In this episode, co-host, Jason Smith sits down with Mike Palisi, President of Van Wagner College. Mike outlines his 30-year career in sponsorships, including his involvement with the sale of Nelligan Sports, starting the Van Wagner College multi-media rights division, and how his team is taking the company to new heights. He discussed the secret b…

If you're in sponsorship marketing and think of the sport of hockey, it's likely you think of one of the league's largest advertisers, Scotiabank. In today's conversation, we dive in with John Rocco (Vice President of Marketing, Scotiabank) and Dhaval Bhatt (Partner, Rethink) to find out how they approach partnership strategy and to talk about how …

In this episode, co-host, Jason Smith sits down with Paula Beadle, CEO of Caravel Marketing and Founder of the Sponsorship Mastery Summit. Paula outlines her illustrious career in sponsorship marketing working for both the property and brand sides of the industry. She also provides many insightful data points around sponsorship trends going into 20…

In this episode, co-host, Jason Smith sits down with Yaron Talpaz, VP of Strategic Partnerships with Pico. Yaron outlines his career working for the largest sports media company in Israel, organizing an international basketball game in Madison Square Garden, and how Pico uses data to drive business for sponsors. His story includes the roller coaste…

In this episode, co-host, Jason Smith sits down with Vicki Higgins, Founder and CEO of the CXP Agency to talk about her career starting in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, pivoting to the travel industry, and starting her sponsorship agency. Vicki spends time talking about the best way to negotiate through a sponsorship, and how sales is more about…

In this episode, co-host, Jason Smith sits down with Mark Giovino, Founder and CEO of the Alliance Group to talk about sponsorships in the zoos and aquariums industry. Mark outlines his career path and how he started his own agency focused primarily on introducing brands to sponsorship marketing at zoos and aquariums. They cover a range of topics f…

In this episode, co-host, Jason Smith connects with Emily Pachuta, Chief Marketing & Analytics Officer with Invesco and JoAn Scott, Managing Director of Basketball Championships with the NCAA to talk about a very strategic partnership around March Madness. They discuss how they had to pivot in 2020 with COVID, how they used technology to connect wi…

In this episode, co-host, Jason Smith sits down with Billy Demong, Olympic Gold Medalist and Executive Director of USA Nordic Sport to talk about training for the Olympics, living in a chicken coop, and what it feels like to stand on the podium winning gold. They discuss how USA Nordic creates integrated sponsorships to ensure the organization is d…

With only 53% of Gen Z identifying themselves as sports fans, guest host Brian Gainor (Vice President of Innovation, 4FRONT) dives deep with four leading executives to find out how their brands are engaging the next generation of consumers. Today's episode features Ed Horne (President, 160over90), Jessica Park (VP of Fan Marketing, NBA), Xavier Gut…

In this episode, guest host Norm O'Reilly sits down with Sub Nijjar (President, Mosaic), Judy Lee (Head of Experiential Marketing, Pinterest), Brian Graybill (President, Intersport) and Zac Eller (VP of Partnerships & Experiential, SiriusXM) to discuss how the pandemic has impacted the world of experiential marketing, what trends they are closely w…

In this episode, guest host Thomas Alomes sits down with Zaileen Janmohamed (Head of Partnership Development & Innovation, USOPC) and Blake Lawrence (Co-Founder, OpenDorse) to understand what sparked the idea of teaming up to create a ‘first-of-its-kind’ pilot program that will enable Team USA athletes to earn income from group and individual marke…

Today's guest is Scott O’Neil, who is well known as the Chief Executive Officer for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, who owns both the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. With more than 20 years of experience in the NBA, NHL and NFL, O’Neil has earned a reputation as one of the sports' industry's greatest leaders. In just six years as C…

In this episode, we talk with the leaders behind GMR Marketing, Homie and TD Bank as each of their brands navigate through how they play a role in their communities and how purpose plays a role in the partnerships they develop. The guests for this episode include Michael Armstrong (VP of Sponsorships, TD Bank), Ania Sponaski (VP of Global Sponsorsh…

