Here is the fourth in what will continue to be a series of key communicators and their thoughts during this challenging time. We started with Kirk Reynolds, Ray Ridder of the Warriors and Josh Rawitch of the Diamondbacks, and then went to David Higdon of Riot Games, Dee Kundra of FC Bayern Munich, Mike Altieri of the LA Kings and Barry Baum of the Milwaukee Bucks. Number three covered the agency side with Mary Scott of UEG, the NFL with Mark Dalton of the Arizona Cardinals and the college business with Shelly Poe of Auburn. This one has Beth Marshall of the Atlanta Braves, Brendan Hannan of the LA Galaxy and Scott Leightman of the Fiesta Bowl
Thanks for taking the time. Want to share your insights, they are welcomed, just email me [email protected] and we can set it up.
Beth Marshall
Beth has logged time from Philadelphia to the WNBA to bowling and has steadily risen up the ladder in Atlanta, where she now leads the Braves communications strategy.
Other than the obvious of no games, what has been the biggest surprise you have been dealing with, either as a one off or on a daily basis?
I’ve been surprised how quickly everyone has pivoted to working remotely. We are just as efficient as we were working next to each other.
Is there a special lesson learned so far in this?
Out of situations like this, there are takeaways that will change how we do business both internally and externally moving forward.
Whats been the biggest challenge in the process?
Separating work time from home time!
Who are some of the people you have seen emerge as leaders in this so far?
It’s obvious, but our executive team has remained engaged and set the direction for our organization from the beginning. They continue to have regular video town halls with our entire front office and minor league teams has been a win. Our players have stepped up as well going on calls with season ticket holders, game day staff, media, etc. Finally, our community affairs department has been going full speed…arranging the $1.25M in grants for game day staff, organizing our food concessionaire, Delaware North who are preparing meals with the food that was purchased for April games and using several distribution organizations to get the food into the hands of those who need it most (over 52,000 meals the last two weeks alone) and working with sponsor MolsonCoors to purchase meals at area restaurants and have GoodR deliver them to front line staff at Northside and WellStar hospitals.
What is the message that you as leaders in your business on the comms side have been able to convey to staff?
We have tried to convey a sense of normalcy and reassurance (as much as we can). Regular department and all staff meetings have helped us stay connected and informed. Today our baseball manager, Brian Snitker, joined the all staff call and it was the pep talk we all didn’t know we needed!
This job is now more 24/7 than ever before probably, how are you able to break from being constantly on?
As a sports communications professional it’s pretty much 24/7, now it’s all in one place!!!
Scott Leightman
Another with roots in and around Philadelphia, Scott has done a great job leading all the comms strategy for all things football bowl related in the Valley of the Sun. His career has seen him with NBA teams in Charlotte and Phoenix as well as leading comms at USA Swimming and a few colleges.
Other than the obvious of no games, what has been the biggest surprise you have been dealing with, either as a one off or on a daily basis?
It’s not really a surprise but balancing what our communities at-large are facing with when and how we conduct our ‘normal business’ is a daily exercise. We are determining when is the right time to go out with ticket renewals, is it appropriate timing to make that ask now without appearing tone-deaf, how are we making our ticket members feel comfortable in moving forward at this time (i.e. providing a full money-back guarantee if the games aren’t played) and those type decisions. We delayed our season ticket renewals and also some other events sales, even for events that occur in the Fall and will put us behind our normal cadence, to be sensitive to today’s life circumstances. I think people crave some semblance of normalcy, especially in sports, and striking that balance is a daily topic.
Is there a special lesson learned so far in this?
It’s nice that people are being more comfortable with the phrase “I don’t know.” People have had the mindset that that phrase is a bad thing. Guess what, we don’t always know and that’s okay.
The collaboration has elevated in these times, particularly externally as organizations have shared more information and come together more. In Arizona, we have the 17 major sports properties that formed AZSportsTogether, where we all donated a “money-can’t-buy” event-day experience for Arizona residents to buy tickets in a raffle format to win. All the proceeds are donated to Governor Ducey’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. I’ve seen the college football Power 5 Commissioners meet on a daily basis, our information-sharing among the New Year’s Six Bowl games taken to a new level across all levels of our organizations.
Whats been the biggest challenge in the process?
