Making the Fan

Portals: The Best Tool to Reduce Friction in Your Customer Journey

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Episode 002: David Millay (https://twitter.com/davidmillay) and Troy Campbell get into the science of anticipation, emo Jimmy Butler, AI for experiential marketing gone wrong, and how Portals help transform customers’ mindsets to enjoy your product more.

Want to talk to David? Email him at davidm@engagemintpartners.com
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Show Themes:

Humor in Marketing: Learn about the role of humor in marketing, with a nod to Fall Out Boy’s music video featuring Jimmy Butler.

Cultural Phenomena & Diverse Ideas: A deep dive into why embracing a variety of ideas is crucial for success, including an analysis of an event that didn’t quite hit the mark.

AI in Content Creation: A balanced discussion on the potential benefits and challenges AI presents in the realm of content creation, stressing the importance of human oversight for quality and creativity.

Barcelona’s Sportswear Line: A look at the concept of brands expanding into new territories, such as Barcelona creating its own sportswear.

The Psychology of Portals: Discover how “portals,” or transitional spaces, can set the stage for positive anticipation and transformative experiences.

Blending Science and Art: Troy discusses his unique approach that marries behavioral science with artistic expression, and why it’s effective in engaging audiences.

The Art of Ending - Portal Out: Emphasizing the significance of “portals out” or endings, in contexts ranging from amusement parks to American sports, and their impact on the overall experience.

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Links:
• Portals, a deep dive Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKacL15Mvdo
• Emo Jimmy Butler x Fallout Boy
• Portals, a written article - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/portals-how-better-begin-everything-troy-hiduke-campbell-jd32c/
• Willy’s Chocolate Experience - https://www.buzzfeed.com/aglover/glasgow-willy-wonka-event-explained
• Barcelona vs. Nike - https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2024/03/23/fc-barcelona-confirms-it-canceled-nike-contract-and-received-218-million-lamine-offer/?sh=45f48a2d794d

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Check Out Troy's Stuff:
• Troy's Youtube Channel, Original & Powerful Ideas, here: https://www.youtube.com/@originalandpowerfulideas
• On Your Feet (consulting): https://www.oyf.com/
• Troy’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-hiduke-campbell/
• Troy’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/campbell.troy/

Connect with Host, David Millay:
Connect w/ David Millay on LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmillay/
Follow David on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/david.millay/
Follow David Millay on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DavidMillay

The Secret Strategy Disney Uses to Create Fans

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 16:00:00 -0400

Episode 001: An introduction to the show Making the Fan w/ David Millay.

A show where we explore how brands turn casual customers into faithful fans, and employees into evangelists.

David shares his experience going through Traditions, Disney's 8-hour, new employee onboarding course, and unpacks how Disney uses Traditions to create emotional connections with employees.

This episode serves as a preview of future episodes, discussing who the show is for and the problem it seeks to solve. Helping culturally curious marketers and operators turn casual customers into faithful fans.

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Check Out David's Stuff:
• EngageMint Partners (CX consulting) - https://engagemintpartners.com/
• David’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmillay/
• David’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/david.millay/

Never Lose an Employee Again w/ Joey Coleman

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 02:00:00 -0400

Joey Coleman, one of the world's leading experts on employee experience, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to recruit top talent, bring them onboard successfully, and keep them engaged while they produce remarkable results for years to come.

Finding and keeping quality employees is one of the greatest challenges facing businesses today. With more people quitting their jobs each month than ever before and employees demanding flexibility, freedom, and advancement, companies are struggling to build a foundation with new hires that leads to long-term commitment. To effectively combat the hiring crisis and remain competitive, business owners and managers must design an employee experience program that begins on day one.

In this long-form interview, host David Millay and guest Joey unpack Joey's frameworks for retaining employees. Together, they highlight stories and principles in Joey's new book, Never Lose an Employee Again.

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00:00 Introduction
6:00 Link between Customer Experience and Employee Experience
10:30 Joey's Framework for Employee Retention
13:20 All Seven Phases Overview
20:30 Phase 1: Assess
17:40 Phase 2: Accept
35:40 Phase 3: Affirm
42:20 Phase 4: Activate
47:40 Phase 5: Acclimate
55:00 Phase 6: Accomplish
1:00:00 Phase 7: Adopt
1:11:00 Phase 8: Advocate
1:14:00 Follow Joey, Get in Touch, Buy the Book

Buy "Never Lose an Employee Again: The Simple Path to Remarkable Retention" Here:
https://a.co/d/2NJ3pcD
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SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c

Driving Change through AR, VR and Human-Centered Design w/ Steven King

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Augmented reality and virtual reality are transforming both the in-venue and at-home viewing experience. To understand how to incorporate these emerging technologies, we sat down with Steven King, founder and Chief Innovation Officer of University of North Carolina’s Blue Sky Innovation lab. King’s work is rooted in human-centered design and this episode hits on some of the latest projects coming out of the lab and how to effectively use human-centered design for brainstorming and change management.

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2:42 “Time Space” Storytelling at The Washington Post

4:32 Human-Centered Design Methodology

10:54 Testing Before Investing

12:25 Change Has to Be Exponentially Better

17:40 Bridging In-Venue and At-Home Viewing

21:36 HoloLens Headsets

25:35 The NBA is Missing the Mark on VR Viewing

30:37 Change Management and Defining Success

35:53 Leadership’s Impact on Creativity

42:14 Key Organizational Players in Driving Change

46:53 Misconceptions

48:13 Learning About New Trends

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For more information on topics covered in this episode, check out:

UNC’s Blue Sky Innovation lab: Website | LinkedIn

Connect with Steven on LinkedIn

Steven’s Go To Sources

Fortune Brainstorm Tech

Tech Crunch

On Steven’s bookshelf

The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt

Measuring Burnout and Workaholism in College Athletics w/ Matt Huml

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 12:00:00 -0500

It used to be fun to work in sports. But like so many other industries, responsibilities have increased, often demanding employees to achieve more with less. The result, according to Matt Huml, can be burnout, workaholism, disengagement, and resentment. In this episode, we dive deep into Matt's two most recent research projects: "The Effect of Remote Work on Family and Work Dynamics Within the Sport Industry;" and "From engaged worker to workaholic: a mediated model of athletic department employees".

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2:43 Behind the Research

5:45 The Razor’s Edge Between Engaged Worker vs. Workaholic

9:02 What’s Wrong with a Team of Workaholics?

13:01 The Full Financial Impact of Turnover

20:03 Improving the Recruiting Pitch for Staff

27:45 The Extreme Sacrifices

32:05 Evaluating Extreme Sacrifices on Your Team

41:09 The Radioactive Ring Around Coaches

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For more info on topics referenced in this episode:

Read the Full Versions of Matt’s research -

The Effect of Remote Work on Family and Work Dynamics in the Sports Industry

From engaged worker to workaholic: a mediated model of athletic department employees

Books highlighted -

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Hear more about the outcomes from our workshop with Penn State

Episode 96: How to Curb the Great Resignation in Your Organization

How Mentor Managers Inspire Employees to "Love it Here" w/ Clint Pulver

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0500

After more than 220 undercover interviews with 12,000 employees, Clint Pulver is known as the leading authority on employee retention. In this episode, David and Clint discuss the key attributes of mentor managing and the 5 Cs of leadership that result in employees saying, “I Love it Here.”

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2:24 The Undercover Millennial Program

5:49 Behind the Book “I Love It Here”

9:24 The 4 Types of Managers

17:36 Assessing Your Leadership - The 5 Cs

21:43 Leading Through Transitions - Status Interviews

25:43 Finding Purpose

27:56 Advocating vs. Developing

32:06 The Power of Purpose

34:46 Individual Needs vs. Organizational Needs

42:28 To Don’t Lists

44:23 Be A Mr. Jensen

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To connect with Clint Pulver, check out his website or follow him on social:

ClintPulver.com | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube

Read Clint’s book I Love It Here

For more leadership resources, check out Clint’s masterclass

Influencing the Guest Experience from the Frontlines w/ Vanessa Ward

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 16:00:00 -0500

In this episode, David Millay sits down with Vanessa Ward, Vice President of Event Service for the Phoenix Suns. Before joining the Suns, Vanessa spent time at Disney, launching the Guest Experience Center, and the Chicago Cubs, overseeing the Guest and Associate Experience. Understanding that the employee experience directly impacts the guest experience, Vanessa shares tactics on communicating significant changes from event to event, making events unique for the staff and how to develop niche service programs.

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3:17 Takeaways and Key Learnings from Disney

6:09 The Service Recovery Toolkit

10:42 Building a New Service Recovery Toolkit

13:25 Disney’s Guest Experience Center and Proactively Resolving Issues

20:17 Customer Satisfaction Surveys

25:50 Newsletters and Themes to Drive the Seasonal Employee Experience

33:53 Making Events in a Series Unique

39:17 “Know Before You Go” Communications

43:12 Building a Niche Service Operation

49:15 Training Throughout the Season

52:21 Taking Risks

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Other podcasts referenced in this episode:

Episode 35: Personalizing the Guest Experience w/ Brian Betts (Disney’s Guest Experience Center)

Connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn or email

Developing Personal Brands to Build Bigger Communities w/ Preston McClellan

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0500

He’s considered a bit of a social media ‘OG’. For seven years, Preston guided players on the PGA Tour to create their own brands and communities, an effort that grew the greater PGA audience from 20 million to 60 million followers in 5 years. Now, as a co-founder of Golf Space Collective, Preston and his team guides golf properties on all things digital.

This episode hits on why building a personal brand is important, the impact that personal brand has on team and league brands or any business and why human connection is critical to form a community over an audience.

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2:50 A Social Media OG, @Preston

4:33 Launching Memphis Athletics accounts

6:56 Building a Following on the PGA Tour

9:31 The Incentive to Building Player Brands

13:09 Growing Players’ Social Media Game

16:16 Putting Emphasis on Human Connection and Personal Brands

21:28 Frameworks for Personal Branding - Just Get Started

29:07 Audience vs. Community and Creating Brand Advocates

35:05 Connecting with Younger Fan Bases

38:24 The Netflix Impact & ‘First Swing’

44:38 Showing Human Emotion and Personality

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For more information on the topics covered in this episode:

Netflix “First Swing” trailer

Justin Welsh’s LinkedIn course

Golf Space Collective

GSC Instagram

To connect with Preston:

Twitter | LinkedIn | Email

Storytelling and the Science of Cool (Part 2) w/ Troy Campbell

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In the second half of this two-part episode, we’re diving into why Disney uses portals, the principles of meta-modernism and why something is “cool” with Dr. Troy Campbell. Campbell is the Chief Scientist at On Your Feet and his research and career has centered around the intersection of scientific minds and artistic hearts and how to create and capture original and powerful ideas and make amazing things.

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3:29 The Importance of “Portals”

11:19 The Science of “Cool”

18:12 How to Break the Norm

23:01 Meta-Modernism

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To learn more about Troy’s research on the intersection of Scientific Mind, Artistic Heart, check out:

Troy-Campbell.com

Start with Science - Netflix

Team Science: Building Better Science Activists with Insights from Disney, Marketing, and Psychological Research

Check out other topics referenced in this episode:

Metamodernist Manifesto by Luke Turner

Storytelling and the Science of Cool (Part 1) w/ Troy Campbell

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0500

In the first of this two-part episode with Dr. Troy Campbell, we’re breaking down the principles behind storytelling and what makes something “cool.” Campbell is the Chief Scientist at On Your Feet and his research and career has centered around the intersection of scientific minds and artistic hearts and how to create and capture original and powerful ideas and make amazing things. Part one hits on why Nike ads are simple to make and how brands like Disney borrow stories.

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3:52 Troy’s Career Thesis: “Scientific Mind & Artistic Heart”

6:11 Marvel Isn’t Appealing to Everyone

10:19 Egocentrism

14:04 Nike Ads are Simple to Make

16:58 Borrowing Stories From Others

22:50 Multi-Narrative Storytelling

25:46 Defining Your Story to Tell Multi-Narrative Stories

31:20 The Destiny Narrative

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To learn more about Troy’s research on the intersection of Scientific Mind, Artistic Heart, check out:

Troy-Campbell.com

Start with Science - Netflix

Team Science: Building Better Science Activists with Insights from Disney, Marketing, and Psychological Research

Discovering the STORY Behind Superfandom

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Previously on Flip the Switch, Brittany Hodak shared her ‘SUPER’ framework that brands can leverage to increase loyalty and fandom. With her new book, Creating Superfans coming out today (January 10), David Millay welcomes Brittany back to the show to discuss new frameworks and models that small businesses and global brands everywhere can implement to convert customers and employees into superfans.

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2:29 Creating Superfans Podcast

6:53 SUPER Framework Overview

9:57 Ladder to Superfandom (Customer Apathy)

19:57 STORY framework

25:04 Getting to Know Your Customer’s Story

28:13 Digging into Customer Struggles

30:42 Pitching the Transformation

33:41 Simplifying Journey Maps

41:05 Measuring the Customer Experience (CSAT and EgR)

45:18 Prioritizing the Employee Experience

48:20 The Platinum Rule

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For more from Brittany on Creating Superfans, check out:

BrittanyHodak.com

Purchase Creating Superfans: How To Turn Your Customers Into Lifelong Advocates

Listen to the Creating Superfans Podcast

Subscribe to the Creating Superfans newsletter

Brittany's Twitter | LinkedIn

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Listen to Brittany’s previous appearance:

Episode 66: Cultivating SUPER Fans

Finding Purpose and Building a Community w/ Gina Bianchini

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 12:00:00 -0500

When it comes to identifying your purpose or purposes, it’s all about having a clear intention for your time, your talents, your energy and your focus. What makes you happy. But more importantly, it’s about turning your purpose or purposes into something actionable and making them matter. After helping thousands find their purpose through her companies Ning and Mighty and her Community Design course, CEO and Founder of Mighty Networks Gina Bianchini joins the show to discuss the frameworks to finding purpose and manifesting it as a future story from her new book, Purpose: Design A Community & Change Your Life.

4:04 What is Purpose?

10:01 Key Insights Around Purpose

14:53 The Purpose 30 Challenge

21:58 The Intersection of Purpose and Community

27:00 How to Host a Community

33:46 Design and Scale Culture, Not Just Community or Content

37:15 Manifesting Your Future Story

43:31 Identifying Ideal Community Members

49:37 5 Elements of Community Design

56:59 Building Community within an Existing Audience

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For more on topics covered in this episode:

To purchase Purpose: Design a Community & Change Your Life, check out Purpose.co

Connect with Gina via email | Twitter | LinkedIn

Other books referenced

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

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Join the Sports Learning Online community

Secrets to Success in Customer Service and Company Culture w/ Dennis Snow

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Following a 20-year career at Disney, Dennis Snow identified 10 key lessons that all organizations could follow to achieve the same success in customer service and company culture. Since leaving the magic, Dennis has spent the last 23 years inspiring organizations on how to adapt those 10 lessons and apply the core service principles to their operation.

In this episode, we unpack the lessons from his two books, “Lessons from the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World's Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life” and “Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service”.

Show Notes

3:40 More Than a Summer Job

6:56 Empowering the Magic

10:33 Lessons from the Mouse

12:40 Everyone Has a Customer

13:35 Don’t Be a Customer Service Robot

19:14 Figure Out What Ticks Off Your Customers

28:01 Language Matters

35:04 Hiring vs. Coaching Empathy

37:41 Unleashing Excellence and the Service Improvement Team

41:29 Internal Improvements vs. External Training

44:38 Accountability

48:03 Drafting Job Descriptions

50:58 Onboarding and “Brag worthy” First Days

59:11 Define What the Experience Should Be

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For more information on topics covered in this episode:

Connect with Dennis

Snow Associates | Email

Dennis’ books

Lessons From the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World's Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life

Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service

Bringing Greater Hospitality to the Ballpark w/ Eric Weisberg

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0500

The baseball business is a relationship business and has the same core values as any other hospitality industry. It’s a practice that Eric Weisberg preaches as the Vice President of Fan Experience. In this episode, Eric discusses the influences roles with Disney and the Kansas City Zoo has on his career in baseball, his “Fan Host for a Day” program and how to show up for a job in the sports industry.

Show Notes

3:43 Eric’s Career Journey to Tampa

11:09 Hiring for Skill Sets over Industry Experience

13:44 Fan Host for a Day

21:02 From Negative Experience to Brand Ambassador

26:45 Reviewing the Savannah Bananas

32:12 The Tech Driving the Future MLB Fan Experience

34:27 The Effect of Promotions and Theme Days

43:07 Influencing the Fan Experience Vision Across Departments

45:45 The Best Fan Experience: Naturalization Ceremony

48:46 Breaking Into the Industry

55:46 Parting Advice: Place Emphasis on the Staff

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Connect with Eric via email

Join Sports Learning Online - a cross-functional community of sports business professionals coming together to share best practices and foster professional development.

How to Intentionally Serve Your Premium Clients w/ Lisa Holladay

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we’re joined by Lisa Holladay, Chief Experience Officer at Tiger 21, a high wealth membership organization. Lisa has spent her career in service hospitality, with stops at Mercedes-Benz and Ritz-Carlton. By viewing customers as owners, guests or members, each of these brands have created more personal relationships, resulting in more memorable experiences.

We break down the principles that make these brands synonymous with guest experience, from their customer framework to the strategies that empower staff, encourage trust and enable transparency within the memberships.

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Show Notes

3:12 Lisa’s Career “Homes”

6:00 Guests vs. Owners vs. Members

8:09 From Rational to Emotional Purchases

9:47 What is Tiger 21?

15:18 It’s the Little Things That Matter

20:38 Curating Trust and Transparency in Community

26:28 KPIs to Building a Successful Community

29:30 Recognizing Loyalty

34:16 Joshie the Giraffe and Empowering Staff

40:00 The Value of Kudos

41:28 Linking Experience to Brand Promise

46:35 Hot Take: Don't Fake It ‘til You Make It

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For more on topics covered in this episode:

Tiger21

Ritz-Carlton and Joshie the Giraffe

Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn or Instagram

Cultivating Meaningful Conversations Through Social w/ Brooke Sellas

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In today’s episode, David Millay and Katie Rudy are joined by Brooke Sellas, Digital Customer Experience Specialist and CEO of B Squared Media. With more than 15 years of marketing experience and 10 in social media management, Brooke recently authored a new book, "Conversations That Connect." We dive into several tactics and strategies from the book, demonstrating the value of social media listening to connect with, converse with and convert customers.

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Show Notes

2:52 The CF Community Bar Crawl

7:12 Social Penetration Theory

8:52 Social Cliches

10:40 Getting and Giving Opinions

13:55 Sharing Brand Feelings

18:06 Embracing AI in Marketing

19:13 Demonstrating Brand Values and Personality

29:03 Conversations That Connect

31:07 Digital Customer Journey Flywheel

34:11 Attribution Models

35:31 Social Led Customer Care and Social Media Listening

40:38 Preparing for Primarily Social Media Customer Service

45:10 SEO is not dead

46:36 Acquiring New Customers through Social Listening

50:27 Social Media Manager Role Clarity

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For more information on the topics that we covered today:

Read Conversations That Connect

Check out Brooke’s work at BSquared.Media

Follow Brooke on Twitter or LinkedIn

Inspiring Impactful Change w/ Guido D'Elia

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0400

To orchestrate a compelling game day experience for all fans requires thinking more like a play caller, an offensive coordinator, rather than simply directing a run of show. In this episode, David Millay and Katie Rudy sit down with Guido D’Elia, a consultant in strategic communications and college athletics game day experience. As Penn State’s Director of Football Branding and Communications, Guido was the mastermind behind the “Penn State Whiteout”, an experiment that has resulted in one of the greatest game day experiences in college football. Through insights from the Whiteout, we unpack how to deeper engage your fans and strategies for successful change management.

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Show Notes

3:47 “Offensive Coordinator” Show Calling

8:33 The Need for the Whiteout

11:30 Selling before Social Media

13:48 Communicating the Vision & Benefits in Change Management

18:26 Expanding the Whiteout Stadium-wide

20:45 Holding Back on Change

23:11 Applying the ‘Playbook’

29:11 Combating Falling Attendance Numbers

32:56 The Pain Points in the Fan Experience

37:32 The Impact of Parking

40:19 Making the Perimeter Something That Happens

45:09 Perfecting the Current Experience

47:55 The Ramp Up to Kickoff

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For more information on topics covered in this episode:

ESPN College Game Day feature: The Origin of Penn State’s Whiteout

America’s favorite family outings are increasingly out of reach

GConsultsU.com

How to Incite Loyalty and Increase Customer Retention w/ Ed Frame

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0400

It’s 5x cheaper to retain an existing customer than acquire a new one and increasing retention by 5% can increase profits by 25 - 95%. Yet so many companies still prioritize customer acquisition over retention. In this episode, David Millay and Katie Rudy sit down with Ed Frame, CEO and Founder of Exemplify CX and discuss his 7-phase approach to Customer Longevity, converting buyers into repeat customers and brand advocates.

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Show Notes

2:35 About Exemplify and the Retention Funnel

3:59 Working Backwards - The Ideal Customer Experience

7:49 The 7 Phases of Customer Retention

11:32 Solving a Problem - Known and Unknown

16:15 Creating a Tangible “Unboxing” for Experiences

20:43 Overcoming Buyers’ Remorse

23:42 Giving Customers More

25:49 Driving Customer Loyalty

29:19 Inciting Loyalty through Social Media

32:45 The Cost of Retention vs. Acquisition

38:28 Cultivating Brand Advocates

41:08 The Value of Service Recovery

43:43 Hot Takes

46:30 Parting Advice

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For more info on topics covered in this episode:

Connect with Ed on LinkedIn

Learn more about Exemplify | 7 Steps to Customer Longevity

The Simple Science Behind Successful Marketing Strategies w/ Phill Agnew

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Today’s guest is Phill Agnew, a senior product marketing manager at Buffer. After struggling as a marketer in his early career, Phill discovered behavioral science and started applying psychology principles to improve his work. From distinctiveness, social proof, primacy effect and framing, Phill developed the Science of Marketing course and The Nudge Marketing Podcast to help others understand how to boost their marketing strategy.

This episode explores key strategies to apply in each of the sales funnel phases - awareness, consideration, acquisition and retention.

