Day 1 of the 2020 National Sports Forum

The 2020 Case Cup Competition participant presentations.

This portion was hosted by the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Attendees were given a behind the scenes tour of the stadium!

SESSION LEADER

Day 2 of the 2020 National Sports Forum

Picture this: You’ve left the office, the day is over and as you try to fall asleep at night you lay there in bed… and you’re thinking… and thinking… and thinking. What keeps some of the best minds in the business up at night?

As a long-standing tradition, Monday of the 2020 NSF began with the “What Keeps You Up at Night?” Super Panel. This gathering of top-notch executives told us exactly what they were losing sleep over.

This panel of top executives navigated through a discussion on the issues that consumed their thoughts post-game and year-round.

MODERATOR

John Roberson

CEO

Advent

PANELISTS

Steve Koonin

CEO

Atlanta Hawks

Jamie Spencer

EVP, Business Development

Minnesota Wild

Nicole Metzger

Chief Revenue Officer, Clemson Sports & Campus Marketing

JMI Sports

Geoff Cottrill

Sr. VP of Strategic Marketing

The Coca-Cola Company

Bernie Mullin

Principal

The Aspire Group

The first set of breakout sessions was on Monday, February 10, 2020

Declining attendance is plaguing college and pro sports teams. The decline diminishes sponsor revenue.  In this session, John Roberson was joined by Minnesota Wild Executive Vice President of Business Development, Jamie Spencer, to discuss creating a culture and experience that brings fans to the venue and how engaging touchpoints can be authentically sold as sponsor inventory.

SESSION LEADER

John Roberson

CEO

Advent

Jamie Spencer

EVP Business Development,

Minnesota Wild

While investing in your fan experience, enticing fans to arrive sooner and stay later is a large push for today’s game-day events. To complete an immersive experience inside and outside the venue, provide a social aspect before, during and after the game for fans to share their experiences with others and to create new memories they will look back on for years.

SESSION LEADER

Brent Stevens

National Sales Manager; Professional Sports

Daktronics

PANELISTS

Scott Jenkins

General Manager; Mercedes Benz Stadium

AMB Sports + Entertainment

Michael Drake

Senior VP Corporate Partnerships and Premium Sales

Atlanta Hawks

Mike Money

Assistant AD/Marketing & Fan Experience

Clemson University

The Atlanta Hawks SAM meeting (Sales-Analytics-Marketing) allowed leaders in all three of these critical spaces to come together for a weekly session. SAM discussed both large and small scale sales and marketing campaigns to make sure that all three departments are aligned on our priorities and we are supporting each other to achieve success.

SESSION LEADER

David Elgin

Vice President, Analytics

Atlanta Hawks

Eric Platte

Vice President, Ticket Sales

Atlanta Hawks

Robert Laycock

VP, Marketing

Atlanta Hawks

When it comes to live events and hospitality, the traditional e-commerce model is broken. How can we adapt to ensure fans can easily access tickets, coordinate plans, and share unforgettable experiences? Come to the conversation with Fevo to learn about the solution that’s a win for both brands and fans.

SESSION LEADER

Colin Casey

Executive Vice President of Partner Development

Fevo

Has your team filled all the major CPG categories? No, we’re not talking about beer & soda. We’re talking: Mayonnaise, Shampoo, Lipstick, and Bread.

Four years ago, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, & the Toronto Argonauts),  reengineered their approach to partnerships in the CPG space. They have since built new multi-year partnerships with: Weston Bread, Shiseido, Unilever, Orville Redenbacher, French’s, American Crew, SC Johnson, Fisherman Friends, MARS/Wrigley, and MORE.

They provided a masterclass on winning in CPG. They explored the inner workings of how CPG marketers make decisions, how they measure and evaluate new proposals, and the lessons you can apply when building your next pitch.

SESSION LEADER

Aalum Jaffer

Manager, Global Partnerships

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment

This breakout focused on innovative methods, social media approach, and technology the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) used to go from a crazy idea to one of the most successful new sports leagues ever in less than a year. Our attendees got to learn how innovative social strategy, new technology, and ground breaking coverage combine to drive growth of the newest professional sports league.

SESSION LEADER

Robert Caldwell

Founding Partner

42Chat

PANELISTS

Mike Rabill

Co-Founder & CEO

Premier Lacrosse League

Non-Traditional Revenue session was led by Karl Crudup II

SESSION LEADER

Karl Crudup II

Director, Special Event Sales

Sacramento Kings

The second set of breakout sessions was held on Monday, February 11, 2019

Sponsorship session for the 2020 NSF Corporate and Industry Survey was led by Ron Seaver and Jim Kahler.