The biggest challenge is really the unknown. We all want to move ahead but we just can’t… and we don’t know when that will come. The speculation gets out of hand and, at times, it’s hard to tune that out. In Communications, planning ahead is still our best pathway and we have laid out plans but agility is key so when you have to pivot, you’re open to doing so and can still be creative to succeed. I also miss having the real interpersonal communication as we had previously. I like going down the hall to speak with our staff to work through projects, as opposed to just email or phone or text, or meeting offsite with colleagues and our volunteers.
Who are some of the people you have seen emerge as leaders in this so far?
Not surprisingly, the NBA has been at the top of the list in the sports world. Adam Silver continues to cultivate relationships and credibility with the public and all of his stakeholders. Locally, Fiesta Bowl Executive Director Mike Nealy has shown empathy and has been more communicative with our staff during this time. In addition to more frequent all-staff meetings, he has taken time to individually call our staff members several times each to check in on them and how they are doing through this, while also pushing us to continue on as if things were status quo. That helps keep us in positive frame of mind and not get down based on the news reports.
What is the message that you as leaders in your business on the comms side have been able to convey to staff?
These times give us an opportunity to encourage being creative and taking advantage of not just doing a wash/rinse/repeat. To unleash that entrepreneurial mindset to still make an impact, just differently. The power of Zoom-type activities has opened the door, and some of what’s being done in that way will continue. We conducted Zoom interviews with players from the 1987 Penn State football team and then plugged clips from those into our social media in real-time as NBC Sports re-aired the 1987 Fiesta Bowl National Championship between Penn State and Miami. We shared, from the players themselves, inside knowledge about some of the key parts of that game. I also touched upon collaboration earlier and communicating with each other more than ever. A phrase I like to say is “Better twice than not at all.”
This job is now more 24/7 than ever before probably, how are you able to break from being constantly on?
It’s hard working upstairs as our whole family is in the house all day, every day. I’m sharpening my math skills – acute angles and Pythagorean triangles – and hoping to graduate from seventh grade here in a week or so. Seriously though, you have to enjoy the opportunity to have lunch every day as a family and one new facet that has come from this is that I play checkers every morning with my 11-year old while my wife and older son are still waking up and getting going. My sons have come up with new hobbies during this time so I try and spend time with each of them as well as they continue on their journeys.
Brendan Hannan
One of the young veterans in sports communications and marketing, Brendan has gone from Chicago and the Fire to rising through the ranks at the Galaxy, leading their marketing and communications strategy.
Other than the obvious of no games, what has been the biggest surprise you have been dealing with, either as a one off or on a daily basis?
The biggest surprise so far is the daily challenge that distance provides. Many of us are passionate about our roles because of the people we have the opportunity to interact with on a daily basis – supporters, athletes, media members and our colleagues. Technology has and will continue to play a sizeable role in how we work, however, the distance between us as people provides a unique challenge as we look to maintain relationships and meaningful connections.
Is there a special lesson learned so far in this?
There are always lessons to be learned. Challenging circumstances require us as people to adapt and innovate. We can utilize this time to adjust and be more creative about how we do our business and how we tell engaging stories going forward.
Whats been the biggest challenge in the process?
I think we all miss the roar of the crowd, the smell of the grass, the euphoria around goals and the energy that sports and entertainment provides us.
The distance from these things and the people we work with is the biggest challenge to date.
Who are some of the people you have seen emerge as leaders in this so far?
I’ve really enjoyed a number of things on the content side. I think Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires have been putting on great concerts from their home. Megan Rapinoe and Steph Curry have held engaging discussions on their social media platforms.
I also really value what a number of journalists, like Eli Saslow, Baxter Holmes and Chris Jones, have done to tell unique and memorable stories during this pandemic.
What is the message that you as leaders in your business on the comms side have been able to convey to staff?
It is our job to relay clear, concise and transparent information to our staff. We should do our best to be informative and helpful as our collective industry works through this very strange time in world history.
This job is now more 24/7 than ever before probably, how are you able to break from being constantly on?
I really enjoy listening to music and riding my bike. Also, at home work outs have become a thing, which is funny. Good to set time and space for work and for living. I try to make sure I cook dinner and pick up a good book in the evenings after a long day of zoomin’ and conference callin’.
