PUSH MAGAZINE
2
experience. community. perspective.
3
Field Notes My friends‌it is time. It is time we all start looking forward. The coronavirus has certainly thrown us a curveball. The pandemic has forced many of us to furlough and even lay off employees, rework and reduce budgets, to think what is truly important to our various organizations, and dial in what used to be a broad approach to events. Though it is welcoming to see so many destinations and rights holders begin hosting events again, we are far from fully turning the corner. We must shift our thinking. Hopefully, everyone has used this downtime to adjust strategic plans, keeping in mind both internal and external factors that may come into play. Additionally, and maybe most important, how have you thought about becoming a better industry partner? As promising as it is to see events coming back across the country, it does not change the fact that we have a significant dilemma on the horizon before us. This is a topic I refer to as The Crossroads. What is The Crossroads? Destinations are cutting budgets and therefore awarding fewer dollars in support to rights holders. Rights holders need help to survive through the pandemic, as many are holding on by a shoestring. Furthermore, events are smaller due to set guidelines; thus, fewer people are traveling. But event costs are higher as rights holders must prepare for COVID-19 measures. So, what is the solution? This is the conversation we, as an industry, must be laserfocused on. Now more than ever, destinations and rights holders must become creative together, find and meet in the middle, and take the right risks as a team. Are you having these conversations with your colleagues? Our promise to our readership is to shift our thinking, so look out for changes to our outreach, dialogue, and social media focus. In the coming weeks, the mindset shift will be reflected in retitling the Sports Tourism Industry COVID-19 Resource Group - PUSH Sports Facebook page to US Sports Tourism Experts. We’ll use this group to move the conversation forward, starting with the topic of The Crossroads. Let’s work together to PUSH our industry forward! X Matt Dunn
PUSH MAGAZINE
Table of Contents 8 Destination Profile Jennifer Hawkins SportsPITTSBURGH
16 Cultivate Leadership through Organizational Awareness
6
experience. community. perspective.
4
Field Notes
14
Conference Review
20 Rights Holder Profile Ravi Rajcoomar Heromaker
26
Desire to be More Productive Each Morning?
28
4 Methods to Improve Quickly During Coronavirus
7
32
If you do these for 30 Days You’ll be Unrecognizable
34
Industry Confidential
DESTINATION PROFILE Jennifer Hawkins SportsPITTSBURGH What is your title and how long have you held the position with SportsPITTSBURGH? Executive Director, SportsPITTSBURGH, a division of VisitPITTSBURGH. I joined VisitPITTSBURGH in 2005 to launch Pittsburgh’s official entrance into sports event sales and marketing. Over the next 10 years, the Sports Marketing sales vertical
developed into the Sports Development Department then SportsPITTSBURGH, a division of VisitPITTSBURGH. What is your current organizational structure? We are a division of VisitPITTSBURGH, the lead DMO for the Pittsburgh region.
experience. community. perspective.
What would you say are your “bread and butter” sports?
VisitPITTSBURGH is a private, not-for-profit, organization that is legislatively designated to serve as the official tourism agency for Allegheny.
This seems like such a simple question, but I must add a few qualifiers…in this region, we are extremely fortunate to have active sports and live events community. To truly be effective and valuable, SportsPITTSBURGH strives to focus on events and sports that we can support through our resources and access to partners that can do the same. We want to have a positive impact on the events we host and make the planners advocate for bringing events to our community.
What is the structure of your Board of Directors? SportsPITTSBURGH falls under the leadership of the VisitPITTSBURGH Board of Directors. There is a designated seat for the Chair of the SportsPITTSBURGH standing local organizing committee. What is the % breakdown of your revenue?
That said, we have determined our “sweet spot” to be regional, national, and international multi-team tournaments with a significant leisure-travel (spectator) component.
SportsPITTSBURGH’s funding comes from VisitPITTSBURGH’s operating budget which is approximately 84% lodging tax. Is your organization focused on the quality of life events, room night creation, or both?
Within this realm, we consider the bread and butter sports to be many of the old standards, like volleyball, wrestling, basketball, and ice hockey. Pittsburgh certainly hosts several events in other sports, but SportsPITTSBURGH has a great deal of experience and resources dedicated to these sports and events.