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Show Notes

2:42 Breaking Down the Nudge Marketing Podcast

5:08 The Framework to the Science of Marketing Course

6:58 Awareness and Countering the Sea of Sameness

13:23 Consideration and Social Proof

16:37 The Scarcity Impact

23:19 Reciprocation in Acquisition

31:59 Choice Overload and Simplifying Decision-Making

39:19 The Pratfall Effect and Highlighting Your Flaws

47:30 The Replication Crisis

49:57 Phill’s Parting Advice on Consumer Psychology

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For more on topics covered in this episode:

Follow Phill on Twitter | LinkedIn

Subscribe to the Nudge Podcast

Subscribe to Phill’s Newsletter

Check out The Science of Marketing course

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Dr. Robert Chaldini - Influence at Work

Pret a Manger’s “Random Acts of Kindness”

Sweden’s Speed Camera Lottery

@ShitLondonGuinness

Reframing Retreats & Resetting Your Operation w/ David Millay and Katie Rudy

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In the daily grind, it’s hard to find time to work on the business when you are working in the business.

Staff retreats offer teams the opportunity to reset, reframe the operation and define goals for a new chapter.

In this episode, David Millay and Katie Rudy break down approaches to team retreats and key activities to include to break the cycle and improve your operation.

We cover:

Defining goals of the retreats
Establishing success metrics
Evaluating realities of your industry
The role of a facilitator

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To find out how we can help you reframe your staff retreat and set a new path for the year, email David or Katie for a free strategy call.

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Other topics referenced in this episode:

Greg McKeown: Where You Learned to Handle Conflict

The Parallels Between Rabid Fandoms and Religions w/ Jodi Eichler-Levine

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Taking a non-traditional exploration of fandom, today’s episode features Jodi Eichler-Levine, who studies the parallels between classic religions and fan cultures. After learning of Jodi's research from her a Twitter-trending analysis on “Disney adults” or “Disney-files”, David and Jodi take a deeper dive into the principles that Disney has utilized to create evangelists of their brand and the strategies and tactics brands can adapt to their organization to inspire their own fanatics.

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Show Notes

3:52 The Foundation of Jodi’s Research

6:00 The 3 Parallels

7:28 Story

12:11 Core Memories with Disney

14:41 Transitioning Into the Story Through Theme Parks

16:00 Ritual

19:43 Creating an Environment for Individual Rituals

22:41 The Emotions of Being a Fan

25:56 Merchandise and Souvenirs as an Amulet

30:20 Community and Collective Effervescence

33:07 Creating a Environment for Community

34:33 The Magic in runDisney Races

46:52 The Diversity of Disney Fans

49:39 Journeying to Marceline, Missouri, Walt Disney’s hometown

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For more information on the topics covered in this episode:

Follow Jodi on Twitter and check out her website

Once Upon a Time - the Twitter thread that started it all

“The Gospel According to Disney” by Mark Pinsky

Disney Pin trading

What Drives Customers to Buy w/ Katelyn Bourgoin

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Before the “driveway to driveway” customer journey begins, there’s the whole buying process. What prompted the customer to consider your brand, product or service? What motivated them to complete the purchase?

This week, we’re jumping into the psychology behind why people buy with Katelyn Bourgoin, CEO of Customer Camp. Katelyn and David hit on the journey before the journey, the four key trigger events that lead to purchases and solutions companies have created by truly listening to their customers.

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Show Notes

0:00 Introduction

2:30 The Golden Nugget - Review Mining

5:54 Customer Camp Background

8:55 Marketing Takeaways from an Old School Alarm

14:21 Building Trust with New Customers

17:54 Creating “Instagrammable” moments

20:33 The Trigger Events

28:47 Understanding Who Customers Are and What They Want

35:34 Targeting Customers on Jobs to be Done

45:13 The Biggest Misunderstanding - We Aren’t Rational

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For more information on topics covered in this podcast:

CustomerCamp.co

Follow Katelyn on Twitter and subscribe to her newsletter

Clay Christensen | The Theory of Jobs to be Done

Other Flip the Switch podcasts referenced -

Ep. 115: How the Savannah Bananas Create the ‘Greatest Show Possible’ w/ Jesse Cole

The 5 Key Elements Impacting Powerful Customer Experiences w/ Elizabeth Dixon

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0400

To design a first-class customer experience, it starts with the mindset, the stories we’re telling ourselves internally and the framework for how we’re viewing the world and aligning it with what we want to create for people around us.

In this episode, David sits down with Elizabeth Dixon, entrepreneur and business leader at Elizabeth Dixon Speaks. Elizabeth has worked for or alongside several customer-centric organizations, including her current role of Principal Lead of Strategy, Hospitality and Service Design at Chick-fil-A corporate. Combining best practices and insights from her career, Elizabeth shares the 5 key elements of a great customer experience.

From mindset, we discuss the differences between service and hospitality, customer clarity, defining what makes your organization unique and innovating to meet customer needs.

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Show Notes

3:27 Applying Strategy and Design to CX

5:03 5 Key Elements of Great Customer Experience

6:52 Elizabeth’s Career Path through Chick-fil-A

7:53 The Difference Between Service and Hospitality

15:09 Choosing Your Mindset

22:15 Recovery Situations and Broken Processes

26:15 Disney and Ritz-Carlton’s Service Recovery systems

29:55 Create Your Culture

35:19 Know Your Customer

40:24 Define Your Differentiator

43:20 Pursue Innovation

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For more info on the topics covered in this episode, check out:

ElizabethDixonSpeaks.com

Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram or LinkedIn

The Power of Customer Experience: 5 Elements to Make an Impact

A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger

How the Savannah Bananas Create the 'Greatest Show Possible' w/ Jesse Cole

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Our first three-peat on the show, we welcome back Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas. In previous episodes, David and Jesse have jammed and brainstormed, but in this show, we unpack the Bananas’ 5-E-Framework that has propelled their Fans First model into a global phenomenon. What the Bananas lack in detailed processes and metrics, they make up for in intentionality, in-depth knowledge of their product and fans and the impression they leave through every step of the in-person and virtual experience.

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Show Notes

4:04 Fans First: The Savannah Bananas Story

5:08 Capturing the World’s Attention

10:47 Balancing Attention and Intention

12:49 The 5 E Framework

13:16 Eliminate Friction - What Hurts the Most

20:01 Make the Small Bets

21:52 Entertain Always - How You View Things is How You Do Things

23:43 The Last Impression

29:34 Experiment Constantly

33:11 Collecting Data and Feedback

35:48 Undercover Fans

38:11 Engage Deeply

45:19 Empowering Action

49:23 “The First Fan is Yourself”

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Want more from Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas?

Books:
Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience
Find Your Yellow Tux: How to Be Successful By Standing Out

Connect with Jesse: Twitter | LinkedIn

FindYourYellowTux.com | Business Done Differently Podcast

Follow the Savannah Bananas: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

Check out Jesse’s other appearances on Flip the Switch:

Episode 14: Fans First

Episode 44: A Culture of Experimentation and Innovation

Creating a More Captivating Customer Service Training w/ David Millay and Katie Rudy

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Customer service training shouldn't be something you have to do, but something you get to do, to empower the event staffs that serve your fans and represent your brand.

In this episode, David Millay and Katie Rudy break down the the key components, resources and best practices to running a more captivating training.

We cover:

In-person vs. virtual formats
Training mindsets
Inspirational vs. instructional content
Who should be invited and ideal activities for different sized-groups

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Inspired to transform your training? Get started with this event staff service training toolkit, chock full of the components to include, event checklists and email templates.

The Building Blocks of LEGO's Content & Fandom Strategy w/ James Gregson

Mon, 23 May 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Similar to the passion fans have for Disney, young kids and adults alike have deep emotional connections with LEGO. In this week’s episode, James Gregson, creative director for LEGO Group’s internal creative agency, breaks down the content strategies that elicits that fandom and helps “inspire the builders of tomorrow.”

The conversation covers the product partnerships and user-generated content that LEGO utilizes to strengthen relationships and bring new fans into the ecosystem and the creative process James’ team employs to build campaigns.

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Show Notes

2:34 From Social Strategy to Full Content Strategy

5:37 Creating Impactful Content

8:20 Designing Content for Niche Audiences

10:07 Using Content to Attract New Fans

16:02 Defining Success in Campaigns

20:05 Campaigns with Unexpected Results

24:30 Encouraging Play within Adults

28:07 Crowdsourcing New Product Ideas

33:17 Creator and Influencer Partnerships

37:50 LEGO’s Brainstorming Process

45:18 Parting Advice

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For more on topics covered in this episode:

View LEGO Content on Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | LEGO Ideas

LEGO Fans’ Product Ideas

LEGO Collaborations: Target | Adidas All-Star

Carolina Panthers’ 2022 Schedule Release

Episode 105: Storytelling and Personifying a Brand Voice w/ Amie Kiehn

Connect with James on Twitter and LinkedIn

How to Become Customer-Centric vs. Customer-Focused w/ Annette Franz

Mon, 16 May 2022 09:00:00 -0400

The terms “customer-focused” and “customer-centric” are often used interchangeably, but there are distinct differences from how an organization is culturally structured to how they serve their customers.

In this week’s episode, Annette Franz joins David Millay to discuss her latest book, “Built to Win: Designing a Customer-Centric Culture that Drives Value for Your Business” and the 10 principles to become a more customer-centric organization.

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Show Notes

2:20 Customer-Focused vs. Customer-Centric Organizations

4:37 Where Customer-Focused Organizations Fall Short

8:05 Making the Flip to Being Customer-Centric

13:35 The 10 Principles of Customer-Centric Organizations

22:12 Emphasizing Principle 1: Culture is the foundation (core values + behaviors)

27:06 Emphasizing Principle 2: Leadership commitment and alignment are critical to success

31:46 Emphasizing Principle 3: Employee experience - employees must be put more first

35:15 The Importance of Servant Leadership

40:57 Aligning Product Offerings with Customer Wants - What Problem Are You Solving?

45:33 Customer Acquisition vs. Customer Retention and NPS

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For more on the topics we covered in today’s episode:

Check out Annette’s books -

Customer Understanding: Three Ways to Put the "Customer" in Customer Experience (and at the Heart of Your Business)

Built to Win: Designing a Customer-Centric Culture that Drives Value for Your Business

From Built to Win - 10 Principles That Ensure Customer-Centricity

Culture is the foundation (core values + behaviors)
Leadership commitment and alignment are critical to success.
Employee experience: employees must be put more first
People come before products.
People come before profits.
People come before metrics.
Customer understanding is the cornerstone.
Governance bridges organizational gaps.
Outside-in thinking and doing vs. inside-out thinking and doing are core.
The Platinum Rule over the Golden Rule. Dr. Tony Alessandra’s Platinum Rule Concept - Treat others the way they want to be treated.

Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman

Driving Deeper Engagement Through Digital Activations (Part Two) w/ Nick Lawson

Mon, 09 May 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Nick Lawson, Co-Founder and CEO of SQWAD rejoins the podcast to discuss the current state of the digital space, sponsorship activations and fan engagement. With much to cover, we split this conversation into two episodes. Listen to the first episode here.

In part two, we jump back into the conversation with David Millay and Nick discussing the problems with sponsorship and the deep dive that SQWAD has done to solve them. This episode features strategies and tactics to help organizations and sponsors develop successful campaigns that meet the four steps of awareness, engagement, action and retargeting.

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Show Notes

0:00 Introduction

2:00 The Problems with Sponsorship

6:34 Best Practices in Sponsorship Retargeting

16:02 Cracking YouTube for Views

21:33 Building Fans Through YouTube Highlights

24:36 Engaging Sponsors in NFTs

30:24 Repurposing Stadiums into Digital Playgrounds

34:16 Connecting with Fans Outside of the Stands

37:34 Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality

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For more info on the topics covered in this episode:

Nick’s Other Flip the Switch Appearances -
Episode 17: Sponsorship that Engages, Not Distracts

Episode 110: Driving Deeper Engagement Through Digital Activations (Part One) w/ Nick Lawson

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Episode 27: Merging Physical & Digital Worlds w/ Javier Martinez Garcia

SQWAD | Twitter | LinkedIn

Reimagined Football Challenge

Dunkin’ Coffee Race

Connect with Nick on Twitter or LinkedIn

Driving Deeper Engagement Through Digital Activations (Part One) w/ Nick Lawson

Thu, 05 May 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Nick Lawson, Co-Founder and CEO of SQWAD, joined David Millay on Flip the Switch on March 1, 2020 to discuss the role of digital activations in sports sponsorship. Just two weeks after, that episode became a playbook as sports leagues and teams turned to digital and virtual platforms to engage brands and fans throughout the pandemic.

Two years later, we invited Nick back to discuss the current state of the digital space, sponsorship activations and fan engagement. With much to cover, we split this conversation into two episodes.

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Show Notes

0:00 Introduction

4:30 “Reimagine Football” Challenge Win

7:09 SQWAD’s FanTile Activation Tool

14:47 The Context of Sponsorship - Goodwill vs. Efficiency

22:42 In-Venue Promotions and the Overall Fan Experience

28:47 Ads and Sponsorship That Resonates

41:03 Identifying the Sponsors’ Goals

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For more info on the topics covered in this episode:

Nick’s First Appearance - Episode 17: Sponsorship that Engages, Not Distracts

SQWAD | Twitter | LinkedIn

Reimagined Football Challenge

Dunkin’ Coffee Race

Connect with Nick on Twitter or LinkedIn

Aligning Strategy, Culture and Leadership w/ Len Perna

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In today’s episode, David is joined by Len Perna, Chairman and CEO of TurnkeyZRG. Having managed more than 1,400 executive searches, from coaches to middle management to executive leaders, Len shares how his talent advisory firm aligns clients on strategy and cultural fit with the current marketplace, the key attributes they look for in leaders and the “Moneyball” methodology they use to evaluate candidates.

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Show Notes

2:54 Evolution of TurnkeyZRG

5:02 Solving People Problems

6:55 Integrating a New Leader in the Culture

9:14 Identifying Candidates to Fit Future Cultures

10:36 The Key Leadership Attribute: Self-Awareness

16:23 Importance of Role Clarity

20:42 Hiring Internal vs. External Candidates

23:31 Evolving Leadership Skill Sets

27:09 Executive Search Interview Structure

32:40 A Placement That Didn’t Work

36:23 Making Calculated Out-of-the-Box Hires

40:48 Building the Future Front Office / Athletic Department

44:39 Capturing TurnkeyZRG’s Attention During Searches

48:00 Len’s Parting Advice

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For more on topics covered during this episode:

TurnkeyZRG
MarketCast
Brimstone Consulting
Walking the Talk | 6 Archetypes of Culture

Connect with Len via email

The Core Principles Driving Employee Motivation w/ Dr. Scott Rigby

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 07:00:00 -0400

Salary increases and rewards have their place, but to inspire connection and tenure with your employees requires more. In this episode, David Millay and Dr. Scott Rigby, Founder and CEO of Immersyve and MotivationWorks, dive into self-determination theory, employees’ three basic needs and the obstacles employers must overcome to motivate their teams long-term.

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Show Notes

2:41 Background on Immersyve

4:35 Self-Determination Theory

6:33 Motivation Myths

10:00 The Need to Believe

14:12 The Need to Belong

15:21 The Need to Succeed

17:10 Connecting Purpose to Individual Tasks

22:34 Obstacles to Creating a Space of Belonging

28:49 Overcoming Challenges to Succeed

30:53 Promotions vs. Skill Growth

33:38 The Fundamental Shift in Employee Engagement

38:59 Motivating Employees Working Remotely

42:09 “ROW” Workplaces

44:03 Countering Arguments Against Reward Structures

47:32 Rewards vs. Recognition

51:15 Scott’s Billboard

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For more information on the topics covered in this episode:

Immersyve

How to Stop Engagement Benchmarks from Hurting Employee Engagement

Think Like Amazon: 50 1/2 Ideas to Become a Digital Leader by John Rossman

Connect with Scott via email or on LinkedIn | Twitter

Harnessing the True Power of Community in Your Fanbase w/ Christina Garnett

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 07:00:00 -0400

The power of community emerges when companies embrace the directional relationship members form not just with their brand, but with other members. In this episode, Christina Garnett, senior marketing manager for offline community and advocacy at HubSpot, joins David to talk about the magic of tapping into common passions and making your fans the hero of the story.

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Show Notes

2:21 Community vs. Audience

4:47 The Road to HubSpot

8:59 Gleaning Community Insights from Gary V

11:54 Bored Ape’s Country Club

13:59 The HubFans Community

15:20 The Hierarchy of Community Needs

18:44 Showing Raw Emotions

24:29 Categorizing and Rewarding HubSpot Fans

27:38 HubSpot Inbound Correspondents

31:48 Turning Internal Needs into External Opportunities

35:26 Bringing Your Fans Closer

39:41 Magic of Social Listening

43:14 The Little Moments That Matter

44:14 Ask Your Fans What They Want

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For more about topics covered in this episode:

HubSpot CRM Platform

HubFans: HubSpot’s Advocacy Program

Christina’s Hierarchy of Community Needs

Connect with Christina on Twitter

Forging a Non-Traditional Career Path w/ Paul Millerd

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In the last two years, individuals have challenged the traditional scripts of career paths, a factor contributing to the Great Resignation. On today’s episode, we sit down with Paul Millerd, a solopreneur and author of “The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life.” Since leaving his corporate consulting career, Paul has studied the concepts behind burnout, work-life balance and the economic impact on the current job market.

This episode provides insight to employees willing to leave full-time jobs to explore and experiment and how you might be able to retain them and increase their value to your organization.

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Show Notes

3:02 Background to “The Pathless Path”

4:41 Wonder vs. Comfort

8:22 Conquering Fears

10:00 The Economic Reasons Why “It’s Not Worth It”

14:06 What is Work?

17:39 The True Cause of Burnout

21:06 Purpose is Personal

26:19 Defining “Enough”

31:10 The “Script of Success”

33:09 Defining Success in Creative Work

38:08 Rewriting the Script as Leaders

42:39 Defining Output

44:44 Paul’s Billboard

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For more on the topics we covered in this episode:

Learn more about Paul’s journey and research -

Book: The Pathless Path

Podcast: Reimagine Work

Writing: Think Boundless

Connect with Paul on LinkedIn or Twitter

Google’s 80/20 rule

Storytelling and Personifying a Brand Voice w/ Amie Kiehn

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 07:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we are joined by Amie Kiehn, Social Leader and Head of Community for Gondola. During Amie’s time with the Carolina Panthers, she cultivated a brand personality across their social media platforms with a voice known for its wit and snark. Rather than just focusing on events, Amie and her team connected with fans by listening to the community and experimenting with creative content and comments on other viral posts.

We cover everything from brand personas, content calendars (or lack thereof), understanding the creative process and "work-life balance."

Show Notes

3:56 Punking Her Way Into Social Media

8:31 Humanizing the Panthers’ Social Voice

13:16 Prioritizing Social Content and Saying No

17:15 What Content Calendar?

19:49 Just Try It!

32:43 Misunderstood Aspects of the Creative World

35:08 Content Creators are Your Brand Ambassadors

40:28 That Elusive “Work-Life Balance”

46:32 Parting Advice: Managing Creatives

For more on info on topics covered in this show:

Carolina Panthers social media (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok)

Gondola - Show Off the Content You Make

Connect with Amie on Twitter | LinkedIn

Shout out to Neil Larson, Detroit Lions (Twitter | LinkedIn)

Moving to a 32-Hour Work Week w/ Josh Foreman

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 07:00:00 -0500

It’s not every day we are turning to global debt collection companies for inspiration. Today’s episode features InDebted CEO Josh Foreman. Josh had a vision for creating a customer-centric debt collection agency and the organization has more than 2,000 5-star reviews on Google. While we dig into some of the strategies and tactics that led to those reviews, this conversation largely focuses on the employee experience. In September 2021, InDebted moved to a 4-day, 32-hour work week. We provide a full roadmap for implementing the asynchronous work schedule in your organization.

Show Notes

2:51 Background on InDebted

4:39 Meeting Your Customers Where They Are

5:52 Staying Up on Consumer Trends

7:23 Giving a Debt Collector Positive Reviews?

9:38 Leveraging Technology to Deliver Customer Service

11:42 Differentiating InDebted’s Employee Experience

14:15 Piloting the 32-Hour Work Week

16:37 Countering the “Decreased Productivity” Argument

18:39 Setting Company Goals

21:43 Asynchronous Work

24:24 Balancing 32 Hours and Getting the Job Done

28:21 Pulse Checks

33:14 The Great Attraction

37:47 Remote Working Stipends

42:41 Parting Advice

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For more information on topics covered in this episode:

About InDebted

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn

Loom: Async Video Messaging

Learning to Lead Like Amazon w/ John Rossman

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 07:00:00 -0500

To become the digital leader and business disruptor Amazon is today, the company has firmly operated on 14 leadership principles. First and foremost, they are driven by customer obsession.

This week, we are joined by John Rossman, managing partner of Rossman Partners, author and keynote speaker. John spent nearly four years as an Amazon executive, responsible for launching and scaling the merchant integration team and Amazon Marketplace business, which accounts for more than 50% of all units sold on Amazon.com. Since leaving, he has helped organizations understand the strategies and core principles that propelled Amazon to success.

Before you think “this isn’t applicable, I don’t have Amazon’s staff or budget", the tangible tactics can be applied to help businesses of all sizes excel.

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Show Notes:

2:44 Background to John’s Books

6:02 Debunking the “I’m Not Amazon” myth

9:14 5 Primary Lenses to Apply Digital Frameworks

12:09 Speed vs. Agility

14:44 Applying Amazon’s Leadership Principles to Decision Making

17:33 Customer Obsession

18:09 Are Right, A Lot

20:18 One-Way Doors vs. Two-Way Doors

21:12 Have a Backbone, Disagree and Commit

24:04 “Best Customer Service is No Customer Service”

28:55 The Empty Chair at the Table

32:21 Amazon Prime is a Loyalty Program that Doesn’t Feel Like One

34:49 Dive Deep

38:48 Amazon’s Annual Planning Process

43:55 Achievable vs. Stretch Goals

45:09 Deliver Results

46:33 Uncontrollable Outputs vs. Controllable Inputs

49:21 Objectives and Key Results

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For more info on topics covered in this episode:

John’s Books

The Amazon Way on IoT: 10 Principles for Every Leader from the World's Leading Internet of Things Strategies

Think Like Amazon: 50 ½ Ideas to Become a Digital Leader

The Amazon Way: Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles

Subscribe to John’s newsletter -

The Best Lessons We Learned in 100 Podcasts w/ David Millay and Katie Rudy

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Recently, we hit 100 episodes of Flip the Switch. In this bonus edition, David Millay and Katie Rudy issue superlative awards to their favorite takeaways and break down the trends, experiments, and leadership lessons that have influenced their work with EngageMint.

