Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing - a Roth Revenue Podcast

Gavin Roth here with another episode of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing (https://rothrevenue.com/), sponsored by The Programme, your guide to finding and watching women's sports online and on television. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter at https://theprogramme.substack.com/. As we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th, it’s hard to think of a more appropriate guest than Nathalie Cook – a leader in the sports marketing space and a driving force in the movement for gender equality and investment in women’s sports. What a career… with stops at IMG, the Special Olympics, the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Media Consortium, Bell Media – where she became the first female VP and TSN - President at Cimoroni & Co., Chair of Canadian Women & Sport. She even has an award named after her - The Nathalie Cook Canadian Women & Sport Disruptor Award. I’m proud to call her a friend and former colleague and it was great to chat with her. We discussed her career journey; the people who inspired her along the way – very telling answer to this question. She gives insights into some of the sport partnerships she has been involved with. We dive into the work Nathalie is doing with Canadian Women & Sport | Femmes et sport au Canada and Project 8 Sports Inc. around investing in women’s sports and the development of Canada’s first professional soccer league. Nathalie then shines a light on other female leaders in sports and business. What a cool list of names. Many the next gen of leaders in this country. And we wrap with awesome professional development advice – so succinctly summed up in one word… I’ll let you listen to find out what that word is. You’ll leave inspired. I hope you enjoy! And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud… or check out rothrevenue.com

Gavin Roth here with another episode of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, sponsored by Elevent, makers of sponsorship software that track, evaluate and manage all requests for partnerships. Learn more at Elevent.co Keith Pelley is inarguably one of the most accomplished sports media and sports marketing executives in the world. Appropriate given his role as CEO of the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour and headquartered in the UK) takes Keith across the globe as he stewards the 2nd largest professional golf tour on the planet. Impressive doesn’t begin the describe his career journey – with stints as president of TSN, the Toronto Argonauts, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, Rogers Media, and now the DP World Tour. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him - and for him - on a few occasions and can say without hesitation that he possesses an unrivalled work ethic and passion for whatever he does. For this episode, I caught Keith at his home outside London, England to discuss his career journey, his current mandate at the DP World Tour and some of his many career accomplishments – i.e. Taking the former European Tour to new commercial heights through partnerships with DP World and Rolex… creating Friday Night Football at TSN… taking on the monumental task of producing and commercializing the coverage of the 2010 Olympics, and more. A few fun stories sprinkled in as well. It was a fun, inspiring and insightful chat. I hope you enjoy! And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud… or check out https://rothrevenue.com

Nic Sulsky is not short on passion, enthusiasm, and opinion. He also knows the iGaming space as well as anyone… anywhere. Combine those two and you can see why PointsBet – an Australian-owned sportsbook operator – tapped Nic to lead their sales and marketing efforts in Canada. You see, PointsBet entered the Ontario sportsbook waters at a disadvantage to their rivals when the government opened the coveted Ontario market to licensed and regulated operators on April 4 of this year. Their pockets weren’t as deep, and they didn’t have an existing database to convert to paying bettors. So Nic and his team had to be crafty. A couple pillars they leaned on heavily were sponsorships and influencer marketing, quickly snapping up deals with Curling Canada, Alpine Canada, the Trailer Park Boys, NHL Alumni Association and – most recently – MLSE. All part of Nic’s strategy to build a brand wrapped in the Canadian flag. In our chat, Nic shares that strategy and his views on the Ontario sports betting market. We also stepped back and revisited his time as president of the popular disruptor daily fantasy brand, Monkey Knife Fight (any Simpsons fans out there?). A brand that in less than 3 years got purchased by Bally’s for $90 million. The sports betting business in Canada has never been hotter and Nic is the perfect guest to discuss it with. Some terrific insights, fun stories… and even an explanation of how one can be both a Habs fan and a Leafs fan at the same time. I hope you enjoy! And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud… or check out rothrevenue.com.