Both! SportsPITTSBURGH focuses on recruiting, hosting, and supporting major sports events that drive economic activity to the Pittsburgh region. To do so, our criteria for expending considerable resources are 1. Attendance with emphasis on an 80:20 or greater, a visitor to local ratio. For example, youth travel team championships, college conference and national championships, professional all-star games, and multi-sport festivals;
Under the challenging demands of the pandemic, we are redirecting some of our efforts to social-distancing friendly sports, including softball/baseball, golf, fishing, and gaming.
2. Exposure to national and international audiences through paid and earned media. For example, A volleyball tournament that is broadcast or streamed on a major media network or an Olympic-qualifying road race that hosts journalists from around the world;
Are they so because you have a state of the art facilities catering to those sports? What annual projects/events do you work on and how do you enhance them from year to year?
3. Integration of the event into the Greater Pittsburgh community through civic engagement, volunteer opportunities, and my personal priority – access to major events for Pittsburgh residents.
The driver of the sports mentioned above is our community partners, from the professional teams and colleges to the incredible venues you can find within 5 miles
9
PUSH MAGAZINE A few blocks from the DLCC is PPG Paints Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. This state-of-the-art arena was constructed with professional and collegiate sports in-mind. Along with being a perennial host of Stanley Cup Playoffs, the arena has hosted numerous college championships since its opening in 2012. Over the past two years, PPG Paints Arena – its event staff and LOC members – showed the flexibility and expertise needed to truly be a multi-sport event city. In 2018, the arena was a site of the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Duquesne University has hosted the event three times since 2012 with the fourth turn in 2022. The following March, 330 of the country’s top collegiate wrestlers competed in the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Under the direction of the University of Pittsburgh and SportsPITTSBURGH, the Championships recorded one of the largest attendance records for a Pittsburgh college event.
of downtown Pittsburgh, there are certain sports and events that make sense. The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is situated on the banks of the Allegheny River with 5,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of its front doors. With 236,800 square feet of column-free exhibit space and an additional 72,000 square feet space with columns every 60 feet, the venue is meant to transform from a meeting venue to a multicourt facility or hockey rink at a moment’s notice.
Nine months later, Pittsburgh crowned the champions of NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball. Duquesne University, once again, combined its staff and resources with SportsPITTSBURGH to provide a once-in-alifetime experience for the nation’s top-four women’s teams. The home ice will have its day in the college spotlight when the NCAA joins with Robert Morris University and SportsPITTSBURGH to host the 2021 Division I Men’s Frozen Four at PPG Paints Arena.
Annually, SportsPITTSBURGH hosts the Hoop Group Pitt Jam Fest boys’ basketball tournament. Since relocating the event to the DLCC, the event has grown to more than 600 teams competing in front of 200+ college coaches and scouts.
I can go on-and-on about the great facilities within our region that complement PPG Paints Arena. Duquesne University is constructing the new home of men’s and women’s basketball and the athletic department, UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Three
Similarly, we host the East Coast Volleyball Championships in the convention center each May. This event continues to attract elite girls club teams both nationally and internationally.
10
experience. community. perspective. miles away, the University of Pittsburgh’s Peterson Events Center houses the athletic department, a 12,000-seat basketball arena, and one of the best production studios in all of college sports. Within five miles of the Pittsburgh International Airport, Robert Morris University basketball and volleyball play their home games at the newly opened UPMC Events Center.
travel are the drivers of revenue March, April, September, and October, while “SMERF”style associations take over June, July, and November. We generally focus on convention center-based sports events for the colder winter months, national holidays, and August. For the events that would use PPG Paints Arena, we must balance the needs of the Penguins and annual shows with the value of the event we are proposing. Generally, post-Stanley Cup Finals through mid-August is flexible. When we start talking collegiate winter and spring championships, we must consider the length of time the Penguins will be displaced and unable to have home-ice advantage. March and April are too close to the start of playoffs to send the team on the road for more than one week.
Along with the abundance and variety of competition venues, Pittsburgh’s event hosting success is attributed to the collegiate host institutions and conferences in the region. Combined, there are multiple athletic programs to represent Division I, II, III, and NC sports. Can you host large events during the professional sports seasons?
Is there an issue you are pushing for… facility upgrade, new facility, new market, etc. Provide an angle for what you see will benefit your efforts.
The collaboration between our many event hosts, local government, and venues make it possible to host simultaneous major events, even on a weekend with PNC Park, Heinz Field, and PPG Paints Arena in action. It takes a lot of pre-planning and possibly a little compromise on start/finish times or distance to host hotels, but it has been a proven model for success many times.
