Event Recap: Team Side Innovation

On March 25, 2014, the Cornell ILR Sports Business Society presented “Team Side Innovation”, a digital panel featuring alumni sports executives Tim McDermott ’95, Eric Kussin ’01, and Jason Pearl ’91. The video of the event can be found below as well as on YouTube.

McDermott, Chief Marketing Innovation Officer for the Philadelphia 76ers, emphasized three major areas in his field— brand, fans and revenue. Kussin, Vice President of Ticket Sales for the New Jersey Devils, oversees the service staff along with working to increase ticket sales. As Managing Vice President, Sponsorship and New Business Development for the San Francisco Giants, Pearl is committed to solidifying a passionate fan base regardless of wins and losses.
 

Tim McDermott '95:

McDermott highlighted the importance of building a deep emotional brand.

“The best brands create a brand that is independent of wins and losses and is independent to a certain degree of players,” McDermott described. “That’s sometimes hard to do but players come and go. My perspective is to not necessarily build brands that are just about players.”

McDermott also touched on the growing use of digital platforms in the marketing field. According to McDermott, it is not about your digital strategy. It is about how you are marketing in a digital world.

For example, in the 1990’s companies created an online version of their business, putting an “e” in front of the company name. But it shouldn’t be like this, McDermott points out. “It’s about a new way of doing business in a digital paradigm,” he explains.

McDermott made clear that core business objectives must be maintained. Reshaping the brand simply because you are using a different means to market the brand is not the correct way to handle a situation.

Eric Kussin '01:
 

Kussin works to build a brand that will keep fans committed for the long run as well. Despite being successful on ice, the Devils have had consistent trouble selling out. Kussin is dedicated to rebuilding the brand and forming a new fan base by getting the word out about how passionate the new coaching staff is.

According to Kussin, fans want to know that even tough the team is at a difficult time selling, there are people within the organization who are committed to the long haul. In his perspective of the growing digital world, he stresses that social media should be used to collect information about fans.

“There is a certain piece of social media where fans want to feel like they are getting special content, but they do not want to be hounded about ticket sales,” said Kussin.

Ticket sales must be done with outside of social media. However, social media can be used as an effective tool for collecting information on the types of people that are a part of the fan base. A unique way to learn more about the fans is to create contests so that the winners can be put in direct contact with the marketing department.

Jason Pearl '91:

Pearl has a similar take on the matter in that building a fan base should not only be about wins and losses.

According to Pearl, there is no doubt that numbers speak for themselves. However, it is imperative that fans leave the stadium feeling like they had a good time regardless of the score. Pearl works to build a partnership to leverage technology, sustainability, and philanthropy.

With this, Pearl is working on building a sustainable and edible garden in a sports facility. The garden will be less of a means to feed the fans, but more of a place fans can gather and where sponsors can “elevate their platform when it comes to wellness, ” claimed Pearl.

The NHL Enforcer: An Endangered Species

The role of enforcer is incredibly unique to the sport of hockey. In no other team sport is there a specified “goon” whose main job description encompasses doing whatever it takes to defend his teammates. This can range from dropping the gloves and going for blow for blow with an opposing teams enforcer or simply hitting anyone and everyone in sight. It certainly is a special title to hold, but lately fewer and fewer NHL teams are choosing to keep one of these brutes on their roster and instead leaning more toward two-way forwards who can fill in on the fourth line and actually contribute something more than penalty minutes.

The role seems to be diminishing throughout the league and as a fan it is a little upsetting. While I understand the need of depth and being able to consistently roll four competitive lines, enforcers are too much a part of the game watch to disappear.

Fighting is controversial aspect of the NHL and will continue to be. For some fans fighting is a major reason they love the sport. They would argue that it is necessary to protect skilled players, it is tradition and simply part of the game, and of course it is pretty entertaining to watch. Opposing fans would argue that it is not necessary as other team sports do just fine without it and that it is dangerous and hazardous to player safety.

Recently league officials have made it clear that they are concerned about the safety of the players in these fights, specifically addressing when the players fall to the ice when taken down. The latest rule change acknowledges this fear as it does not allow players to remove their helmets before a fight. If they do they will receive an extra two minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on top of the five minute major for fighting for a total of seven minutes in the box.

This rule makes sense as it reduces the chance of a player injuring his head on a fall, but there is a major loophole that was exposed during the preseason during a fight between New Jersey Devil Krys Barch and New York Islander Brett Gallant. The two tough guys dropped the gloves, came together, and then each of them purposely knocked off the others helmet before landing haymakers to each other’s jaws.

Lastly, it is really ironic that the new video game NHL14 has a new mode called enforcer engine and has really amped up the fights and hitting. It seems to be a bit odd that the league seems to be doing everything they can to combat fighting while the game seems to be promoting it.

The diminishing number of enforcers league-wide in the NHL sparks striking similarities to many other sports right now in that an element of toughness is being taken away. Sports in a way are slowly but surely becoming soft. For example, there are way too many touch fouls in the NBA. It is nearly impossible not to commit a foul when an opposing player is driving the lane.

It is also increasingly challenging to get a big hit on a quarterback or wide receiver in the NFL without getting flagged, fined, or both. In the NFL trash talking is even an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty now called ‘verbal taunting’. It is absurd that a player can’t talk a little trash without getting penalized 15 yards. Big hits, fights, and tough play in the low post are what makes football, hockey, and basketball so exciting, yet it seems as though they are all diminishing because of rule changes and the way referees are currently calling all the games.