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Strategies for Landing Professional Sports Clients with Anthony Santa
109 Plays4 months ago
Listen to hear Anthony Santa, Director of Sports & Entertainment at Diamond View, a production company based in Tampa, Florida, share their path to successful experiences in the world of sports marketing. Anthony discusses effective ways to market production services to sports clients and offers practical advice that production companies can immediately implement. Listeners will gain an understanding of how to position your company’s strengths, find meaningful value to clients, and identify emerging opportunities in the sports market.
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Transcript
Introduction and Market Focus
00:00:06
Speaker
You're listening to Crossing the Axis, the podcast that explores the commercial side of film production with your host, James Keblis.
00:00:25
Speaker
Welcome listeners and thank you for tuning in to the show. If you've heard me before, you know I have a type when it comes to production companies. The more specialized, the better. I believe working in a focused market enables a company to stand out from the competition, develop deep expertise, produce higher quality work, and create stronger, longer lasting relationships with clients. That's why I recently enjoyed learning about Diamond View, a production company with a focus on sports marketing based out of Tampa, Florida. Over the years, I've known a few production companies and agencies that specialize in sports, and I've been on the production side of a couple professional sports campaigns.
00:01:02
Speaker
But I've never really pulled back the curtain on the business development side of pursuing sports marketing as a niche. I certainly know the allure of having sports clients is strong for company owners because the campaigns often carry so much emotion and energy. And it seems relatively easy to create effective work since the target audience is so visible. It's the fans. Plus, it looks like there's a lot of money in it. But I have a feeling these assumptions might be off a bit and that it's harder than it looks.
Anthony Santa's Journey and Sports Marketing
00:01:29
Speaker
That's why I'm looking forward to today's conversation with my guest, Anthony Santa, who leads sports and entertainment business development at Diamond View. Anthony has put together some impressive sports campaigns over his 10 year career with the company and has generously agreed to share some of the X's and O's of his a biz dev playbook. I'm hoping his insights will be useful for production company owners who think they may have something valuable to offer in the sports marketing space. So Anthony, welcome to the show.
00:01:55
Speaker
James, I'm excited to be here. As that intro track kicked off, I'm someone that grew up in the 90s, and that song gave me the hype of vibes of ah Space Jam. And if you remember the Space Jam intro, I still don't know a film that kicks off as hype as that that movie kicks off. So if this is anything like that that intro, I think this is going to be a good show. Wow, you're gassing me up now, man. I appreciate it. Being put in that company is really good. and I love that intro. It was made by a producer for me, um Nick Patry, and he did such a good job with it. As soon as I heard it, I was like, oh my God, that's it, that's it, that's it. so Thank you for saying that. That's great. Yeah, I love it. Well, I'm i'm excited to be here, James, and hopefully ah you know the audience can can take a few things from me.
00:02:38
Speaker
Yeah, I know. I'm really excited for this conversation because I actually don't know that much. This is a bit of a learning experience for me, too. And I think it's fascinating what you do and what you do over at Diamond View. And I have a bunch of questions for you. But I guess my first question is, what team or sports do you think have the best fan base? o Well, my my bias answer is ah Major League Baseball. I grew up playing baseball. I got a chance to play collegiate baseball. And our first entry into professional sports was with the baseball team, specifically the Atlanta Braves. And so ah Braves country has been very good to us. So I got to tee it up to them and say that ah the Atlanta Braves fan base is ah is my my favorite so far.
00:03:18
Speaker
Well, that's a perfect segue to find out how you got into this business. How does one person like you find themselves in the business development of sports marketing? And you've been at Diamondview for a while, right? Yeah. So I've ah been blessed to be at Diamondview for 10 years now. As I mentioned, I i played baseball and in college and of course, being in business development for a video production company, my my degree was criminal justice. I got a chance. I graduated with a criminal justice degree and it's a cool childhood story. The founder of Diamond View Tim Moore and I were ah middle school and high school friends. ah We grew up in the church together and started out out making promo videos for the youth group. And so that ended up turning into a business for Tim after he graduated. And we stayed connected all through college.
Diamond View's Niche and Client Engagement
00:04:03
Speaker
A year after I graduated, he had reached out to me and said, hey,
00:04:07
Speaker
would you have any interest in ah bringing some opportunities over to Diamond View, my video production company? I said, sure. Yeah, let's let's give it a go. And so, of course, that first year turned out very successful and I sold ah zero contracts. I brought in zero work. and and so Tim stayed patient with me, ah but that first year was crucial. It was awesome for me to be able to learn and immerse myself in every step of video production from pre-production to
00:04:38
Speaker
on location production and then post-production as well. So I was crafty one day, I was a PA the next, I was a gaffer the next day and I was holding ah the camera the next after that. So I got to immerse myself in the production realm during that first year and then Year two hit around and and all of a sudden, some of the people I was reaching out to started calling me back, landed a few gigs in that year two. And then you know each each stepping stone along the way, you start to gain confidence and more industry knowledge. And so it's been a catalyst for us. And so my my journey of 10 years definitely starts with a very humble year one and year two.