The entity is known today as SportsPITTSBURGH has been a long time in the making. When I moved to Pittsburgh in
Describe the seasonality of Pittsburgh tourism and how you use it in your approach to recruit and create new events. We are fortunate to be in a community with more than 25,000 hotel rooms and major-league and collegiate venues spread throughout. We adjust the sports, based on the venues needed, throughout the year. The David L. Lawrence Convention Center can host everything from volleyball and basketball tournaments to gaming competitions and chess matches. But room rate and food and beverage guarantees are king for certain months in downtown Pittsburgh. Business events and corporate
11
PUSH MAGAZINE 2005, the major event hosts in the area were doing a good job at securing and hosting “one-off” high-profile sports events. Missing was the cohesion needed to maximize our community’s resources when hosting major sports events. My objective was to develop a unified group of local sports stakeholders to recruit, support, and host sports events that drive visitor spending, media exposure, and iconic experiences in Pittsburgh. And, 15 short years later, I’ve witnessed the fruit of that labor!
collective drive and passion to keep our commitments to both the NCAA and the partners on the PLOC, both of which earned us the right to do it all over again. To be fair, the PLOC did cut back on the most recent NCAA submissions – only 77 event bids were submitted this time! I look back at the time leading into submitting that first NCAA bid package with pride. We spent more than a year building the PLOC, preparing for the release of the NCAA’s request for event proposals, and developing the bid package that would best showcase Pittsburgh as the ultimate destination to host championships. And, we took full advantage of that year-plus time, waiting to submit the final proposal until five minutes before the deadline!
If you have spent any amount of time with a SportsPITTSBURGH team member, it is likely that you’ve heard that Pittsburgh was awarded 22 NCAA National Championship events, in 2017, the most awarded to one city…ever! Though my staff was incredibly proud of the accomplishment, we were even more proud of what it represented. Those 22 NCAA National Championship events were a testament to the new mindset among our local businesses, government officials, sports teams, venues, and universities. Our community came together to submit a comprehensive bid package as the united “Pittsburgh Local Organizing Committee” (PLOC). That package included proposals for 90+ events, hosted by nine NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions and two athletic conferences. We proposed eight separate individual and team sports to be contested in six competition venues.
Naturally, stress levels were elevated, and once the proposal was submitted, we all needed a break from data entry and discussions over whether “national” and/or “championship” should be capitalized. Yet, those days, weeks, and months were critical to building the strength of our community. We proved then that we can work together as a cohesive unit. Validation of our hard work came from the NCAA when it opened the mostcurrent bid cycle. Events and activities the championships staff and committee members experienced in Pittsburgh were referenced throughout the bid documents. Additionally, during the NCAA-hosted workshops for potential bid cities, attention was called to the effort and organization of the PLOC and SportsPITTSBURGH, with presenters and Championship Managers heaping kudos on our staff and committee. They even encouraged others to call us for help on their bids! It was a very gratifying moment that will continue to motivate my team and me to deliver Iconic Experiences.
In a span of 22 months, SportsPITTSBURGH, along with our university and venue partners, has hosted 10 NCAA events. In fact, we crowned six national champions - in four sports and four venues - on the same day in 2018! Following this amazing feat, the VisitPITTSBURGH Board of Directors and leadership team gifted us with the moniker “Small but Mighty.” Though the recognition was nice, I was most pleased with our
12
experience. community. perspective. Besides your hobbies, what do you enjoy doing when you are not working?
They presented each member of the SportsPITTSBURGH staff with personalized, sports-themed, mega clipboards when the new CMO came on board. The gesture was meant to show us fun gift ideas for clients, but it proved to be a symbol of the partnership that developed between the leisure-focused marketing department and the sports events team.
I am an avid reader and a wine lover. The two go together perfectly after a week (or sometimes a day) of talking event ops, budget shortfalls, and staff reviews. I like to go home and completely shut it down. I love historical fiction and detective stories – preferably together in one novel. But I try to alternate between frivolous fiction, classic literature, professional development, and timely non-fiction, on a regular basis.
What is your favorite sporting event annually? It is hard to narrow this down to one. Most of our annual non-local events started with me 10+ years ago – and the local sports events that we support became part of our portfolio due to the relationships I have with the planners – they are all my babies. If I had to choose just one, I think it is the Pittsburgh Marathon. VisitPITTSBURGH hosts a cheer group with a DJ and cowbells on a prominent corner in the middle of the race. All I must do is show-up and cheer…no planning needed.