In this episode, we chat with some of the leaders in the soccer world about how they are growing their sport as their properties and brands prepare for the upcoming World Cup and the momentum carried behind the EUROs. Our guests for this episode include Sara Touissant (VP of Brand Management, Wells Fargo), Allie Ayres (Director of Partnership Strat…

In today's episode, Avish Sood chats with the marketing leaders behind Kellogg's, Petco, Hershey's and The Martin Agency to learn more about how purpose and innovation is driving their brands forward as they look to engage consumers in a more meaningful way.By Avish Sood & Jason Smith

On today’s episode we dive into the marketing and partnerships strategy behind DoorDash thanks to a conversation with David Bornoff (Head of Consumer Brand Marketing, DoorDash) and Jerry Hoak (Executive Creative Director, Managing Director at The Martin Agency). From partnering with Sesame Street for the brand’s Super Bowl commercial to being one o…

Bob Lynch, President and Founder of SponsorUnited, discusses his years in media sales and how he created a sponsorship data platform that provides insights into both properties and brands. There are lots of learning experiences he shares along the way that helped him get where he is today.By Avish Sood & Jason Smith

Today's guest is Danita Johnson, D.C. United's new President of Business Operations. With her recent appointment into the role, Danita made history as the first black person and the 3rd woman to serve as the president of a Major League Soccer club in the league’s history. By leaving a long, illustrious career within basketball, most recently as the…

Allison Eddy Sollazzo, Director of Club Business Development for the NHL, shares her story about getting into the sports industry, and outlines the creation process of the helmet sponsorship. She also discusses additional sponsorship assets the NHL created during the pandemic to help the teams secure sponsorship revenue.…

Today’s guest is Dionna Widder, who is in her third season with the Houston Dynamo and Dash and serves as the club’s Chief Revenue Officer. Widder is responsible for the revenue-generation strategy and execution for the Club, including overseeing the ticket sales and service along with the corporate partnership sales and marketing teams for the Hou…

Konstantin Dieterle, Head of Business Development for Beyond Sports, discusses his experience in the tech world with stops at Google and AppLift before landing at Beyond Sports. He outlines their partnership with the NFL and Nickelodeon to create the idea around making NFL football players into block characters and streaming the game (in blocky for…

In today's episode, we have a conversation with Roger Jones (Director of Corporate Partnerships at the Cleveland Browns). After going to Ohio University to study sports management, Roger's career has come full circle when he started his new role at the hometown Browns. With a huge emotional attachment to the city of Cleveland and a passion for impr…

Jason Smith connects with a few industry experts during the BYU Sports Business Summit to talk about sponsorships with over 200 students in attendance. John Kimball (Real Salt Lake), Mike Berry (Arizona Coyotes), Greg Tanner (Utah Jazz), and Casey Stauffer (BYU Athletics) share insights and stories about how they conduct business, working with part…

Brett Wallerstedt, General Manager of Sun Devil Athletics Corporate Partnerships, dives into his career path from the NFL to making three separate stops with the Arizona State Athletics Department. He shares his thoughts on multi-media rights companies, and how the Pac-12 has dipped its toes into that business. He outlines how he dealt with partner…

On today's episode, we chat with Tom Barbitta (CMO, Sauer Brands) to find out how his team is positioning Duke's Mayo as a staple in the South, thanks to a bit of help from college football. Tom gives some incredible insight on why their mayonnaise brand sponsored a college football bowl game, how the condiment made waves on international media tha…

Ryan Holloway, President & Founder of Peak Sports Management shares his amazing story of taking a leap of faith to start his company assisting athletic departments across the country managing their sponsorship programs. He makes some bold moves in his career that you’ll want to hear. He also talks about how COVID has affected his business in many w…

For today’s episode, we’re taking a look at what goes behind the scenes of putting together one of the largest sporting events in the world – the Super Bowl. Nicki Ewell, Director of events at the NFL, and Tony Diaz, Vice President of Operations at the Tampa Super Bowl Host Committee, join us to share details on what it’s like to plan for an event …

For today’s episode, we’re going behind the scenes with two of the leaders behind the National Football League’s partnership with Rocket Mortgage: Casey Hurbis and Nana-Yaw Asamoah. The deal was the first mortgage sponsorship for the NFL in over a decade and its centerpiece is their squares promotion, which is the largest official game of Super Bow…