*We’re a little off on some numbers in the episode but we have them all linked here*

Most Fun:

Jesse Cole - Ep. 14 Fans First | Ep. 44 A Culture of Experimentation

Rachel Jacobson - Ep. 65 High Speed, High Tech and High Growth

Taught Us the Most:

Peter Sorckoff - Ep. 82 Studying the Subconscious and Emotions of Fandom

Nick Lawson - Ep. 17 Sponsorship that Engages, not Distracts

Most Nervous to Record:

Scott O’Neil - Ep. 88 Being Present, Authentic and Intentional

Quint Studer - Ep. 34 From Patient Experience to Fan Experience

Jared Spataro - Ep. 38 Modern Work and Digital Experiences

Lee Cockerell - Ep. 55 Leadership Lessons from a Disney Legend

Most Personal Episodes:

Mike Millay - Ep. 30 The Business Behind ESPN Wide World of Sports Part One | Ep. 31 Part Two

Rob Temple and Rick Jones - Ep. 59 Finding the Right Sponsorships for YOUR Fans

Most Underrated Episode (seriously, listen to this one!)

Steph Smith - Ep. 50 Designing Effective Remote Work Teams

Single Frameworks That Impacted Us the Most:

Think of Stadiums Like “Town Halls” - Nick Sautner Ep. 72 Enhancing Stadium Experiences Beyond Game Day

“What Would Joy Do?” -

Evoking Emotional Connections with Fans Through Content w/ Zhaneé Anderson

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 07:00:00 -0500

When we think about the fan experience today, it’s not just about their experience at a live event but how they interact directly and indirectly, how they engage and connect with your brand emotionally 24/7.

This episode, we are joined by rising star Zhaneé Anderson from the University of Texas creative team. Throughout the conversation, David and Zhaneé touch on creating for different brands and audiences, developing emotional engaging stories and infusing personal styles into content.

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Show Notes

3:12 Learning About a Brand’s Voice and Audience

8:01 Balancing the Workload and Time Management

9:44 Managing Content for the UT Brand vs. Individual Teams

12:45 Creating Content for Specific Audiences

15:43 Everything’s Content

18:35 Providing Access through Social

21:59 Striking Compromises and Deciding What’s Feasible

23:50 Emotion > Quality Content

26:57 Using Content to Drive Real Conversations

35:23 Infusing Personal Creativity into Content

39:15 Moving Beyond The “Intern Running Social Media”

41:31 Zhanee’s Billboard

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For more information on topics covered this episode:

Check out some of Zhanee’s work:

Texas’ Real Conversations - Black History Month

Texas Women’s Soccer: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Connect with Zhaneé on Twitter | LinkedIn

Our other Longhorn podcast:

Ep. 2 - How Emotional Connections Lead to Economic Outcomes w/ Drew Martin

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Want more from EngageMint? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Coaching to Success from the Boardroom to the Football Field w/ Joe Moglia

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 07:00:00 -0500

A perfect fit for our 100th episode, guest Joe Moglia brings best practices and leadership insights from a unique career in football and the private sector. Joe spent 16 years as a coach, became a business leader for Merrill Lynch and TD Ameritrade and served as CEO of TD Ameritrade for 7 years, before heading back to the football field to be head coach at Coastal Carolina. He currently holds the titles of Chair of Athletics and Executive Director for Football for Coastal Carolina. This episode covers his “BAM” leadership philosophy, the current state of college athletics and how it can better align with the business world.

–

Show Notes

4:02 What is an Executive Director for Football?

6:23 Joe’s “BAM” philosophy

9:16 Enforcing Standards & Accountability

16:28 Providing the Right Incentives

19:20 Creating Non-Traditional Incentives

21:56 Operating the NCAA like Corporate America

30:38 Designing a new Athletic Department

34:23 Responsibilities vs. Titles

37:55 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations

39:55 Adapting Leadership Styles to Learning Styles

47:26 Prioritizing Workloads

52:10 Joe’s Favorite Mentors

55:31 Learning from Failure

58:54 Joe’s Billboard

—--

For more leadership insights from Joe Moglia, visit Moglia.com and check out his books:

Coach Yourself to Success: Winning the Investment Game

The Perimeter Attack Offense: The Key to Winning Football

Connect with Joe on Twitter or LinkedIn

Turning Ordinary Game Days Into Extraordinary Experiences w/ David Millay and Katie Rudy

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 07:00:00 -0500

It’s Super Bowl week and 70,000 fans will fill SoFi Stadium for that “bucket list” experience. The average sports fan may not witness a World Series, College Football Playoff or Super Bowl in person. In this episode, David Millay and Katie Rudy discuss some of their favorite sporting events and how a focus on hospitality, premium spaces, concessions offerings and pregame shows can turn an ordinary game into an extraordinary experience.

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Have a topic you want us to go in on? Reach out to us on Twitter @DavidMillay or @Katie_Rudy

College Leaders | Leveraging Real-Time Data to Enhance Fan Experiences w/ Paris Buchanan

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 07:00:00 -0500

This College Leaders segment of Flip the Switch features Paris Buchanan, Assistant AD for Marketing and Fan Experience for Ole Miss Athletics. Through one football season with minimal crowds, Ole Miss realized not only how much they value their home field advantage, but how to connect with Rebel fans that aren’t viewing the games in person. Paris, David Millay and Katie Rudy dive into the data driving their digital activations, in-season changes and planning for future seasons.

Show Notes

2:25 The “Home Team” virtual experience

5:22 Balancing the in-person and virtual fan experiences

6:33 Differentiating the Ole Miss brand

7:52 Creating a social voice

11:50 Turnkey tailgates and personalized game days with REVEL XP

14:27 Bringing “The Grove” inside

16:20 What if money was no object…

20:54 Sources of inspiration

24:07 In-season data collection and reaction

29:08 The brainstorm for 2022 football

35:46 The “bedroom to kitchen to sofa” experience

—-

Reach out to Paris via email or connect on LinkedIn or Twitter

For more info on topics covered this episode:

New game plan for Ole Miss fans

Football Game Day Experiences | REVEL XP

Ole Miss Partners: FanMaker | Low6

Ole Miss in-season concessions changes

Carolina Panthers’ Mixed Reality Panther

Planning for next season? Check out some of these tools to lead more effective brainstorms:

Impact Feasibility Matrix

Ep. 97: The Basics for Better Brainstorms

The Basics for Better Brainstorms w/ David Millay and Katie Rudy

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 07:00:00 -0500

We’ve all been in those brainstorming sessions that consisted of more than a few blank stares or had a number of great ideas with no action steps to actually implement them. In this episode, David Millay and Katie Rudy share some of their favorite resources and best practices to conduct an effective individual or team brainstorm session.

We cover:

Myths of Brainstorming
Setting the stage and framework for the brainstorm
Provocative prompting and challenging the status quo
Defining success and following through on new ideas

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Have a topic you want us to go in on? Reach out to us on Twitter @DavidMillay or @Katie_Rudy

Additional info on topics referenced in this episode:

IDEO U | 7 Simple Rules for Brainstorming
Mural: a digital, virtual collaboration tool
Understanding the 10 Types of Innovation
Thread: 6 Things Kids Know By Heart That Adults Forgot
Forbes: 9 Simple Tips for Leading Brilliant Brainstorms

How to Curb the Great Resignation in Your Organization

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 07:00:00 -0500

The Great Resignation is affecting every industry and every organization. In collaboration with our partners at Penn State, the EngageMint team recently led a management retreat to discuss the trends and solutions to turn the "Great Attrition" into the "Great Attraction".

A more unorthodox episode, David Millay and Katie Rudy host a round table discussion with Christina Gatehouse, Assistant AD for Human Resources at Penn State to share key takeaways from the retreat.

We break down the most surprising data trends in our research, the impressionable action steps from the retreat and how you could conduct a similar session in your organization.

Additional EngageMint Podcast Episodes referenced
Leadership Lessons from a Disney Legend w/ Lee Cockerell

Resources for Learning More
McKinsey: How companies can turn the Great Attrition into the Great Attraction
EngageMint: Understanding the Great Resignation and What You Can Do About It

How to Sell Experiences Over Tickets w/ Kathy Burrows

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 07:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Kathy Burrows, president and owner of Sold Out Seating, joins David to discuss strategies and tactics to shift from selling tickets to selling experiences. Selling an experience doesn’t mean selling the pomp and circumstance and atmosphere around the game, but delivering a game day experience that fits each customer. To implement that shift, Kathy and David dive into new benchmarks, how to develop and mentor sales staff and how to personalize an event experience for different segments.

Show Notes

2:40 From Nursing to Founding Sold Out Seating

6:19 Applying Care Plans to Sales Strategies

7:46 Throwing Out the ‘100 Calls a Day’ Metric

12:52 Coaching Leaders to Coach Sales Staff

16:33 Holding Effective 1-on-1 Meetings

19:40 Shifting Mindsets from Service Staff to Sales Staff

24:28 Handling Customer Complaints

25:18 Offering Different Experiences for Different Customer Segments

30:02 Combating Staff Limitations

34:20 Embracing Tech to Drive Business and Customer Experience

41:00 Building a Part-Time Sales Team

46:46 Kathy’s Favorite Sales Tactics

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Want more from Kathy? Check out her blog or books:
Potato Chip Ticket Sales
Potato Chip Leadership Skills

Connect with Kathy on LinkedIn and Twitter

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Why I Spent $13k on a single NFT

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 15:00:00 -0500

This episode is all about NFT's and why our host, David Millay, spent $13k on a single NFT.

It's a much more casual episode than usual with holidays upon us, and we invited some of David's friends from his Disney days to unpack why the hell he would make such an investment.

We end up discussing the potential utility of an NFT, future potential use cases, and their potential role in fandom and the sports & entertainment industry.

Special thanks to Martin Graham and Jerome Scherwin for joining us!

Additional EngageMint Podcast Episodes on NFTs

$208k for a Lebron Replay? NFT’s explained

How Fandom is Evolving w/ Zoe Scaman

All about NFT’s and Miami’s Canesvault

Resources for Learning More

Mentioned in the Episode

CloneX NFT project

RTFKT Homepage

Why did Nike buy RTFKT?

RTFKT’s AR shoe project (Phygital)

3lau’s Music NFT’s explained

The Constitution DAO story and struggles

DAO buys Wu-Tang album for $4mil

Opensea.io

NBA Top Shot

Dapper Labs

Recur

Good Twitter follows in NFT space

@jarroddi

How to Never Lose a Customer Again w/ Joey Coleman

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Chief Experience Composer and Best-Selling Author Joey Coleman joins David to talk about how to “Never Lose a Customer Again.” In this episode, Joey breaks down the 8 phases of the customer and employee experience from his book: Assess, Admit, Affirm, Activate, Acclimate, Accomplish, Adopt and Advocate. Organizations often focus on a couple, but paying attention to all eight sequentially leads to retention, additional sales and referrals.

Show Notes

4:01 Get Straight As from Your Customers - the 8 Phases

11:50 Applying the 8 Phases to Different Customer Journeys

14:23 Fostering the Experience for the First Time Customer

18:41 Use Your CRM Tools to Tailor Your Communication

22:53 Investigate, Observe and Ask

27:30 Peel Back the Curtain and Share Survey Data

33:11 Ignite Relationships with Current Customers

38:23 Get Straight As from Your Employees

48:32 Joey’s Savannah Bananas Experience

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For more insights from Joey, check out:

JoeyColeman.com
Never Lose a Customer Again

Listen to Joey’s podcast with fellow FTS guest Dan Gingiss - Experience This!

Connect with Joey on LinkedIn | Twitter

Bonus: Notre Dame and National Signing Day 2021

Learn more about the Savannah Bananas’ experience from owner Jesse Cole:

Ep. 14 - Fans First

Ep. 44 - A Culture of Experimentation and Innovation

Uncovering The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace w/ Dr. Paul White

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 07:00:00 -0500

The “Great Resignation” or “Great Migration” has incited a movement by employees to find roles where they feel valued and appreciated. But not everyone wants to be recognized or shown appreciation in the same way. In this episode, David sits down with Dr. Paul White, author of “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace”, to talk about how to show appreciation for your staff in ways that are meaningful to them.

Show Notes

2:55 Refocusing on Employee Engagement

5:18 The Great Resignation or the Great Migration?

6:26 Recognize the Person, Not Just Their Work

8:41 Foundation for 5 Languages of Appreciation book

10:14 Words of Affirmation

12:39 Quality Time

13:55 Acts of Service

15:28 Tangible Gifts

17:28 Physical Touch

18:58 Learning Your Team’s Desired Language of Appreciation

21:33 Appreciation is NOT the Same as Recognition

24:08 The Correlation Between Profitability and Appreciation

26:19 Encouraging Appreciation Among Colleagues

28:24 Financial Impact of Replacing Employees

32:02 Generational Preferences in Recognition

35:21 3 Priority Groups to Recognize

36:47 Recognizing Underperforming Staff

42:59 Counter Opinions in Appreciation

45:15 Creative Demonstrations of Appreciation

For more on topics covered in this episode:

5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Dr. Paul White and Dr. Gary Chapman

Appreciation @ Work | Blog

The 5 Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman

True Cost of Replacing an Employee

Want more from Dr. White?

Connect via Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Dr. White LinkedIn

Email yesdrpaul@gmail.com with subject “Flip the Switch” to receive a free copy of Expanded Motivating By Appreciation report ($25 value) and a discount code to purchase the Appreciation evaluation.

Knowing Your Customer and Protecting Their Trust w/ Paula Courtney

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 07:00:00 -0500

This week on Flip the Switch, we are joined by Paula Courtney, CEO of the Verde Group. Partnering with many Fortune 100 companies, the Verde Group brings unique methods to studying consumer behavior and improving the customer experience. Rather than asking “How was your experience?” Paula and her team probe for customer dissatisfaction. Their research has demonstrated that innovating off of points of friction and restoring consumer confidence have a greater financial impact on organizations. This episode dives into the five key elements of consumer choice, knowing your customer and maintaining their loyalty.

Show Notes

3:13 The “Re-Imagined Consumer” and their Revised Personal Purpose

6:43 The 5 Key Elements to Consumer Choice

11:36 Identifying Moments that Matter in the Experience

15:12 Factors that Influence Net Promoter Scores

17:28 Creating Actionable Insights > Measuring Attitudes

19:29 The Impact of Negative Experiences on the Bottom Line

24:06 Studying the “Wow” Factor

26:05 How Do You Want to Receive Customer Support?

28:22 The Only Currency That Matters

33:08 Unique Service Recovery Tools

36:21 The Customer Super Agent

40:54 Recognize, Not Reward Your Loyal Customers

44:54 Paula’s Billboard

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For more info on topics covered in this episode, check out:

The Verde Group

Verde Group Studies and White Papers

Consumers Aren’t Feeling the Love, Here’s How to Change That

Exploring the Loyalty / CX Connection

The Great Payoff of Delivering Wow!

The Reimagined Consumer

Connect with Paula via Twitter or LinkedIn and follow the Verde Group for more insights (Twitter | LinkedIn)

Elevating the Voice of the Fan w/ Chief Fan Officer Shawn McIntosh

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 07:00:00 -0500

In this episode, David sits down with Shawn McIntosh, Charlotte FC’s Chief Fan Officer, the first role of its kind in any professional league. Throughout the conversation, Shawn shares his strategies and tactics for building relationships with Charlotte FC supporters and community leaders and bringing that voice to the table in internal club meetings.

Show Notes

3:06 What is a Chief Fan Officer?

4:25 Sharing the fans’ voice with Charlotte FC’s senior leaders

7:29 Shawn’s background and fit for the Chief Fan Officer role

10:12 Bridging the gap between fan desires and business operations

12:39 Charlotte FC’s interview experience

15:46 Expectations of Charlotte FC’s corporate partners

17:54 Defining success and the vision for the Chief Fan Officer role

20:31 The Charlotte FC match day experience

23:05 Seeking inspiration outside of soccer

25:21 Incorporating the Charlotte culture into match day

29:13 Embracing transient cultures

31:26 Charlotte FC’s org chart and meeting routine

34:37 Engaging with Charlotte FC supporters

38:48 Trusting supporters with behind-the-scenes conversations

42:35 Fostering supporter to supporter connections

46:45 Charlotte FC’s Year One KPIs

50:55 Transparent conversations with staff and building culture

56:25 Shawn’s parting advice

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For the latest news on Charlotte FC, follow them on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Connect with Shawn via email or on Twitter

College Leaders | Celebrating and Amplifying Your Unique Culture w/ Bryan Blair

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 07:00:00 -0400

This College Leaders segment features Bryan Blair, Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Operating Officer at Washington State University. In the four years that Bryan and his team have been in Pullman, they’ve worked to build a culture that highlights and celebrates what is unique about Wazzou. Bryan and David hit on hiring coaches and staff that are cultural fits, embracing your identity and taking risks to move college athletics forward.

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Show Notes

2:31 Balancing Performance and Culture in Coaching Hires

6:21 Marrying a Coach’s Culture with the Department Culture

8:17 Defining Cultural “Fit”

11:25 Weaving Your Core Values Into Your Operation

13:56 Capturing What Works and Infusing a New Culture

15:25 Ingraining Your Purpose Statement in the Organization

16:28 Rallying Your Team Behind Your Mission

18:35 Embracing What Makes You Unique

25:41 Leaning Into NIL

29:23 Equipping Your Team for Success

38:30 Bryan’s Billboard

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For more on topics mentioned in this episode:

Washington State’s Strategic Plan

The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger

How is the Culture in Your Kingdom? - Listen to this Flip the Switch episode for more from Dan Cockerell

Connect with Bryan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email!

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Being Present, Authentic and Intentional w/ Scott O'Neil

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 07:00:00 -0400

This episode features industry legend Scott O’Neil. In his most recent role, Scott was the CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, overseeing the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia 76ers. Prior to that, he held positions of Senior Vice President of the NBA’s Team Marketing and Business Operations division and President of Madison Square Garden Sports.

Throughout the podcast, Scott charmed us with stories as he and David dive into a number of insights that influenced his career and became the foundation for his new book, “Be Where Your Feet Are: Seven Principles to Keep You Present, Grounded and Thriving.”

Show Notes

3:23 Putting Life in Perspective from Mozambique

7:31 Scott’s Favorite Insight - “Assume Positive Intent”

10:11 Instilling Positive Intent into Your Culture

17:06 Balancing Accountability and “The Best Work Environment”

18:58 How to Fire Someone Gracefully

21:28 Millennials’ Social Contract

24:25 Creating a Hybrid Work Environment

26:19 Building Culture and Connections in a Hybrid Work Environment

29:01 Defining the “Greatest Place to Work”

30:14 The Thin Line Between Work and Home

34:38 Developing Staff Personally and Professionally

39:01 You Can’t Manage for the Masses

40:25 Maintaining An Attitude of Gratitude When the Team Isn’t Winning

48:54 Parting Advice

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For More on Topics Referenced in This Episode:

For more insights on being present, passionate and intentional, grab Scott's book: Be Where Your Feet Are

Ted Lasso | Leadership Lessons from Ted Lasso

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Connect with Scott on LinkedIn or Twitter

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College Leaders | Speaking the Fans' Love Language w/ Jamie Pollard

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 07:00:00 -0400

This week we're joined by Jamie Pollard, Director of Athletics at Iowa State University. Since his arrival in 2005, he has re-imagined almost every facet of the department, leading the Cyclones to records in attendance and ticket sales and academic scores and some of their highest finishes in the Learfield Directors' Cup. His leadership extends throughout the industry as he was recently named NACDA President of the Year for 2021-22. In this episode, Jamie and David break down how Iowa State approaches its fan experience by "speaking the fans' love language" and Jamie's entrepreneur-like leadership mentality.

Show Notes

2:31 Breaking the Football Season Ticket Record

3:53 Building a “Fans First” Experience at Jack Trice Stadium

7:13 Identifying What Fits Your Fan Base

15:53 The Role of NACDA and NACDA President

24:20 Opportunities for the new Big 12

28:50 Leaders Who’ve Impacted Jamie

32:03 Managing Work / Life Priorities

36:17 High Points and Low Points as a Leader

39:03 Learning from an Apparent Failure

42:18 Thinking Like an Entrepreneur

45:42 Creating Impactful Meetings

47:56 Empowering Your Staff - 50/50 Decision Making

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Connect with Jamie via email or follow him on Twitter

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College Leaders | Using Partnership to Build Community w/ Rhett Hobart

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 07:00:00 -0400

This week, we sat down with Rhett Hobart, Associate AD for Fan Experience and Brand Development at Wake Forest University. Since he joined the Demon Deacons in April 2020, Rhett and his team have launched their “Welcome to Deactown” brand campaign, introduced new in-game experiences for the greater college football fan and debuted a co-branded beer, Deacon Brew, all to create the “Best Fan Experience in North Carolina.” In this episode, we go deep into strategies and tactics for engaging your fan base and building a true community.

Show Notes

2:31 Crafting Deacon Brew

3:19 Behind the Partnership with R&D Brewing

5:51 The Tough Conversations

7:42 Capitalizing on Your Biggest Sampling Opportunity

11:51 New Branded Revenue Streams

16:03 Welcome to “Deactown”

20:21 The Financial Buy-in to a Branding Campaign

23:44 Takeaways from a Long-Term Branding Campaign

27:30 Creating an Experience for Any College Sports Fan

31:15 Wake’s Digital Student Engagement Strategy

34:25 Transforming the Student Tailgate Experience

38:15 Wake’s New Football and Basketball Ticket Model

42:54 From “Season Ticket Holder” to “Season Ticket Member”

45:42 The Deacon Virtual Season Ticket

53:02 Book Recommendations

54:08 “Bumping the Lamp”

57:57 Parting Advice

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For more info on topics covered in this episode:

Deacon Brew

Wake Forest Football Ticket Plans

FanMaker app

Rhett’s Book Recommendations

Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise by Horst Schulze

Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service by the Disney Institute

Connect with Rhett via email or Twitter

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Today’s episode was sponsored by

College Leaders | Equip People to Launch People w/ Mitch Barnhart

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 07:00:00 -0400

This week, we welcome Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart to the show. After 20 years as UK's Athletic Director, Mitch has produced one of the largest leadership trees with more than six former associates now holding Division 1 athletic director positions. In this episode, Mitch shares his passion for equipping people to launch people and guiding his organization with a true servant heart and integrity.