What is the most prized possession you have in your office? Ugh, my office is an unmitigated disaster! For the longest, it was my bike because I couldn’t unclip my shoe from the pedal and fell – twice – outside of my building. I vowed to never ride again! But, sentimentally, my work office has a clipboard given to me by the VisitPITTSBURGH Marketing team.
13
PUSH MAGAZINE
CONFERENCE REVIEW
Longer appointment times. This turned out to be a huge win. While the virtual appointment hustle did not get us the FitBit extra steps bonus, maneuvering between floors does take some time. The spare time not only allowed for expanded conversation but also helped minimize the “back-up” and ensured that being late to one meeting didn’t derail the rest of your appointments.
Every year in sports tourism, we look to the Sports ETA Symposium to bring the entire industry together and help set the year’s course. Though unable to host their traditional event due to the thing we’re all tired of hearing about, Sports ETA united its forces to lead the virtual way. SportsBiz XChange emerged in August as the first large scale event since the pandemic to provide business appointments, round table meetings, and education from industry leaders. Though virtual will never fully compare to in-person meetings, Sports ETA took the reins and whipped up the lemonade we all needed.
The mix of appointment and free time connection opportunities. While we know business needs to get done, we were all craving some lunchtime table talk with our much-missed conference friends. The sure-fire conversation kick starter. For the first time potentially ever, the entire industry has been affected by the same circumstance. Though not something we enjoy talking about, it made for an easy conversation starter. “How are you guys handling everything?” Almost instantly, two people who, 5 seconds ago, did not know one another are suddenly connected by the
The Virtual Wins Having the guts to go first. Big kudos there, but not unexpected from this talented team. The creation of a visually pleasing platform. It even LOOKED like a conference floor!
14
experience. community. perspective.
common goal of surviving and finding their way.
Total Meetings: 5,000+
Sports ETA’s focus on education and industry advancement is no secret, and virtually they are still delivered. Bringing keynote speakers Seth Davis, Andrew Hawkins, and Rohit Bhargava to the stage reminded us that pandemic or not, there is still plenty of great work to be done. Table topic discussions led by industry colleagues allowed attendees to dig in and work together through shared current challenges.
Total Meeting Participants: 393 Time Spent in the Marketplace by Attendees: 265,816 minutes/4,430 hours Total Views in the Event Owner Locker Room: 1,084
All in all, the SportsBiz XChange delivered on it’s promise to bring the industry back together and help pave the way for moving forward in 2020.
By the Numbers: Total Meeting Requests: 13,799
15
PUSH MAGAZINE
CULTIVATE LEADERSHIP WITH ORGANIZATIONAL AWARENESS Leaders must take a stand and make it count. Where does your organization stand?
Following the movement to fight for racial freedom, liberation, and justice, there have been mostly lukewarm corporate responses. Hollow statements acknowledging Black Lives Matter’s importance, or social posts, are now followed by an unsettling quiet. It is an unnerving calm, and unfortunately, it feels like there has been a corporate sigh of relief with the hope that the turmoil is over.
A possibly combative and divisive moment in our country’s history is approaching as a trio of imminent factors awaits: COVID-19, the presidential election, and potential national unrest. Employees, clients, and customers watch for organizations to have a powerful voice on societal issues, like racial justice. Now is the time to develop organizational integrity and take the lead in ways that companies never have before.
However, businesses in the United States are reading this all wrong. The quiet we are witnessing is not quiet by any stretch of the imagination. It is the calm before the next movement.
Below are five considerations that every leader needs to brainstorm as they create more organizational integrity.
16
experience. community. perspective.
1. Take a position
Challenging issues will always come to light in the future. Every organization should have a united approach in specifying which issues to be outspoken and others that are not pertinent to your objective.
Social engagement is good business. Many Millennials, Gen-Xers, and Baby Boomers believe it is vital that brands they support invest in causes wholeheartedly.
If a leader does not, personnel and consumers will question your organizational dedication, whether outspoken or not, because you have not efficiently managed their expectations. Of course, organizations cannot take a stance on every issue, and to be sensible, there should be clear-cut justification for every action.
Most citizens across a broad age gap wish to see organizations take a position on important causes. Therefore, it is clear this communication is socially significant and vital to an organization’s bottom line. 2. Figure out what matters to your organization
17
PUSH MAGAZINE
3. Build a sensible social strategy
Share progress internally and externally so all can see progress, hardships, or successes. Doing so helps build responsibility and showcases promises made.