SESSION LEADER

Ron Seaver

President

National Sports Forum

Jim Kahler

Executive Director, AECOM Center for Sports Administration

Ohio University

Even with blockbuster acquisitions or adjusted tickets and concessions pricing- attendance at sporting events are declining more than 12% as organizations compete with at-home technology on gamedays. Sports fans are fed up with traditional media, crave exclusivity but also desire access to unique content that ignites a fear of missing out (FOMO) amongst their peers on digital/social media.

Although challenging, are you willing to accept those losses or change the outcome? Reimagine the fan experience, put butts in seats and FOMO no more!

In this interactive session, we discovered the complexity known as FOMO and discuss how to leverage it to curate branded experiences through strategic content that drive revenue.

SESSION LEADER

Jordan Delegal

Territory Specialist

Wilson Sporting Goods

This panel brought together leaders from FreedomPay, Satisfi Labs, and Noble to share how data collected from AI chat bots, mobile ordering solutions, and payment securities offers insights for venue owners, operators, and brands to take action.  Using venue tech, and the data embedded within, these platforms can unlock year-round interactions with consumers, can drive opportunities for ticket sales past a specific event, and even beyond the walls of a venue across several locations that all use FreedomPay, Satisfi Labs, or Noble.  The panel explored the machinations behind these digital long-term relationships through case studies and discussion.

SESSION LEADER

Matt Draper

COO

Noble

PANELISTS

Don White

CEO

Satisfi Labs

Cedric Lourie

Director, Digital Development

FreedomPay

A million-dollar ‘Water Efficiency’ Partnership.  A 22% increase in beer sales.  $95K found in the trash. Over $10 million in Super Bowl advertising from the world’s top sports marketer (Budweiser) talking to fans about their water and renewable energy efforts.

These are the significant numbers that teams and their partners’ are bringing to the table through their focus on social and environmental responsibility. How can your organization tap into the sizable opportunities of 21st-century business priorities?

This expert-led, inside view shared exactly how teams, venues, and leagues are driving profit margins, new revenue opportunities and attracting new partners. This open discussion tapped into the future with a whole new portfolio of top to bottom line possibilities.

SESSION LEADER

Aileen McManamon

Founder/Managing Partner

5T Sports Group

Scott Jenkins

General Manager

Mercedes Benz Stadium, AMB Sports + Entertainment

Social Media session was led by Jen Kavanagh of the Philadelphia Eagles.

SESSION LEADER

Jen Kavanagh

SVP, Marketing & Media

Philadelphia Eagles

The lack of organizational alignment, undefined customer strategy, weak employee training, and ineffective recognition and rewards are opportunities for your organization to improve your fan experience. Creating a great stadium experience presents both challenges and opportunities for teams to get it right. In this interactive session, attendees learned how Minnesota United FC developed a customized guest service strategy and employee engagement program called “Loonatics” that helped align the entire organization for success in the opening of Allianz Field, America’s newest soccer-specific stadium. Minnesota United’s CEO Chris Wright and Authentic Sports Marketing’s Bob Nelson and Dennis Armbruster will share their collaborative process for building and communicating a winning guest service culture for the Loons that has helped them stand-out from the broad competition impacting the sports and entertainment industry. Attendees learned about the insights, strategies, and creativity they used to engage and train employees to serve guests with a passion.

SESSION LEADER

Chris Wright

CEO

Minnesota United FC

Dennis Armbruster

Managing Partner

Authentic Sports Marketing

Bob Nelson

Managing Partner

Authentic Sports Marketing

With esports’ popularity continuing to become mainstream entertainment with more than 400 million viewers and new leagues, teams and activations being established at record pace, traditional sports and entertainment platforms need to rise to the challenge of finding ways to keep up. From incorporating esports into already existing offerings or stealing from esports’ playbook in order to keep up and attract from their ever-growing demographics, attendees learned what their companies could do to become more attractive to the next generation of fans.

SESSION LEADER

Darren Traub

Partner

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

PANELISTS

Jen Johns

Acting Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

Electronic Gaming Federation

Jeremy Poore

Director of Partnerships

Atlanta Reign

NTR Session was led by Vickie Eiges and Catherine Lentz

SESSION LEADER

Catherine Lentz

Director, Special Events

San Francisco 49ers

Vickie Eiges

Manager, Special Events Sales Team

San Francisco 49ers

Abe Madkour, Publisher and Executive Editor of Sports Business Journal Daily, sat down with Arthur
Blank, Owner and Chairman of AMB Sports and Entertainment. AMB Sports and Entertainment
owns and operates the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC. Mr. Blank was named Sports Business
Journal’s Executive of the Year in 2018 and one of Sports Business Journal’s 50 Most Influential
People in Sports 2016, 2017 and 2018.

MODERATOR

Abe Madkour

Executve Editor

Sports Business Journal/SBD

PANELISTS

Arthur Blank

Owner and Chairman

AMB Sports + Entertainment

Dinner and drinks were served as attendees learned about some of the hot new technologies within the sports industry.