FALL 2019
PLAYBOOK Kansas City Bucket List Event Impact in Your Community Strategic Sponsorships Creating a Winning Environment
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Staff Alan (Al) R. Kidd, President & CEO Elizabeth Young, Vice President Meagan Grau, Director of Member Services and Engagement Madison Fante, Member Services Coordinator Rebecca Myles, Sponsorship & Advertising Jennifer Stoll, Ph.D., CSEE, Research & Education Gustavo Costa, Sports Facilities Glen Shorr, Events
Letter From President and CEO.................................................... 1 Letter from the Chair ..................................................................... 2 Member Services News ............................................................. 3-4 Kansas City Bucket List ............................................................. 5-6 Sports Facilities Summit ................................................................ 8 Brand Updates ............................................................................... 9
Board of Directors Officers Chair: Janis Burke, CSEE, Chief Executive Officer, Harris County - Houston Sports Authority Vice Chair/Chair-Elect: Michael Price, CSEE, Executive Director, Greater Lansing Sports Authority Treasurer: Janis Ross, CSEE, Executive Director, Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports Secretary: Don Dukemineer, CSEE, Deputy Director of Sports Tourism, Foley Sports Tourism Past Chair: Kindra Fry, CSEE, SMP, Executive Director, Bryan College Station Sports + Events
Understanding Your Event’s Impact to Your Community ................................................................. 11-12 How to Start Customer Cultivation with Strategic Sponsorships .................................................. 13-14 Create a Winning Environment for Sports Safety .......................................................................... 16 Advance the Mission of Your Organization ............................... 17 Spice Up Your Sponsorship ....................................................... 19
Directors Ashleigh Bachert, CSEE, Discover Durham Derek Bombeck, CSEE, Lincoln CVB John David, CSEE, USA BMX Josh Dill, CSEE, Visit Frisco Pete Harvey, CSEE, Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission Gen Howard, CSEE, Louisville Tourism Meaghan Hughes, CSEE, Ann Arbor Sports Commission Frank Lett, CSEE, Senior Associate Executive Director/ Director of Sports Marketing, Visit Kingsport Matt Libber, CSEE, Executive Director, Maryland SoccerPlex Brent Nelson, Sr. VP of Business Development, Greater Orlando Sports Commission Ray Palmer, CSEE, President/CEO, Pensacola Sports Hank Pivarnik, CSEE, Director of Sports Sales, Hilton Worldwide Daniel Rush, CMP, CASE, MGM Resorts International Christine Strong Simmons, USA Fencing Marissa Werner, CSEE, Senior Sports & Entertainment Manager, VISIT Milwaukee J.D. Wood, CSEE, Panama City Beach Sports Complex
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Looking to share your expertise? Information-sharing is a founding principle of Sports ETA, and the industry knowledge among Sports ETA membership lends itself to unprecedented expertise. Sports ETA encourages members to share information with your peers. Contact Meagan Grau, Director of Member Services and Engagement, at Meagan@SportsETA.org to learn more about how you can contribute to a future edition of The Playbook. To include your news in the weekly Get in the Game eNews, send press releases and articles to info@SportsETA.org.
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There are ways and then there are ways
Letter From President and CEO In today’s sports environment it is not uncommon for athletes to showboat, come up with their own signature dance and self-promote with performances and in many cases, questionable sportsmanship. Having watched several Little League World Series games, it is unfortunate that the phenomena has filtered down to their level with the dancing and emulation of the pros. However, occasionally, you get a “different” kind of athlete, a little old school maybe, but one that is grateful for the opportunity he/she is afforded by playing professional sports. I was particularly struck by the video put together by Trevor Bauer upon learning he was traded from Cleveland to Cincinnati. The day after he was traded, he did not immediately report to the Reds; instead, he bought tickets to the Indian’s next afternoon game and went to the stadium as a fan. Walking around, mingling with the fans that supported him during his tenure in Cleveland. That unique thank you was only topped by him releasing a video two days after being traded. Search for the video on Google, “Trevor Bauer says goodbye”. I hope you take away the same thing I did upon seeing it.
