Sports Professionals Networking Event: Buenos Aires

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

Bill Rasmussen and Lewis HowesDuring 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!

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Sell Your Ideas, Not Tickets

by Lewis Howes | March 1st, 2010 | 1 Comment »

rmcgervey(This is a guest article by Josh Feinberg)

Raise your hand if you are a salesman (you all should have your hands up). We are all in sales, whether you are selling yourself, selling your product or service.  Are you in the business of selling ideas, passion, or events?  I am…it’s called Minor League Baseball.  Sales in Minor League Baseball can come in many shapes and sizes, be it groups, mini-plans, and of course season tickets.  More often than not, Theme Nights held at the ballpark will come into play. Try to sell an idea before you attempt to sell tickets.

Theme nights translate into ideas, passion, and events.  Is your passion dogs?  Then organize a “Bark in the Park” event for fans and their pets.  Maybe your passion is music and performing.  I have a great idea for your local schools, why don’t you bring your chorus out to sing the National Anthem or “Take Me out to the Ballgame”.  I bet there are some Chess fans out there. Use some open space on the concourse to host a chess tournament during a game.

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How to Fix the NBA’s All-Star Dilemma

by Lewis Howes | February 16th, 2010 | 7 Comments »

sdk(This is a guest article by Stephen Lombardo)

For what seems like an eternity, the NBA has lost some of its appeal to its fans when it comes to All-Star weekend.  The game is the most entertaining part.  However, they don’t actually play basketball until the final five minutes of the game.  All-Star Saturday feels like it doesn’t even exist.  HORSE, the newest event of the weekend, showed its crucial flaw this week when they turned it into a three-point shoot out until someone was declared the winner.  The point guard time trials feel a bit lame, the shoot out is ok, but the slam dunk contest (the NBA’s marquis event) feels like less than a shell of its former self.  How do you save this event, and bring back the excitement there was in the 80’s and 90’s?

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Super Bowl XLIV Recap

by Sam Taggart | February 9th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

shelgerardCongrats to the real winners of Super Bowl XLIV: CBS. This year’s Super Bowl was reportedly the most-watched TV event ever. CBS estimates that the game was watched by 106.5 million viewers, which is 600,000 more than watched the previous record-holder, the “M*A*S*H” series finale in 1983. I’m not surprised. While the Colts and Saints are two relatively small market teams, both are very likable from a football fan’s point of view. Further, most would agree that the Colts and Saints were really the best two teams in the league. The Colts started 14-0 and the Saints 13-0. Ultimately, both teams finished 14-3, and both teams earned the number one seeds in their divisions.

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Networking at the Ballpark

by Lewis Howes | February 1st, 2010 | No Comments »

Werner Kunz(This is a guest article by Chris Rufle)

Putting on a networking event at your venue can be beneficial for you in a few different ways.  It can give you the opportunity to sell a weak night, draw in new quality leads, and help other business executives further their businesses all at the same time.  As long as you follow a few steps to make sure you plan your event properly it can be a success.

First, pick a night. Since people are primarily coming for the networking event instead of the game, you have the opportunity to pick the date you prefer.  This gives you the ability to take one of your weaker nights and sell it while hosting a successful group outing with great potential for future leads.

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Sports Networker Event: London

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

Sports Network Summit NYC
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!

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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 HowesLewis 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 MartinAmy 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 jollyTom 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

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 diLorenzoMichael 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 cubanBrian 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

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

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

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

______________________________________________________________________

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.


Register today to ensure your spot, only 80 seats are available. We look forward to seeing you December 7th!

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Sports Networker Event Recap: NYC

by Lewis Howes | August 11th, 2009 | 11 Comments »

lewis howes and bill rassmussenThe first Sports Networker event took place last week in NYC and seeing that it was nearly 100 people over capacity at the venue, I would say it was a fairly big success. 

I am still receiving thoughtful emails from attendees who said it was packed full of quality sports professionals and they all received a ton of value from connecting in person.

We had Bill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN who is featured on the picture to the right, in attendance promoting his latest project CollegeFanz, along with the really fun team from LockerBlogger.com, Sports Lawyers, sports social networking platforms, professionals athletes, NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL league and team employees, AFL, agencies, marketing firms, CBS, Madison Square Garden, minor league teams, and  a number of other quality professionals (I am leaving out a large group as over 350 in total attended throughout the night).

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