Begin on the essentials—the five W’s. Agree on who’s organizing the plan, what the organization’s responsibilities and procedures will be, when to initiate the work, distributing the program internally and externally, and why the organization is taking a position.
5. Involve clients and co-workers A more proactive strategy may include engaging others in the various causes the organization is committed to by recruiting clients and co-workers’ charitable attitudes.
Answering the five basic W questions, keeping the organization’s values top of mind will assist in genuinely charting a map of direction. In the beginning, make it simple and do not try to tackle every issue. In the end, it is more important to be authentic, dependable, and dedicated.
This could lead to personal time off for volunteering to build a trail or help at a beach cleanup, financially donating to specific causes, joining philanthropic committees, etc. No matter the action, involving others to increase the overall impact and ownership of those causes creates organizational integrity.
4. Be reliable, vigorous, and responsible Your clients and staff will see through the “one and done” actions and will blame organizations if they see a discrepancy in support. If you now support BLM, education, and teachers, the environment, or a soup kitchen, there is an expectation that you will support those causes into the future.
It is easy to focus on making money, but it is much harder to make a difference. Organizations must make a difference, take a position, and build integrity.
18
experience. community. perspective.
19
experience. community. perspective.
RIGHTS HOLDER SPOTLIGHT RAVI RAJCOOMAR, HEROMAKER. USA CRITS, The Collective BEST, NDVR Cycle Co, Consortium Productions, The Moonshoot Collective, Rouleur Classic LAX, Board of Advisors Spot Insurance Co.
Tell us a little about your background and journey to where you are in your career today.
Octagon, IMG, and CAA all are successful when they deliver one simple thing: The best possible experience for their audience.
I grew up in West Palm Beach, FL, and attended the University of Florida for both undergraduate and graduate school. Yes, Go Gators!
I try to use that as my north star to help guide the projects and people with whom I have the privilege to work.
Looking back, intrinsically I have always been part of the leadership or management of the teams or groups I have been a part of, whether captaining the team or helping pull things together for our competitions, that has been part of what I do.
As the leader of the amateur and pro criterium tour in America, USA Crits made it’s marked on the sport of cycling long ago, how are you working with your partners to grow the sport and its offerings?
I took that passion and interest to learn as much as I could in the event space, today known as experiential marketing, and really dive in as deep as possible and take it all in. Truly all aspects of the Sports Marketing ecosystem.
I have been and continue to be a cycling enthusiast and fan of the sport, so let’s start with that. America has a rich history of criterium racing, a unique form of cycling that stresses high-speed races contested amidst a thriving urban atmosphere. Criterium racing has been the consistent backbone of American cycling since the 1920s when cycling was king of nearly all sports.
I have been lucky to meet great people and work with some great organizations in the last 25 years. Large organizations like the Olympic Games and ESPN’s X Games; manufacturers like Specialized Bicycles, Cannondale, NDVR Cycle Company; marketing behemoths like Red Bull,
Although an unrecognized discipline by the world governing body of cycling and the
21
PUSH MAGAZINE Olympic Games, criterium racing brings a unique set of skills to the sport and as such needs its own ranking, points system, the pool of athletes, and media to showcase it. Since criteriums are historically run on short laps - about a half-mile in length - through city streets, they offer spectators the opportunity to watch Olympians, world and national champions up close as they ride at top speeds for up to two hours.
at 2022 and beyond. We have some great prospects in the pipeline and open to even more. As a founding decision-maker on the X Games, Dew Tour, and Red Bull events, you have arguably been the world’s leading expert on action sports for two-plus decades. Where do you see more future growth, individual action sport-specific events or festival style action sports events like ESPN’s X Games?
Criterium racing’s ability to combine the most exciting elements of popular sports with the large-scale appeal of downtown arts, food, and music festivals has made it the most enduring and sustainable form of cycling in North America and the most spectatorfriendly form of cycling with an ever-growing following of fans. Some of the more popular and successful events often draw more than 30,000 fans per race.
Thanks for the kind words. Well, in the mid’90s action sports were a disparate group of extreme athletes doing their thing and competing in many ways. It’s amazing to see how those core sports have thrived and become mainstream since then. The X Games, Dew Tour, Gravity Games and sponsor led events from Red Bull, LG Electronics, Toyota and others really help paved the way for athletes to perform and compete at the highest level.