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Show Notes

3:25 Countering Today’s Labor Staffing Challenges - The Kentucky “Blue Coats”

7:41 Right-Sizing Your Venues

10:03 Diversifying Your Fan Base

11:41 Navigating the Changing College Landscape

17:00 Find the Balance

19:10 Most Impactful Leader & Leadership Styles

22:11 Creating a Growth Mindset Culture

26:49 Equip People to Launch People

31:19 Foundational Leadership Moments

39:21 Generational Leadership

43:18 Challenges of Reactionary Decision Making

46:59 Importance of Family First

52:34 Show Appreciation for Your Staff

54:25 Mitch’s Billboard

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Connect with Mitch via email or follow him on Twitter

Today’s episode was sponsored by CheckdIn. Delivering training digitally to better equip your staff for game day.

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Making Your Customer Experience Remarkable w/ Dan Gingiss

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 07:00:00 -0400

This episode of Flip the Switch features Customer Experience Coach, Keynote Speaker and Author Dan Gingiss. Dan's latest book, "The Experience Maker," comes out today, featuring his "WISE" framework and stories from 20 years of experience working with brands, including McDonald's, Discover and Humana. Throughout the episode, Dan and David discuss simple, yet remarkable ways to enhance your engagement with your customers.

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Show Notes

2:26 The Experiences Customers Want to Talk About

4:20 The Framework for Becoming "WISE"

6:45 Be “Witty”

12:05 Genuine Social Media Interactions - The Green Skittles Story

14:29 The Leaky Bucket - Pay Attention to Your Existing Customers

17:35 Applying Fan Concepts to Other Industries

21:41 It’s All About the Little Fixes

23:44 Be “Immersive”

25:50 What Do You Own and What Can You Influence?

29:32 Be “Shareable”

33:50 Meeting Customer Expectations Consistently

39:08 Be “Extraordinary”

45:13 Dan’s Billboard

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For more great stories on delivering a spectacular customer experience, check out Dan’s new book: The Experience Maker: How To Create Remarkable Experiences That Your Customers Can’t Wait To Share

Connect with Dan to share your feedback on the book or ask any customer experience questions:

Email | Twitter | LinkedIn | DanGingiss.com

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College Leaders | Catering to Wants and Needs of Fans w/ Eric Nichols

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 09:00:00 -0400

Joining us on today's episode is Eric Nichols, the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Branding/Chief Marketing Officer at the University of South Carolina. Nichols oversees Marketing, Digital and Social Media, and the University band and spirit programs as well as serving as the primary liaison for Licensing, merchandise sales, and outsourced entities including Learfield for multimedia rights and Learfield Ticket Solutions for outbound sales.

Eric and David discuss innovation around customer and employee experience within college athletics. From some of the changes South Carolina has been working on over the pandemic and are now launching this year at their football stadium, to renovated club areas and utilizing data and KPIs for your staff, Eric breaks down all the way in which he looks to innovate the college athletics space for his team.

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Show Notes

3:07 New Club Spaces at Gamecock Football Games

10:08 The South Carolina Tailgate Experience

13:04 Beer Caves and Convenient Store Concession Stands

17:17 How to Scale Empathy

19:22 Using Data to Increase Staffing and Resources

26:21 Setting KPIs and a Vision for Your Staff

31:43 Lessons from South Carolina Culture Surveys

35:10 Facilitating Teamwork and Rewarding Your Employees

37:12 Deepening Connections with Gamecock Fans

41:53 Bridging the Ticketing and Licensing Spending Gap

44:56 Eric’s Billboard

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For more information on topics covered in this episode:

Connect with Eric on Twitter or LinkedIn

South Carolina's Tailgating Experience
The "Cockabooses"
The 2001 Club
The Cockaboose Club
The Horseshoe Club
The Traditions Club

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Studying the Subconscious and Emotions of Fandom w/ Peter Sorckoff

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Today’s episode is all about appealing to the emotional side of fandom with Peter Sorckoff. What started as a career in a therapeutic environment has evolved into 20 plus years of understanding the human subconscious impact on fandom. Peter leveraged those insights to create immersive marketing and branding experiences for major brands in the NBA, the MLB and NHL, most notably as the Chief Creative Officer and EVP of Brand for the Atlanta Hawks. Now, Peter is applying similar concepts to other industries, including aviation and retail, through his company, Seer.

This podcast goes in-depth on building experiences based on the instinctual - and sometimes irrational - aspects of fandom.

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Show Notes

6:28 Change Management and Inspiring Cultural Transformation

9:55 Appealing to the Millennial Audience - the Birth of “Swipe Right” Night

15:07 The Story Behind the Kiss Cam and Teddy Bear Toss

15:51 Deliberate Decision Making through Strategy not Tactics

19:10 Challenging “Transactional” Marketing

21:18 Being “Kind” to the Customer

23:41 The Elephant and the Rider

27:55 The Three Fundamentals of Fandom

33:26 Applying the Social Psycho Structure of Fandom to Other Industries

35:34 Segmenting People by Instinctual Orientation

38:08 Customer Personas and Emotional Segmentation in Aviation

43:11 The Next Big Metamorphosis Coming in Transportation

46:50 Peter’s Learning Journey

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For more information on topics covered in this episode:

Connect with Peter via email or Twitter

Check out SEER to learn more about fandoms

If you want more from Peter, reach out and let David know.

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Peter’s Learning Journey
The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler
Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal
Bold by Steven Kotler and Peter Diamandis
The Future is Faster Than You Think by Steven Kotler and Peter Diamandis

The Story of the Kiss Cam and Teddy Bear Toss
Episode 260 - Peter Sorckoff on fans and brands in sports | Sports Geek with Sean Callanan

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College Leaders | Using Data and Tech to Amplify the '12th Man' Tradition w/ Michael Thompson

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Michael Thompson joins David for this week’s College Leaders podcast. After nine years at Ole Miss, Michael reunited with Ross Bjork at Texas A&M in October of 2019 as the Deputy Athletics Director for External Relations and Business Development. His innovative leadership has led to appointments as the 2020-21 NACMA President and membership in the SEC’s fan experience working group. His team also won the 2019 NACDA Technology Innovation Award.

Counting down the days to football at Kyle Field, Michael shares his framework for keeping the 12th Man traditions sacred while employing data and new technology to evolve and innovate game day and carrying that through to other sports.

Show Notes

6:06 What’s new for 2021 Texas A&M Football?

8:57 Creative Planning for Staffing Challenges

13:54 Celebrating The 100th Season of the 12th Man

19:18 Balancing Traditions with New Innovations

23:55 If Money Was No Object...Investments to Enhance Customer Experience

27:03 Defined Social Spaces in Stadiums

30:27 Diving into NFTs and the Blockchain

33:43 Cracking the Code on Season Ticket Usage

38:43 The Flexible ‘Gig ‘Em Pass’

39:33 Understanding Your Different Customers

43:30 The “FOMO” Factor

46:48 On Michael’s Bookshelf

50:56 When “No” Presents a Better Opportunity

56:36 Best Investment Under $100

57:59 Practicing Intermittent Fasting

1:01:53 Michael’s Billboard

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For more information on topics discussed in today’s episode:

Flexible Gig ‘em Pass

On Michael’s Bookshelf

Pappy Land by Wright Thompson

Endurance | Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition by Dennis Perkins

Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant

On David's Bookshelf

Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent

College Leaders | Leading with Conviction and Empathy w/ Troy Dannen

Sat, 21 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In our latest College Leaders podcast, we are joined by Troy Dannen, Ben Weiner Director of Athletics at Tulane University, to discuss leadership and guiding Tulane through turbulent times. Five years into his tenure, he’s revamped his senior management, increased fundraising and enhanced the student-athlete and fan experiences. He’s a recognized leader in college athletics, recently named to the newly established NCAA Constitution Committee, representing all Group of 5 schools.

Less than 24 hours before we recorded the podcast, Tulane announced its mask and vaccination policy in conjunction with the City of New Orleans. Throughout the episode, Troy shares his framework for scenario planning and decision making.

Show Notes

6:09 Managing Through Tulane’s 2021 COVID-19 Vaccine policy

11:12 Serving on the NCAA Constitution Committee

16:36 Greatest Investments under $100

18:35 Learning from Failure

22:59 The Importance of Empathy

27:17 The “Sound of Silence” and Scenario Planning

30:23 You Don’t Lead Everyone the Same

35:16 The Art of a Graceful “No” and Delegation

38:02 Incorporating Other Impactful Leadership Styles

41:14 Making a Convincing Argument - Takeaways as a Referee

49:37 What is your edge?

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For more information on topics covered in this episode:

Bite Away mosquito repellent

Connect with Troy on Twitter

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Comparing Fandoms in Western Markets and China w/ Greg Turner

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 07:00:00 -0400

In this episode, David is joined by Greg Turner to dive in to the differences in fandoms and live events between China and the West. What started as a summer internship for Greg has evolved into a 20-year career in China, moving from agencies to live events and venue management, before establishing his own company, Shenzhen High Performance Event Management.

Compared to most of our fan bases that have existed for decades, live events have only been a regular part of the Chinese culture for the last 20 years. Throughout this podcast, Greg shares a number of applicable lessons on educating and engaging fans and bringing new audiences in to sporting events.

Show Notes

5:38 From Canada to China - Greg’s Path to Shenzhen High Performance Event Management

9:46 The Introduction of Live Events in China

12:14 “How to Be a Fan”

15:35 Integrating into Chinese Markets - Case Studies from the NBA and UFC

22:14 “Authentically Disney, Distinctly Chinese”

24:31 The Evolution of Chinese Fandom and Fan Experiences

27:17 Community First, Commercialization Second

30:46 Digital Strategies Driving Engagement - Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Influence

40:04 Professionalizing the Chinese Soccer League and Chinese Basketball Association

43:04 Opportunities for Growth in Both Markets

46:30 “Buying a Ticket 101”

47:59 Understanding Your Fan

For more information on the topics covered in this episode:
Key Terms Referenced - Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs)
Other Flip the Switch podcasts on Fandom - How Fandom is Evolving with Zoe Scaman

Connect with Greg via email or LinkedIn

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Today’s episode was sponsored by CheckdIn. Delivering training digitally to better equip your staff for game day.

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All About NFTs and Miami’s CanesVault

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 09:00:00 -0400

The University of Miami became the first college athletic department to break into the NFT space, announcing the new CanesVault this week that will officially open on August 16. In this episode, Dan Boyd, Miami's Senior Associate AD for Sales and Marketing and Jon Parise, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of GigLabs, Miami's NFT partner, join David to discuss the strategies and behind-the-scenes conversations leading to this innovative launch.

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Show Notes

7:16 Building the Hurricanes Legacy

9:13 Breaking into the NFT Game

11:13 Miami’s Partnerships with Gig Labs and Black Madre

14:20 Maintaining Ownership to Drive Incremental Revenue

19:42 The Brainstorming Process

23:00 Leveraging the Brands’ Full Intellectual Property

24:37 Other Model NFT collections

26:03 Infinite Objects and Rare Rooms

31:34 Arguments Against NFTs

34:40 Appealing to the Global Fan Base

39:05 Why buy a Miami Hurricanes’ NFT?

43:57 Defining CanesVault Key Holders

48:18 Relationship Between Season Ticket Members and Key Holders

51:46 Understanding Smart Contracts

54:24 Fostering Community and NFTs as Status Symbols

For more info on topics covered this episode:

Check out the Miami Hurricanes’ Canes Vault | CanesVault Twitter

GigLabs | Rare Rooms

Infinite Objects

Other NFT collections: Cryptopunks | Bored Ape Yacht Club

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Connect with Dan via email or LinkedIn

Connect with Jon via email or LinkedIn

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For other Flip the Switch episodes on NFTs, check out:
Episode 58: $208K for a LeBron Replay? NFTs explained
Episode 62: NIL & NFTs w/ Luka Garza

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College Leaders | The Importance of Strategic Planning and Core Values w/ Colorado's Rick George

Sun, 08 Aug 2021 07:00:00 -0400

This week’s special College Leaders segment features Rick George, Athletic Director at University of Colorado. Rick had a rather unorthodox path to the big chair, taking on roles with the PGA Champions Tour and the Texas Rangers’ Front Office, before returning to the collegiate industry with Colorado in 2013. Throughout this episode, Rick and David discuss Colorado’s strategic plans, its "RAPID" core values and the importance of incremental revenue generation.

Show Notes

(2:56) The Path Less Traveled to the Big Chair

(6:49) Erasing “Dark” Days & Creating “Folsom Field Events”

(10:15) Rebranding the Texas Rangers & Revenue Generation

(13:54) Colorado’s Strategic Plan & Core Values

(21:42) Frameworks for Leading through Change

(24:17) Building Your Team

(27:45) Core Factors in Conference Realignment

(30:44) The NIL Impact on College Athletics

(35:40) Colorado’s Relationship with SportsBet

(39:29) Leaders Who Have Impacted Rick

(41:46) Learning From Failure

(45:44) Providing Constructive Feedback

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Connect with Rick via email or on Twitter

For more info on topics covered this episode:

Bob Beaudine - Power of Who

Colorado's Strategic Plans: 2014-17 | 2018 - 20 | 2021 - 23

Today’s episode was sponsored by CheckdIn. Delivering training digitally to better equip your staff for game day.

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BONUS | Diving Deep on Books and Reading Strategies w/ Justin Doherty

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 07:00:00 -0400

This week’s episode strays from our usual podcast pattern. David is joined by Justin Doherty, Wisconsin's Senior Associate AD for External Communications and member of EngageMint's tribe. Outside of his roles in brand communications, marketing, video services and facility branding, Justin has authored four books on Wisconsin history. David and Justin have embarked on a 25-book challenge and share some of their top hits and reading strategies in this bonus episode.

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Show Notes

4:14 Diving in to Justin’s Books

6:03 Reading vs. Writing Note Taking

13:46 The 2021 25-Book Challenge

20:16 Intentional Reading Strategies

30:19 Most Recommended Books

35:31 Most Impactful Books

39:01 Building Your Own 25-Book Challenge

For more info on topics covered this episode:

Seth Godin - altMBA program
Tim Ferriss - Scientific Speed Reading

Recommended by Justin:

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Glory Days by L. Jon Wertheim

Recommended by David:

A Memory of Light, Wheel of Time (Book 14) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

Authored by Justin:

Tales from the Wisconsin Badgers Sideline: A Collection of the Greatest Badgers Stories Ever Told

The Wisconsin Football Vault
with Pat Richter and Vince Sweeney

Capitalizing on New Tech to Transform Fan Engagement w/ John Kosner

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 07:00:00 -0400

In our latest podcast, David sits down with John Kosner. After 20 years at ESPN, where he transformed its digital media strategy, John co-founded Micromanagement Ventures with former NBA Commissioner David Stern. John currently leads Kosner Media, where he invests in and advises sports tech companies focused on sports media, sports betting and gambling and player development.

This episode covers all things sports tech, truth speaking and leadership and the future of sports broadcasting.

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Show Notes

(4:00) Forming Micromanagement Ventures with David Stern

(15:04) Importance of Humor in the Workplace

(18:11) Assembling the Right Team Around the Right Purpose

(21:51) Trust is the Essence of Every Human Relationship

(25:35) The NBA Trade Machine and Taking ESPN Digital

(32:35) Learn from TikTok, Instagram and Twitch

(34:53) Static Personalization vs. Modern Personalization

(36:55) John’s Advisory Work

(43:34) The Adrenaline Factor in Viewing Sports

(50:32) Overcoming Complacency

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For more information on the topics covered this episode:

Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christianson

The Adrenaline Factor by John Kosner

Check out more from Kosner Media

Connect with John on Twitter or LinkedIn

Today’s episode was sponsored by CheckdIn. Delivering training digitally to better equip your staff for game day.

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College Leaders | The "Glocalization" of Sport and Immersive Fan Experiences w/ Rick Burton

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 07:00:00 -0400

A long-time sports executive, Rick Burton brings a breadth of experience and insights to this week’s podcast. After roles in brand management with Miller Lite, a stint as commissioner of the National Basketball League in Australia and Chief Marketing Officer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rick has spent the last 12 years at Syracuse University as the David B. Falk Professor of Sport Management and Faculty Athletics Representative. He's also co-authored three books and contributes regularly to Sports Business Journal, as well as Sportico and Sports Business.

This episode goes deep on all of Rick’s specialties - sports marketing sponsorship, the Tokyo Olympics, organizational management and leadership and ESports.

Show Notes

(4:11) The Digital, Global and 24/7/365 Economies

(5:23) An Impactful Career

(9:29) Rick’s Inspirations

(12:46) Emerging Leaders - Skating to Where the Puck is Going

(15:40) Proactive vs. Reactive Leadership and Exploring New Trends

(18:43) Content Consumption - Are You Scuba Diving or Jet Skiing?

(22:58) What to Expect from the Tokyo Olympic Games

(28:16) The Role of Faculty Athletics Representative

(33:20) The NIL Impact

(39:22) Shifting Traditional College Athletics Mindsets

(43:36) Traditional Sports Diversifying into Digital Worlds

(50:24) Moore’s Law of Digital Transformation

(53:38) The Mission of Athletic Departments

(55:09) Rick’s Billboard of Advice

For more information on the topics covered this episode:

Moore’s Law
Replika.ai
Ready Player One

Connect with Rick via email or on Twitter

Read more from Rick

Forever Orange: The Story of Syracuse University
20 Secrets to Success for NCAA Student-Athletes Who Won’t Go Pro
The Sport Business Handbook: Insights From 100+ Leaders Who Shaped 50 Years of the Industry
Sports Business Unplugged: Leadership Challenges from the World of Sports

College Leaders | Dreaming Big with DePaul's DeWayne Peevy

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Flip the Switch is all about uncovering the latest trends in sports and entertainment and the experiments organizations are running. Working alongside college athletic departments has inspired a new series: Flip the Switch - College Leaders. Joining David on the show will be senior leaders who are transforming the industry and implementing those trends and experiments.

Our first guest of the series is DeWayne Peevy, Vice President and Director of Athletics at DePaul University. Peevy became AD in September of 2020, after 12 years at Kentucky, including the last 7 as Deputy AD.

In this episode, DeWayne shares his experience from the first 10 months in the role, lessons from his past that have influenced his leadership style today and the vision he has for DePaul, recently announced through the department’s new "Dream Big" strategic plan.

Show Notes:

(6:41) The First Ten Months

(7:50) Building the Bigger University Brand

(10:47) NIL & Launching Legacy

(17:22) The 5 Pillars of DePaul’s Strategic Plan

(21:50) Challenging Your Team to Meet Your Vision

(31:18) What Would I Want My Leader to Do?

(37:26) Learning through Adversity - Biggest Lessons in DeWayne’s Career

(45:16) Building the Circle of Trust and Transparency

(55:41) DeWayne’s Billboard of Advice

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko7tG2-7E3A

For more information on the topics covered this episode:
DePaul's Strategic Plan
LEGACY - An Immersive Entrepreneurship & Brand Development Program

Connect with DeWayne on Twitter or LinkedIn

--

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Enhancing Stadium Experiences Beyond Game Day w/ Nick Sautner

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Our guest this week is Nick Sautner, CEO of Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. A worldwide leader in sports and entertainment, Eden Park was the first venue to host a sporting event and a concert at full capacity since the pandemic and has won a number of recent global awards, including the Product Innovation Award for "Staydium Glamping". Sautner has also been recognized as EVANZ Supreme Person of the Year and TheStadiumBusiness Global Executive of the Year. Throughout this episode, Sautner shares his framework for Eden Park's strategic plan, his "town hall vs. cathedral" mentality and monetizing the venue to create more participative events and experiences.

Show Notes
(4:38) Escapism and importance of returning to operation

(5:38) Hosting the world’s first capacity sporting event and concert

(8:42) Pre-COVID vs. Post-COVID Operational Changes

(14:50) Relay communication like a coaching game plan

(17:25) Communicating the game plan throughout all organization levels

(22:17) Driving Strategic Plans & Creating "Instagrammable" Experiences

(29:23) Instilling an Entrepreneurial Culture

(31:16) “People Describe Stadiums As Cathedrals..Think of Them More Like Town Halls”

(35:29) Cultivating a Culture of Utilization and Collaboration

(39:31) The Idea Factory

(42:19) 3 Beneficiaries for Successful Events

(45:23) Hot Take: Design Flaws of Stadiums

(49:53) Nick’s Mantras

Additional Notes

Visit Eden Park | Experiences | Partnerships

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn or via email

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Returning to Capacity and Rebuilding Your Team w/ Kevin Gober

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0400

This week, we welcome Kevin Gober, Senior Director of Arena Employee Experience and Learning & Development for the Atlanta Hawks, back to the podcast. A recurring guest on the show, Kevin shares his takeaways from welcoming fans back to venues and gets candid on the staffing challenges that State Farm Arena has faced.

For venues across the country preparing for a return to full capacity, this episode dives deep into the programs Kevin and State Farm Arena are putting in place to grow their staff, create an employee referral program and develop the leadership skills of their current team.

Show Notes

4:33 Crawl, Walk, Run - Embracing Capacity Changes

11:30 One Culture, One Team, One Purpose - Build Your Team Through a Central Hiring Fair

17:38 Creating an Employee Referral Program

21:55 State Farm Arena’s New Leadership Growth Series

31:47 Measuring the Impact of Staff Development

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Trusted Strategic Advisors in College Athletics w/ Dan Gale and Tim Rebich

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0400

For our second Flip the Switch Live episode, we are joined by Dan Gale of Leona Marketing Group and Tim Rebich of Varsity Partners. Sharing their perspectives as third-parties in the college athletics space, this episode is more idea-based than best practices focused. Dan, Tim and David forecast where college athletics is headed and the impacts NIL and multimedia sponsorship will have on the industry.