I’m back from a summer hiatus and thrilled to welcome Pat O’Brien onto the show. You may know Pat from the trademark cowboy hat he proudly wears to industry events. He’s a great guy who embodies the spirit of the property he has worked at for the past 16 years – the iconic Calgary Stampede. We discuss how Pat landed the role as Manager of Sponsorship at the Stampede and who inspired and supported him along the way. We cover how the Stampede plays a crucial role in the Calgary community and how they aligned with their sponsors to lift the spirits of the community during the heart of the pandemic in 2020. Pat shares some of their proudest accomplishments over the challenging last 18 months and how they enthusiastically welcomed fans back this past summer. Some great insights and inspiring stories. I hope you enjoy! And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube… or check out https://rothrevenue.com

As my listeners know, mentorship is a central theme of this podcast. And there’s one name that tends to come up more often than others. And that name is Dave Hopkinson. Dave was Chief Commercial Officer at Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment where he spent 23 years, working his way up from ticket sales. He then made headlines, by going overseas to take on a similar role for Real Madrid – the most popular soccer team in the world. And recently was in the news again, when word spread that he is back on this side of the pond as President of Business Operations at MSG Sports – home to the Knicks, Rangers and Madison Square Gardens. Dave is a true industry heavyweight, a Canadian-born global sports marketing success story, and a great guy. We discuss his journey and how he overcame early struggles in sales, his mentors and his proudest accomplishments at MLSE and Real Madrid. He shares what led to his return to North America and what excites him about his new role in the world’s most famous city. And of course, professional development advice. It’s a story of a wonderfully managed career. Humility. Bold decisions. Plus... he reveals who he’ll be pulling for when the Knicks play the Raptors. A very quick answer. I hope you enjoy! And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube… or check out https://rothrevenue.com

My guests on this episode are: Danielle Donkers – Associate Director, Sponsorship at SickKids Foundation And Renee Hopfner – Director of Community Investment at Sobeys. SickKids Foundation is one of the true gold standards in the cause space. They stage several signature annual fundraising events… and as you’ll hear, had to flip all those plans on their head to address this new reality. Sobeys is a long-time partner of the SickKids Foundation and a business that has played a key role in helping communities and their partners during the pandemic. We discuss their respective career paths… their roles… and the mandates of their respective organizations that impact the lives of families, in very different… and very important ways. We then do a deep dive into SickKids GetLoud - the signature fundraising event for the SickKids Foundation. Danielle reveals how the Foundation team reimagined the event for 2020. And Renee and Danielle share insights into Sobeys' sponsorship of the event. We then wrap with some terrific professional development advice. Lots of insights and a fun chat. I hope you enjoy! And for more episodes of the Influencers of Sponsorship Marketing, follow me on LinkedIn, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube… or check out https://rothrevenue.com

The focus of this episode is Branded Content. Now the concept of branded content is hardly new … brands like Nike and Red Bull have made it a cornerstone of their marketing plans for years. And perhaps unintentionally, they have led a subtle yet important pivot in the execution. More sponsors of branded content have bravely agreed to take a back seat… letting the story take centre stage. And ultimately, that makes the content more authentic and consumable. That is exactly what Scotiabank did with Hockey 24, the beautifully crafted 90 minute documentary that celebrates hockey at every level… and through a diverse range of voices … across this country. I’m joined by 2 key executives associated with the film. Mike Tasevski – Vice President of Global Sponsorships at Scotiabank; and Hayes Steinberg – co-owner & Chief Creative Officer at The Mark – the agency that developed the film We discuss the genesis of the project, the sell-in the Scotiabank and the reason it was so important to the bank as an extension of their deep sponsorship of the NHL. Mike also shares more about his mandate in one of the top sponsorship jobs in the country. And we also discuss their respective journeys, their mentors and their professional development advice. Hayes and Mike are 2 very intelligent people with super-hi EQ. They speak purposely, passionately and eloquently. I hope you enjoy!

Gavin is joined by Dr. Norm O'Reilly. Dr. O’Reilly is a professor at the University of Guelph and one of the leading scholars in the business of sports. He is co-author of the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study, now in its 14th edition. We discuss Norm's journey, the CSLS and the impact of COVID-19 on the sports and sponsorship industries.