The Pulse A big thank you to our members who participate in The Pulse each month. This short survey tool helps us gather valuable information to better help you, our members. Each edition of The Pulse takes only a few minutes and provides you an 1
opportunity to weigh in on issues, trends, and provide input. When you see The Pulse logo in Get in the Game eNews, on our website, and social media channels, we encourage you to click and participate!
Earn CSEE credits at TEAMS Conference in Anaheim Under a newly formed agreement with Northstar, the parent company for TEAMS, we are partnering to provide a CSEE education session during their annual event in 2019. As the national trade association, we want to provide high-level education to Sports ETA members and non-members throughout the industry. Sports ETA members can earn up to 4 credit hours for attending this education session. The topic will be “Protecting Your Events: How to Prepare for Uncertainty and Adverse Conditions”, led by Peter Ashwin, Principal, Event Risk Management Solutions (ERMS). Register online at SportsETA.org/ education/certification.
Sports Facilities Summit This is a must-attend event developed with industry professionals, architects and developers, sports facility personnel
and vendors in mind. We have an exciting line-up of subject matter experts to provide high-quality education, discuss industry trends, and a variety of important topics necessary to operate a sports facility. Read more information on the Summit later in this edition or on our website at sportseta.org/education/ sports-facilities-summit and get registered!
Get SafeSport Trained Today! We consider safety in sport and abuse awareness and prevention a priority for all our member organizations, and everyone who plays a role in sport. Sports ETA members receive a discount on SafeSportTM Trained online course. We encourage you to join us in the pledge to end abuse in sport. Visit our website at sportseta.org/ education/safe-sport to learn more and become Safe Sport trained today! THINK BIG!
Al Kidd President and CEO
Letter From the Chair Sports ETA Members: As Chair of the Sports ETA Board of Directors, it has been my privilege to serve with a distinct group of individuals who have dedicated themselves to improving this association. We saw much of their work unveiled at the Symposium this past year, and I was able to witness it again last month as these distinguished volunteer leaders gathered together for our annual Board Retreat. We covered many topics over the two days spent together, but much of the discussions centered around building upon the modifications of our name change, branding strategy, and revised bylaws. We reviewed ways of being more transparent and building trust, as well as enhancing our educational opportunities to all. As a result, the membership will see many new initiatives this year, which reflect trying to be more inclusive of the various member categories and enriching the benefits we all look for when we join this organization. Lastly, thank you to each member who has volunteered to be part of a committee. There are some great ideas bubbling up from the work being done by those engaged in our committees, and as a result, a great vision has been painted for the educational component, legacy work, and advocacy efforts our staff will be further developing this year. It’s also exciting to hear reports that include new opportunities for our state-wide associations, the rights-holders, and the sports facilities group. Please reach out to me or Al Kidd at any time if you have a new idea, concern, or just want to hear more about what is going on at the board level. This has been, and will always be, your association. I’m just here to serve alongside you and am thankful for the privilege. Warmest regards,
Janis Burke, Sports ETA Chair CEO, Harris County – Houston Sports Authority
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Member Services News We would like to thank all the organizations who have recently joined our growing list of members. Thank you for the privilege of serving you! Destinations • City of Memphis Division of Parks & Neighborhoods • Explore Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau • Mitchell Sports and Event Authority • Visit Bemidji • Wisconsin Rapids Area CVB
Rights Holder • Athletx • RRFT Enterprises(We Build You Play Sports Group) • Top of the Bay Lacrosse • Tribu Experientiel
Industry Partners • SMG • The Sports Consultancy • Turnkey Search
Membership Chart 788 TOTAL (as of 8/31/19)
531
Destinations
172
Event Owners
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85
Industry Partners
Thank you for the privilege of serving you!