Show Notes

10:28 - Introducing Dan Gale and Tim Rebich

17:09 - Embracing NIL and Fair Market Value

22:49 - Creating Endemic Brand Experiences

28:08 - Changing Landscape for Multimedia Rights

36:31 - Brand Loyalty and Brand Value Alignment

40:13 - Redefining Corporate Sponsorship Assets

49:57 - Building Trust as a Third-Party Operator

56:32 - Shifting Mindsets in College Athletics

1:01:43 - Parting Advice

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Connect with Dan on LinkedIn
Follow Dan on Twitter
Visit Leona Marketing Group's Website

Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
Follow Tim on Twitter
Follow Varsity Partners

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Converting Passive Viewers into Active Consumers with Jen Rottenberg

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Our latest episode features Jen Rottenberg, Chief Marketing Officer for Fan Controlled Football (FCF). Just as it sounds, this new professional league gave the fans the ability to select everything from team names, colors and logos to the plays that were called on the field during the game. To make that all happen, data is at the heart of everything FCF does, attracting four uniques audiences and crafting every aspect of the game for active broadcast viewing, as opposed to the traditional emphasis on the in-person experience.

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Show Notes

(4:31) Breaking Down Fan Controlled Football - “Madden in Real Life”

(6:17) The Four Fan Controlled Football Audiences

(10:16) The Viewing Experience on Twitch

(14:29) The Shift from Passive Consumption to Active Participation

(19:35) If Something Sucks, We’ll Change It...If Something’s Awesome, We Can Make It Better

(23:47) The Leadership Balance of Relinquishing Control

(27:36) The Gamification of Fan Engagement - Fan IQ, Badges and Sponsorship Activation

(37:30) Idea Creation & Prioritization

(41:56) The In-Person Viewer vs. the Broadcast Viewer

How Maryland Created 'Netflix for Terps'

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 17:00:00 -0400

This week's guest is Mike Farrell, Assistant AD for Broadcasting and Video Production at University of Maryland. As part of Maryland's 75-year Terrapin Club "Reinvented" campaign, Mike and his team created Terrapin Club +. Often referred to as "Netflix for Terps", the subscription service is the first of its kind in college athletics and features five shows to create additional value for Terrapin Club members and share the stories of Maryland current and former student-athletes.

We go in-depth on content strategies and deepening ties with your tribes in this episode.

6:30 Terrapin Club “Reinvented” and Terrapin Club +

8:17 Creating Membership Value Over Donor Programs

11:10 Biggest Production Surprises and Challenges

14:56 The Student-Athlete Perspective

16:30 Content Strategy and Distribution Strategy

25:06 Authenticity vs. Production Quality

28:08 Diving in on the Terrapin Club + Five Series

38:11 The NIL Impact

43:30 Measuring Success

47:46 Maryland’s Sources of Inspiration

50:24 Rapid Fire Questions

Books Inspiring Mike

A Life-Changing Perspective

Mike’s Billboard

*SLIGHT CORRECTION* - Since the launch of Terrapin Club +, the Terrapin Club has seen a 100% year-over-year growth, rather than the 100% growth mentioned in the show.

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Check out Terrapin Club+ | YouTube

Follow Mike
Twitter | Instagram

Additional References
Errol Morris Documentaries

Michael’s Favorite Books
This is Not a T-Shirt by Bobby Hundreds
Winning the

Syncing Data, Tech and Social Listening with EarBuds CEO Jason Fox

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 16:00:00 -0400

Today’s guest is Jason Fox. After 6 years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, Jason launched EarBuds in 2018. What started as a platform to facilitate consumers and fans being able to listen to the same playlists as their favorite athletes in real-time has morphed into a new social listening experience through EarBuds’ partnerships with Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora and Spotify.

This episode covers everything from sports tech, data, exclusive fan experiences, entrepreneurship and digital social engagement.

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Show Notes

5:26 The Genesis of EarBuds

7:23 Personalizing the Listening Experience in Real Time

9:07 Expanding Fandoms and Creating Community through Music

12:25 What’s Best for the End User? Uniting the Major Music Players

16:27 Greatest Lessons in Launching EarBuds

19:17 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Entrepreneurship

23:26 EarBuds’ Partnership with Fan Controlled Football

25:13 Digging Deep into Data and Unexpected Audiences

35:47 What’s Next for EarBuds

39:08 Digital Engagement and Social Tokens

46:12 Jason’s Billboard

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Find out more about EarBuds Music
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Connect with Jason
Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

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How to Cultivate SUPER Fans with Brittany Hodak

Mon, 24 May 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Joining the show this week is Brittany Hodak. Recently named Chief Experience Officer at Experience.com, Brittany shares her frameworks that organizations can adopt to cultivate super fans and experiences. Prior to joining Experience.com, Brittany co-founded a marketing and collectibles company ZinePak (later named The Superfan Company), which was featured on Shark Tank and earned one of the highest valuations in show history. She exited in 2019 to focus full-time on speaking and consulting with organizations to harness the passion within fans.

David and Brittany set their rivalry aside to dive in to Brittany's SUPER strategy and focusing on real-time data to perfect customer and employee experience.

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6:03 MGo(Baby)Blue - Coach Harbaugh Converts a Razorback

13:22 The ZinePak/Superfan Company Takeaways

19:02 The Future of Collectibles

22:32 Brittany’s SUPER strategy

26:39 What is special about your story?

28:10 Fostering Future Fans & Connecting to Kids

31:08 Tailoring Campaigns to Niche Audiences

33:47 Overcoming Apathetic Fans

42:53 Personalizing Customer and Employee Experiences with Experience.com

46:53 The Uber Way - Data in Real Time

Additional Resources

BrittanyHodak.com

Experience.com

Beach Boys’ 50th Anniversary Collectible | Dolly Parton’s Pure & Simple Album

Dolly's Imagination Library

More from Brittany

The ABCs of Creating Superfans

The Superfans System

The Superfan W.A.V.E. eBook

Connect with Brittany

Brittany@experience.com

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

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High Speed, High Tech and High Growth with DRL President Rachel Jacobson

Mon, 17 May 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Rachel Jacobson is the President of the Drone Racing League. After 21 years in the NBA, her last role being VP of Global Business Development, and a brief stint in the private sector, Rachel was named president of DRL just one year ago.

DRL is a technology company first and the decisions they make from a business, employee and customer experience standpoint are all from a technology perspective, because of the outreach it enables with both traditional and non-traditional sports fans who have embraced their organization.

We touch on everything from leadership and culture, to making decisions that serve the holistic customer and bringing new fans into their ecosystem.

Show Notes

6:34 Lessons from a 21-Year NBA Career

9:57 It’s All About YOUR People

12:44 Encouraging a Culture of High Performance

14:58 Accountability and Transparency in Leadership

15:40 Hustle in Sports vs. Hustle in Entrepreneurship

20:36 What is the Drone Racing League?

25:14 Appealing to Younger Fans through STEM

28:35 Bringing Multigenerational Fans into the DRL Ecosystem

36:26 DRL’s Player-to-Pilot Training Program

40:42 Aligning Mentality and Markets in Corporate Partnerships

46:49 Rapid Fire Questions

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Additional Notes

Drone Racing League
DRL Academy
T-Mobile 5G Drone
Playstation Drone Racing Simulator

Connect with Rachel:

Building Athlete Brands and Priming for NIL with Jim Cavale

Thu, 06 May 2021 07:00:00 -0400

Jim Cavale is the Founder and CEO of INFLCR. With NIL legislation set to go into effect this summer, college athletic departments face so many unknowns. Jim and his team recently launched INFLCR Verified and INFLCR Plus, initiatives to help athletic departments and student-athletes proactively prepare for this change and provide them the tools to capitalize on their brand power and voice.

This episode covers everything from leadership and building a company, to NIL legislation and empowering student-athletes to better build their brands.

Jim Cavale Show Notes

4:20 Giving Athletes a Better Brand and Voice - Genesis of INFLCR

6:32 Leveraging Relationships and Forging Connections

10:37 Evolution of INFLCR and Partnership with Teamworks

21:31 Inception of INFLCR Verified

27:43 Building an Internal Creative Agency

30:44 From “Athlete Brand Building” to “Name Image Likeness”

33:10 Performers, Producers and Players

37:36 Combating Legislation Paralysis

40:25 Four Domains of Personal Balance

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Additional References
INFLCR | INFLCR Verified | INFLCR Plus
Wake Up Warrior

Connect with Jim
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

Turn Fans Into Customers with David Meerman Scott

Sun, 02 May 2021 22:00:00 -0400

Today's episode is all about turning fans into customers and customers into fans. David sits down with internationally-known author, advisor, educator and speaker David Meerman Scott. Scott co-wrote his latest book, Fanocracy: Turning Fans Into Customers and Customers into Fans, with his daughter Reiko Scott. Fanocracy unearths the science behind building emotional connections in your tribe and marketing lessons learned from fandoms outside of sports, including the Grateful Dead. The show takes a deep dive on applying those lessons to cultivating stronger experiences and relationships with your fanbase.

Show Notes

3:16 Defining Fandom

6:15 A Family Affair - co-authoring “Fanocracy: Turning Customers into Fans and Fans into Customers” with Reiko Scott

9:47 The Individualization of Fandom

13:56 Combatting the Polarization of Social Media

15:23 What Else is There? Building Fandoms Outside of Social Media

21:45 Implementation of Fan Engagement in “Social Spaces”

24:25 Lessons from K-Pop and Growing Rabid Fans

26:41 The Power of K-Pop Fan Bases

29:36 Making Fans Feel Like Insiders

31:40 The Original Social Network

37:04 The Mentality and Psyche of MLS Support Groups

39:29 Utilizing Fandom to Create Emotional Connections

43:25 Rapid Fire Questions

Bad Advice
Sharing success stories
David’s billboard: “Educate and inform, instead of interrupt and sell.”

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Additional Resources

Fanocracy.com | Fanocracy: Turning Fans Into Customers and Customers Into Fans

DavidMeermanScott.com

Other Books by David Meerman Scott

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

Standout Virtual Events

The New Rules of Sales and Service

Marketing the Moon

Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead

Real-Time Marketing and PR
Eyeball Wars

World Wide Rave

Connect with David and Reiko

NIL & NFTs w/ Luka Garza

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 11:00:00 -0400

In today's episode, David is joined by Luka Garza, starting center for the Iowa Hawkeyes, AP College Basketball Player of the Year, and winner of the 2021 Naismith Trophy. They discuss name, image, and likeness, the launch of Luka's new NFT company LukaGarzaNFTGroup.io and how Luka hopes to provide opportunities for college athletes to monetize their brand, and the importance of college athletes being able to control their own brand.

Show Notes:

5:11 Digital Engagement Fan Support during 2020-21

6:56 Breaking into the NFT game

10:11 The Experiential Component of NFTs

11:02 The Role of NFTs in NIL

13:38 Launch of LukaGarzaNFT.io

15:10 Takeaways from Luka’s first NFT

17:44 Future partners of LukaGarzaNFTgroup.io

19:16 Leveraging partnerships to boost student-athlete brands

20:45 The student-athlete perspective on NIL

22:54 Turning NIL from a Zero-Sum game to a Win-Win situation

Additional Notes:

Follow Luka Garza -

LukaGarzaNFTGroup.io | Instagram | Twitter

For More Great Iowa Sports related content, follow these guys:
@davecreagh
@ChiPeoplesChamp

Today’s episode was sponsored by CheckdIn. Know exactly who’s working in your venue.

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Shoutout to these single episode Executive Producers:
Dave Creagh
Jerry Scherwin
Dave Johnson
Zach Gatton

Breaking the Live Events Business Model w/ Ed Vincent

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 15:00:00 -0400

Today’s guest is Ed Vincent, Founder and CEO of FestivalPass. Ed and his team are trying to reinvent the model for accessing live events and how we go about deciding what events to go to as consumers. FestivalPass is the first festival and live event subscription marketplace that provides access to music, film, food and wine, tech and innovation, sports and entertainment and more. His data-driven background is trying to help shape the future of the live events industry.

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Show Notes

4:32 The Building of FestivalPass

7:50 Lessons Learned from MoviePass

9:24 Utilizing Credit Systems for Dynamic Pricing\

13:55 The Vision for FestivalPass

15:08 Bringing Sports onto the FestivalPass platform - Brokering Deals with Ticket Providers

20:25 Creating Value and Understanding Behaviors in Subscription Models

26:35 Future Outlook on Live Events

28:33 Understanding Consumer Confidence in Getting Back to “Normal”

30:28 The Strategy of FestivalPass Post-Pandemic

35:41 Criteria for Analyzing Failed Ideas

38:13 Evaluating Core Principles for Implementing Ideas in New Industries

40:43 New Trends in the Live Events Space

44:30 Importance of Building the Infrastructure to Meet the Business Demand

46:42 Applying Design Thinking to Your Business

Additional References

ClassPass

Design Sprint by Jake Knapp

Jake Knapp: Design Thinking Explained

IDEO Design Thinking

Contact Ed

FestivalPass | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | SnapChat

LinkedIn

Opening a Multi-Billion $ Venue with No Fans

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 14:00:00 -0400

Today’s episode is all about Guest Service vs. Guest Experience and Designing Customer Experiences in New Venues

On this episode, David sits down with Kameron Durham, Vice President of Guest Experience for the entire entertainment footprint of Hollywood Park, including SoFi Stadium, the brand new home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Prior to this role, he was the Director of Guest Services for the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres. In its first year, SoFi Stadium did not host any fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In lieu of guests, they re-thought customer experience and service as stakeholder experience and service, focusing on the employees and players and those who are expected to deliver magical moments for fans.

Show Notes

6:34 Transactional Guest Services vs. Proactive Guest Experiences

9:58 Mindsets and Skill Sets Changes

11:52 Evolution of Staffing - Investing In and Empowering Employees with the San Diego Padres

15:42 Hiring Authentic People for Your Mission

22:25 SoFi Stadium / Hollywood Park - Bringing a $5 Billion Project to Life

27:30 Creating the Strategy, Knowledge, Tools and Rewards for Enhancing the Employee Experience

33:31 Measuring Success of Guest Experience

38:20 Incorporating Third-Party Partners into the Family

41:46 Building an Employee Incentive/Reward Program

44:20 Impactful Technology Enhancements for Guest Experience

47:45 Putting the Customer at the Center of Decision Making

50:48 Connecting Work, Live and Play in Hollywood Park

53:41 Rapid Fire Questions

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Connect with Kameron on LinkedIn.

Today’s episode was sponsored by CheckdIn. Know exactly who’s working in your venue.

Finding The Right Sponsorships for YOUR fans w/ Rob Temple and Rick Jones

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 15:00:00 -0400

In today's episode, David sits down with two industry legends Rob Temple,
Chief Executive Officer at FishBait Solutions, LLC and Rick Jones, Captain, Creative Director and Shareholder at FishBait Solutions, LLC. When combining Rick's creative mind for amazing corporate sponsorship ideas and insights and Rob's previous 20-year experience as ESPN's Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing the two bring a powerhouse of knowledge into this episode. The three get into sponsorships and how to find the right corporate partners to connect with your unique fans.

Show Notes

6:30 The Evolution and New Vision of FishBait Solutions

13:35 Appealing to the Next Generation of Fans

15:44 Looking Backward vs. Looking Forward for Solutions

17:20 Takeaways from the NFL’s new TV agreement

20:00 The 7Cs of Relationships

21:51 Aligning and Future Proofing Contracts

25:56 What Does Success Look Like? - Solving Problems and Creating Partnerships

31:03 Who Do Your Fans Trust Now?

32:16 Creating Joy That Unites

34:30 Favorite Brand Activation and Partnership Stories
(Rob) Fearless Pursuit of New Activations
(Rick) Knowing Your Brand and Your Community

41:39 Understanding the Macro of the Customer

43:01 Most Challenging Project & Key Lessons Learned - NASCAR - Rob

47:53 Creating Derivative & Niche Programming Content

52:25 5-Year-Plans to 5-Month-Plans and Planning for First to Market

54:39 Most Challenging Project & Key Lessons Learned - Mascot Hall of Fame - Rick

57:26 The Tallest Pygmy

58:46 Rapid Fire Questions

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Additional Notes
Book Recommendations

“Grant” by Ron Chernow
“The Pursuit of Wow” by Tom Peters
“Leadershift” by John Maxwell

$208k for a LeBron replay? NFTs Explained

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 16:00:00 -0400

Our guest today is Jesse Schwarz, who set an NBA Top Shot record earlier this year, paying $208k for a replay of a LeBron James dunk. If that makes no sense to you, don't worry, we've got you covered in this episode.

Today's episode is a little out of the ordinary, where we dive deep into non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs have been all the rage in 2021, but if you still don't understand them, Jesse and I try to break it down in this episode. It's not your standard explanation of NFTs, as we try to unpack how you and your sports & entertainment organization can use NFTs to drive more revenue and deeper engage your fans.

How Fandom is Evolving w/ Zoe Scaman

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 14:00:00 -0400

Today’s guest has been one of my favorite follows on Twitter over the past year, Zoe Scaman. Zoe runs her own strategy studio in the UK, called Bodacious.

At Bodcacious, one of Zoe’s bigger projects she’s working on right now is with Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks, and Mark Cuban Experiments, or MCX for short. We’ll dive into this a ton in this episode.

Before Bodacious, Zoe was the Global Head of Strategy for the Ridley Scott Creative Group. If you look at her career, you’ll see she’s dabbled in so many different areas, working for international brands, as well as agencies of all sizes. That’s given her a really wide range of things she’s interested in, and she has an uncanny ability to connect insights from one industry into another. This makes us love her, obviously, because that’s what we focus so much of our time on in this show.

For today, we’re really going to be diving deep into Fandom. And no it should be no surprise, that much of how fandom is changing today is based on the evolution of the creator economy. If you’re not familiar with the creator economy, have no fear, we do some definition setting in the episode.

Show Notes:
7:32 Fandom vs. fans with an affinity

9:51 FazeClan and the birth of amateur content creation

14:00 Breaking down fandom levels with Marvel Cinematic Universe

19:17 The strategies for developing content for various audiences

23:13 The NBA exemplifying cultural crossovers

25:40 Examining the adjacent cultural genres to sports

30:05 Takeaways from MCX and the NBA

34:55 Monetizing experimentation in your organization

38:30 Reaching the Gen Z audience

42:56 Building a content creation team

44:56 Creating content for niche audiences

48:40 Lessons learned from Ocean Spray

53:03 NFTs and the impact on collectibles

Where to Reach Zoe:
Twitter: @zoescaman
Subscribe to Zoe's Email Newsletter

Articles:
From Frameworks to Flywheels
Faze Clan, Fandom and the New Brand Flywheel
FaZe Clan - Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Bleacher Report’s Game of Zones
Adjacent Content - @LeagueFits |

Amaze Your Customers and Fans w/ Shep Hyken

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 14:00:00 -0500

Our guest today is Shep Hyken, a customer service and experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. Shep works with companies and organizations that want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. His articles have been read in hundreds of publications, and he is the author of "Amaze Every Customer Every Time," "Moments of Magic," "The Loyal Customer," "The Cult of the Customer" and "The Amazement Revolution."

Shep, KG, and David cover everything from designing an organization's purpose to how customer service has changed for the future due to the pandemic.

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Show Notes:

(07:53) Learning customer service at age 12

(11:02) “Without customers, you don’t have a business”

(15:25) Marketing creates repeat customers; loyalty is a connection

(18:49) Crafting genuine and transparent mission statements

(21:46) Purpose statements in practice - lessons from the Ritz-Carlton and Disney

(26:05) Creating mission statements that clearly articulate your values

(29:51) Shep’s Six Simple Steps to Create a Customer Service Culture

(31:52) Unpacking Step #3: Train It

(37:16) The shortest customer service speech in the world

(39:13) “I’ll Be Back - How to Get Customers to Come Back Again and Again” - Shep’s next book

(43:55) Looking outside your industry for inspiration

(45:15) Customer service is not a department, it’s a philosophy

(47:23) Rapid Fire Questions

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Additional Notes:

Purchase Shep’s Books

I’ll Be Back: How to Get Customers to Come Back Again and Again
The Convenience Revolution
Amaze Every Customer Every Time
The Amazement Revolution
The Cult of the Customer
Moments of Magic
The Loyal Customer
Be Amazing or Go Home

Shep’s Book Recommendations:

The Effortless Experience by Matt Dixon

The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore

How to Connect with Shep:

https://hyken.com/

Shep’s Customer Service newsletter

Shep TV on YouTube

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Today’s epi

Leadership Lessons from a Disney Legend w/ Lee Cockerell

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 02:00:00 -0500

Our guest today is with Disney Parks & Resorts legend, Lee Cockerell. In this episode, we focus on leadership, customer service, and time management,

Lee Cockerell retired as the Executive Vice President of Operations for the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, a position he held for ten years. His responsibilities encompassed a diverse mix of operations, which included 20 resort hotels with over 24,000 Guest rooms, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, 5 golf courses, a shopping village & nighttime entertainment complex (Downtown Disney, now Disney Springs), the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and the ancillary operations support functions.

Leadership Lessons from Disney Legend Lee Cockerell

1:02 The legendary Main Street windows and the story behind Lee’s window

5:35 The Main Street Diary - Lee’s consistent communication strategy with all Walt Disney World® cast members

9:13 The 8-minute podcast

12:15 Disney’s Chain of Excellence & how you get results

17:39 Talent is the name of the game

22:39 The behaviors and characteristics of successful leaders at Disney

24:05 The leadership test and building complementary teams

28:14 Lee’s Legacy - Disney Great Leader Strategies & Creating Magic

30:50 From what to how - implementing Disney Great Leader Strategies

35:39 Leading through external pressures on the organization

40:33 Lee’s top three leadership strategies

43:00 Balancing and managing your time

45:50 Deciding what to delegate

48:29 Rapid fire round

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

Lee’s Book Recommendations

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Having Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen

Learn from Lee

Find Your SPARK w/ Simon T. Bailey

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Join David and KG as they chat with guest Simon T. Bailey, a motivational speaker, author, and life coach. Simon's content revolves around purpose, leadership, and inspiration. David and KG get into Simon's experiences through these lenses and how it ties into customer service.

