In Episode 10 of the Lion’s Share Marketing Podcast, we’re tackling PR with the LA Chargers’ Assistant Director of PR, Scott Yoffe. Scott shares his experience working in the sports industry and his story about how he first started working for the then-San Diego Chargers. He dives into how he joined a fraternity and, through their connections, got his foot in the door with the NFL team. He also discusses his experience working as a member of a large PR team and the various ways in which they represent the team and their brand.
Scott moves on to explain that they are in the relationship business; they buy personalities and sell relationships. Therefore their success is measured differently than in other industries. Their measuring stick is their relationships and their ability to go out and earn opportunities for the team to garner increased media coverage on platforms relevant to their target audience. They measure brand awareness through the minutes they are featured on TV, time they are on the radio, inches they are given in print and their overall social media and digital media coverage.
Scott explains that these measurements are important because they help the PR team determine what they can improve upon and where there are opportunities for growth and increased brand awareness. Scott comments on the challenges and opportunities that the Chargers have encountered as they attempt to expand into the Hispanic market. The NFL’s efforts have ranged from bringing regular season football games to Mexico City to broadcasting the games on Hispanic radio networks. Scott mentions that the reaction from the Hispanic market has given his team reason for optimism and that they will continue efforts to further penetrate this promising market.
Scott concludes the conversation by mentioning that media in LA has been very positive and supportive throughout the team’s relocation process. He further comments that the PR team is working to strengthen their relationships with media outlets that previously covered the team to a lesser extent during its time in San Diego. He also talks about the importance of training the players and coaches how to conduct themselves with the media. Scott points out that NFL players and coaches are taught to treat every person with a camera phone as a reporter. Join us in this conversation about public relations in pro sports. Listen in to learn more about Scott’s experience with the LA Chargers PR team and get some tips on how to be successful in a PR industry by focusing on building relationships.
00:00 – Joke
00:24 – Podcast Introduction
00:36 – Co-hosts Introduction
01:20 – What’s in the News Today | “What New Grads Can Do to Avoid Falling Into the Ad Industry’s Burnout Rut”
07:08 – Featured Guest Introduction
07:49 – Scott’s PR Journey
09:07 – Being part of a large PR team
10:05 – Balancing business interests with competitive sports interests
11:08 – KPIs and Measurements in PR
11:48 – How to manage “too much” coverage
13:30 – NFL’s 24/7 Media Coverage
15:23 – Challenges & Opportunities in Reaching Hispanic Market
16:25 – LA’s Media Reaction to Relocation
17:34 – Working in the second largest media market in the nation
19:37 – Function of PR Department in Maneuvering Moves & Leveraging Media Coverage
22:40 – Advice for marketing pros that are interested in the sports industry
26:08 – Episode Key Takeaway
27:26 – Closing Comments
28:03 – Episode Outro
Scott Yoffe – Assistant Director of PR for the LA Chargers
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/scott-yoffe-4769b38
Twitter: twitter.com/yoffe_chargers
Adweek – “What New Grads Can Do to Avoid Falling Into the Ad Industry’s Burnout Rut”
Intro Music – Colony House – Buy “2:20” on iTunes
Outro Music – Skillet – Buy “Lions” on iTunes
In Episode 9 of the Lion’s Share Marketing Podcast our featured guest, Kristin Ludwick, Director of Marketing at Ace Parking, introduces various techniques on how boring businesses can leverage social media into something more appealing to consumers. Kristin begins by describing her career journey and how she ended up working in marketing for a parking organization. She explains that parking companies are much more complex than they appear and marketing is very important for their growth and success.
The challenge Kristin found is attracting clients and customers since parking is always an afterthought and people are never particularly happy to pay for parking. Ace Parking places great emphasis on communicating to their customers who they are as a company and why they got started. Their personal service approach has proven to be successful as Ace Parking is now in its third generation of family ownership. Kristin attributes their success to her team's belief that Ace Parking is not in the parking industry. Rather, they consider themselves members of the hospitality industry. Ace trains all of its employees as if they were to work at a five-star hotel in order to provide excellent service to their customers. Positive customer experiences increase customer loyalty and this is what Kristin believes differentiates Ace Parking from their competitors.
Kristin clarifies that in the past there wasn't any brand loyalty among parking companies. For Ace Parking, brand loyalty began to increase when they began to use social media to reach out to their customers. People often don’t think about parking ahead of time, so the goal was to promote parking through social media in order to improve customers’ experiences. Recently, Ace Parking launched a new app with upgrades in development to allow customers to pay for parking ahead of time, receive directions to the location, and locate their cars within the parking structures- all a part of Ace Parking's goal of improving the customer experience.
Kristin concludes the conversation by advising recent college graduates to test things out and seek career opportunities that provide different perspectives and fit their lifestyles. She also explains that one way to overcome being seen as a commodity is by telling your company's story while remaining authentic. Kristin encourages marketing leaders in traditionally "boring" industries to position themselves as industry leaders and take advantage of their unique opportunity to lap the competition. Her last piece of advice is to stay up to date with your industry as well as other industries that could affect your company. Join us in this conversation about how to leverage social media while creating better brand loyalty- no matter how exciting your brand's industry is (or isn't).
00:00 –Joke
00:32 – Episode Welcome
00:40 – Co-hosts Introduction
01:34 – What’s in the News Today | Facebook F8 Conference
08:51 – Featured Guest Introduction | Kristin Ludwick
09:11 – Why Parking?
12:45 – How do you take something boring and make it sexy?
14:31 – What Differentiates Ace Parking from Competitors
15:49 – Improving Customer Experience
18:44 – “Every thank you earned”
20:37 – Ace Parking App
22:45 – Advice to College Graduates
25:17 – Brand loyalty and overcoming being seen as a commodity
26:53 – Advice for industries that are not using digital marketing
31:21 – Ace’s Brand Voice
34:12 – Episode Key Takeaway
36:30 – Closing Comments
37:20 – Episode Outro
Kristin Ludwick – Director Marketing at Ace Parking
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/kristingludwick
Twitter: twitter.com/kristinludwick
Ace Parking App
2017 Facebook F8 Developer Conference
2017 Facebook F8 Developer Conference Videos
The Guardian – “Eight visions of Facebook’s future from its F8 conference”
Business Insider – “The future of Facebook’s VR push is out now: a new way to hang with friends, virtually”
Intro Music – Colony House – Buy “2:20” on iTunes
Outro Music – Skillet – Buy “Lions” on iTunes