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Sports ETA listens
to its membership to provide the tools sport tourism professionals need.” – Judi Hess, Greater Binghamton Convention and Visitors Bureau
Sports ETA Member Discounts As a Sports ETA member, you have access to a variety of industry discounts. If you aren’t already taking advantage of these money-saving programs, take a look below and get started today! Associated Premium Corporation
Safe Sport Discount
Associated Premium Corporation (APC) specializes in promotional products with an emphasis on sport marketing. As such, APC has developed relationships with professional teams across all the Major Leagues, their sponsors as well as destinations, rights holders and event producers across the entire sports spectrum. By being a member of Sports ETA, APC understands the needs of all the entities who produce, stage and develop events. Sports ETA members enjoy discounts on products, while APC provides bottom line funding to Sports ETA in order to continue to be able to produce the annual Symposium, education summits and other programming for the benefit of all its members.
Car Rental Discounts Avis – Discount options vary depending on the selection you choose. Budget – Enjoy savings of up to 25% off. S P O R T S E TA
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Sports ETA considers safety in sport and abuse awareness and prevention a priority for all of our member organizations and everyone who plays a role in sport. Our members enjoy a 10% discount on SafeSportTM Trained online course.
Shipping Discounts PartnerShip®, the endorsed shipping management provider of Sports ETA, helps you save on every shipment you send and receive. This program is available to all Sports ETA members with no obligations and no minimum shipping requirements. Members who enroll in the Sports ETA Shipping Program save on select FedEx® services.
SportsBusiness Journal Subscription Discount Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal is providing a special discounted introductory rate of $209 for Sports ETA members who are not current or prior subscribers within the last 6 months, to Street & Smith’s
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SportsBusiness Journal (SBJ). This is $88 off of the U.S. base rate of $297. SBJ will also provide an SBJ free-trial link for Sports ETA members who have not had an active paid, complementary, trial or sample SBJ subscription during the prior 18 months.
SuperShuttle Discount Sports ETA has created a national discount program for members who book with SuperShuttle airport transportation. Enjoy 10% off ExecuCar Sedan and SUV airport transfers, as well as SuperShuttle’s shared ride services.
Accessing Discounts To access these discounts, login to your membership account, and click My Account. From there, select the My Discounts link. If you have any questions or trouble accessing this information, contact our member services team at 513.281.3888 or email Madison@SportsETA.org.
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April 20 – 23, 2020 Kansas City, MO
Kansas City Bucket List
The Symposium is one of the most thrilling times of the year with opportunities to network, participate in various educational sessions, and explore a new city. For more information and to view the 2020 Symposium schedule visit: SportsETA.org/Symposium. We are already preparing for the 2020 Symposium. The schedule is available now, and education sessions and speakers wil be announced later this year! If you have not attended the Symposium before, this is the year to begin because Kansas City has it all!
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Plan your trip to arrive early or stay later to explore all that Kansas City has to offer. We made a “Bucket List” of a few activities you and your colleagues can try.
1. Go ziplining with Zip KC They can take you on ziplining tours day or night in the park! They also offer team building activities if you want to take your entire sports commission on the adventure.
Hosted by Visit KC and Kansas City Sports Commission
Sports EIC
2 Photo courtesy of Manifesto
Photo courtesy of American Jazz Museum
3 1 Photo courtesy of Zip KC
2. Grab a drink underground at a speakeasy
3. Visit a Jazz, Art, Sports, or History Museum!
Two locations recommended by KC locals are Swordfish Tom’s or Manifesto.
There are almost 30 museums located in Kansas City, MO. Take some time to see which ones might interest you.
Rooftop bars can be fun, but these historic locations operated as speakeasies during prohibition create an authentic and relaxed environment for guests.
For more ideas, you can add to your “bucket list” in KC, visit: www.visitkc.com/.
