The Certified Sports Event Executive program offers NASC members a chance to elevate their sports tourism careers to a whole new level. With the opportunity to meet a variety of specialists from the industry and taking classes directed to give you a fresh, new look at the sports tourism industry. For graduates like Kristyn Hawkins, this program enhanced her knowledge and experience in ways she never imagined.
As the current, Sports Tourism Sales Director at the Spartanburg, South Carolina CVB, Hawkins came into the program wanting to learn more about the best practices in the industry so she could bring that back to Spartanburg CVB. She ended up getting that and so much more.
“This program allows you to learn all aspects of sports tourism by learning from the top industry professionals,” Hawkins said. Even more so, Hawkins recognizes that this program allowed her to build relationships and a support system to bounce ideas around.
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Definition of aha moment
: a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension
I will be attending my seventh NASC Symposium this year, and with each one I have incredible “Aha Moments”. From the definition noted above, I have experienced the following:
A sudden realization that my destination can host events and play in this marketplace.
Inspired by incredible leaders within the sports tourism industry that have made me see things in a slightly different way, changing my whole perspective.
Incredible insight from my counterparts from all over the country on all the aspects of our work.
Recognition, with articles published, successful events achieved and the ability to show the impact of what we do for our communities.
Comprehending all the processes from RFP to Recap.
As we approach the next Symposium in Knoxville, I encourage you to take it all in and let yourself have those Aha Moments. I wa...
Grab your dancing shoes, it’s time to tango with sponsors. Don’t worry, we aren’t here to teach you to salsa dance. Instead, we are here to help you build meaningful relationships with your sponsors.
One of the simple ways to improve a sponsorship relationship, according to SBI, is elevating your sponsors. Give them a spotlight on your social pages, connect them with other business, or invite them to another event of yours. These easy tasks show them are thinking about them all year long.
When it comes time to bring a sponsor in on an event, don’t create a cookie-cutter proposal. Add in your own flare that ties it all back to the sponsor. That could be a creative name, a giveaway, or a hashtag. Give them something they haven’t heard before.
Sponsorships should be mutually beneficial. Sponsors want to support the team, but also have their brand well represented. Their happiness will be based on how well they are being recognized at your event. If y...
Sponsorships in this current age are more than just funding opportunities. Sponsors can be used to market your destination or event. MKTG analyzed three ways any sports commission can do this.
Start by selecting a sponsor which helps you target a particular demographic. MKTG uses the example of Travel Alberta being a sponsor for the Los Angeles Kings. Travel Alberta created the Alberta Dome near the arena. The LA Kings encouraged fans to visit the dome before and after games, and to post pictures using a hashtag. With this activation, Alberta was able to market itself as a travel destination for Los Angeles residents.
Is your destination not generally not know by the public? Or maybe you want to focus on one certain area. MKTG suggests finding a sponsor that will put your name in front of a large audience. This is what Azerbaijan did when they got a sponsorship deal from Atletico Madrid, a prominent Spanish soccer team. This gave Azerbaijan a chance to promote themselves as a tou...
The Super Bowl may have determined a winner on the gridiron, but the National Football League and its 32 teams may be the bigger winner. According to IEG research recently released, sponsorship in the NFL reached $1.39 billion for 2018-2019 season. That’s a 5.9% gain from last year.
IEG found the growth was driven by two factors- a new group of league-wide sponsorships including technology company Intuit, restaurants McDonalds and Pizza Hut, and mattress company, Sleep Number. Also, signing the league’s first-ever “Official Casino Partner” with Caesar’s Entertainment. IEG says that deal is reportedly worth $30 million per year.
The biggest surprise from this research is what IEG is calling the most invested brand. That title went to Ticketmaster. The ticket sales and distribution company has sponsorships with 100% of NFL properties. Budweiser/ Bud Light is at 88%, Gatorade at 79%.
View full article from IEG.
