "Can I Have Your Number?" (5:10) Armaan and Will are then joined by Davey Chadwick, who breaks down what it's like to build a Strategy team while a partnerships team, in general, is being built (15:30).

Guest's Book Recommendation: Onward: How Starbucks Fought For its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Shultz

A familiar name joins as a new co-host, bringing some added diversity to the podcast. It's a Festivus miracle!