Leaders Worth Knowing Podcast

Recorded in frosty New York City during Super Bowl week, this week’s episode takes the NFL’s annual glitz and glamathon as its central theme. Ed Horne, Executive Vice President of Endeavor Global Marketing, the cultural marketing agency that includes aspects of WME and IMG’s shared network, is a busy man this week, activating around the Super Bowl for major brand clients including Marriott, Visa and AB InBev. Horne is not your average marketer – an ice hockey referee in the NHL and the Winter Olympics in his younger days, he got the sports marketing bug when he snuck his way into the hospitality tents at the Calgary Games in 1988 and realised that the companies he was cadging off were using sport as a genuine platform for business. As an executive at the NFL, he negotiated the first ever halftime show sponsorship with Frito Lay, and then later, at the NHL, he was central to the negotiations that saw league players allowed to compete in the Olympics.   On the agenda:   - Marriott's Super Bowl stadium-hotel experience and the evolution of experiential activation;   - Is the Super Bowl at commercial saturation point?   - Politics in sports marketing campaigns, the Pepsi protest ad, and why tackling contentious issues might not be a bad idea.

Would you trust the process behind 'Trust the Process'? If you worked with Philadelphia 76ers CEO Scott O'Neil and his indefatigable CMO Katie O'Reilly you would. (Arguably, you'd have no choice.) O'Neil is one of the most forward-thinking senior leaders in sport, and he’s renowned for the inspiring working cultures he builds around him - a working culture at the 76ers that has resulted in the franchise consistently topping various NBA commercial tables even with a historically bad team on the court. As CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), he leads the 76ers organisation in the NBA, as its Prudential Center arena, the New Jersey Devils NHL team, the new Sixers Innovation Lab, and esports outfit Team Dignitas. On the conversational agenda: - Onboarding and the the working culture at HBSE and the 76ers; - The importance of language in the business of sport, 'Trust the Process', and what it means to be 'palms up'; - The nuts and bolts of an NBA international trip, and what the 76ers did with the 200 people they brought from Philadelphia to London last week; - Building an international content plan around a cosmopolitan team that is finally coming good; - Forging the next generation of sporting leaders; - NBA China trivia; - The Sixers Innovation Lab - what exactly is it? Visit www.leadersinsport.com for the latest sports industry intelligence and the opportunity to connect with senior leaders from across the global sport business.

Giles Morgan left HSBC towards the end of 2017 and now, he says, he's free to say what he really thinks about sponsorship, about sport, about who's getting it right, and, more pertinently, who's getting it wrong. Over his 12-year career leading HSBC's sponsorship activities, Morgan sanctioned the spend of over a billion dollars. Over Christmas biscuits and a cup of strong tea in his kitchen, our conversation covers: - Why he left one of the best jobs in global sport; - Storytelling and a new nomenclature for sponsorship; - Toxic rights holders and risk assessment; golf’s issue with women and how HSBC pressed for change; British Cycling’s governance issue - and how a sponsor’s position can remain tenable in adversity; - Why sponsors need to get edgier in their associations and talk the language of the fan; - Iconic stadiums as marketing collateral and why some - such as the London Stadium - fail to attract the naming rights sponsorship they want; - Why there's a lack of takers for a string of blue-riband sponsorship opportunities across British sport; - When hospitality activation goes wrong - an episode from a Lions tour.  

What better time to talk about cricket than in the bleak midwinter? Should traversability be a fundamental aspect of any cricket ground? With a new short-form competition around the corner and a significant new media rights deal in the bag, what's the future for the sport in Britain? Surrey County Cricket Club CEO Richard Gould is the guest on this week's edition of the Leaders Podcast; the former tank commander and Bristol City commercial executive tackles the full gamut of cricket business topics, including: - In the wake of another Ashes defeat, is the English county system fit for purpose? - The ongoing process to revamp and grow the Kia Oval to a 40,000-capacity venue - The sometimes challenging relationship between Surrey and the English cricket's governing body, the ECB - Iron Maiden - Technology in stadia - Healthy competition with Lord's This episode also includes a look back on 2017 and a glance ahead to 2018 with SportBusiness International Editor Ben Cronin and International Paralympic Committee Marketing Director Alexis Schaefer.

What does the next generation in-stadium experience look like? How does a tech-focused sports stadium stay ahead of the game? When will the NFL bring in jersey sponsorship patches? These were just three of the questions put to San Francisco 49ers President Al Guido when he visited the Leaders office in London earlier this month. At 38 years old, Guido is one of the youngest operational leaders in the NFL. Having held senior executive roles at hospitality and sales agency Legends and the Dallas Cowboys before formally joining the 49ers in 2014, Guido is already one of the most seasoned commercial thinkers operating in football today. In the interview, which begins at 16:46, Guido covers: - His international research into the best sporting experiences; - Stadium tech and in-seat deliveries: the real numbers; - Winning off the field despite losing on it; - The next breakthrough in in-stadium revenue generation models; - Gambling, jersey patches and future NFL revenue streams. The interview is preceded by a Leaders Podcast debut for new Leaders Head of Content David Cushnan, who ushers in a new era with a new feature: Cushnan's Conversational Crumbs (working title). On the agenda: SBJ's 50 Most Influential list, Donald Trump's impact on the sports industry, and a word on MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