Show Notes:

(5:26) Making Organizations Sizzle: The Power of Leadership, Culture, and Consistency

(6:52) Culture is not the Mission and Vision statement on the website; it’s what lives in the head and hearts of those doing the work

(8:35) How leaders can instill culture and care into an organization

(9:45) Marrying top leaders’ goals with the goals of customer-facing employees

(12:21) From performance reviews to career investment discussions - Demonstrating genuine care for teams

(15:31) Eliminate the employee survey; Create pulse surveys instead

(19:31) Be the SPARK in your organization

(24:37) Infusing the SPARK in your organization - Identify a champion and chase consistency

(25:14) It’s not Kool-Aid, it’s Culture - Lessons learned from the Ritz-Carlton

(33:17) Say Yes, Now What’s the Question? Simon’s Journey from Days Inn to the Ritz-Carlton

(36:15) Adapting SPARK principles vs. adopting SPARK principles - build your own purpose

(41:21) Facts Tell, Stories Sell

(44:38) Leading in the remote era - embrace gratitude and the at-home life

(47:31) Corporations don’t have ideas, people do. Tap into the brilliance in your organization.

Additional Notes:

Connect with Simon T. Bailey and invite him to speak at your organization

https://www.instagram.com/simontbailey/

https://www.facebook.com/BrilliantSimonT

https://twitter.com/simontbailey

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simontbailey/

Simon’s Books:

Success is an Inside Job

Release Your Brilliance

Shift Your Brilliance

Releasing Leadership Brilliance

Brilliant Living: 31 Insights to Creating an Awesome Life

Making Swag Easy w/ Jeremy Parker

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 16:00:00 -0500

In today's episode, David sits down with guest Jeremy Parker, Co-Founder and CEO at Swag.com. With the attitude of learning as you go and reinventing your space, Jeremy discusses his journey in founding Swag.com and the ideas and concepts behind customer pain points.

(4:41)Defining “Swag”

(5:50)Jeremy’s journey from film major to Swag.com

(9:11)The challenges of the licensing landscape in college athletics

(11:44)How could we reinvent the collegiate licensing business?

(14:35)Just get it out the door - launch the product and learn

(17:17)Differentiating the product buying experience

(23:15)Prioritizing feature upgrades based on customer feedback

(25:00)Removing barriers from the check-out process

(27:44)Behind the domain “Swag.com”

(31:50)Swag.com’s pandemic pivot - the focus on distribution

(34:58)Where is the promotional industry going?

(41:23)Quality over quantity - make products that resonate rather than walking billboards

(47:39)You never know until you try

(50:47)Giving customers confidence in the e-Commerce buying process

Additional References:

Tees and Tats and Mark Cuban
Chatbots mentioned

Connect with Jeremy:
https://swag.com/

Email: jeremy@swag.com

LinkedIn: Jeremy Parker

Shifting Perspectives for Customer-Centric Marketing w/ Elisa Padilla

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 23:00:00 -0500

On today's episode, David and KG are joined by guest Elisa Padilla, former Senior Vice President, Creative Strategy & Partnership Marketing for Roc Nation, and former Senior Vice President of Marketing for the Miami Marlins. Elisa, David, and KG talk about customer-centric marketing and how the way you lead and the perspectives you shift allow you to achieve it more successfully.

Show Notes:

(06:52) Infusing the Jay-Z “Star” mentality from “Street to Seat”

(10:51) Walking the walk over and over again - creating sensory experiences in Barclays Center

(14:28) Refining the customer journey experience for personas and current trends

(16:55) Apple’s obsession with details

(21:53) Changing perspectives to change processes

(24:06) The 360 degree approach to the customer experience

(28:20) Reflecting the town culture in the game day experience

(29:40) The hybrid model of engagement - evoking emotion to drive action

(33:38) Leveraging digital revenue streams and expanding the fandom

(39:11) Monetizing the storyline - lessons learned from Trapital and Drake

(41:00) Takeaways from Roc Nation Unified

(43:55) Flipping the narrative - “KickItByEP“

(52:05) The Disney Influence on Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment

(53:50) Elisa’s Friday Leaders Walk

(59:20) Lead with empathy and compassion

Additional Resources:

Dan Runcie - Drake’s Best Year

KickItByEP

Elisa’s favorite episode - KickItByEP with Katrina Palanca

Where to Reach the Guest:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisa-padilla/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/eprican?s=20

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kickitbyep/?hl=en

Celebrating 50 episodes with our Top 5 favorite clips

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 02:00:00 -0500

Our favorite clips from our Top 5 most popular episodes.

Today, we're celebrating hitting our 50th episode! We couldn't have done this without all of you and we can't thank you all enough. To celebrate, we're taking a look back at our top 5 most listened to episodes. Counting down from #5, we'll listen back on great moments from each episode on the list. Hope you all enjoy!

Show Notes:

(02:15) #5 - Access vs ownership applied to season tickets; Bringing subscriptions to sports

(11:40) #4 - Servant leadership and prioritizing your time

(22:57) #3 - How Disney and Carnival Cruise Line used customer journey maps to improve their businesses.

(34:51) #2 - Empowering and equipping your employees to make decisions and take action

(44:00) #1 - Leading with experience first and using the question "what if" to innovate

Designing Effective Remote Work Teams w/ Steph Smith

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 00:00:00 -0500

In today's episode, Steph Smith, Head of Trends.co at the Hustle and Founder of Integral Labs, joins the show. Steph and David discuss the ideas and insights of how to build a more effective team in both a remote work or hybrid environment.

Show Notes:

(6:54) The bell curve of giving and taking - amplifying giving in remote work

(10:54) How to encourage giving behavior

(15:50) What benefits can organizations now offer to entice the best talent?

(18:05) Applying the “First Principles” to your business and employee experience

(21:34) The new wave of benefits to offer employees

(25:05) Replacing the water cooler - how to generate the personal and professional relationships in a virtual setting

(27:27) Replicating an office environment with co-working spaces

(30:54) Defining success - the importance of metrics-driven assessments

(32:50) Algorithms to live by and the Nash equilibrium

(35:50) Game theory & working backward from the ideal outcome

(40:07) Personal user manuals - learn about your people upfront

(49:24) Being versatile in a leadership role

(47:53) Trends in remote work - what’s next?

(52:05) What’s coming? - The Biotech boom

For more information on topics referenced during the show:

EngageMint's "71-Tips to Navigate a Virtual Work Culture" Ebook

Get $100 off Trends with our referral code:

First-principles thinking

Game theory

Give and Take by Adam Grant

Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths

Steph Smith’s Personal User Manual

Where to reach the guest:
Steph's LinkedIn
Steph's personal Website
Steph's Twitter @stephsmithio

Utilizing Technology to Solve Business Problems w/ Adam Polansky

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 16:00:00 -0500

In today's episode, KG and David chat with Adam Polansky, the Group Director of Innovation at Octagon, a one of the world's biggest sports marketing agencies.

They discuss how we can use technology to innovate and ultimately create better experiences for fans and employees.

Show Notes:

(3:55) What is Octagon? How does the Innovation team fit within the organization structure?

(5:40) What is innovation? How does Octagon define it?

(7:20) The meaning of fandom and sharing that with Octagon’s clients

(10:25) Creating the spiritual home for fans

(13:20) Capitalizing on the intersection of sports and technology

(16:20) Octagon in Action - Bringing the Home Depot’s College Game Day sponsorship to life during the 2020 football season

(18:40) Behind the scenes - Octagon’s brainstorming sessions

(23:45) Lifestyle Marketing - from inception to rollout

(28:28) The “non-sexy” side of problem solving

(32:45) How might we create something new with virtual capabilities?

(39:50) If we repurpose something from the past, is that innovative?

(42:15) Zoe Scaman’s “The Rollout” - Capitalizing on an existing event for a virtual experience

(44:20) The innovation waiting to be brought to life

(46:25) Selling the pitch - getting companies to push the boundaries

(51:34) The art of interactive storytelling

(55:44) The top technologies driving innovation

Referenced During the Show:

Dallas Mavericks' "Rollup"

Ghostbusters Experience at Madame Tussauds

MSCHF

Chartr.co

Where to Reach Adam:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aspolansky
Twitter: a_polansk
https://www.octagon.com/

The Future of Customer Experience w/ Steven Van Bellegham

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 19:00:00 -0500

Steven Van Bellegham is a best-selling author and an international keynote speaker, largely focused on the future customer experience. He’s given keynotes in over 40 countries, and he’s worked with some of the biggest companies in the world, from Google to Mercedes Benz.

Steven is the author of multiple international bestselling books including ‘The Conversation Manager’, ‘When Digital Becomes Human’, ‘Customers the Day after Tomorrow’, ‘The Offer You Can’t Refuse’ and a futuristic technology thriller called Eternal, which we discuss at the beginning of the episode.

To preview what this episode is about, I’m going to steal this from his website’s About page: “Steven believes in a bright future where companies play the long-term game with their customers. His passion is spreading ideas about the future of customer experience. Steven believes in the combination of common sense, new technologies, an empathic human touch, playing the long-term game and taking your social responsibility to win the hearts and business of customers over and over again.”

If that’s up your alley, you’re gonna love this episode.

Show Notes

(5:30) Getting to know Steven Van Belleghem

(9:00) Reinventing a global business during the COVID-19 pandemic

(12:00) The balance of technology and in-person engagement on business

(17:45) How do you add value at the exact right moment without being intrusive?

(21:30) Taking a commodity and making it an ecosystem

(22:00) How subscription models change markets

(25:00) Building a sponsorship community with Club Brugge

(29:30) Creating ethical guidelines for dealing with emotions

(30:08) Your why should be where you are going, not where you’ve been

(38:15) Magical moments curated by Disney

(43:15) What would Joy do? (Lessons learned from Disney’s Inside Out)

(47:15) Setting policies that will serve the greatest number of fans

(52:30) The downsides of technology - removing the human element

(54:30) It’s not about knowing what customers want, but how they want it

Additional Resources
https://www.stevenvanbelleghem.com/
E-book "From CX to XC"

Where to Reach Stev

Bringing the X-Factor to Guest and Employee Experience w/ Kami Testa

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 18:00:00 -0500

Today's guest is Kami Testa, Guest Experience Program Director of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury. Kevin Gober and Kami dive into how to drive change in your organization, the process of hiring a large team of employees all at once, training your staff, and how mindsets impact actions.

Kami's unique background with the Walt Disney Company has helped her bring fresh insights to the NBA's Phoenix franchises. Before the NBA and WNBA, Kami held a wide array of roles with different parts of the Walt Disney Company. She's spent time as a Facilitator for Disney Institute; a Training Manager for Disney Cruise Line; she's been a Traditions facilitator (training Cast Members on their first day at Disney); she's worked in premium sales for Adventures by Disney (the company's travel planning agency); and more.

Show Notes

(7:00) Kami Testa Intro and Background

(9:30) Parallels of Guest Experience and Employee Experience - The Disney “Chain of Excellence”

(14:30) Lessons from the Phoenix Suns’ Virtual Hiring Fair

(16:00) Hiring for Attitude vs. Aptitude

(17:30) Shaking Up the Interview Process

(18:30) Training the Hiring Managers - Getting Your Staff on Board to Your Vision

(20:40) Disney Insights - Skills-Based Recruitment is Fatally Flawed

(22:00) Challenges of Virtual Training / On-boarding

(27:00) Discovering Talent - Outlining Opportunities for Growth for Part-Time Staff

(30:00) Cultural Overall of Changing the Phoenix Suns’ Game Day Staff Uniforms

(34:30) How to Change Your Staff’s Perspective Beyond “Job Description”

(39:00) The Suns’ Vision for the Future

(46:00) How to Formulate a Culture Committee

(49:30) Tools for Balancing Your Team’s Mental Health

The Customer Experience Playbook w/ Jonathan Daniels

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 07:00:00 -0500

Jonathan Daniels, Co-Founder and Director of CX Brussels, joins us on today's episode as we go over the various steps of the "ICON Process" from his book The Customer Experience Playbook. Consisting of Initiate, Co-Create, Operationalize, and Nourish, David and Jonathan breakdown a customer experience transformation to its core and show how these fundamental CX steps can be leveraged as a growth strategy for your business.

Time Stamps:

(4:45) Who is Jonathan and CX Brussels?

(7:47) Trends in CX conversations outside of the U.S.

(12:15) Digital transformations and the transitions in between

(16:10) The Customer Experience Playbook - ICON Process

Initiate

(19:50) Keys of a governance structure for customer centricity

(22:48) Power of the voice of the customer and ROI

(26:45) The importance of detailed goals to become customer-centric

Co-Creation

(30:37) Focusing on co-creation after measurement of CX growth

(33:33) Incorporating employees in co-creation is necessary

Operationalize

(36:40) Making sure to operationalize and add standards

Nourish

(39:52) Reinvesting and implementing changes and improvements to your CX transformation

(42:19) The toughest aspect of the ICON process

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

The Customer Experience Playbook by Jonathan Daniels

CX Centric - https://cx-centric.com/

CX Conversations - https://www.cx-centric-training.com/conversations

Where To Reach the Guest:

LinkedIn - Jonathan Daniels

Twitter - @mrdansoultions

Email - jonathan@cx-centric.com

Importance of Versatility and Vulnerability in Leadership

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 16:00:00 -0500

David Millay and Kevin Gober are back with another Jam Session as they discuss ways to create your own value and finding ways to bring that value to your organization. With Covid changing the working environment and structure, David and KG get into adapting your skillset to fit in any situation and learning universal ways to lead during the pandemic.

Time Stamps:

(2:00) What it’s like for sports to be back but not able to be in the building

(4:30) Worries of making an impact in your organization during Covid-19

(6:00) Find a way to bring value - the importance of acquiring new skill sets

(8:50) Kevin’s retail experience & demonstrating versatility

(11:00) Adapting the principles of sports business to other industries

(14:40) Different strategies of energizing your team as a leader

(17:47) Speaking from the heart vs. speaking from a script

(20:44) How should you be leading in these times?

(22:12) Inside the relaunch of events at State Farm Arena - Crawl, Walk, Run Mentality

(32:38) Recruiting and hiring in the midst of social distancing

(37:37) Enhancing your skill sets to be ready for the next opportunity

(40:06) Re-imagining the onboarding process - creating a mentoring buddy system

(42:49) Acknowledging and caring for the mental health of employees in this time

(47:59) How can we create better workplace cultures with hybrid work schedules?

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

New Orleans Pelicans Virtual Career Event

A Culture of Experimentation and Innovation w/ Jesse Cole

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 19:00:00 -0500

This week's episode is another jam session with Kevin Gober, and we're joined by Jesse Cole.

Jesse is the owner of the Savannah Bananas and Fans First Entertainment. He's one of the most innovative sports execs in the industry, and his insights from running his baseball team will inspire you to try some of your own experiments.

Time Stamps:

(6:50) Taking big risks and experimenting: Example of FansGiving - Learnings, not failures

(11:10) How to learn and debrief after events that have wins and losses

(13:25) Inside the Savannah Bananas’ Think Tank and creative process

(15:54) The Importance of Experience and Experiments

(16:50) What should you start doing, stop doing, and continue doing?

(19:17) How to become a 24/7 brand and stay relevant

(22:23) Sports teams focusing on what they can control and regaining it

(24:40) The 5 Stages of a venue or live event

(25:38) What can you take from outside your industry?

(30:08) Growing the culture of an organization

(32:03) Cultivating a younger fan base

(34:54) Re-envisioning the season ticket membership for Gen Z

(37:40) How do you keep fans coming back game after game?

(39:24) The Savannah Bananas’ interview process

(40:59) The employee culture at State Farm Arena

(44:43) Knowing what you won’t be and how to adapt

(51:40) Reflections on 2020 - What to start, stop, and continue

Lessons from the Business of Hip-Hop w/ Dan Runcie

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 06:00:00 -0500

Time Stamps:

(5:50) Dan’s background / What is Trapital?

(12:32) Sports and Hip-Hop: “We want to be them, they want to be us”

(13:12) How artists have engaged fans without live events

(17:55) Example of how music can scale into sports and entertainment

(24:37) Creative models to replace revenue

(26:05) Key partnerships for at-home entertainment

(29:52) "Name-Image-Likeness" Parallels

(31:40) Disruptions in the music industry

(34:17) Framework for analyzing business models

(37:52) The role that music videos have had in revenue generation for the music industry

(44:08) Modern-day lessons from music business leaders

(47:19) Generating Passion vs. Influence

(50:46) If Dan were the Athletics Director for a day...

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Harvard Business School case study on Beyonce

Ben Thompson Business Model

Michael and Janet Jackson Scream Music Video

Where to Reach the Guest:

Trapital Newsletter

Email - info [at] trapital.co

LinkedIn - Dan Runcie

Twitter - @RuncieDan

The Future of Venue Experiences w/ Drew Berst

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 07:00:00 -0500

In today's episode, David and Kevin talk with Drew Berst about the combination of digital and physical experiences and how to infuse that in your customer experience. How will stadiums utilize their space going forward? With many stadiums transforming and restructuring their format, how can you maintain the culture and tradition while also keeping with the times and adapting to new experiences? With covid accelerating the demand and structure of sports, how can you balance this all?

Time Stamps:

2:55 - Who is Drew Berst?

3:43 - How Raiders are utilizing their 3D printed stadium torch

7:00 - Understanding what history tells us about short term and long term

8:10 - Covid's biggest fear; people are afraid of people

10:10 - When sports come back you need to offer a new experience

11:14 - Covid is accelerating certain demands in sports

12:51 - What are the positives and innovations of Covid?

13:50 - If sports become more premium, where does that leave the nosebleed fans?

15:53 - How State Farm Arena and the Atlanta Hawks balance the average and premium fans

18:47 - Experience is the center of attention at venues

20:40 - How to optimize the stadium and atmosphere at limited capacity

23:40 - How to approach older stadiums for restructuring and layout while keeping the culture and tradition

27:20 - What does the conversation with executives look like when redesigning traditional stadiums?

30:20 - The success of Dimensional Innovations

32:18 - The Masters and NBA Bubble infusing digital with physical experiences

34:06 - Digital experiences are here to stay

35:27 - How the NHL has approached their season

37:30 - The digitization of experiences from Dimensional Innovations

42:03 - Emotional connections are at the heart of the experience

43:00 - Digitization of consumer experiences

44:30 - How will clients return to communication? Who will stay digital?

45:24 - Future of sponsorships and fan experiences

49:28 - What data needs to be gathered and measured along with what you do with it is changing

50:59 - checking in employees at stadiums is still a hassle; Engagemint's solution to that: CheckdIn

54:08 - Where can you find more from Drew?

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Dimensional Innovations

Dimensional Innovation's Project with The Raiders

The Power of Service and Reinvention w/ Brandon Steiner

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:00:00 -0500

This episode is a little bit of a throwback. It's a conversation from the end of July, but we're airing it now, 3-4 months later. It still holds up tremendously well, as our guest's message on service and reinvention is timeless.

Our guest today is Brandon Steiner and he's been in the sports marketing business longer than I've been alive. Literally. Brandon was the founder and former CEO of Steiner Sports, which is now owned by Fanatics. Steiner Sports started out as an effort to pair up athletes with businesses, trying to attract customers; classic sports marketing.

Before long though, the company got into what Brandon is primarily known for, memorabilia. In 2005, Brandon partnered with the Yankees to create Yankees-Steiner collectibles, where Brandon had the rights to license and market a wide variety of game-used items from bats to baseballs, you name it.

From there, he built similar deals with national brands, like the Cowboys, Notre Dame, Madison Square Garden, and many more iconic sports brands. He built a memorabilia empire, creating relationships with thousands of athletes and helping fans get their hands on exclusive items and experiences. Steiner Sports is now owned by Fanatics and Brandon is on a new journey.

Brandon is currently the founder and CEO of CollectibleXchange and The Steiner Agency. We're going to talk about both of those ventures, among other things. We take a couple of minutes to get going, but pretty quickly we jump into a ton of different topics.

The biggest themes of the episode really revolve around entrepreneurship and how sports and entertainment organizations can ultimately become more entrepreneurial, which is incredibly important right now in this time of the pandemic where everybody's reinventing. And innovation is key. Brandon is in his sixties now, and starting a second career.

Brandon stresses that it's never too late for an organization or an individual to learn new skills and start new journeys. We talk about lessons learned from his parents, and we dive into customer service lessons that he's picked up from serving millions and millions of customers over the years.

Brandon Steiner's Content:
Brandon Steiner's Books
Podcast and Blog

Contact Brandon
Brandon's LinkedIn
Brandon's Twitter

Brandon's Companies:
CollectibleXchange
The Steiner Agency

Great Leaders Establish, Operationalize, and Sustain Values

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 14:00:00 -0500

In the second episode of our new format with Kevin Gober, Kevin and David get into the importance of leadership and structure that top-level executives need to be taking during the ever-adapting covid and digital age. With an overarching framework of leaders establishing, operationalizing, and sustaining the values and vision by which organizations thrive, David and Kevin discuss leaders' responsibility to help our employees in the emotional & mental, relational, physical, financial, purposeful, and employable spectrums. From employee journey maps to improving meeting tactics, this episode gets into the ins and out of running an organization in the new digital era.

Time Stamps:

00:00 - What’s on the top of the mind?

2:00 - Organization principles for leaders

3:50 - Leader behaviors and processes

5:52 - Having courageous conversations

8:45 - How does EngageMint foster innovation with clients?

9:50 - Journey mapping with EngageMint

10:54 - Creating service blueprints

13:48 - Helping the organization see the true behind-the-scenes impact

15:45 - The building process of State Farm Arena

16:53 - Atlanta Hawks innovation of day-to-day meetings

20:27 - Importance of note-taking and tangible actions from meetings

21:28 - Playbook - Rules of Engagement for Meetings

24:37 - Ramp up meetings - meetings to discuss all functions to get ready to open doors

25:44 - Fans in venues for NBA? - tipping off Dec. 22

28:34 - State Farm Arena - using the venue for polling; now flipping to get ready for basketball

29:30 - Deeper dive into Kevin’s role of “Chief Experience Officer” for Atlanta Hawks

31:50 - Employees want to know what are you going to do to protect me and keep me safe in a covid space?

33:09 - Discussion on trust in the workplace, from excess Zoom meetings to “prove” you are “working from home” to accepting employees will now get their work done

34:11 - KG talking about strategies Atlanta Hawks' owners have used to have the backs of employees during the pandemic

37:58 - Easy ways for leaders to be present now that we’re digital

39:15 - Big things grab headlines. Little things drive culture.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Jared Spataro Podcast Episode

71 Tips: How to Build Virtual Culture

Livestreams, Guest Experience Philosophy, and CX at the Polls

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 16:00:00 -0500

Kevin Gober, the Senior Director of Arena Employee Experience and Learning & Development for the Atlanta Hawks, joined us for today's episode.

