Event Recap: Rachel Jacobson ('96)

 



 

On Tuesday March 12, the ILR Sports Business Society was fortunate enough to host alumnus Rachel Jacobson for a meeting via Skype. Rachel, a 1996 graduate of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Business Development for the National Basketball Association.

Rachel Jacobson has worked for the NBA since she graduated from Cornell. She started in the entry-level rotational training program, working for many different departments within the NBA. She partly attributes getting the job to the training ground for immediate impact that Cornell, and the Hotel School, provided her. After a year in the rotational program, it was time for her to decide what was next – she decided that marketing was the best fit for her, so she joined the Global Merchandising Group, before moving to Marketing Partnerships.

 Rachel’s first major project was to find partners for the USA basketball team, a property of the NBA, for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where the USA took home the gold medal. Over the next four years, Rachel’s main responsibility was to manage these partners and identify potential new partners for USA basketball in its journey to Athens for the 2004 Olympics.




2000 US Men's Basketball Team

 

In 2005, Rachel saw a great opportunity for her to transfer her skills managing partners to selling them on the business side. She joined the Global Business Development group, which in addition to selling partnerships, also was tasked with creating social good within the communities with which it interacted. Rachel has worked in this department since then, now assuming the role of Senior Vice President, Business Development.

 On switching roles…

 Rachel had an easy transition from Marketing Partnerships to Business Development, largely due to the strong relationships she developed and maintained. Also, in her new role she still got to do marketing, just in a new way; instead of the day-to-day marketing, her new role was more about staying engaged and involved with the NBA’s sold platforms, while also seeking new brands to connect with.

 On the NBA’s marketing…

A main focus of the NBA’s marketing plan is to emphasize the purity of the game, such as the “Where amazing happens” campaign. The NBA wants to show how fun and exciting the game can be, and often does this through humor, as that is what they have identified that the fans love.

 



Heat F LeBron James in the midst
of his pregame ritual.

Also, the NBA wants the fans to be able to get a good look at what the players are doing, and for them to get closer to the game. This can be done through showing the teams in the locker room, the players doing their pregame rituals, or by having a player or coach “wired” for the game, amongst other ways. An additional example she shared was the Miami Heat’s version of the Harlem Shake. Basically, the NBA tries to deliver the fans a real experience that is fun and enjoyable.

 

 On franchise relocation…

 When asked about how franchise relocation affects her job, Rachel stated that it really doesn’t affect her too much. This is because the NBA has penetration in most significant markets either through its own league, the WNBA, the NBA Developmental League, or USA Basketball, as these are all the NBA’s properties. As an example, she offered the Nets relocation from New Jersey to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn; this move generated excitement around an organization that had been struggling and an area ready to embrace basketball. Change is good for the league; it just needs to be executed properly.

 On the recent NBA lockout…

 Rachel stated that the lockout didn’t detriment the NBA’s marketing partnerships too much, thanks to the strong relationships with their sponsors and the patience of these sponsors. It also helped that the fans were very forgiving! The major issue that the NBA faced, though, was an uncertainty of the date of return; however, they were still able to make many deals during the lockout and thrived out of the gate. Rachel also pointed out that if a brand wasn’t comfortable partnering with the NBA during the lockout, a partnership between the two probably wasn’t right anyway.

 On gender in the workplace…

 

WNBA star Lisa Leslie
with her daughter Lauren.

 Rachel insists that being a female in what is thought to be a “male industry” is not something she has thought about throughout her career, as she has never experienced gender issues. If anything, she says that it makes her more unique, and her status as a “working mom” helps her work with the WNBA, as this is what the league symbolizes. She also believes her status as a “working mom” motivates her to work more efficiently in the office.

 Advice for students…

 Rachel offered great advice to all of the students. One of the things she said was to “sweat the details” and not let things that seem small slip by. Also, it is good to personalize whatever you are doing, by finding a way to stand out. While doing this though, it is crucial stay humble and genuine by talking from the heart. Furthermore, when working for an organization, you should make sure you fully understand the organization, and work hard for it. Lastly, she stressed that, no matter what, you need to have fun!

 Again, we’d like to thank Rachel Jacobson for taking the time to speak with members of our club. It was an incredibly informative and insightful discussion, which we all truly enjoyed and appreciated.