Sports Professionals Networking Event: Buenos Aires

by Lewis Howes | March 8th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

During my stay in Argentina I have had a number of Sports Networkers looking to meet up. Since I’m only here for a few more days before I leave for SXSW I decided to put together a Sports Networker meet up in Buenos Aires to bring together some of the best minds in the industry.

This is more of a meet up instead of a large Sports Networker event, but I’m expecting a great turn out.

The event will be held at the well known Hard Rock Cafe in Recoleta starting at 7:00pm on Wednesday March 10th.

Here is the address:
Av. Pueyrredón y Libertador
Buenos Aires Design
1119 – Buenos Aires

This event is free to attend so bring your co-workers, dress casual, have your business cards ready, and let’s have a fun night connecting with some great sports professionals in the Buenos Aires area. See you there!

10 Ways to Land Jobs at Sports Conferences

by Lewis Howes | February 10th, 2010 | 6 Comments »

SportsBusiness 03 (This is a guest article by Jason Kobeda)

The ability to network has become an essential skill for those seeking employment in the sports industry. When I began pursuing a career in the NFL, I quickly learned how much competition there was. I traveled to the Senior Bowl week of practices and NFL Combine, where NFL personnel congregate during the off-season to evaluate talent. This presented rare opportunities to meet key people and I returned the following three years while completing my degree.

These are a few methods I used to put myself in the same room with the NFL personnel who had the power to hire me. These tips relate to football events, but are transferable to other sports business conference, MLB Winter Meetings, NBA Combine, etc.

1. Write introductory letters: Anytime you know you’re going to see someone that’s important to your career search, always write them a letter beforehand telling them what you want to do and that you’re hoping to meet them at the event. It is then much easier and more effective to approach that person and say, “Mr./Mrs. —-, my name is Jason Kobeda, it’s nice to meet you. I’m not sure if you got my letter last week, but may I have a minute of your time to discuss potential internships in your department?”

Create Your Own Sports Networking Event (Plus London Recap)

by Lewis Howes | January 20th, 2010 | 4 Comments »

Last night I hosted the first ever Sports Networker event in London along with my good friends over at iStadia. It was a big success with nearly 200 top sports professionals in the area who attended (along with two world record holding athletes… see images below).

It was fun for me to throw an event over seas, seeing that I hosted close to 20 events in the U.S. last year. I was amazed when a few people told me it was the best networking event they had ever been to (they must not go to many networking events in London

The venue was extremely nice, but too small, and nearly impossible to find since there was no sign on the door and it was down a dark alley. There was a major traffic jam in the doorway as people were trying to find their name tags and head on in. And we were unable to make any announcements, as previously planned, due to the loudness of the venue and no mic to communicate with.

I guess my point is, you don’t have to have everything perfect to create an event where people find massive value in. As long as you bring quality people together, and help them make positive connections, then you have done a good job. I doubt there has been one event produced where everything went as planned.

Make sure you start bringing people together locally, nationally, or globally. We already do this online through our various blogs, and social networking sites, but let’s get more personal, intimate, and build stronger relationships by connecting face to face. What do you say? Watch my video below where I share more on this topic, and I would love to hear your thoughts about throwing events in the comments section.

Here are some images from the London Sports Networker Event. Thanks again to Eight Club, and David Fuller for giving us the venue. And thanks to our sponsor Tim Gentles from Brands in Football and Football Fans Census for helping make it an even greater event! Here are some pictures from London.

Sports Networker Event: London

by Lewis Howes | December 14th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

: Sports Networker Summit NYC

Sports Networker is taking their next networking event to the international level. Sports Networker and iStadia are co-hosting a sports networking event Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at the Eight Club in London. This event is not only open to sports professionals but it is free to attend.

iStadia is the global community for those in professional sport and exercise to network, promote themselves and develop business. Organized locally on a global basis, iStadia brings together athletes (beginners to elite), coaches, sport scientists, academics and businesses involved in sport and exercise. Also creating new opportunities for referrals, jobs, projects, business development, access to expert support or advice, research and shared learning.

istadia

This event will be a great opportunity to meet new people in the sports industry face to face. The evening will be mainly informal with one or two assisted networking activities.

There will be more announcements to come regarding the program, so check back for updates. It is free to attend this networking event, but you must pre register on the LinkedIn event link here to attend. We look forward to seeing you January 19th at the Eight Club!

Sports Networker Summit Streaming Live

by Lewis Howes | December 7th, 2009 | No Comments »

Watch live streaming video from sportsnetworker at livestream.com

How to Network at a Sports Symposium

by Darren Heitner | December 1st, 2009 | 4 Comments »

darren 02 We are about to enter Sports Symposium season. This Friday is the granddaddy of them all: The Princeton Sports Symposium. Amongst the panelists are former Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox general manager Roland Hemond, Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci, President of Ponturo Management and chairman of the Leverage Agency sports marketing firm Tony Ponturo, IMG agency’s executive vice president of sports programming Barry Frank, etc.