For context, we recorded this episode on November 1, before the US election.

We got tons of positive feedback on the episode we did earlier this year with Kevin, so we brought KG back to talk about what's on his mind. Not our typical interview format, Kevin and I brainstormed different ideas we are working on; we discussed trends we're thinking about; and we shared obstacles we're stuck on.

We're experimenting here with this new format, so please send me any feedback on Twitter - @davidmillay or on LinkedIn.

Enjoy!

Modern Work and Digital Experiences w/ Jared Spataro

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 21:00:00 -0400

Our guest for this session is Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft. Jared oversees Microsoft 365, including Microsoft Teams, as well as the company’s focus on Modern Work.

Obviously, the different elements of Microsoft 365 are deeply embedded in all of our daily work, from Outlook to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and more. His team has tremendous insight into the data behind how we’re using these tools, allowing his team to see trends before others see them. As a result, Jared and his team have been spending more and more time reimagining the future of work. And this is where we’ll spend the majority of our discussion.

Overseeing Microsoft Teams, Jared’s team played a huge role in the NBA bubble, as their Teams “Together Mode” allowed for the NBA to create virtual fans at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. We discuss Microsoft’s broader activities in the sports & entertainment and live events industries, where properties everywhere are having to place a more intentional focus on the digital experiences they provide their fans. It’s here that our group found some particularly interesting insights.

Like many of our guests on this show, Jared’s experience is not limited to just sports & entertainment. He’s seeing trends from all industries around the world, and that insight can help us think differently than our peers, to better engage our fans and our employees.

Time Stamps:

7:25 - Sporting leagues adapting to digital technology

8:15 - Digitization and the NFL

12:15 - Creating digital experiences for fans around the world

14:15 - Asynchronous and synchronous transformations

16:05 - Application of Microsoft Teams "together mode" to the NBA and NFL

18:52 - Trends of physical proximity oriented spending being reallocated to digital budgets

24:40 - How to combat change-resistant people

28:45 - The role of humans in technology advancement

32:29 - The pandemic's acceleration of technology

35:00 - Future of Work: Microsoft's 7 principles

39:39 - What will the new "normal" be after Covid-19?

48:55 - How Microsoft runs meetings

53:24 - Blending digital and physical

Microsoft Teams Resources and Implementations:

Microsoft Teams

NBA Bubble virtual fans experience

Microsoft Teams Together Mode

Virtual Fan Engagement Opportunities w/ Brad Wurthman & Chris Grosse

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Today’s episode is a little different than usual. This episode is the edited audio from one of our Fireside Chats, something that our invite-only community has access too.

Our subject matter experts for the chat were Brad Wurthman, Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Operations at Virginia Tech and Chris Grosse, Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing at Penn State University.

Brad and Chris both lead teams responsible for the fan experiences at their famous sporting venues. On a normal football Saturday, their 65k+ stadiums literally shake the ground from screaming fans. But this year, neither stadium will host fans due to the pandemic. So we brought them in to discuss their plans for engaging fans virtually.

In these Fireside Chats, it’s not just me and the guests. There are tons of other leaders on the platform, where they can chime in, ask questions or add their two cents. So when you hear other voices on this episode, don’t be surprised. If you'd like to join the waitlist to attend future chats and ask your own questions, feel free to sign-up here.

Time Stamps:

6:00 - Replacing stadium experiences for fans at home

15:00 - Creating alternate revenue sources

20:00 - Changes in key metrics during COVID

22:00 - Penn State’s content strategy for virtual fans

24:50 - Keeping fans engaged with sponsors at home

32:00 - Implementing fan cardboard cutouts

39:28 - Activating user-generated content

45:25 - Turning tailgating to “homegating”

48:10 - Sports subscription boxes

53:10 - Biggest skill sets needed on a team for the future

VT & PSU Virtual Fan Engagement Plans:
Virginia Tech's Plan
Penn State's Plan

Where to Reach the Guests:

Brad Wurthman
Connect on Twitter: @wurthman
Connect on LinkedIn

Chris Grosse:
Connect on Twitter: @Chris_Grosse
Connect on LinkedIn:

Rachel Mydosh
Connect on Twitter:@rachel_mydosh
Connect on LinkedIn:

The Culture of a Challenger Brand w/ Scott Carr

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 10:00:00 -0400

The Deputy Athletics Director for UCF, one of the most innovative, creative, organizations in college athletics, joins us today. In his daily responsibilities, Scott has oversight of all external units, including Brand Advancement, Strategic Communications and Video Services, as well as being heavily involved in revenue generation.

In a time right now where revenue is tight for all sports and live event organizations, we all need new ideas to engage our audience, our followers and our fans. And Scott’s been a key leader in an organization that has done a 180 in the last few years.

On January 1, 2018, Danny White, UCF’s Athletic Director, declared UCF the National Champions after a 13-0 undefeated season, despite not getting a chance to compete for the official national championship. Even before that public declaration of rebellion against the status quo, UCF had created an internal culture of innovation, one that challenged traditions and focused on engaging their young fan base and employees.

When you’re not a traditional superpower in your market, the success UCF has had is hard to achieve. They got there by taking risks, experimenting, and ultimately creating and sustaining a culture of innovation.

All the headlines usually go to massive capital investments in experiences like tailgating in a lazy river, or putting a beach in the stadium. But those headlines are the result of a 100 little things that have been done to foster a culture of creativity and innovation. Things like changing department names and role titles, the experience and demographics of your staff members, the metrics people are held accountable too, and more.

If you’re a smaller player in your market trying to make waves and topple the big guys, this episode is for you. And honestly, if you are the big guy thinking you can’t get any better cuz you’re already at the top? You’re gonna get toppled by the organizations that think like Scott and UCF. If you’re not innovating, you’re dying.

Personalizing the Guest Experience w/ Brian Betts

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 10:00:00 -0400

Our guest today is Brian Betts, a 22+ year Disney Cast member and former executive. By trade, Brian is an industrial engineer, so this episode is going to have an analytical and methodical approach towards improving customer experience.

In his career at Disney, Brian did everything from helping launch Disney Cruise Line and Disney’s Fast Pass, to overseeing experience insights within My Magic+, Disney’s mobile app and connected ecosystem. Throughout Brian’s career, he’s used analytics to optimize the guest experience, managing multi-billion dollar annual capital investments, including the development of new attractions and experiences. As part of his last role as Vice President of Planning and Development, he was part of the commercial team with oversight of long-term planning and revenue generation initiatives. Check out his Linkedin page for more info, he’s just got too prolific an experience to share it all here.

Two of the major projects Brian was involved in his later years that we dive into: First, using data and predictive analytics to proactively recover guest service opportunities in real time. Second, using the data gained from Disney’s My Magic+ initiative to create greater personalization for the guest. Brian goes into detail on how they used analytics to help equip front-line Cast Members with “superpowers” to deliver better guest experiences.

Even if you don’t have a billion dollar budget for customer experience, there are tons of principles and takeaways from this conversation you can apply to your own organization.

From Patient Experience to Fan Experience w/ Quint Studer

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 21:00:00 -0400

We’re joined today by the legendary Quint Studer. Quint is a philanthropist, an entrepreneur, and an expert in delivering quality experiences, for customers and employees. He’s the co-owner of the double-A baseball team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, and the founder of the healthcare consulting group, the Studer Group.

In Quint’s approach to patient experience and fan experience, it all starts with the employee experience. We'll spend the episode discussing what you can do to better engage your employees so that they can better engage your customers.

Time Stamps

0:20 - Intro
8:45 - Why does Quint live in Pensacola?
11:00 - Quint’s philosophy on driving great customer experience
17:45 - The most important people on your team to train
20:00 - Internal systems and processes that help drive CX
24:00 - Leadership is an inside job
27:00 - Leading metrics vs Lagging metrics
32:00 - Impact of retaining employees
36:30 - Strategies to engage your frontline employees
42:40 - Emotional bank accounts
44:30 - Re-purposing employees roles during the pandemic
47:20 - How the Blue Wahoo’s larger purpose drives real action

If you enjoy the episode and want to learn more from Quint, here are some great resources Quint has available

Books & Blog
Quint's Leadership Blog
The Busy Leader's Handbook
Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose, Worthwhile Work, Making a Difference
Results that Last
More books by Quint

Referenced in the Episode
HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems)
The Busy Leaders Handbook
The Kid is Hot Tonite by Loverboy
Baptist Healthcare
Pensacola Vibrant Community Blueprint
Mark Clement - hospital CEO
Press Ganey

An Event with Thirty Thousand Fans Post-COVID19 w/ Drew Bedard

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 12:00:00 -0400

Our guest today is Drew Bedard, the Vice President of Marketing at Bristol Motor Speedway and Kentucky Speedway.

On July 15, 2020, Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race. The event had almost 30k fans in attendance, the largest attended event in the US since COVID cancelled sports in March 2020.

As sports & entertainment venues across the US prepare to reopen, I thought it would be good for you all to hear from Drew, who’s actually done it. I think that qualifies him as the closest thing to an expert as we’ve got in this world of operating events post-COVID.

In the conversation today, we’ll talk about his lessons learned, what he and his team might have done differently, we’ll cover what made them successful and we’ll dive in on specific tools and tactics they used, from project management software to communication methods used with fans.

Follow along Drew's journey or message him on Twitter or Instagram: @drewbedard
Marketing that Works with by Drew Bedard (Drew's own podcast)
Email Drew at: drewbedard@gmail.com

Mentioned in the Episode:
CUE Audio (light and sound integration)
Basecamp (Project management tool)
Trello (Project management tool)
Asana (Project management tool)
FanThreeSixty (customer data platform)
Fans First w/ Jesse Cole (Podcast Episode)
Build Your Brand & Build More Fans w/ Adam White (Podcast Episode)
Magic Spoon (adult version of kids Cereal)
Shady Rays (polarized sunglasses)

Books Drew has gifted the most:
War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson
Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

Sports, Resorts & Entertainment w/ Mike Crawford

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 17:00:00 -0400

Today’s guest is Mike Crawford, the President and CEO at Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company. Previous to his current role, Mike held a number of leadership roles with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and The Walt Disney Company.

At 4 Seasons, he was the President of Asia Pacific and then Portfolio Management around the world. While at the Walt Disney Company, he spent the majority of his time focused internationally. In his last role, he was the lead executive in charge of Shanghai Disneyland, including the resorts, hotels, retail, dining and entertainment district.

Based on Mike's background, you can see the growth strategies powering Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company. Throughout the episode, we discuss Mike's lessons learned from those companies and how he is adapting those insights to the sports & entertainment world.

If the company name sounds familiar but you can’t put your finger on it, Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company is the larger organization built around the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Rather than just a place to gather and celebrate the past, the organization is honoring the past and inspiring the future. By leveraging the brand and familiarity of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Mike and his team are building a massive entertainment and media destination to immerse customers.

One of the key takeaways from the episode is the way they're using their real estate to diversify revenue streams, creating retail, dining, hospitality, healthcare, commercial, even residential verticals.

Mike and his team are maniacally focused on building community among sports fans. Not just in-person or on-site, but digitally and year round. This comes through their focus on creating unique content and governing themselves like a true entertainment company. They’re diving deeper into esports and in June, they acquired the first-ever professional fantasy football league.

There are tons of valuable nuggets throughout our conversation that should shift your mindset and approach on how to build your own brand. I hope our conversation inspires new immersive ways to engage your customers and create experiences for your employees that help them buy into your vision.

The Business Behind ESPN World Wide of Sports w/ Mike Millay PART 2

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 21:00:00 -0400

This is second half of a two-part interview with Mike Millay. This part of the interview dives deeper into the behind-the-scenes stories at ESPN Wide World of Sports and explores Mike's own revelations as leader at Disney.

Mike is the longest tenured executive in ESPN Wide World of Sports' history. He's also my Dad and a Senior Partner at EngageMint, so this was a special episode for me.

The MLS kicked off it’s first game last week, and NBA players are now in the “bubble” on Disney property. As ESPN Wide World of Sports is the epicenter of major league pro sports in America right now, I know there are lots of questions from our listeners and from the general public that we sought to answer here.

For some quick background on ESPN Wide World of Sports, it opened in March 1997, and each year, over 300,000+ unique athletes compete there. It’s a 250+ acre sports complex right in the middle of Walt Disney World property, including a 7,500 seat baseball stadium, a 5,000 seat multi-purpose arena, a smaller 70,000 square foot foot arena, twelve full size soccer fields, four multi-purpose fields, four professional baseball fields, six softball fields, a tennis complex, a track and field complex, a cross country course, and more.

The complex is huge in size, and in revenue. From a financial perspective, it was about a $100 million NET revenue business driver for the Mouse when Mike was there.

Mike left ESPN Wide World of Sports about 5 years ago, while some of the stats may have changed, most of the business strategy remains the same.

Today, Mike owns a number of different companies in the sports industry, but for the purposes of the podcast, we stick to ESPN Wide World of Sports. If you're interested in seeing what Mike is up to now, feel free to visit his companies' respective websites.

Mike can be reached via email at mikem@engagemintpartners.com
To connect with Mike on LinkedIn, click here

The Business Behind ESPN Wide World of Sports w/ Mike Millay PART 1

Sat, 11 Jul 2020 19:00:00 -0400

This is first half of a two-part interview with Mike Millay. This part of the sheds light on the business model powering ESPN Wide World of Sports and explores how the cultures of Disney and competitive sports merged.

Our guest today is Mike Millay, the longest tenured executive in ESPN Wide World of Sports' history. He's also my Dad and a Senior Partner at EngageMint, so this was a special episode for me.

The MLS kicked off it’s first game on Wednesday, and NBA players are now in the “bubble” on Disney property. As ESPN Wide World of Sports is the epicenter of major league pro sports in America right now, I know there are lots of questions from our listeners and from the general public that we sought to answer here.

For some quick background on ESPN Wide World of Sports, it opened in March 1997, and each year, over 300,000+ unique athletes compete there. It’s a 250+ acre sports complex right in the middle of Walt Disney World property, including a 7,500 seat baseball stadium, a 5,000 seat multi-purpose arena, a smaller 70,000 square foot foot arena, twelve full size soccer fields, four multi-purpose fields, four professional baseball fields, six softball fields, a tennis complex, a track and field complex, a cross country course, and more.

The complex is huge in size, and in revenue. From a financial perspective, it was about a $100 million NET revenue business driver for the Mouse when Mike was there.

Mike left ESPN Wide World of Sports about 5 years ago, while some of the stats may have changed, most of the business strategy remains the same.

Today, Mike owns a number of different companies in the sports industry, but for the purposes of the podcast, we stick to ESPN Wide World of Sports. If you're interested in seeing what Mike is up to now, feel free to visit his companies' respective websites.

Mike can be reached via email at mikem@engagemintpartners.com
To connect with Mike on LinkedIn, click here

*Statistic correction* We say in the interview that EWWS is the largest sports complex in the world, but there are now a handful of bigger complexes, such as the National Sports Center in Blaine, MN.

Creating Moments that Matter w/ Jahaan Blake

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 16:00:00 -0400

Our guest today is Jahaan Blake, founder of The J. Blake Group.

We'll cover two main topics in this epsisode.

Creating infrastructure behind the scenes that allow your front-line staff to create genuine moments of connections with fans
The importance of coaching in leadership

We spend much of the episode discussing her prior roles that led her to start her own company, primarily her roles in the MLB. Jahaan and I first met when I was with Disney Institute and Jahaan was with the Chicago Cubs, as she and her were revamping their customer service program. We’ll go into more detail on that program in the episode.

Before working at the Cubs as the Director of Fan Experiences, she worked at the LA Dogers as the Director of Fan Hospitality. And her first role and longest tenure with one team in Major League Baseball was with the Boston Red Sox, where her last role was as the Manager of Fan Services and Entertainment.

Engage with Jahaan on Instagram: @jahaanblake

Connect with Jahaan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jahaanblake/

Jahaan's new podcast, A Game of Her Own: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/game-of-her-own/id1506816919

Building & Sustaining a Culture of Service w/ Kevin Gober

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 21:00:00 -0400

Our guest today is Kevin Gober, the Sr. Director of Employee & Guest Experience for the Atlanta Hawks.

Kevin and I worked together for a long time at Disney Institute, on what we informally called "the sports crew." Kevin was on the content and facilitation side of the organization, leading and designing massive customer service trainings, whether it be for 10,000 volunteers at the Super Bowl, or for different teams in the NBA.

Prior to Disney Institute, Kevin worked a variety of roles in the Parks & Resort operations. Most notably, Kevin was the head of Magic Kingdom's Emporium, the largest gift and souvenir shop in the Magic Kingdom park.

After Kevin left Disney Institute in 2014, he's gone on to hold roles with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Heat. For the last two years, leading the Hawk's efforts to enhance the experiences they create for the people they serve

We get into a few topics of interest here:

Establishing cultural guidelines and standards from which everything else flows
Revamping the hiring process, including that of third-party vendors
Creating consistent training processes to make sure all employees are on the same page
Building an intentional rewards and recognition program with all staff, third-party and full time
How the Hawks provide professional development and non-traditional communication

Merging Physical & Digital Worlds w/ Javier Martinez Garcia

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 17:00:00 -0400

Today’s guest is Javier Martinez Garcia, a Senior Advisor for Manchester City F.C and former Disney executive.

We get into a number of topics, here are just a few:

1) How to get your senior leadership team aligned around a customer-centric strategy
2) Fan experience vs. match-day experience
3) Making business decisions built around your unique brand promise
4) How physical and digital worlds merge to create 24/7 experiences for your customer
5) The future of fan experiences in post-COVID19 world

Javier has held a number of executive roles in Europe for the Walt Disney Company.

Back in 2008-2009, he was the Chairman Disney’s Local Management Board in the Iberia region. In that role he was in charge of the development and execution of Walt Disney Company´s 5 Year Growth Plan for Iberian region.

He was the head of marketing and sales for Disney Parks and Resorts in France, Netherlands, Belgium.

And he was the Managing Director of Retail and Consumer Products for the Iberia region.

After Disney, Javier went to work with Athletico Madrid. For four years, Javier helped Athletico blow up as their Global Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer and Fan Experience Director. With his lead, Athletico grew 400% in sponsorships, added an extra 14M global followers, and launched an Indian sister team, if you will. One of the most visible things he and his team did was develop and open a brand new 68,000 seat stadium

Javier left Athletico at the end of 2017, and has been advising with a few different organizations, from sports tech organizations like Microsoft’s Global Sports Innovation Center to Manchester City Soccer Club.

We cover an array of topics, as we usually do, but we really spend alot of time on two main points. First, we talk about building a senior level strategy and brand that’s focused on engaging the customer.

But as we get deeper into the conversation, we really spend alot of time on how to engage the customer 24/7. It’s something our team at EngageMint has been focusing on. For many sports & entertainment organizations, the majority of revenue comes from matchday or gameday revenue. But if you’re only making money a limited number of days per year, you can only get so good at it. And if you’re capped by the number of people that can fit into your venue, you’re limited as to the amount of revenue you can generate.

When you look at the model of the big European football clubs, especially Manchester City, their revenue streams and growth strategies are far more diversified than your average American pro sports team or college athletics department. And certainly, their audience is more global. Which presents a whole other source of challenges, like how do you create emotionally engaging customer experiences for a fan that might never come to your venue?

Measuring Your Customer Experience w/ Moon Javaid

Fri, 29 May 2020 17:00:00 -0400

Moon Javaid, the Vice President of Strategy and Analytics for the San Francisco 49ers, joins us.

We discuss two main topics on this episode:

How the 49ers are measuring their customer experience.
- We cover specific tools, implementation strategies, and business outcomes
How the 49ers approach creating incremental and non-traditional revenue
- 49ers Fit - health & fitness centers owned by the 49ers
- Elevate Sports & Entertainment - consulting and advisory partners
- Horizon Summit - premier sports business, technology and analytics conference

The overarching theme of this conversation is that customer drives how the 49ers approach innovation. But in order to have effective customer-driven innovation, you can’t rely on a handful of emails from a few outspoken fans. You’ve got to have real, diverse data.

To follow along Moon's journey:
Moon's LinkedIn
Moon's Email: moon@elevatesportsventures.com

Premium Service vs. Customer Service w/ Barry Jacobson

Sun, 17 May 2020 21:00:00 -0400

We sat down with Barry Jacobson this week to talk about the difference between customer service and premium service.

In Barry's 30+ years a Disney Cast Member, he oversaw some of the most premium experiences Walt Disney World had to offer. From the convention centers and catering to Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings, to his last role as head of Disney's Golden Oak-- a community of luxury, custom, single-family homes on Walt Disney World Resort property.

In addition to his time at Disney, he took a 1 year hiatus in the middle to help Legends and the Dallas Cowboys open AT&T stadium. In his year in Dallas, Barry served as the VP of Special Events creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for private group events. He led a team of 3 Directors, 40 full time employees and 500 team members for game day activity, responsible for serving the 364 suites and all club-level facilities.

Even at Disney, Barry was known for the incredible service experiences he provided for some of the highest spenders on property. Barry shed some light on these keys to providing incredible premium service.

Premium service is customized and personalized
Premium service is about anticipating desires
Premium service is about being the "go-to" knowledge holder and relationship owner, in all sorts of areas that have nothing to do with your job function, i.e. know who the best barber in town is, build relationships with the local theater for show tickets, etc.

Visit Barry's company page or contact him via LinkedIn

Insight Gathering w/ Jill Marchick

Sat, 09 May 2020 02:00:00 -0400

Jill Marchick, the Vice President of Customer Insights and Engagement for the Indiana Pacers, joins us on today's episode.

This is an especially relevant episode if your organization is considering putting a survey out or gathering information for how your customers feel about your organization and returning to events. And it’s even more important that you listen if you’re feeling lost about what to do with that information once you collect it.

Jill and her team at Pacers Sports and Entertainment sent out one of the most comprehensive fan insights survey I've seen during this crisis. But prior to working for the Pacers organization, Jill's experience comes from outside the sports industry.

A former executive and director with massive brands like Starbucks, Hershey, Nestle, and McDonald's, Jill understands how to get to the deeper goals and motivations of customers and employees. And she's with us today to share her methodologies and approaches to gathering those insights.