4. FOOD! KC is known for their BBQ, so finding a local stop near the Symposium will not be an issue.
4 Photo courtesy of @gatesbbqkc
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RECORD RACES & EPIC PLACES
From the Carolina Cup paddle races on the World SUP Tour to IRONMAN North Carolina, Wilmington’s hosted many diverse events filled with record-breaking participation and good times. Our welcoming year-round weather, breathtaking beaches and bustling riverfront are fan favorites. From our venues to our walkable River District and three island beaches, consider a fresh possibility in North Carolina and at the coast. WilmingtonSportsNow.com • 800.650.9064 ext.124
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October 24 – 26, 2019 Grand Park Sports Campus Westfield, IN Developed by industry leaders in sports facilities, events, and tourism, the Sports Facilities Summit provides education and facilities tours to industry leaders who want to learn about trends, and experience live operations of a sports facility. Who Should Attend?
Schedule
• • • • • • • • • •
The schedule is subject to change. All meeting functions will take place at Grand Park Sports Campus.
Convention Centers Developers & Architects Indoor/Outdoor Facilities Non-Traditional Sports Venues Parks and Recreation Stadiums & Arenas Sports Complexes Sports Destinations Sports Facility Vendors Sports Parks
Topics: • 3rd Party Management (pros & Cons) • Creating Events • Facility Constuction • Facility Design • Facility Ownership • Revenue • Industry Trends • Tourism Demands • Turf Management
Thursday, Oct 24th 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ......... Registration 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ........... Tour of Grand Park Facility - Facility Overview 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ........... Welcome Reception Friday, Oct 25th 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. ......... Session #1: Surface Options: Natural vs Artificial / Wood vs Synthetic Floor 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. ...... Session #2: Facility Development Funding & Trends 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ..... Session #3: Local Usage vs Visitor Usage What is the right decisions? 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. ......... Lunch at Grand Park 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ............ Session #4: Maintaining a “High-Quality Facility” What is True Cost? 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ........... Coffee break 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ............ Session #5: How do you Differentiate your New Facility? 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. ............ Group Dinner - Networking Saturday, Oct 26th 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ......... Open Site visit with “online” operations / Walkthrough and Volunteer for events
Registration
$299
For a more detailed list of topics, hotel information and to register, visit SportsETA.org/education/ sports-facilities-summit. S P O R T S E TA
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Brand Updates Just a few months ago, we were in Knoxville, TN unveiling our new brand. Since then, staff has been hard at work implementing various aspects of the Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA) brand across several platforms. You’ve probably noticed the updates, but in an effort to keep you updated with all of the changes, we’ve provided them below. New Website
New Email Addresses
We updated our website URL to www.SportsETA.org. Please make sure to update your bookmarks tab on your web browser. If you’re like us, you may still catch yourself typing the old sportscommissions. org URL out of habit. That’s OK! You will automatically be re-directed to SportsETA.org.
We also updated our email addresses to @SportsETA.org. You can find a list of staff email addresses on our website on the Our Team page. Membership Marketing Toolkit Make the most of your organization’s membership with Sports ETA by downloading our new logo(s). Use
WHEN YOU
YOU WIN.
the logo in your email signature, on your website, or in print and digital materials promoting your Sports ETA membership. Access the toolkit on our website within the My Account tab.
New Social Media We updated our profile names and pictures on all social media platforms. If you already follow us, this change automatically updates in your account. If you don’t follow us, now is a great time to start. We share industry and association updates on our social media accounts, but we also enjoy hearing from our members. Tag us in your posts and like our page, so we can share your news and successes!
Kathy Nelson President/CEO, Kansas City Sports Commission Chair, Branding Committee knelson@sportkc.org Host your tournament in Louisiana and you stand to leave with much more than a title. Memories made in our state-of-the-art sporting facilities—and in our restaurants, museums, music venues and more—are something our competition can’t touch. So come play in Louisiana. It’s a win-win.
©2019 Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism
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LouisianaTravel.com/TeamLouisiana
Meagan Grau Director of Member Services and Engagement, Sports ETA Meagan@SportsETA.org
Reach Your Prospects Every Week Thousands of sports events and tourism professionals are members of Sports ETA, giving your organization the opportunity to push your messaging to a highly targeted audience.
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Connect with Highly Defined Buyers and Maximize Your Brand Exposure
Contact Contact Rebecca Myles, Rebecca@SportsETA.org, today about advertising and sponsorship opportunities.