Other fantastic symposiums that are right around the corner include the UF Sports Law Symposium on January 29, 2010 and the University of Miami’s 13th Annual Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium on February 5, 2010. Travel costs in this economy are not always easy to justify, but these events are some of the best places to learn about the business of sports. They are also the premier spots to network with the sports industry’s leaders.

Sports Networker Summit – NYC

by Lewis Howes | November 12th, 2009 | 4 Comments »

The Sports Networker Summit – NYC is being held December 7th at the Roger Smith Hotel.

This exclusive event has limited seating available and will feature some of the brightest minds in the sports industry. (Twitter hashtag for this event is #NYCSports)

Your Hosts:

Lewis Howes is the founder of the Sports Executives Association and SportsNetworker.com which helps him connect sports executives around the world both online and through live events. Lewis is a previous two sport collegiate All-American, and is also the NCAA All-Division Record Holder for the most receiving yards in a single football game (418 yards, currently an unofficial World Record. Read the full bio here.

Amy Martin is the founder of Digital Royalty, a Digital Integration and Social Marketing agency, focused on developing strategies to help corporate brands, professional sports leagues, teams and athletes build, measure and monetize their digital universe. Current clients include Shaquille O’Neal, UFC, White Sox and other sports, athletes, entertainment and corporate brands. Read more about Amy here here.

Featured Guest Speakers:

Tom Jolly is the senior sports editor for the NY Times. He is part of a major news publication that is adjusting to the “difficult market” and to the needs of the readers by developing multiple online and mobile platforms and integrating social media everywhere. Learn more about Tom here.

Ben Sturner is the founder and CEO of Leverage Agency. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Read more here.

Michael DiLorenzo is the Director of Social Media Marketing & Strategy for The National Hockey League. After 18 months as its Director of Corporate Communications, DiLorenzo (@umassdilo) was recently named director of social media marketing and strategy for the National Hockey League (@NHL). He is now responsible for activating NHL fans through social media services such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.

Brian Cuban is an attorney for Mark Cuban Companies and nationally recognized speaker in the areas of social media and hate speech on the internet. He writes extensively on these subjects on his widely read blog, The Cuban Revolution. Brian recently made international headlines when he took on social media giant Facebook with regards to hate speech on their site. He has appeared on Fox News and has been invited to speak at numerous prestigious locations.

Jim Bankoff runs all aspects of SB Nation, the fastest growing online sports network. SB Nation boasts over 220 individually branded, fan-centric web communities, each focused on a specific professional or college team, league or sport. A fifteen year veteran of the online industry, Jim developed and led dozens of the most popular websites on the internet including AOL.com , Mapquest, Moviefone, AOL Music, Netscape and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) as an Executive Vice President at AOL. He initiated and oversaw the drive to open up AOL’s content and services onto the web and was the first executive of a major portal to embrace professional blogging with his acquisition of Weblogs Inc. and development and leadership of sites such as TMZ, Fanhouse, BloggingStocks and Engadget.

Drew Cloud is currently the Vice President of Ticket Sales, Service & Retention for Madison Square Garden Sports, overseeing the efforts for the New York Knicks (NBA), Rangers (NHL) & Liberty (WNBA). Cloud now has now spent 15 plus years in the industry and developed a well-rounded background, featuring roles in the sports marketing world with International Sports Marketing and Major League Baseball Alumni Assoc., marketing partnerships and ticket sales with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (MLB) and Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS) and most notably sales management and leadership roles with the Phoenix Suns (NBA), Mercury (WNBA) and US Airways Center.

Lou Hernandez is the director of public relations for the Chicago White Sox. In his role, Hernandez is responsible for philanthropic, business and marketing communications for the Major League Baseball organization, along with publicity for player charitable initiatives and off-the-field efforts, and most recently the team’s social media efforts.

The Summit will focus on these main sports and social media topics:

1:30 Opening Session

Opening remarks with Lewis Howes and Amy Martin.

1:45 Sports Sponsorships and ROI

Learn how social media is playing a role in sports sponsorships and innovative ways to measure the value.

2:30 Ticket Sales, Service, and Retention via Social Media

Tips on how to increase tickets sales, fan loyalty and retention via social media channels.

3:00 Converging Social Media and Traditional Media

Identify ways to leverage your influence and increase exposure by converging all mediums.

3:50 Social Media Marketing and Measurement

The keys to increasing brand awareness, acquiring new fans and measuring your social media efforts.

4:50 Closing Session

Closing remarks and final thoughts from Lewis Howes and Amy Martin.

5:00 Open Networking

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Additional speaker announcements and Summit information will be made soon for this elite Sports Networker Summit – NYC event. We have limited sponsorship opportunities for this event: contact lewis (at) sportsnetworker (dot) com to learn more.

Sports Careers Conference

by Lewis Howes | June 2nd, 2009 | 2 Comments »

If you are looking to take your career in sports to the next level, then look no further than the Sports Careers Conference on June 28-30 in Dallas, Texas. Instead of talking about all of the great things that will go on during the conference, I was able to speak with Mark Tudi, the founder of SportsCareers.com who is organizing the this great event. Check out the video below to see why you should attend, and I look forward to seeing you there!