Today’s episode is with Ahron Cohen (Former President & CEO of the Arizona Coyotes). Ahron received a law degree from Arizona State University and worked for the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, and Snell & Wilmer, before working his way up the ranks of the Arizona Coyotes. Ahron discusses the legal challenges COVID has put on …

Today’s episode is with Natalie Bowman (Managing Director, Marketing & Advertising for Alaska Airlines). Natalie has worked in marketing across a whole range of industries on brands like Land Rover, Nissan, Neiman Marcus, Microsoft, and now Alaska Airlines. Natalie talked to us about the changing landscape of the airline industry due to the pandemi…

Avish and Jason break down a special announcement about the Sponsor Talk podcast.By Avish Sood & Jason Smith

This week, we caught up with Alex Tunbridge (CEO, Stevenage F.C.). You might recognize the soccer team from their recent viral sponsorship campaign with Burger King. The blue-chip brand had chosen the club for a local jersey sponsorship, but with a major catch – that they would be leaning in heavily on FIFA and the world of e-sports. Fans were enco…

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

Today’s conversation is with Matt Kobach, the director of Content Marketing at Fast, the world’s first one click online checkout. If you think that his name sounds familiar, it’s probably cause you follow him on Twitter, as he’s one of the leading minds in driving forward humorous but also thought-provoking insight on social media & marketing. He w…

We sat down with Ari Mark. who is the Senior Vice President and Head of Partnership Development at The Drone Racing League (DRL), the global, professional drone racing property. He joined DRL recently from the NFL, where he led corporate partnerships for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, home of Super Bowl LIV. Before that, Ari spent eight …

In this episode, we sit down with some of the minds behind one of the biggest team and brand launches in recent sports history - the Seattle Kraken. Heidi Dettmer (Vice President, Marketing) shares insights into how the marketing plans came to life, the various aspects of the newly developed brand (including the logo, brand storyline and social per…

As we get ready for the NBA Playoffs to begin, our latest episode of Sponsor Talk is from a conversation with Leah MacNab (Managing Director, NBA Canada). Leah breaks down how the NBA is testing innovation through the new playoff format, her 15-year career working for one of the largest sports leagues in the world and her advice for future young pr…

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

Prior to co-founding 4FRONT, Dan Migala was the Vice President of Creative Partnerships for the San Diego Padres, a Columnist for Sports Business Journal, and Director of Internet Services for the Chicago Bears. He is one of the sports industry's most well-known leaders in non-conventional revenue models, innovative strategies and breakthrough enga…

As part of our #SponsorshipConnect event series, we hosted Tyrrell Schmidt (Global Brand & Customer Experience Officer, TD Bank) to learn about how the global banking giant is bringing their brand purpose of 'Enriching the lives of customers, communities and colleagues' to life during the pandemic, their approach to sponsorship marketing and to fin…

As part of our #SponsorshipConnect series, we sat down with Michael Rossi (President, adidas Canada) to discuss philanthropy's role for the company, how adidas is bringing purpose to life during the pandemic and a special announcement around the apparel company's plans to activate around the 40th anniversary of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope.…

As part of our #SponsorshipConnect event series, our team had a chance to sit down and chat with Zach Leonsis of Monumental Sports & Entertainment to discuss his company's approach to OTT, e-sports and the world of sports gambling.By Avish Sood

As part of our #SponsorshipConnect event series, we sat down with Jacquie Ryan (Chief Brand and Commercial Officer at the Canadian Olympic Committee).By Avish Sood

For those who don't know, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is the largest public film festival in the world. Known universally as the unofficial kickoff to the ‘prestige film season’, TIFF has a rich history of predicting Oscar success and has premiered award winning favorites such as JoJo Rabbit, Parasite and Marriage Story. Time Mag…

After negotiating sponsorship deals with the National Basketball Association, Toronto FC and Chicago Blackhawks, Justine shared with us the importance of building "Heart Power" into any sponsorship and social marketing strategy. As the former Head of Social & Sponsorships for BMO North America, Justine's whole world had stopped when she was diagnos…