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Understanding Your Event’s Impact to Your Community B E T S Y R O S S , P R E S I D E N T, G A M E D AY C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
AN EVENT
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can have a tangible worth to a community— dollars spent, hotel rooms booked— and an indirect worth—jobs added, taxes paid, for example. How do you quantify what an event is worth? Using an Event Impact Calculator (EIC) can help guide your research.
community. Some report to boards, city government officials, economic development offices, etc. Whomever your stakeholders are, they want to know one thing: Are the events you’re hosting impacting your community in a positive and productive way?”
Gen Howard, CSEE, Senior Sales Manager at Louisville Tourism, says it’s important to understand the value of your event and its economic impact. “All communities have investors and stakeholders,” she says, “however they are different in every
“The Sports EIC can give organizations that power, by providing detailed data for every event you host. This data includes direct and indirect spending into your community based on your community’s cost of living and taxes. This means that no
one community will have the same EIC as another community for the same event.” The platform and local data that is built into the EIC is unique to every city (local sales tax, bed tax, cost of living, etc.) and was developed by Tourism Economics. Direct is the direct impact the event has on your community (hotel spend, restaurant spend, tax receipts, etc.). Indirect calculates the jobs supported, property taxes, and other items not directly related to event
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As an industry, we have had many ‘calculators’ over the years to try and measure an event’s impact, but the Sports EIC is by far the best measurement tool to date. — G E N H O WA R D , C S E E
Sports EIC Are the events you’re hosting impacting your community in a positive and productive way? The Sports EIC can give organizations that power, by providing detailed data for every event you host. This data includes direct and indirect spending into your community based on your community’s cost of living and taxes. This means that no one community will have the same EIC as another community for the same event.
spending but still support the community. It also calculates the return on investment (ROI) from the event.
more accurate the data you put in, the more accurate your calculation will be.”
“As an industry, we have had many ‘calculators’ over the years to try and measure an event’s impact, but the Sports EIC is by far the best measurement tool to date,” Howard says. “The unique feature is that it calculates based on the size, duration, and type of sporting event (there are five types). You don’t even need to know the estimated room nights. It will help calculate that for you. The
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An example Howard uses is a July event held in Louisville called the Run 4 Roses Basketball Classic. “We worked directly with the client to develop a media plan to promote the event locally. Together we came up with up talking points (as there were TV and radio appearances involved), but through the process we had to educate our client on the economic impact and provide the data to back it up.”
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“Our joint PR plan to promote the event was a success in generating local awareness, and also it impacted an increase in ticket sales for the event. It was also a huge win for us to gain trust from the client, in working through and providing the background data for the economic impact number that is part of an industry standard.” To learn more about Sports ETA’s Event Impact Calculator, visit SportsETA.org/resources/ event-impact-calculator.
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How to Start Customer Cultivation with Strategic Sponsorships J A C K I E R E A U , C E O , G A M E D AY C O M M U N I C AT I O N S Published in Forbes Magazine
define the demographics, interests and passion points of this audience, as well as their intent to purchase your product. Research will drive this segmentation. There are a number of research platforms available to determine the property or event that best reaches a new audience or a prospective audience for your business objectives. IEG and Scarborough Local Insights are two popular sponsorship research tools you can use.
Activate Your Sponsorship
BILLIONS
of dollars are spent globally on sponsorships each year. According to IEG, global sponsorship spending topped $65 billion last year, with the majority of the money going toward sports partnerships, followed by entertainment, causes, festival events, and association organizations. Sponsorships offer a targeted opportunity to reach current and prospective clients on the consumer or business to business (B2B) side (or both). If you are new to leveraging sponsorships as an engagement tool, here are a few tips on crafting a strategic plan that I learned over the
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It’s important to market your sponsorship with an activation plan to begin the customer cultivation journey of converting customers to loyal consumers. course of 25 years in sponsorship sales and activation with sports and entertainment properties.
Think of a sponsorship as a marketing asset that will drive your business objectives. Do you want to sell more stock keeping units (SKUs), engage prospective clients with VIP entertainment or increase awareness through media? These are a few of the goals that can result from a successful sponsorship program.
