Ignite: A Podcast by Designsensory Intelligence

"There’s excitement around things that are being done to reach fans differently. A lot of trends are now being fast-forwarded…also concern and trepidation around the traditional sports business model.”

On this episode of Fired Up, Ian, editor of Front Office Sports, a digital publication, provides a view into the many facets of the business of sports with an eye to the future and how leagues and teams are responding – now more rapidly because of such a disruption – to our shifting cultural tide.

During his career, Ian has covered a variety of topics, but currently focuses on the business of the sports industry ranging from leagues and teams to media and technology companies.

His stories have appeared across several outlets and mediums including Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg.com, The Financial Times and FT.com, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily, The Washington Post, The New York Observer, Crain's New York Business, Yahoo! Finance and other outlets. His reporting has been cited on/by ESPN's The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo! Sports, and numerous other outlets.

***IGNITE FAN INSIGHTS*** www.ignitefaninsights.com

Ignite Fan Insights observes fans from key sports, their behavior, and their loyalty to the sports they follow. We encourage you to subscribe to Ignite Fan Insights. It's free and you'll receive a steady flow of information allowing you to better understand sports fans along with nuggets of wisdom from sports industry leaders. Your subscription includes: three e-publication reports per year based on surveys with over 3,000 U.S. sports fans; twelve to twenty-four podcasts, e-newsletter, blogs and industry-relevant webinars. Subscribe today at www.ignitefaninsights.com

With the pandemic creating havoc in all sectors, businesses have had the opportunity to rethink the way organizations function.

On this episode of Fired Up, Drew Bedard, Vice President of Marketing for Bristol Motor Speedway and Kentucky Speedway provides great insights on how collaboration and agility across multiple disciplines and properties are making a difference. And how important it has been in the successful reintroduction of fans present at a live event. You may recall that Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race on July 15 with nearly 30,000 fans in the stands – and they executed with precision.

You’ll love this episode of Fired Up! After all, “IT’S BRISTOL BABY!”

***IGNITE FAN INSIGHTS*** www.ignitefaninsights.com

Ignite Fan Insights observes fans from key sports, their behavior, and their loyalty to the sports they follow. We encourage you to subscribe to Ignite Fan Insights. It's free and you'll receive a steady flow of information allowing you to better understand sports fans along with nuggets of wisdom from sports industry leaders. Your subscription includes: three e-publication reports per year based on surveys with over 3,000 U.S. sports fans; twelve to twenty-four podcasts, e-newsletter, blogs and industry-relevant webinars. Subscribe today at www.ignitefaninsights.com

JP Paul, VP Corporate Development and Guest Relations with the Minnesota Vikings and Cody Parsons, Chief of Staff with FC Cincinnati share how a solid team working together with great discipline allows for focused decision making - especially when times and information are so fluid - when there is no playbook available for reference.

Chris Wise, GM/Director of Research for Designsensory Intelligence moderates the session. Chris has been digging deeply into the minds of consumers, sports fans and front office pros for over three decades. Unearthing solid behavior triggers and offering well-informed, data-driven recommendations for those involved in the business of sports.

***IGNITE FAN INSIGHTS*** www.ignitefaninsights.com

Ignite Fan Insights observes fans from key sports, their behavior, and their loyalty to the sports they follow. We encourage you to subscribe to Ignite Fan Insights. It's free and you'll receive a steady flow of information allowing you to better understand sports fans along with nuggets of wisdom from sports industry leaders. Your subscription includes: three e-publication reports per year based on surveys with over 3,000 U.S. sports fans; twelve to twenty-four podcasts, e-newsletter, blogs and industry-relevant webinars. Subscribe today at www.ignitefaninsights.com

Hear the findings of our 4th wave of sports fan sentiment study, focusing on the American fan and their anticipated behavior in consuming live sports. We do see a fog lifting with a greater sense of optimism and hope for the future around friendly yet highly competitive sporting events. Listen in and learn how it is shifting.

***IGNITE FAN INSIGHTS*** www.ignitefaninsights.com

Ignite Fan Insights observes fans from key sports, their behavior, and their loyalty to the sports they follow. We encourage you to subscribe to Ignite Fan Insights. It's free and you'll receive a steady flow of information allowing you to better understand sports fans along with nuggets of wisdom from sports industry leaders. Your subscription includes: three e-publication reports per year based on surveys with over 3,000 U.S. sports fans; twelve to twenty-four podcasts, e-newsletter, blogs and industry-relevant webinars. Subscribe today at www.ignitefaninsights.com

Chris Wise & Chris McAdoo explore the findings from Ignite Fan Insight's exclusive Fan Sentiment Tracking Study, conducted during the sports suspension caused by the pandemic. The study began March 25 and subsequent research will continue every two weeks at least through the end of May - All designed to give you additional data insights to keep your fans engaged and ready to return as soon as action starts.

Chris Wise, GM/Director of Research for Designsensory Intelligence has been digging deeply into the minds of fans and consumers for three decades. Unearthing solid behavior triggers and offering well-informed recommendations to those involved in the sports business.

***IGNITE FAN INSIGHTS*** www.ignitefaninsights.com

Ignite Fan Insights observes fans from key sports, their behavior, and their loyalty to the sports they follow. We encourage you to subscribe to Ignite Fan Insights. It's free and you'll receive a steady flow of information allowing you to better understand sports fans along with nuggets of wisdom from sports industry leaders. Your subscription includes: three e-publication reports per year based on surveys with over 3,000 U.S. sports fans; twelve to twenty-four podcasts, e-newsletter, blogs and industry-relevant webinars. Subscribe today at www.ignitefaninsights.com

Dust off your thinking caps, Sports Fans, it's time to analize and decode some hard data!

