Sponsor Talk

Today’s episode is with Ahron Cohen (Former President & CEO of the Arizona Coyotes). Ahron received a law degree from Arizona State University and worked for the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, and Snell & Wilmer, before working his way up the ranks of the Arizona Coyotes. Ahron discusses the legal challenges COVID has put on sponsorships, and how brands and properties should legally work together through the pandemic. He also gives his thoughts on pandemic insurance, and if properties should utilize this resource for the future.

Today’s episode is with Natalie Bowman (Managing Director, Marketing & Advertising for Alaska Airlines). Natalie has worked in marketing across a whole range of industries on brands like Land Rover, Nissan, Neiman Marcus, Microsoft, and now Alaska Airlines. Natalie talked to us about the changing landscape of the airline industry due to the pandemic, how her team approaches regional sponsorship deals, their newest marketing campaign built around safety and what she has learned working on multiple categories throughout her career including airline, fashion, automotive and technology.

Avish and Jason break down a special announcement about the Sponsor Talk podcast.

This week, we caught up with Alex Tunbridge (CEO, Stevenage F.C.). You might recognize the soccer team from their recent viral sponsorship campaign with Burger King. The blue-chip brand had chosen the club for a local jersey sponsorship, but with a major catch – that they would be leaning in heavily on FIFA and the world of e-sports. Fans were encouraged to bring their favorite soccer stars to play with the team through the “Stevenage F.C. Challenge” and the results were phenomenal as the club became the most used team in FIFA career mode, had over 25,000 goals shared online and their shirts sold out for the first time in history.

Today’s episode is with Brette Sadler, a graduate of the University of Miami who entered professional sports with the then expansion team Florida Panthers. After spending 12 years with the Panthers, Brette  moved to work in account management with Octagon and then soon after moved to the UFC, where she spent six years as the league's  Vice President of Global Partnerships.

Fast forward to now, Brette is leading global partnerships for MGM Resorts International overlooking revenues for one of the largest entertainment brands in the world. Outside of the role, she played an instrumental role in creating a new chapter of WISE in Las Vegas. 

Today’s conversation is with Matt Kobach, the director of Content Marketing at Fast, the world’s first one click online checkout.  

If you think that his name sounds familiar, it’s probably cause you follow him on Twitter, as he’s one of the leading minds in driving forward humorous but also thought-provoking insight on social media & marketing. He was also recently named by Adweek as one of the “Top 100 Most Inspiring Minds in Marketing, Media, and Culture”. 

Prior to his role with Fast, he was running digital and social for the New York Stock Exchange. 

We sat down with Ari Mark. who is the Senior Vice President and Head of Partnership Development at The Drone Racing League (DRL), the global, professional drone racing property. He joined DRL recently from the NFL, where he led corporate partnerships for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, home of Super Bowl LIV. Before that, Ari spent eight years in global business development for the NBA, securing sponsorships across the NBA, WNBA, G League, USA Basketball, and NBA 2K League.

In this episode, we sit down with some of the minds behind one of the biggest team and brand launches in recent sports history - the Seattle Kraken. Heidi Dettmer (Vice President, Marketing) shares insights into how the marketing plans came to life, the various aspects of the newly developed brand (including the logo, brand storyline and social persona), how fans were involved since inception and the challenge of keeping it all a secret. 

On the other hand, Jeff Webster (VP, Partnerships) shares details on how his team worked with and sold in partners on a brand that didn't exist until launch day, their non-traditional sponsorship strategy and Amazon's game-changing naming rights deal. 

As we get ready for the NBA Playoffs to begin, our latest episode of Sponsor Talk is from a conversation with Leah MacNab (Managing Director, NBA Canada).

Leah breaks down how the NBA is testing innovation through the new playoff format, her 15-year career working for one of the largest sports leagues in the world and her advice for future young professionals exploring a career in sports marketing. 

In our latest episode, our host Avish Sood chats with Matt Bruhn (President & GM) and Luke Atkinson (Chief Marketing Officer) of Pabst Brewing Co. to learn about the impact of the pandemic on the beverage alcohol industry, how consumer consumption habits are changing and how innovation is driving their brand portfolio forward.