What key features go into destination selection for USA Crits to “push the button” on a new Tour stop?
I was reminded of this in a conversation last week, anyone who is in their late 20’s or younger have only lived in a world with action sports, both on tv and live events. With skateboarding, surfing, BMX, and rock climbing all added to the Tokyo Games action sports are well-positioned into the future and really are a part of the sport, not on the fringes as in years past.
We look at host cities that have unique venues with challenging courses that showcase arts and entertainment districts, a large and growing base of spectators, broad community support, and strong marketing opportunities for partners. We also look for an organization in each market that sees the long term sustainable vision of the event and can ensure it happening consistently at the highest level for years to come. In our experience, gone are the days of bid fees paid to just show up, deliver, and leave town, but rather a long term shared partnership with a host city is the only way to be successful into the future.
From Red Bull X Fighters (motocross) to Red Bull Off Course (golf), your agency work with Red Bull continues to impress. What event creations are you crafting for them in the near future? Red Bull is a brand that prides itself on innovation – whether it’s content that lives on Red Bull TV, first of its kind athlete projects, or jaw-dropping events. That innovation permeates the culture and truly is a driving force. In the very near term with
We have our 2021 preliminary calendar done – mainly a rollover from this season in which we were not able to race due to the pandemic – so we are future forward-looking
22
experience. community. perspective.
the pandemic, many of the large gathering events like Red Bull Flugtag and Red Bull Music Festival have been pushed to next year. Much of that energy has continued to develop best in class and engaging digital content, films, and smaller in-person projects with great appeal to Red Bull fans.
energy across organizations, guard rails, and blind spots, you name it – these are things that can only be seen from a like-minded group of trusted advisors. The Moonshot Collective is built around our manifesto of a global network of proven high-achievers, each of us is a hero in our own field, committed to discovering, amplifying and applying our Superpowers; collaboratively fueling each other’s personal and professional development, and crafting strategic solutions for progressive organizations. I like to think of it as your own personal advisory board or group of Superfriends that are there to challenge and support your growth. It’s a great group with weekly Mastermind sessions, regular retreats, purpose-built GoTeams, and our own unique curriculum to help individuals find their superpower – how they discover their highest best use in the world and contribute to their community. We also tackle big ideas
I can’t share too much, but keep your eye on Red Bull TV for some new and exciting releases in action, adventure, and esports – another area the brand drives interest globally. As a new venture, you and your business partners have built an international executive coaching forum that continues to grow monthly. How did this effort develop and what’s your vision for the business? Over the last decade, I have really seen the importance of executive coaching firsthand. From personal and professional development, mentorship with teams, innovation, renewed
23
around legacy and a concept of MoG – moment of glory – what you want to be known for. It’s a lot of fun and continues to see growth during these trying times and post-pandemic when leaders are really reevaluating what’s truly important and impactful in their lives and work. Now for the fun stuff. What is your favorite destination or vacation you have been to recently? I had the opportunity to visit Colombia (South America) in February with two old friends, ride bikes, and be part of all action at the Tour of Colombia bike race. It’s the hottest race in the world right now and rivals the Tour de France from a local popularity and cycling IQ standpoint. It was wonderful. The people, weather, vibe were unbelievable, and can’t wait to go back next year. We are planning on taking a cycling tour group with us to enjoy the festivities next February. What’s the most prized possession you have in your office? That’s a good one. Not many keepsakes or memorabilia in my office, other than family photos and photos my dog, Ruxy. I am looking at some Emmy awards and an Olympic torch, so those are pretty cool. What is your favorite sporting event annually? Don’t laugh too hard here…I don’t love golf, but my annual trip to Augusta National is really something I look forward to, its just such a spectacle. The Tour de France, Athens Twilight, and a University of Florida Gator home football game would also be on my can’t miss list.
experience. community. perspective.
25
PUSH MAGAZINE
DESIRE TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE EACH MORNING? Be sure to do these 2 things every evening.
Not everyone is a morning person. As long as we can remember, people have battled over whether mornings are or are not productive. I am certainly not going to persuade you to accomplish more between 6:00 am, and 8:00 am than during the rest of the day (but I do, ha!). Still, if you wish to maximize your morning, no matter what time you begin, here are two things you should start doing tonight.