On this episode of Fired UP! Chris Wise (General Manager of Designsensory Intelligence & Ignite Fan Insights) utilizes data to decode the brain of a fan.

Can we really understand the mindset of fan? What does it take to keep them engaged? And perhaps the biggest question of all... what does it look like when all the fans return?

Chris Wise & Chris McAdoo explore the findings from Ignite Fan Insight's exclusive Fan Sentiment Tracking Study, conducted during the sports suspension caused by the pandemic. The study began March 25 and subsequent research will continue every two weeks at least through the end of May - All designed to give you additional data insights to keep your fans engaged and ready to return as soon as action starts.

Chris Wise, GM/Director of Research for Designsensory Intelligence has been digging deeply into the minds of fans and consumers for three decades. Unearthing solid behavior triggers and offering well-informed recommendations to those involved in the sports business.

***IGNITE FAN INSIGHTS*** www.ignitefaninsights.com

Ignite Fan Insights observes fans from key sports, their behavior, and their loyalty to the sports they follow. We encourage you to subscribe to Ignite Fan Insights. It's free and you'll receive a steady flow of information allowing you to better understand sports fans along with nuggets of wisdom from sports industry leaders. Your subscription includes: three e-publication reports per year based on surveys with over 3,000 U.S. sports fans; twelve to twenty-four podcasts, e-newsletter, blogs and industry-relevant webinars. Subscribe today at www.ignitefaninsights.com

In this episode of Fired Up! Chris Wise, General Manager of Designsensory Intelligence and Ignite Fan Insights shares his thoughts on the findings from the first wave of their exclusive Fan Sentiment Tracking Study during sports suspension caused by the pandemic. You'll be surprised by what we've uncovered so far - fans are HUNGRY for sports, and are ready for return to action (when...and however that happens)!

The study began March 25 and subsequent research will continue every two weeks at least through the end of May - All designed to give you additional data insights to keep your fans engaged and ready to return as soon as action starts.

Chris Wise, GM/Director of Research for Designsensory Intelligence has been digging deeply into the minds of fans and consumers for three decades. Unearthing solid behavior triggers and offering well-informed recommendations to those involved in the sports business.

***IGNITE FAN INSIGHTS*** www.ignitefaninsights.com

Ignite Fan Insights observes fans from key sports, their behavior, and their loyalty to the sports they follow. We encourage you to subscribe to Ignite Fan Insights. It's free and you'll receive a steady flow of information allowing you to better understand sports fans along with nuggets of wisdom from sports industry leaders. Your subscription includes: three e-publication reports per year based on surveys with over 3,000 U.S. sports fans; twelve to twenty-four podcasts, e-newsletter, blogs and industry-relevant webinars. Subscribe today at www.ignitefaninsights.com

“I want a different voice in the room. I need people who look at things in ways that I don’t. They’ll make us better.”

On this episode of Fired Up, John Davis, Sr. Director of Sales for Churchill Downs provides great insights on how he builds a team that insures continued relevance to the fans. Davis oversees the Suite and Ticket Sales departments, spanning Kentucky Derby week and the entire racing calendar. He is involved in all aspects of ticket sales, developing the overall sales strategy for existing opportunities and long-term expansion planning.

John has an extensive track record of success, having served most recently as Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service with the Cleveland Browns. Davis held a similar position with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team and the New York Islanders hockey team, where he also served as Vice President of Ticket Sales. Prior to joining the Reds, John served as Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the Frisco RoughRiders, the AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers. While in Frisco, Davis oversaw all ticketing and marketing efforts and was the team liaison with the Texas League. During that 2007 season, the RoughRiders were the most profitable franchise in minor league baseball.

“The team is the fabric of the community. Even in the worst of years – and we’ve had many bad years in terms of wins – we still renew at 90%.”

On this episode of Fired Up, Josh Young, VP of ticket Sales for the Miami Dolphins, provides great insights on maintaining a sense of community as well as using all available tools to talk with fans in places and with words that individuals pay attention to.

Under Josh’s leadership, the Dolphins have increased season ticket membership moving into their second season along with creating additional premium experiences to meet market demand for the expansion club. Prior to joining Miami, Josh served as Director of Ticket Sales for the Cleveland Browns from 2013 – 2018. During his tenure the Browns experienced record growth in season ticket sales and revenue in consecutive seasons. In addition, he led the development of the Browns entry-level sales program and group sales department. Josh joined the Browns after 6 seasons with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League where he served as Sr. Director of Ticket Sales. The Aeros were wholly owned by the Minnesota Wild and the primary development affiliate for the NHL club. While in Houston, the Aeros were consistently one of the top performing franchises in group sales and ticket revenue in the AHL.

“As the sports industry became more professional, they lost touch with the common person and we need to find ways to stay better connected, more accessible.”

McManamon started 5T Sports Group in 2008 exactly when the Olympics were hosted by Vancouver – her hometown. She gets fired up by sports – many sports. She also gets fired up by what the future holds. Always looking forward.

She has a background in sports marketing cutting her teeth in automotive with Fiat then shifting for a while to the technology sector. Now she works diligently to help teams and venues use technology in smarter ways to be responsible environmental citizens. Additionally, she works to make sure sports is accessible to all people, not just those with lots of money.

Her reach is global and her work is making a difference – a real difference.