When will the Olympics reach a 50/50 gender balance? Is esports really a viable Olympic programme proposition? Can China realistically achieve its objective of introducing 300 million people to winter sports participation by 2022? These questions, plus a fair number of others, are tackled in the latest edition of the Leaders Podcast with IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell, who spoke to James Emmett over a jasmine tea in a hotel lobby in Beijing, hours before the final round of the Infiniti 2017 Air and Style Beijing FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup event. McConnell worked on the organising committee for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, moving to Switzerland thereafter to take a role in the sports department at the IOC. He joined rugby's global governing body, then the International Rugby Board, in 2002, and was Rugby World Cup Tournament Director for 11 years, before rejoining the IOC in 2013 as Sports Director. McConnell is a key modernising force within the Olympic movement, tasked with integrating new, youth-oriented sports and disciplines into the programme. Golf and rugby joined the programme for the Rio Games in 2016, but there will be five new sports at Tokyo 2020, as well as host of new disciplines in existing sports, and a new mixed relay events too.

With all these snackable digital tidbits around, is there room for a full three-course content dinner? A few months into the EFL's international OTT venture, how is the new service performing? How have the Milwaukee Bucks built the fan experience into the design concept for their new arena? Why is the data on in-stadium queuing times trying to lie to you? And if the Seattle Sounders had a sound, what sound would it be? All these questions answered, and many more besides, in this, the third and final podcast instalment from behind-the-scenes at Leaders Week. In a series of backstage conversations recorded at the Social Fanlytics event, and the Ultimate Fan Experience, you'll hear from: - EFL Marketing Director Drew Barrand - Minnesota Vikings Executive Director of Digital and Innovation Scott Kegley - Infront Sports & Media's Media and Marketing Competence Centre Director David Cipullo - Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin - IOC Head of Sports Partnerships and Coordination Jenny Mann - Chicago Bulls Behavioural Scientist Kevin Brilliant - Seattle Sounders Chief Operating Officer Bart Wiley Subscribe to the Leaders Podcast today on iTunes, Stitcher or your chosen podcast platform for a fortnightly hit from inside the sports industry.

Why can't a pure-play OTT sports broadcast service guarantee consistent service? Where will Amazon's sports rights strategy take it and when? When will consumers reach their 'skinny bundle' price point threshold? Has sports broadcasting been disrupted? Remarkably, all four of these questions - and many more besides - are answered in this edition of the Leaders Podcast, which takes in a series of behind-the-scenes conversations at the Broadcast Disruptors event, which kicked off Leaders Week in London in early October this year. In this episode, you'll hear from: - James Rushton, CEO of DAZN, who gives his honest report card on the first year of the OTT broadcaster's service, and explains why little mistakes are not the end of the world; - Jo Binding, VP ofInternational Digital for Discovery Networks International, on Amazon's will-they-won't-they entrance into the sports broadcast world, and the difficulty of delivering OTT sports services; - Gareth Capon, CEO of Grabyo, on producing for a multi-screen world and why consumer behaviour is driving technological delivery methods and content types.

Marketing industry bellwether Sir Martin Sorrell kicked off this year's Leaders Sport Business Summit and he kickstarted this behind-the-scenes podcast too. Nic Coward, the man tasked with interviewing Sir Martin, gives his assessment of the discussion. This collection of conversations also includes: - Sir Dave Brailsford on a turn as questioner rather than questioned as he reflects on a conversation with Billy Beane - very much Marginal Gains meets Moneyball. - Rich Gotham, President of the Boston Celtics, talking about cold meets before he’s interrupted by Philadelphia 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil and a discussion on NBA jersey patches, dynamic ticketing and more ensues. - Irina Pavlova, former President of Onexim Sports & Entertainment, on an intimidating run out with WWE chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon and her plans for a new role in London. - Reflections on monetizing digital platforms – with insight from FT CEO John Ridding, Conde Nast’s Dolly Jones and Keith Grossman from Bloomberg via Omnigon Chief Commercial Officer Dave Nugent. - Lewis Wiltshire on Legendary Entertainment’s Matt Marolda and Moneyball for movies and the major social platforms and their likely – or unlikely - moves into sport. - Gerry Cardinale, founder and CEO of RedBird Capital, and the man behind the creation of the YES Network and Legends Hospitality, on where to find the real value in sport.

Ever wondered why Richard Branson has such a penchant for ludicrous sportswear? It's possible that Mary Wittenberg was thinking the same thing when she opted to leave her job as CEO of the New York City Marathon organiser the New York Road Runners (NYRR) to lead Branson's sports participation start-up Virgin Sport in 2015. In this wide-ranging conversation, Wittenberg covers: - Branson's pitch to her and why she left NYRR; - The purpose-driven mission of Virgin Sport and how it's tapping into the mass participation boom; - The commercial opportunities associated with holding 'festivals of sport' in the UK and US; - The organisation's goal to get people active, and how it starts with number one; - Why Airbnb is a model organisation for people in the 'experience business'; - The factors fuelling the mass-participation boom, and the practitioners and applications offering something new.