We are officially under 100 days until the NASC Symposium! Are you joining us in Knoxville, Tennessee from May 6 through the 9th? Each year, leaders from event hosts, tourism professionals and industry partners gather to exchange resources, strategies and solutions.
A few reminders for those of you coming to Knoxville:
Do you have your hotel reservation? The hotel blocks are quickly filling up. Get yours today: https://www.sportscommissions.org/symposium/hotel-travel. Event owners -- NASC will book your hotel room.
Destinations: Register by 2/15/19 to be entered to win your top 3 mutually requested appointments (10 organizations will be selected)
Vendors: Register by 2/15/19 to be entered to win a free pre-symposium eBlast (3 organizations will be selected)
Event Owners: Register by 3/22/19 to be considered for travel assistance
You can start preparing for the 2019 NASC Symposium right now. Check out which event owners are coming and which destinations wi...
Contact:
Jackie Reau, Game Day Communications, 513.929.4263, jreau@gamedaypr.com
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPORTS COMMISSIONS
TO HOST NEW SPORTS FACILITIES SUMMIT
CINCINNATI (January 29, 2019) - The National Association for Sports Commissions announced today the inaugural Sports Facilities Summit to be held Monday, May 6, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The one-day seminar will provide education and best practices to senior leadership of sports facilities who want to learn how to secure and operate more sports tourism events.
The seminar will include four main topics: administration, event operations, facility management, and event programming. Speakers include industry leaders and top subject matter experts from sports facilities across the country: Michael Grade, VP of Sports Operations, Atlanta Sports City, Ben Huffman, Director of Sports Enterprises, Warren County CVB, William Knox, Director, Grand Park Sports Campus, and Mike Millay, Managing Partner, Clancy’s S...
CINCINNATI, Jan. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Association of Sports Commissions is getting ready for its 2019 program slate of four national conferences, which will bring the national membership and sports events leaders in the industry together for educational and networking opportunities.
The Women’s Summit from April 3-5 hosted in Tampa, Florida is developed by top female leaders in the sports events and tourism industry to help women achieve their career goals. Topics include building allies, breaking down barriers, personal branding and female entrepreneurship. Registration is open now: https://www.sportscommissions.org/education/womens-summit
The NASC Symposium, which will be held May 6-9 in Knoxville, Tennessee, will bring hundreds of sports events and tourism professionals and industry partners together to exchange resources, strategies and more. The Symposium features dozens of education sessions, networking opportunities, and business development...
As the football season moves into the playoffs, TravelPulse takes a look at the many similarities between sports and the business world. Both football and sales are contact sports in their own ways. In football, the contact is your rival team. In sales, you have three main contacts…
Your first contact is your support network. Without the collaboration of your colleagues, your success would not be nearly as great. They keep you focused on moving towards your goals and hold you accountable.
The client is known as your second contact. Typically lots of contact is made with the client via email, phone call, meetings, etc. to communicate and come to an agreement on a suitable outcome for both parties.
Follow-up is the third and arguably most important contact. Because less than 30 percent of your clients will work with you again, working hard to maintain current clients is much more cost effective than finding new ones.
It takes a team effort to achieve success. Be sure t...
I was lucky enough to attend the Inaugural Women’s Summit last year in Columbus, OH. I wasn’t sure what to expect with it being the first year that NASC put something like this together – it was great, everyone was a first timer!
The first gathering of the Summit was the opening reception. It was relaxed and a great opportunity to meet other women in the industry. I met several colleagues I had not had the pleasure of meeting before, and are now friends. The thing I enjoy most about NASC events (Symposium, 4S, and now Women’s Summit) is the opportunity to meet others in the industry. I’m able to take the relationships I build and use it as a help line with any questions I may have regarding the sports world.
The second day we had inspiring speakers, opportunities to talk about issues we encounter in our jobs as a group and were able to experience Tourney Town for Women’s Final Four (probably my favorite part of the event.) Not only was I able t...