The first step is to make sure you get customer contact information as part of the plan (through contesting, gated web content or a social follow), so you can start the engagement process. The activation plan must create awareness of your brand, offer a trial of the product if appropriate, and be results-driven. The plan must also have a budget above the sponsorship fee paid to the property -- often twice, or more, of the initial fee amount.
It is also important to create an audience profile for your sponsorship plan so you can clearly
Once the benefits of the sponsorship have been finalized with the property, add these to the
Know Your Audience
plan to overlay any gaps in fulfilling the overall business objectives. Along with the activation plan, it’s important to create metrics to measure and evaluate the success of the sponsorship. These metrics can range from sales of products during the event(s) to media awareness to coupon redemption and more.
Continue The Conversation Continue the conversation with the customers you connected with via your activation experience with a strategic content campaign that may include email, search engine marketing and/or social media content.
Based on the complexity of your product or business, you may have a longer sales cycle. Consider the various content opportunities to help inform these buying decisions, such as videos, whitepapers or longer form content. For instance, if your product is typically an impulse buy, you might have more success using social media or search engine marketing. Lastly, as you consider sponsorship marketing, let your decisions be driven by research aligned to support your business objectives with a direct and measurable call-to-action.
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Think of a sponsorship as a marketing asset that will drive your business objectives.
According to IEG, global sponsorship spending topped $65 billion last year, with the majority of the money going toward sports partnerships, followed by entertainment, causes, festival events and association organizations.
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Site Selection and Bid Process The NCAA is pleased to announce the start of their 2022-26 championship site selection campaign. They will look for hosts and sites for 86 of the 90 NCAA championships each year over four academic years, spanning 2022-23 through 2025-26. The NCAA has engaged the services of an agency, 129 Sports LLC, to assist in managing this effort. Its founder, Russ Yurk, has in-depth knowledge of the NCAA and our processes, as well as experience in a range of national sporting events. He can be reached at russ.yurk@att.net.
The timeline for the bid process is as follows: February 3, 2020: Bid responses due March-September, 2020: Committee deliberations, recommendations and approvals
Photos Courtesy of NCAA
October 23, 2020: Hosts/sites announced
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Create a Winning Environment for Sports Safety understand that a commitment to safety in sports is the foundation for an enjoyable and meaningful sporting event. Ensure your organization provides the best experience possible to your clients. The SafeSportTM Trained online course and its certificate are a unique and important statement you can make about your organization, and a visible reminder to parents, customers and new prospects alike that you are 100% committed to a positive, safe environment for your sporting events and sports tourism overall.
Benefits of the SafeSport Online Training for Your Organization
Sports ETA
considers safety in sport and abuse awareness and prevention a priority for all our member organizations and everyone who plays a role in sport. Our members enjoy a 10% discount on SafeSportTM Trained online course.
About the U.S. Center for SafeSport: The Center is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to making athlete well-being the centerpiece of sports culture by improving accountability. We do this in several ways, and everyone can
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participate! Our approach to preventing abuse in sport begins with awareness and how to recognize the red flags of emotional, physical and sexual misconduct, and then what to do if abuse does occur. We create your organization’s ability to: Identify | Prevent | Respond
Working Together, We Are Stronger As an organization that focuses on sports events and tourism, you know the value of treating people with the utmost respect. You
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• A small investment puts your organization in a leadership position and sets you apart from your competition. • You can easily display your staff’s framed individual certificates in your venue. • You can share your valuable credential with potential clients. • We provide FREE parent resources to promote in your communications. Please join us in the pledge to end abuse in sport. Visit our website at SportsETA.org/education/safe-sport for more information and to begin training!