Building a Customer-Centric Business in Africa w/ Samir Ibrahim

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 16:00:00 -0400

In today’s episode, we’re going outside the sports & entertainment industry. We’ll be talking about designing an entire business around customers’ deepest needs. Hopefully the wildly different context will give you new inspiration to become more customer-centric in your own organization.

Today’s guest is the CEO of a solar-agriculture company, based in Kenya. So while I do the usual and try to connect the dots for you, I want you to focus on the underlying principles we talk about and less about the details.

Our guest today is Samir Ibrahim, the co-founder and CEO of Sun Culture. He’s also been one of my best friends since I was ten years old.

Samir and his co-founder launched Sun Culture 8 years ago, built entirely around the needs, goals, and motivations of one of the most under served populations in the world. They provide products and services that solve the biggest daily challenges for the world’s 570 million smallholder farming households. More specifically, they make it easier and more efficient for small farmers in underdeveloped countries to get more water, quicker. This allows the farmers to farm more effectively, allowing them to produce more food for their families, and more food to sell.

But they don't market their widgets, or product features. They sell “independence.”

They’ve been so successful over the years because they are completely customer-centric as opposed to product-centric. That’s allowed them to get into a ton of other services as well, like working with the banks and the government to allow for better access to financial services.

And it’s partly the reason why SunCulture has been featured by TED, the Financial times, the Economist, BBC, and more. They’re partners with Microsoft, Shell Foundation, MIT, and EDF.

Among some of Samir’s personal accolades, he’s been named Forbes 30 under 30, a Top Conscious Business Leader by Conscious Company Magazine, and many more.

Leading Through Crisis w/ Doug Thornton

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 20:00:00 -0400

Today’s episode focuses on leadership during crisis. Our guest is Doug Thornton, the EVP of ASM Global. Doug oversees all Arena, Stadia and Theaters worldwide, directing the operations and financial performance of this division.

We tackle questions like “how do you acknowledge your fears and anxieties without letting them weigh you down” and “how do inspire confidence in your team when you yourself don’t know what the future holds.”

We’ll also get into some deeper conversations about planning your operations for the future.

Who is Doug and what makes him equipped to talk about leading through crisis?

He's the guy who oversaw the more than $336 million in renovations at the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.
He's the guy who served as the state's lead negotiator in lease talks with the Saints that led to the current long-term deal.
He's the guy who first mentioned creating Champions Square, the entertainment district outside of the Dome.
He's the guy who began clandestine talks with the Hornets back in 1999 that eventually led to the NBA franchise relocating from Charlotte to New Orleans in 2002.
If that’s not enough, during his watch, the SuperDome has hosted multiple Super Bowls, Final Fours, Wrestlemania, BCS & CFP championships, NBA & WNBA All-Star Games, Republican National Conventions, and more.

Safe to say, this is not the first crisis Doug has led through. And while this pandemic is unlike anything we’ve seen, there are lessons from Doug’s past experiences that you can apply to the challenges you’re facing today.

Stepping Past Your Competition w/ Justin Schneider

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 20:00:00 -0400

Our guest today is Justin Schneider. He’s the founder and CEO for Wolf & Shepherd, a rising footwear brand making high-end, performance dress shoes.

We wanted to have Justin on the show for a few reasons.

1) He was a former student-athlete himself. And he shares how that experience has impacted his approach to live after sports.

2) His insights around storytelling, innovation and creating experiences that customers love are super applicable to sports & entertainment and live events.

3) I’m ready to see some variety in shoe-wear in our industry. I know people love those Cole Haan's, but I’m ready for the next evolution of footwear in our industry.

One more thing before we jump into our conversation with Justin. He surprised me at the end and offered a promo code for any of our listeners.

If you decide to buy a Wolf & Shepherd shoes while we’re quarantined, you can enter the code "engagemint25" and and get 25% your order. Act quick, because this code only lasts til we get out of quarantine, or until June 1... whichever comes first.

Wolf & Shepherd website

Additional Resources mentioned in the Show:
How Success Happens podcast episode with Justin Schneider
Playing to Win by AG Lafley, Roger Martin

Ignite a Culture of Innovation w/ Duncan Wardle

Sun, 29 Mar 2020 18:00:00 -0400

Duncan Wardle, the former Head of Creativity & Innovation at the Walt Disney Company, now helps organizations around the world embed a culture of innovation into their DNA.

In our industries, we’re running from one to event to the next, and it’s easy to say “we are too busy to think.” This episode with Duncan will provide you ways to start thinking differently.

In his 30+ years at Disney, Duncan built a toolbox of creativity skills and techniques to help others turn on their innovation "light switch." He's here to share those tools with us today.

Since leaving the Walt Disney Company a few years ago, Duncan spends his time challenging organizations to re-develop the creativity skills we all had when we were little. He’s worked with some mega companies around the world to teach these tools, from the NBA (which we’ll get into) to Ford, Johnson and Johnson, Apple, and more.

When we prepped for this conversation, Duncan and I both felt like this topic was more needed than ever in our current business reality. Creativity and Innovation are no longer nice to have. The tools we talk about today are going to be essential for you to think your way out of this mess, and go from barely surviving to thriving.

First 180 Days in the Chair w/ Laird Veatch

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 12:00:00 -0400

As a senior leader, coming into a new organization can be hard. You want to understand the current culture. You want to get to know the people. You want to assess the organization's strengths and opportunities. You want to put your own stamp on "the way we do things around here" in the least intrusive way possible.

Those plans can quickly go awry when you're forced to deal with unprecedented crisis right out of the gate. Our guest today, Laird Veatch, was faced with exactly that.

Five weeks into his role as the Athletic Director of University of Memphis, Laird lead his team through a high-profile case with the NCAA and one of his star student-athletes. And now, 6 months later, CoVID-19 has disrupted all ways of working. With all athletics events cancelled, communication lines disrupted, and revenue sources run dry, Laird is faced with new challenges leading new team.

So we wanted to check-in with him to see how we was handling everything. Turns out, Laird provides some great insight for leaders within a new organization, and for leading during times of crisis.

Sports as a Service w/ Chris Giles

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:00:00 -0400

Subscription models - seems like almost every industry and product has one. Except for live sports & events. But what if...

In this episode, we're rethinking the entire business model of ticketing and access to sports & events. Our guest, Chris Giles, was the COO of the Oakland Athletics, where they created a first-of-its-kind membership model called A's Access. The program debuted in 2019 and has had smashing success according to a number of different metrics, from revenue growth to number of members to customer satisfaction.

Instead of selling ownership of an individual seat for a season, what if we sold access to the stadium and certain perks associated with it? And we could play with, test and adjust the perks as time goes on? It's certainly a model that caters more to the Millennial and Gen Z consumption patterns, but where does that leave more traditional fans? Could your ticketing software even process such a change? What other roadblocks did Chris and his team face when trying out this massive change to "the way we've always done it"? If you want to explore a change like this, where would you even start?

These are the questions we set out to answer with Chris on today's episode.

After his experience with the A's, Chris founded Greenfield Sports Group and is helping progressive sports properties navigate these new waters of changing fan behaviors and expectations.

Follow or connect with Chris
Chris' Twitter: @chrisgiles01
Chris' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophergiles/

Follow or connect with Greenfield Sports
Twitter: @greenfieldspts
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/greenfield-sports-group/

Additional Resources mentioned in the episode:
"Subscribed" by Tien Tzuo

Sponsorship that Engages, not Distracts w/ Nick Lawson

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 07:00:00 -0500

Nick Lawson, the CEO of SQWAD sits down with us to talk about the future state of sponsorship in sports. Nick's company works with sports properties around the world to help them sell more sponsorship through digital contests. What kind of contests? Could be trivia games on your team app, digital scratch and win games, or supplementing live mascot contests with a digital component. Nick is leading the shift in sports sponsorship to create ads that people actually want to see, and better yet, participate in.

For those of you new to the sponsorship game, this is an eye opening look at the changing world that could impact you indirectly in your role. For sponsorship and corporate partnership veterans, Nick addresses a lot of your concerns and provides some strategies and tactics you can start using today.

Building Experience Ecosystems w/ Michael Jungen

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 02:00:00 -0500

Disney's Magic Band. Carnival's OceanMedallion. Our guest today was behind both industry leading tools that enabled massive experience ecosystem transformations.

Forrester defines a customer experience ecosystem as “the web of relations among all aspects of a company - including its customers, employees, partners and operating environment - that determine the quality of the customer experience.”

As you can imagine, building a seamless experience ecosystem is no easy task. Our guest today, Michael Jungen, has been a key senior leader on two massive experience ecosytem builds. With both Disney's Parks & Resorts and Carnival Cruise Line, Michael led the strategy and implementation of two iconic, industry leading ventures. At Disney, "My Disney Experience" and the "Magic Band." At Carnival, it was "MedallionClass" and "OceanMedallion." Both projects were multi-year, highly complex initiatives involving thousands of touchpoints and 9-10 figure investments.

With that type of experience, safe to say, listening to Michael's viewpoints and stories and advice will help you think differently about your own organization's customer journey.

How is the Culture in your Kingdom w/ Dan Cockerell

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 13:00:00 -0500

For Episode 15 of Flip the Switch, we take a journey w/ our guest, Dan Cockerell, the former Vice President of Magic Kingdom. The episode’s larger theme is around leading your team and your organization with a human touch. We explore Dan’s involvement and influential role in running the Magic Kingdom theme park; we cover how to build rapport with your employees and develop a good culture; and we get an inside look on selecting the right talent.

If you’re passionate about becoming a great leader and creating magical guest and employee experiences, you won’t want to miss this episode.

To get in touch with Dan, check out his website https://dancockerell.com/

For more from Dan, subscribe to his weekly news article; “Food for Thought”. https://dancockerell.com/media-appearances/

SHOW NOTES

· [4:10] Leveraging your relationships

· [5:10] Dan’s background

· [8:30] How to build rapport with your employees

· [12:00] Prioritizing tasks

· [16:00] Prioritizing your time as a leader

· [18:37] The Eisenhower Matrix

· [22:05] Dan's new book, “How is the Culture in Your Kingdom"

· [28:40] Selecting the right talent

· [32:40] Selecting the wrong talent

· [36:42] Evolving culture

· [39:30] Utilizing technology for culture creation

· [41:36] Leading using incentives

· [46:07] An effective 1:1 meeting with your employees

· [48:46] Looking back, leadership lessons learned from the Walt Disney Company

· [52:30] Game changing tools

· [56:34] The fictional character Dan would love to work for

· [58:30] Advice for young leaders

Fans First w/ Jesse Cole

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 06:00:00 -0500

Our guest today, Jesse Cole, is the Founder of Fans First Entertainment, Author of Find Your Yellow Tux and Owner of the Savannah Bananas, who have sold out every game for 88 straight games and has a wait-list for tickets in the thousands.

How do they do it? Well, simply by being the most fan-centric organization in sports. The Bananas take it being customer-centric to the extreme. Jesse famously says about his ballpark, “it’s a circus and a baseball game breaks out.”

In this episode we go under the hood of the Bananas organization to find out some of the systems, processes, and mindsets that help Jesse and his team stay so fan-centric. Because if a collegiate summer-league baseball team can consistently sell-out a venue, that's an organization all of us can learn from.

How UGA Football & Chick-Fil-A innovate through strategy w/ Josh Brooks & Shane Todd

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 10:00:00 -0500

Josh Brooks, Deputy AD at Georiga Athletics and Shane Todd, Franchise Operator at Chick-Fil-A in Athens, GA join us.

The theme of today's episode explores the differences between product innovations vs. strategy innovations and how they impact your business. As you're thinking about investing time, energy and resources to improve your business, there's a temptation for us in sports to think that a new sexy product-type innovation, like a jumbotron or is going to be the enhancement that moves the needle from a customer experience perspective. But often, it's the non-sexy strategy innovations, like a grab & go concession stand, that really have the most impact for investment. In today's episode, both Josh and Shane lead organizations who are really enhancing customer experience through strategy innovations.

What To Do When Things Go Wrong w/ Frank Supovitz

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Today’s guest is Frank Supovitz, who’s been changing and shaping the sports & events industries for over 30 years. We discuss planning an event that wows your customers, and all that goes into the prep of a massive live event.

Frank is imminently qualified to discuss this topic, as he was the SVP of Events for the NFL from 2005 to 2014, overseeing the massive growth of the Super Bowl, NFL Draft and London games. Before his time with the NFL, Frank led the NHL’s event group for 13 years, responsible for the NHL All-Star Weekend and Stanley Cup. Together with the Edmonton Oilers, he developed the first NHL outdoor game in 2003, the forerunner to the highly successful NHL Winter Classic.

In 2014, Frank left the NFL to start Fast Traffic Events & Entertainment, an innovative consulting and management company serving sports & entertainment clients all around the world. Fast Traffic was an integral contributor to the development team for the Rooftop at Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport in New York City, winner of the Pollstar Award for Best New Concert Venue of 2018. Frank is the producer of the pre-race show for the Indy 500, which was honored in 2016 as Best Sports Event of the year by Sports Business Journal. He also recently produced the Major League Soccer All-Star Skills Challenge this past summer at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

If you enjoy this episode and want to hear more about, I highly encourage you go check out his new book, What to Do When Things Go Wrong. If reading’s not your thing, 1) Shame on you, make it your thing. 2) If you’re more of an auditory learner, go get the audio book- it's out now. In Frank’s newest book, You’ll learn why things go wrong, how to best go about preventing crisis, and how to fix them when they happen anyway.

Build your Brand & Build more Fans w/ Adam White

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 10:00:00 -0500

We join Adam White, CEO of Front Office Sports, at his office in NYC. You might be thinking, "I don't work for a media company, what can I learn from this?" The stories and strategies Adam shares in this podcast are applicable to anyone building a brand. If you're trying to build a passionate audience or a customer base, you'll gain tons of insight from Adam who's building his company through the power of brand and beginning to monetize the fandom.

Adam takes us behind the scenes of Front Office Sports to share insights around their business and growth strategy. He discusses the things FOS struggle with internally as they grow. And if you work for a sports property, he shares actionable strategies, tips, and best practices that you can take back to your organization. Enjoy!

Intensity Of Interest w/ Mike Bohn

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 16:00:00 -0400

Mike Bohn, Director of Athletics for University of Cincinnati joins us. UC and Mike are hyper focused on increasing the "intensity of interest" for their brand in the Cincinnati community, creating deeper relationships with more people.

UC has created some incredible experiences for fans on game day that run counter to what many other athletic departments are doing. We talk about the decision making behind some of these enhancements, like the premium Truly sponsored rooftop experience. We discuss the renovations to Fifth-Third Arena, UC's new state-of-the-art basketball arena. We go behind the scenes and talk about the impact MLS team FC Cincinnati has had on the athletics department and community, and what's it like having a tenant of that magnitude use your facilities. Enjoy!

Getting your Employees, Clients and Customers to Care w/ Carl Thomas and Reid Carr

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:00:00 -0400

While out in San Diego, we sat down with Carl Thomas and Reid Carr at Red Door Interactive's HQ. Carl Thomas, the former CRO of Hookit, and Reid Carr, the CEO of Red Door Interactive, go deep on creating and inspiring care.

Both Carl and Reid have a long history in the B2B space of working with both major brands and corporate sponsors, as well as sports properties. So we sought out to answer three questions-

What do their employees care about?
What do major brands care about?
What does the end customer care about?

Enjoy this wide ranging conversation with Carl and Reid!

Improving Customer Experience: Lessons From the San Diego Padres w/ Erin Sheehan

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 16:00:00 -0400

We take a journey w/ our guest, Erin Sheehan, Senior Director of Guest Experience for the San Diego Padres. This episode's larger theme is around creating a guest experience strategy for sporting events. We explore Erin's involvement and influential role in opening the Atlanta Braves' Suntrust Park and The Battery entertainment district; we cover her lessons learned as the Director of Fan Experience for the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-Fil-A Fan Experience; and we get caught up on all the projects she's been working on with San Diego Padres, including renovating the framework behind the Padres' service culture.

If you're passionate about creating and operationalizing a service culture and guest experience, you won't want to miss this episode.

Managing by Influence vs. Authority w/ Linda Logan & John Page

Sun, 15 Sep 2019 02:00:00 -0400

Working in the sports & entertainment industry, there are few events that you can host without the support of other people/organizations. For most all other events, you need that support to execute all the facets that make an event successful. Whether it be working with a company that provides temporary labor for your ushers, or working with surrounding hotels who impact your guest's overall experience, often you must work with partners not under your direct control. If there isn’t leverage in the relationship, how do you get everyone to march to the same drumbeat? How do you lead through influence instead of power? To explore this question, we welcome Linda Logan and John Page to the show.

Linda Logan is the Executive Director of Columbus Sports Commission which she helped to create in 2002. A trailblazer in sports business, Linda has led the Sport Commission to book over 600 events generating over half a billion in visitor spending. Some of the highlights include NCAA men’s basketball tournaments, Presidential debates, UN summits, and the 2018 Women’s Final Four in Columbus. She’s one of the most well respected sports commission execs in the country.

John Page, our second guest, works closely with Linda as the General Manager of the Greater Columbus Convention Center. He is a 20 year SMG veteran, the last 6 of which he has been in Columbus. He manages the venue’s daily operations, stakeholder relationships and business development. One of the biggest projects he’s led in recent years was the guiding the facility through its award-winning 22-month, $140 million expansion and renovation.

On this episode of Flip the Switch, we really focus on the topic of leading with influence, instead of power. Both of our guests have to work with hundreds of leaders and businesses outside of their control to put on the events that they host, so I wanted to explore some of the strategies and tactics they use to be successful.

The Formula For Creativity w/ Chris Grosse

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 18:00:00 -0400

Is a hot dog a sandwich? Why does that even matter? It matters a great deal to Chris Grosse, Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing for Penn State Athletics. If you follow him on Twitter, you'll know these are the types of questions that get Chris fired up, out of the box questions that no one else is thinking of. Think of the hot dog question as an exercise for him to flex his muscles when it actually comes time to creating one-of-kind experiences for students and fans. In this episode, Chris goes into detail as to how his creative ideas and experiences have brought him major success and praise nationwide for his innovative execution of unique gameday experiences. We unpack his creative process with his team, and explore how some of his greatest hits (such as Millennial Day at Georgetown) came to life. We talk about why he would go to work for Phil Dunphy from Modern Family and we discuss the differences between innovating in a small athletic department versus one of the nation's largest departments. Join us for this wild ride.

For more hot takes from Chris, follow him on Twitter, @Chris_Grosse

Turning Opportunity Into a Business w/ Matt DiFebo

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 -0400

Matt Difebo, the original founder of now Learfield IMG Ticket Solutions, joins us on the podcast to discuss lessons learned throughout his journey. While at UCF Athletics, Matt identified an opportunity to better serve fans trying to buy tickets, and realized he could turn that opportunity into a business, helping athletic departments sell more tickets to their events, more effectively. Matt was one of the inventors of the outsourced tickets sales model, and shares many of the ups and downs leading that thriving organization.

Creating Authentic Experiences in a New Generation w/ Rick Jones

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 15:00:00 -0400

With younger generations demanding more from a brand, it is no longer just about who has the best product on the field. Telling compelling stories that create emotional connections are more important than ever to win over the hearts and wallets of your fans. In this episode, Rick Jones, one of the most successful sports marketers in the college athletics industry, discusses how using sponsorships can build up or destroy your brand promise. Rick and David dive into elements of fan experience and sponsorship such as cause marketing, using other people's money and the state of marketing in college athletics.

Running an Event the Disney way w/ Kevin Weickel and Mike Millay

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 18:00:00 -0400

If you work for or lead an organization that puts on events, this episode is for you. Kevin Weickel, the former Tournament Director of the PGA TOUR's Disney Classic, and Mike Millay, one of the founding executives at ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, join us. These two former Disney executives reflect back on their time running one of the largest golf resorts in the country and the busiest sports complex in the US. Creating and running an event at Disney comes with a whole new set of expectations, and these guys cover it all: from how to create deeper engagement with your event volunteers, to the impact of recognition done right, how to get other stakeholders in your organization to care about your event and what Disney executives do during the actual event. Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation to find out what great Disney leaders know.

How Emotional Connections Lead to Economic Outcomes w/ Drew Martin

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 14:00:00 -0400

Guest:
Drew Martin, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs, University of Texas Athletics.

Drew and David dive deep into the University of Texas's refreshed approach to football gameday. Focused on creating emotional connections for fans, Texas created pregame-mega festivities Bevo Blvd and Longhorn City Limits in 2018 to great praise from the fan-base. By creating new gameday experiences, Drew and his team are beginning to change fan behaviors, providing more reasons for a typically late-arriving fan base to show up to campus earlier and engage with their brand for a longer period of time. Drew goes behind the scenes to talk about how certain deals were made, how they worked on changing the mindset internally within the athletics department, and the impact these customer-focused changes are having on the bottom line.

Leading a Customer-Focused Change Journey w/ Rob Kelly & Kevin Doyle

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 11:00:00 -0400

Guests: Rob Kelly, Senior Associate Athletics Director of Media & Brand for Notre Dame Athletics; Kevin Doyle, Strategy Manager (Travel/Hospitality) for Deloitte Consulting.

This episode goes behind the scenes of Notre Dame Athletics' journey to become more customer-centric. We explore everything from how ND re-positioned their ticket pricing strategy, to how they managed large scale change in an athletics department where tradition is heavily valued. Kevin provides insight into similarities and differences between his current, large hospitality clients and athletic departments, while Rob shines light on what it's like to be a senior leader charged with leading customer-journey improvements in a values-oriented culture.

Flip The Switch By EngageMint

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 10:00:00 -0400

A mash-up of advice and stories from innovators in Customer Experience and Employee Experience. Executives from the sports & entertainment industry join forces with leaders from world-class B2C and B2B companies to discuss all the challenges and hurdles they face in their business. On each episode of Flip the Switch, host David Millay -- Managing Partner of EngageMint -- leads wide-ranging conversations with guests, exploring similarities, differences, vulnerable failures, smashing successes, and behind-the-scenes stories to help you lead your own business. The round-table format of Flip the Switch creates a conversation unlike your traditional interviews, allowing for hilarious stories, riffing, and unexpected "light-bulb" moments. Guests on Flip the Switch have included leaders from The Walt Disney Company, PGA, University of Notre Dame Athletics, Deloitte Consulting, University of Texas Athletics, and many more. If you're on a journey to enhance your employee engagement and turn your customers into raving fans, this podcast is for you.