We should always be selling benefits over features in sports sponsorships.
Features are the what. They commoditize our product. Benefits are the Why. They bring context to why a brand should spend with your team over buying more digital ads.
So what are...
Every time I hear Mike Johnston dive into building culture…I’m blown away.
For those of you who don’t know who Mike Johnston is, he is the Vice President, General Manager, and Head Coach of the Portland Winterhawks Hockey Club in the Western...
I’ve nibbled a bit around it before but I really think that utilizing text messaging as a sponsorship asset will be the killer move of 2020.
We’ve used this tactic in ticketing and it has proven to be a valuable asset….but there...
Sports teams have been the pinnacle of influence in pop culture and our lives. We have pulled in fans, enthralled them with our stories, our wins, our losses, and made our brand a part of their lives.
We have amassed a huge...
Digital scratch-off games in sports are becoming more popular. It's not surprising, because we are entering the participation age of sports sponsorships. Sponsors no longer want to just “Be Seen” by your fans.
The odd inventory that included stadium signs and scoreboard...
I believe in constant auditing of what you’re doing. The way we keep from being complacent is to constantly challenge what we’re building, creating, and putting out there in the world to connect with our fans.
It allows us to push to...
Ice cream or soup…which is better? Tough question to answer.
Ice cream, on one hand, is great for hot days. It’s also sweet so it is meant for after a meal. You can eat it on a cold day in the winter…but...
It seems as though each year we are met with new opportunities, obstacles, and trends in sponsorship. It’s something that I love about our industry.
It is forever progressing as our brands and fans change with the times.
With change comes items that...
In the modern sports landscape, fan attention is the ultimate currency. We’ve seen a massive shift toward "playing along" in real-time, highlighted by major leagues leaning into predictive markets and interactive second-screen experiences. Fans don’t...
More inventory doesn’t mean more value. It usually means less.
For years, sports sponsorship has operated under a quiet assumption: if revenue is the goal, inventory is the answer.
Add more signage. Create more assets. Open more...
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what sponsorships in sports have become...and what they were always meant to be.
Not from the perspective of inventory or impressions. Not CPMs, logo counts, or “media...
There’s a temptation in business—especially in sports sponsorships—to believe that reach is everything. The bigger the audience, the bigger the impact. The more logos, the better. The wider the net, the more fish you’ll catch.
But...
“The goal is not to fit in. The goal is to resonate.”— Rick Rubin
The Misconception of Attention
Most sponsorships start from the wrong place.
We assume the audience will care.We assume the logo is enough.We assume that...
In the world of sports sponsorships, creativity is often boxed into a role: something that belongs to the agency, the graphic designer, or the "creative team."
But what if creativity wasn’t a department—it was a mindset?
What...
In sports, perfection is often the illusion.
A perfect record. A flawless play. A pristine image on the jumbotron.
But in the realm of sponsorship, where connection matters more than control, perfection can be a liability. It...
In the high-stakes world of sports sponsorships, where millions are spent on visibility, impressions, and association, a powerful truth often gets lost: fans don't show up for brands.
They show up for the love of the...
I'm always interested in the exact definitions of the words we use. Sometimes, they can be powerful in understanding the meaning behind the everyday language we use.
The definition of the word Resolution is "a firm...