26
experience. community. perspective. Create A Bedtime Routine You cannot get up at 6:00 am if you never went to sleep. That is not even a suggestion; it is only common sense. It can also be the largest obstacle most people face. Going to bed and getting enough sleep. What may be helpful is to create a routine for going to bed. Begin your routine at the same time every night and stick to it. The purpose is to condition yourself so that your body's clock will instinctively get you ready to sleep. For example, my routine begins at 9:00 pm; after I finish cleaning the kitchen, I brush my teeth, plug in my phone, unload my brain (see below), and then read for 30 minutes. Afterward, it usually takes me less than fifteen minutes to start counting sheep. Night in, night out.
Unload Your Brain Do you not think I can fall asleep in fifteen minutes? It is true. If you have trouble falling asleep no matter what, it is most likely driven by one of two things: You have far too much to complete in one day, or you have too many thoughts running through your brain. Usually, the latter is due to thinking about all the tasks you did not complete or what needs to be done tomorrow. If you are one of those who lie in bed dwelling on things, it is almost certainly because your brain does not wish to let go and lose track of them. Therefore, it is simple: Keep a pen and notebook on your nightstand so that when all those thoughts fly through your brain and deprive you of rest, you can jot them down. Incidentally, I did not come up with this. No clue as to who initially identified the value of merely jotting down a note to yourself, but there is science to verify it. After freeing your brain of the stress that you will forget, you are giving yourself a place to begin in the morning. Your to-do list will be prepped and allow you to tackle them first thing.
27
IN GREATER LANSING— WE ALL LOVE THE GAME Did you know that over the last 10 years the Greater Lansing Sports Authority has grown sports events in our area by 272%? The GLSA is a full-service sports commission with a passion for bringing in and supporting sports events of all kinds. Offering premium venues, team-friendly dining and convenient lodging the Greater Lansing area is the best choice for your next event. Contact us and work with the GLSA today!
517.377.1411 lansingsports.org #LANSINGSPORTS
experience. community. perspective.
29
PUSH MAGAZINE
4 METHODS TO IMPROVE QUICKLY DURING THE CORONAVIRUS Before the pandemic, organizations who dodged making challenging strategic decisions were able to hobble along. Covid-19 has forced decision-makers to make strategic determinations that were earlier avoided. Some cannot adapt to rivals and/or did not prepare for a rainy day. We recently interviewed an endurance-based race promoter in the Southeast to learn of their challenges during 2020 and how they are coping. Sed on the conversation, we realized if you want to improve quickly during this pandemic, you must focus your operation by keeping four essential facts top of mind.
30
experience. community. perspective. Ease client angst. Athletes hesitating to register for events and make deposits on travel has become a current truth during the pandemic. The primary way to conquer this fear is to consistently provide information. Creating an easy to activate system of communication to your database, will ease fears, and encourage athletes to committ to your event. Our interviewed race promoter took time to educate their athletes on the communication channels they would use for updates, and has worked hard to keep those channels consistent and easy to understand. Making host hotel refund policies, local COVID phase information and cancelled event options easy to find and understand will turn anxious athletes into appreciative longterm fans of your organization. Don't take your foot off the gas. Travel and competition address and fill an emotional need that can be powerful. So powerful that the coronavirus has only made the need to travel and compete stronger. Case in point, we in the industry are passionate about sports, and certainly so are athletes. When the same endurance-based race promoter in the Southeast had to cancel
events this past Spring and Summer that athletes had been training for, people were understandably upset after so much training. With no competition throughout the Spring and Summer months, athletes were over-training and therefore getting injured. But when the promoter launched a new late Summer and Fall schedule, athletes rushed to register to meet their emotional needs to travel and compete.
31
PUSH MAGAZINE Shift revenue from event touchpoints to digital opportunities.
advertising, fast delivery, and discounted prices, they received enough online orders to keep payroll at its current level.
As events are slow to come back to some regions, organizations must discover new ways to engage and create revenue opportunities. We have seen a digital transformation occurring for some time, as organizations focus more on online customer interaction. It is common to hear that the pandemic has been the most influential accelerant of digital transformation.
Produce new offerings to build your customer base. An additional approach to grow during the pandemic is to design new offerings that meet your customers’ ever-changing needs. This, too, worked for our Southeast endurance sports event director. Having hosted individual triathlons and running events for decades, they decided to add event offerings to the mix. By adding relay divisions to their events, they have been able to gain interest from beginner triathletes to increase their database.
