Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing - a Roth Revenue Podcast

As my listeners know, mentorship is a central theme of this podcast. And there’s one name that tends to come up more often than others. And that name is Dave Hopkinson.

Dave was Chief Commercial Officer at Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment where he spent 23 years, working his way up from ticket sales.

He then made headlines, by going overseas to take on a similar role for Real Madrid – the most popular soccer team in the world. And recently was in the news again, when word spread that he is back on this side of the pond as President of Business Operations at MSG Sports – home to the Knicks, Rangers and Madison Square Gardens.

Dave is a true industry heavyweight, a Canadian-born global sports marketing success story, and a great guy.

We discuss his journey and how he overcame early struggles in sales, his mentors and his proudest accomplishments at MLSE and Real Madrid.

He shares what led to his return to North America and what excites him about his new role in the world’s most famous city.

And of course, professional development advice.

It’s a story of a wonderfully managed career. Humility. Bold decisions. Plus... he reveals who he’ll be pulling for when the Knicks play the Raptors. A very quick answer.

I hope you enjoy!

And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube… or check out https://rothrevenue.com

An important detour for this episode as I chat with 3 of the leaders in the sponsorship and sport marketing education space. Three people charged with inspiring the next gen of sponsorship and sports marketers.

My guests are:

Cheri Bradish - Loretta Rogers Research Chair in Sport Marketing at Ryerson University

Peter Widdis - Professor of Marketing and Innovation... and Program Coordinator of Sport and Event Business at George Brown

And Vijay Setlur – Sport Marketing Instructor at Schulich School of Business

We discuss their respective journeys, their mentors, their areas of academic focus, the trends they are discussing with their students… and their professional development advice.

Three great minds… a lively chat full of insight, stories, and a few laughs.

I hope you enjoy!

And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube… or check out https://rothrevenue.com

My guests on this episode are:

Danielle Donkers – Associate Director, Sponsorship at SickKids Foundation

And Renee Hopfner – Director of Community Investment at Sobeys.

SickKids Foundation is one of the true gold standards in the cause space. They stage several signature annual fundraising events… and as you’ll hear, had to flip all those plans on their head to address this new reality.

Sobeys is a long-time partner of the SickKids Foundation and a business that has played a key role in helping communities and their partners during the pandemic.

We discuss their respective career paths… their roles… and the mandates of their respective organizations that impact the lives of families, in very different… and very important ways.

We then do a deep dive into SickKids GetLoud - the signature fundraising event for the SickKids Foundation. Danielle reveals how the Foundation team reimagined the event for 2020. And Renee and Danielle share insights into Sobeys' sponsorship of the event.

We then wrap with some terrific professional development advice.

Lots of insights and a fun chat. I hope you enjoy!

And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube… or check out https://rothrevenue.com

My guests on this episode are:

Ashley Curran – Associate Vice President of Community Investment at Canadian Tire Corporation; She is responsible for driving corporate social responsibility programs which includes managing the brand and fundraising in support of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.

And Francis Dumais – Partner & Co-Founder at Elevent – a leading sponsorship marketing agency that counts Canadian Tire Corporation among it’s blue chip clients.

We discuss their respective journeys and the people who inspired them along the way.

Ashley gives insights into how Canadian Tire responded to the pandemic.

We discuss how the need for social responsibility has changed the types of discussions CTC is having with their sponsorship properties… and the way CTC’s partnerships have had to be re-engineered.

We talk about how Canadian Tire used to measure and evaluate their sponsorships… think really big Excel files… and how some innovative software tools from Elevent – with really cool names – have dramatically improved that process.

Ashley and Francis share their thoughts on trends in sponsorship/partnership marketing.

We discuss our shared love for the Olympics and Canadian Tire’s inspirational Olympic campaigns.

And, as always, we wrap with professional development advice.

I hope you enjoy!

And for more episodes of the The Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing Podcast, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube… or check out https://rothrevenue.com

The focus of this episode is Branded Content.

Now the concept of branded content is hardly new … brands like Nike and Red Bull have made it a cornerstone of their marketing plans for years. And perhaps unintentionally, they have led a subtle yet important pivot in the execution. More sponsors of branded content have bravely agreed to take a back seat… letting the story take centre stage. And ultimately, that makes the content more authentic and consumable.

