Posted By Charlotte Zee and Jasmin Mendoza, Thursday, August 1, 2024
Sports uniquely gather people from diverse backgrounds and evoke a spectrum of emotions unexperienced day-to-day. In just 20 years, sports channels’ inclusion in the top 100 most-watched US TV broadcasts jumped by 385%, demonstrating a growing demand for sports and a shifting viewership landscape, according to Robert Gottlieb, President, Marketing, FOX Sports during his keynote for ThinkLA’s Sports Marketing Brunch on July 10.
Sports media professionals gathered at BMO Stadium to learn about the future of sports marketing, emerging channels, ways to authentically connect with communities, and how to reach the right audiences.
The brunch kicked off with the panel, “Fandom, Communities, and Impact,” moderated by Jaime Maggio, TV Broadcaster, CBS/KCAL, featuring Rich Orosco, Chief Brand Officer, LAFC, Renata Simril, President and CEO, LA84 Foundation, and Julie Uhrman, President/Co-Founder, Angel City Football Club. Aside from its long history in the arts, Los Angeles has a strong and growing sports fanbase, which the panelists clearly articulated. The panelists encouraged brands to authentically connect with local audiences through partnerships, unlocking the opportunity to reach niche target audiences and garner loyalty. With the rise of women’s sports and enthusiasm for Los Angeles sports teams ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics, it is an exciting moment for marketers in the space.
Following the panel, Kjerstin Beatty, EVP, Media and Marketing, NBCUniversal and Meghan Valand, GM, Business Development, The Trade Desk engaged in a fireside chat, where Beatty shared insight into the 2024 Summer Olympic trials, NBC’s media strategy ahead of the Olympics, as well as NBC’s slate of programming for the Fall. Beatty shared that, despite a fragmented landscape, NBC utilizes a portfolio-wide approach to engage audiences across channels and bring them to the network’s innovative content.
Katherine O’Malley Randall, VP, Creative Strategy and Production Operations, Minute Media moderated the “Brand, Agency, And Client Case Study'' panel with Tyler Bahl, Senior VP and Head of Global Marketing, Activision, Vanessa Gilmore, VP, Program Marketing, Paramount+, and Jennifer Prince, Chief Commercial Officer, LA Rams as speakers. Speakers shared the importance of fandoms and the power of their emotion. The speakers agreed that with the LA community’s enthusiasm for pop culture moments, integrating into larger conversations, partnering with purpose, and a diverse media mix are winning strategies to elevate the consumer experience and to meet the right KPIs.
Central to the consumer experience is engaging in “Trending and Emerging Media Channels,” the topic of the Brunch’s final panel. Heather Brooks Karatz, Founder and CEO, Hextec moderated the panel with Maggie Reznikoff, Senior VP, Account Management, Open Influence, Stacey Rosenson, Head of U.S. Sports Marketing, Amazon Prime Video, and Carl Weinstein, Chief Operating Officer, Locked On Podcast Network. Rising media channels including social media, streaming, and podcasts are critical to connecting brands with engaged sports fans. Similar to sports’ ability to create connection, which Gottlieb emphasized in his keynote, evolving media channels have their own fan bases. Influencers have loyal followers, podcasts possess niche audiences, and streaming gathers large groups. Though different, all these channels serve their unique purpose and can be used strategically to reach different cohorts.
Thought-provoking panels, coupled with a diversity of professionals in the industry, showcased the immense opportunity for marketers in the space, and created opportunities for industry professionals to level-up their strategies.
Highlight Reel
Meet Our Committee Members:
ThinkLA events are organized with the help of industry professionals. Many thanks to this committee:
Co-Chair: Gregg Rubin, Director, Business and Development, Goodway Group
Co-Chair: Stacy Ezra, VP, brand Solutions, Audacy Networks & Enterprise
- Pedro Faria, Account Executive, Fellow
- Nikki Ozmai, SVP, Head of Sales, Outside Inc.
- Matt Wolf, VP of Sales, West, Audigent
- Carrie Ward, Account Executive, Cast Iron Media
- Jarrett Nobles, VP, Global Partnerships, Monumental Sports & Entertainment
- Myra Marayag, Consultant, Marayag Enterprises
- Stuart McLean, CEO, FAST Studios