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Afternoon at the Races
Advance the Mission of Your Organization Presidents, CEOs, Executive Directors: It’s almost time. Time for the 2019 Chief Executive Summit. This summit is designed to equip CEOs of sports destinations and sports events with the tools necessary to advance the mission of their organization. Industry experts will be there to talk about topics such as office culture, crisis management, achieving goals and more. Scott Dupree, Executive Director for the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, joined us at last year’s Chief Executive Summit. He tells us the content was exceptional. “I felt, and from what I gathered from the other attendees, that each of the featured speakers really hit the mark in terms of providing information and analysis that was pertinent and
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relevant to what we do in our jobs as CEOs of sports tourism organizations,” said Dupree. One of the topics that hit home with Dupree and many of our other guests last year was Jason Willford’s presentation on the Culture Index. With Willford’s ideas, Dupree said it helped him think differently about his staff. “They all handle deadlines, stress, and internal and external working relationships differently. Jason’s presentation was a real eye-opener in terms of thinking about the best ways to put each of your staff members in their possible position to succeed, based on their own individual makeup and character traits.” There is also so much to learn outside of the agenda. With dozens of other CEOs and Executive Directors in one city, networking can happen the entire two days. This year, attendees will be visiting some of Louisville’s best spots including
Thoroughbred Racing • Betting 101 • Lunch • And More! •
Angel’s Envy and Churchill Downs. Dupree found outings like these helped him to network with his peers and counterparts from around the country. This year’s CE Summit has an exciting speaker line-up! Attendees will hear from University of Louisville President, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, on righting the ship – the UofL story and future; Jon McGraw, Founder of Vision Pursue, on what mindfulness is and why it’s important; T. Kevin Flanery, President and CEO of Churchill Downs, on the customer experience and leadership throughout a mega-event; and Dr. Jeff Guan, Professor of CIS at the University of Louisville on managing change in the age of AI. Join Scott Dupree and many others at this year’s Chief Executive Summit November 5 - 6 in Louisville, Kentucky. Learn more about the summit and register at SportsETA.org.
There is also so much to learn outside of the agenda. With dozens of other CEOs and Executive Directors in one city, networking can happen the entire two days.
Shipping rates that keep you competitive Members score big on discounted shipping with top carriers through the Sports ETA Shipping Program, managed by PartnerShipÂŽ.
PartnerShip.com/SportsETA please enter 8162 in the promo code field
SportsETA(8162)FullPageAd.indd 1
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Spice Up Your Sponsorship Don’t forget the photos. Photos are a great way to leave your guests with a lasting impression. Event Manager Blog has found photo booths or branded props can boost a sponsor’s reach. Let them take a picture and they’ll post it on social media giving the sponsor an opportunity to reach a larger audience. Don’t be stuck doing the same things to promote your sponsors. Raise your game. Try some of these ideas to spice up your next sponsorship. Read full article from Event Manager Blog at eventmanagerblog.com.
Feeling stuck
trying to attract sponsors to invest in your event? It’s time to spice up your sponsorship practices. Event Manager Blog has a few suggestions on how to bring in more sponsors in a unique way.
Raise your game. As you plan an event, think of unique ways sponsors could fit into the event like a lounge where you can partner up with a furniture store. The store brings in their furniture and guests could purchase items right there, and on the flipside, your guests will have a comfortable space to relax. Same could be done with centerpieces and a flower shop or a signature drink and a local bar or brewery. This can help when potential sponsors are looking for a way to show off their products.
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Bring in the tech world. Online marketing and ads has become a difficult way for some events to obtain satisfactory sponsorships. That’s where Event Manager Blog says augmented reality can help. Think about customized filters or frames for apps like Snapchat or Facebook. Many users love a custom filter, therefore more exposure for you sponsor. You can also use such apps to tell the sponsor’s story in a more organic way. Going to the previous example of the furniture store sponsoring a lounge, on the day the store loads in furniture, plan on showing behind-the-scenes pictures or video. Then, follow it up with how the company was founded several generations ago or how they pick which furniture to bring into their store. Users like seeing that behind-the-scenes footage, use that to your advantage to tell the sponsor’s story.
Don’t be stuck doing the same things to promote your sponsors. Raise your game.
Get Started > SportsETA.org/EIC
The Manitou Incline