Made to Play

AMP: Evolving Olympic Athlete Dealmaking: Zaileen Janmohamed, USOPC

Buoyed by the marketing dollars of brands looking to draft off the power of the Olympic movement, US Olympians have been able to make a career out of simply being themselves. The connection between brands and athletes delivers results on both sides of the proposition - but it has traditionally been an arduous process for marketers to find all but the most well-known athletes to represent their brands.

Zaileen Janmohamed is at the forefront of fixing all that via the USOPC's new technology initiative knows as AMP - the Athlete Marketing Platform. In this podcast we discuss this exciting opportunity for more US Olympians to get the financial support they need while training and after their competitive career ends. 

Growing Pains and Hopefully Making it Rain: US Lacrosse, Steve Stenersen

Despite exponential growth over the past 15 years, socio-economic conditions have seen the sport of lacrosse struggle to break through to the higher levels of participation enjoyed by many of America's more pervasive field sports. Similarly, finding sponsors and advertisers to hop on board the lax train has not been an easy task for the sport's champions. We reached out to Steve Stenersen, CEO of US Lacrosse to address these issues. His insights on where the game is today and what his group is doing in concert with the entire lacrosse community make for an interesting listen. 

Doing It for The Kids: Skip Gilbert, US Youth Soccer

The critical mass represented by youth soccer players represents the biggest opportunity for brands to reach the millions of players, parents, coaches and organizations dedicated to developing the next iteration of The Beautiful Game in this country. I managed to wrangle Skip Gilbert, CEO of USYS, to talk about how those kids are engaged with the sport, how youth sports in general needs to change, and how brands can make the most of an affiliation with the leading soccer organization in the USA.

Giving Thanks Part 3 - The Silver Linings of 2020

Here's the third and final installment of my re-connecting with some of the great people with whom I’ve recorded my “Pay2Play” podcast over the past 12 months. I was looking to get a sense of what they are thankful for in this difficult year as leaders in our industry. 

We finish up with positive perspectives from Carter Ladd, SVP of Business Alliances at Soccer United Marketing, Tim Zulawski, Chief Revenue Officer at AMBSE in Atlanta, and Jason Pearl, SVP of Partnerships and Business Development for the San Francisco Giants.

Giving Thanks Part 2 - The Silver Linings of 2020

I decided that at this time of year we can all use all the positivity we can find, so I'm gathering up a bunch of the people with whom I’ve recorded my “Pay2Play” podcast over the past 12 months to get a sense of what they are thankful for this year as leaders in our industry. 

Here's the second installment. Was lucky enough to get insights from Andrew Judelson, EVP of Learfield IMG College, Amy Sprangers, SVP from the Seattle Seahawks and Tim Harris, President of Business Ops for the World Champion (again) LA Lakers. 

Giving Thanks Part 1 - The Silver Linings of 2020

I decided that at this time of year we can all use all the positivity we can find, so I'm gathering up a bunch of the people with whom I’ve recorded my “Pay2Play” podcast over the past 12 months to get a sense of what they are thankful for this year as leaders in our industry. 

These will be coming fast and furious pre-Turkey Day. Today we get the perspective of Legends' Global Partnerships President Chris Hibbs, LAFC SVP Kristen Kuhn and USOPP Chief Revenue Officer Chris Pepe.

Football FOMO - Amy Sprangers, Seattle Seahawks

The home field advantage in the NFL is significant. As the 2020 season gets under way, the impact of fanless stadiums - which is the case for the majority of teams in the league - will be seen, heard and definitely felt by players and fans alike. Does it alter competitive balance when one team has fans at games and another doesn't? And in stadiums that literally reverberate with the sound of fan passion, how are those teams and those fans going to keep that vibe going without actually BEING THERE? We spoke with the Seattle Seahawks' Senior Vice President of Revenue, Amy Sprangers, to see how her organization, its sponsoring partners and their fans are dealing with this new reality.

Lessons from the Bubble: Carter Ladd - SUM

When MLS and its marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing (SUM) created the "MLS Is Back" Tournament, they were the first team sport to replace value that sponsors had lost value with regular season matches cancelled. Where MLS goes from here is very much dependent on things well out of the league's control. We spoke to Carter Ladd, SUM's SVP of Brand Alliances, about the Orlando experience from a sponsorship standpoint - and the rest of 2020.

Are We There Yet?: Tim Zulawski - AMB Sports & Entertainment

As America’s favorite sports leagues get closer to a return to action there's still a great deal of uncertainty about whether these hoped-for scenarios will actually become reality over time. Will there be fans? Will any games actually be played? Even with start dates and competition schedules established, the leagues, teams, advertisers, sponsors and fans are, in reality, all stuck in the same state of limbo, waiting for clarity on how these "seasons" will play out.

We spoke to Tim Zulawski, the Chief Revenue Officer for AMB Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tim leads all sponsorship sales strategy and servicing for those properties, including all major event sales for Mercedes-Benz Stadium. With so many properties in his portfolio we were lucky to get his unique take on how all concerned parties have stayed engaged throughout the pandemic as we approach a return to action.

Showtime & Covid Time: LA Lakers - Tim Harris

Enduring a season of significant and even tragic hurdles, the Los Angeles Lakers were nonetheless on the brink of a full return to their former glory in early March of 2020. Then the Coronavirus hit and everything came to a screeching halt. Tim Harris, President of Business Operations for the Lakers. talks about the organization's response to this series of pitfalls in the midst of the resurgence.