The same thing happened to our endurancebased race promoter. For years they old event merchandise on-site at events only. Up until this Spring, they resisted creating an on-line merchandise store on their website, having to create accounts for payment processing, building new webpages, and more. However, social distancing forced the organization to make significant cutbacks.
They also offered non-traditional events such as an AquaBike (swimming & biking) and a Splash n Dash (swimming & running) for athletes who are not yet comfortable with all three triathlon disciplines. They also created relay categories for these non-traditional events, allowing for multi-sport exposure to athletes focused on only one sport.
This, of course, forced their hand. Their digital transformation took place over a few weeks, when most take several months at best, depending on complexities. By June, the organization had built a virtual store so their clientele could see its merchandise options and buy them online. Enhancing their digital
In summary, see the market need and adapt to it.
32
experience. community. perspective.
33
IF YOU DO THESE FOR 30 DAYS YOU WILL BE UNRECOGNIZABLE SLEEP 8 Hours Every Night DRINK 1 Gallon of Water a Day Get SUN Daily No SUGAR READ for 30 Minutes a Day WORKOUT 3x/Week Minimum Eat FRUITS and VEGETABLES Daily MEDITATE for 10 Minutes Each Day
experience. community. perspective.
35
INDUSTRY CONFIDENTIAL Check in every issue for the unfiltered thoughts of our guest writers and contributors as they discuss the hottest topics in sports tourism. Join the conversation by tweeting us @pushsports. In this issue our guest writer discusses the subject of communication.
Raise your hand if you know that at some point, you owe your PR team a few rounds...or for some, maybe a vacation somewhere far far away. Communication in 2020 has been a proverbial steeplechase. Midway through clearing one fence, you have to shift and start thinking about the next. A slight stumble or hesitating a moment too long can unravel your goals across the entire course. Most professionals in our industry have a common goal, delivering a fantastic experience. We thrive on the idea of making a moment, creating a memory that stays with our guests, something that reminds them of just how great life can be when you adventure out or work hard towards a goal. In a perfect world, this could be our sole focus. As the world picks up speed, however, and the media becomes increasingly thirsty, we find ourselves spending our hours working to find the right words to avoid the landmines of social scrutiny. I’ll say it. IT IS EXHAUSTING. But, it’s not all negative, and if we can slow the pace down a tad, dig through the BS to the real meat of the issues, and work a little harder on the small actions, we will come out of this year stronger.
Here are a few things I’m learning along the way. Share. Be ambitious, be a go-getter, but remember no one gets anywhere alone. You don’t have to give away the keys to the company idea vault, but if you find success, be willing to share what’s working. Don’t take it personally. I am utterly guilty of this one. You work hard to craft the perfect something, put your heart into it, and it immediately gets ripped apart and taken in 40 different directions. Remember, everyone in the world is about 10 seconds from Crazy Town right now. Everyone is stressed, and everyone is hoping that SOMETHING will start falling their way. All of this energy has to go somewhere, and unfortunately, sometimes it’s the computer keyboard. Transparency. There is no fake it until you make it in 2020. Whether you are addressing if your next event will occur or your company’s approach to specific issues, honesty is the ONLY policy. Athletes, partners, and stakeholders want information, even if it’s not the answer they were hoping for. I’m not saying people won’t get upset, but the days of staying quiet or putting out bland statements pumped with buzz words with no actual information or action are gone. If you don’t know, admit it, and then invest in whatever it takes to start making progress or getting answers. Be kind. Earlier in the year, an Industry Confidential referred to the idea of being kind to one another. It was a powerful statement then and has grown in importance now. Remember that everyone is human, everyone is facing the same insane year that you are, and everyone is just trying to find their way. Listen. As someone who loves to talk, this has been a hard lesson, but I’m learning to zip it up. Yes, people want answers, but they also want to be heard. As a “problem solver” it’s a tough practice, but reminding myself to let others talk and staying focused on taking in the whole conversation rather than letting my brain start working to resolve/justify the first thing they mention, has been an important habit. It’s also led to more thoughtful and clear communication in multiple areas of our business. This year has been challenging, but I think when we look back, we are going to see a year that made us all stop and ask, “What are we doing, why are we doing it, and can we make it better?”. Events will come back, and before we know it, we’ll be back to 3 am wake up calls and 20 hour event days. As we make the turn, don’t forget what we’ve learned, don’t let the negative outshine the positive, and don’t forget to praise each other for staying sane and reaching forward.