That is exactly what Scotiabank did with Hockey 24, the beautifully crafted 90 minute documentary that celebrates hockey at every level… and through a diverse range of voices … across this country.

I’m joined by 2 key executives associated with the film.

Mike Tasevski – Vice President of Global Sponsorships at Scotiabank; and

Hayes Steinberg – co-owner & Chief Creative Officer at The Mark – the agency that developed the film

We discuss the genesis of the project, the sell-in the Scotiabank and the reason it was so important to the bank as an extension of their deep sponsorship of the NHL.

Mike also shares more about his mandate in one of the top sponsorship jobs in the country.

And we also discuss their respective journeys, their mentors and their professional development advice. Hayes and Mike are 2 very intelligent people with super-hi EQ. They speak purposely, passionately and eloquently.

I hope you enjoy!

The focus of this episode is Purpose-Driven Partnerships.

“10,000 Meals a Day – MLSE And Second Harvest Team Up To Feed Toronto”

That was the name of an amazing partnership with purpose spearheaded by MLSE in April. To get the backstory and deeper context around why it was - and is - so important, I am joined by…

Lori Nikkel – CEO of Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization and a global thought leader on food recovery

Mike Samardzic – Partner at XMC, one of Canada’s leading sponsorship and experiential marketing agencies

Mike Bartlett – Vice President of Community Affairs at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

MLSE does so much more for this city than operate sport & entertainment properties. They play a crucial role in times of need. Mike shares how they came up with an idea to convert the floor of Scotiabank arena into a kitchen that pumps out over 10,000 meals a day for front-line workers and the disadvantaged.

Second Harvest is a partner of MLSE and worked closely with them to distribute the meals. Lori shares eye-opening details of how big this issue is and how her organization helps those in need.

Among other services, XMC advises brands like Sobey’s on ways to maximize their sponsorships. We are seeing more brands adopt a purpose-driven mindset. Mike shares details of how Sobey’s play a key role in the food supply chain and how partnerships and sponsorships are a great way to amplify CSR platforms.

Our 40 minute chat includes a variety of great insights and even a Raptors Parade story…

I hope you enjoy.

Gavin is joined by Dr. Norm O'Reilly. Dr. O’Reilly is a professor at the University of Guelph and one of the leading scholars in the business of sports. He is co-author of the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study, now in its 14th edition. We discuss Norm's journey, the CSLS and the impact of COVID-19 on the sports and sponsorship industries.

Gavin is joined by a panel of experts - Sarah Stovold of NextWave by IMI, Ian Malcolm of Lumency and Cary Kaplan of Cosmos Sports & Entertainment - to explore the short-term impact... what the new normal may look like... how brands and properties are helping... and whether there is room for optimism right now.

Chris Overholt is President & CEO of OverActive Media Group, a global esports and entertainment enterprise with franchises in Overwatch, Call of Duty and League of Legends.

Chris’ bio reads like a master class in career management – he started with the Raptors in 1996 and then moved on to senior sales and marketing roles south of the border with the Florida Panthers and Miami Dolphins before returning to Canada to lead the Canadian Olympic Committee through a period of unprecedented growth. He now sits at the reigns of one of the most dynamic global esports organizations in the world….

Our 30-minute chat covers a variety of topics, including…

- How he transitioned from insurance sales to sports marketing

- What compelled Chris to leave the COC and join OverActive Media Group – a decision he calls the hardest of his career

- Insights into OverActive’s 8-figure partnership with Bell

- The opportunities he sees in esports

- Insights into sponsorships and partnerships he admires

- His take on trends – including 5G’s impact on mobile gaming

- And amazing professional development advice

My final episode of 2019 features Ian Malcolm - founder & CEO of Lumency, a leading sponsorship marketing agency that works with top brands like Toyota, Labatt and Telus.

Ian’s a strategic thinker who is hyper focused on value creation and continuous improvement. He is also full of insights and shares a bunch of them in this episode, including…

• The genesis of Lumency and the core values the organization lives by

• How experiential marketing and brand attitudes differ in other parts of the world

• How Budweiser’s hockey strategy in Canada took shape

• A cool story about How Bud played a part in the Jets return to Winnipeg

• Toyota’s shift to a Mobility company and how they leveraged their Olympic and Paralympic sponsorships to accelerate that shift

• Sponsorship marketing trends, including the shift back to analog experiences and changes in how brands are funding sponsorships

• Plus the benefits of working agency-side