00:05:15
Speaker
Well, good on you for admitting that. I think more of us could learn from that. When you were working in that first year and he joined you joined Tim, were you focused on sports then or did that come about because you your interest, your experience, and your just kind of knowledge of the business moved you in that direction more organically or was it really intentional? Yeah, when I first joined, I was looking for anything and everything that was a a video project. And so I didn't start to get into the the niche of sports until probably about 2017, which is our entry into the sports realm with the Atlanta Braves. But you know as I was talking to prospective clients and and business owners, and I I started to find myself in conversations where it became easier to talk through day-to-day and video project opportunities when I was talking sports versus healthcare. And so I soon realized after that first project with the Atlanta Braves that this is kind of the realm I i think we need to be in, kind of took it from there and just ran with it. and And again, going back to that first project opportunity with the Atlanta Braves, it kind of fell into our lap and ended up
00:06:21
Speaker
ah being an eight year relationship that that we're still working with them on each year. So yeah, I think after that first project with the Atlanta Braves, it started to kind of grow into, you know, this is the niche and in the realm that we want to live in. Describe Diamond View, like what size company is it? How much of the business is particularly for the sports market? And are there, are clients mostly direct to brands, you know, mostly direct to the teams in the sports, or do you go through agencies quite a bit? Paint the picture on that. I'd say about 50 to 60% of our work is in the sports realm. and We still work with a lot of brands direct and ad agencies as well, which I think is a benefit for us because we're not just um ah dialed into sports and that's all we eat, sleep, and breathe. and so yeah so That's kind of how our our portfolio has has kind of unfolded over the years. and ah As far as the makeup of Diamond View, we've got a few different departments that work internally here. We've got a creative department that's led by Will Shanahan and he oversees three different directors. We've got our producer executive producer, Susan Mulvey, who oversees our producers. She's she's got three producers in-house here as well. And then we also have a project manager and a pretty involved post-production team with about five editors here on staff. And so oftentimes we take projects from concept
00:07:43
Speaker
through completion so we can collaborate on that creative and and the ideas and then we roll into production and then and then do the post-production as well. So we can handle projects from from start to finish. And so a lot of the key ah team members that will work on our video campaigns are going to be there from the start all the way through the finish. And then when we're on location for the actual productions, we'll supplement um separate roles, hair and makeup, audio, things like that aren't necessarily team leads. And so that's kind of the makeup of our team. we're We're based in Tampa, Florida, but we travel all across the country creating all types of video campaigns. So yeah, that's that's the makeup of our team.
00:08:21
Speaker
So you get quite a bit involved in the strategy and the creative development then for these campaigns, right? I mean, you take that on and you kind of find the right messaging, you do the strategic work, you think about ah ROI and all of that kind of stuff. Is that a comfort zone for the company? Yeah, definitely. I think just being in this industry for 10 years, you you start to kind of find the the similar patterns. and There's a lot of really good video production companies out there. that and We all have access to the same the the same equipment, same gear, same cameras. At the end of the day, it's going to be what's creative. you know what's What's the concept and what's the ideation? ah Is your creative going to resonate with the different brands, sports teams and things like that? so we We try to hone in on on that area as kind of our our selling point. and At the end of the day, you know brands and and sports teams and leagues, they want to work with people that help them you know brainstorm ideas and have that collaborative ah ideation from from concept and into completion.
Working with Sports Teams and Campaign Strategies
00:09:19
Speaker
and so That's an area that we really hone in on.
00:09:22
Speaker
So I'm so'm curious, you know your experience working in a variety of pursuit of clients to kind of targeting this sports market, is there a different marketing and sales set of skills that you use for sports than you would for some other vertical or some other kind of focused area? Yeah, definitely. I mean, sports is so fast paced. You have to showcase that you can ah move quickly. ah Yesterday's news is is old, outdated information. Players get hurt, players get signed, teams are winning and losing on and off the field. ah And so you have to be able to move as quickly as they can. So I think showcasing those capabilities for for us, a big benefit is that we have a lot of those team leads on staff here and and we all work out of the
00:10:08
Speaker
out of the office. And so I could take a quick walk to one of our directors or producers or editors and have that conversation in person. And so in a time when so much is done ah via Zoom or or you know video conference calls, so sometimes that in-person touch base is is pretty crucial, especially in the communication part of ah bringing projects from from concept into completion. and so But in in regards to sports too, it's like you know you're trying to stay sticky, people move, ah contacts change. And so you have to be aligned with with not only the individual that you're working with, but the entire brand and organization. you know it's just ah It's a different world out there, but it's one that
00:10:48
Speaker
ah We were able to expedite our growth into it because after the the first year, we got a chance to work with the Atlanta Braves. They actually brought us on and we we had a ah satellite location out in Atlanta and we had two Dynavut team members there full-time working day-to-day operations. and so You know, there's one thing to to kind of learn off of experience and ask people, you know, what is it like to to work day-to-day operations for for sports teams? And another thing to kind of live it out and play it out. And so that helped us gain a lot of industry knowledge.
00:11:23
Speaker
of what it's like to be with an actual sports team and run day-to-day operations. And you know we were firing off videos daily ah while also ah brainstorming future video projects. And you know you're working through a season that has ups and downs and and then a playoff run and stuff. So ah that that was super informative for us. We were doing weekly touch bases. We were talking to to them pretty much daily. And so I think that helped expedite our our growth and learning how to build and maintain relationship in the sports industry. Thanks Yeah, well, I'm so curious, who is, I have this thing that I do with your ICP, your ideal client profile, right? Like who's the target that you're going after when you're trying to drum up business and and sell your service? I'm so curious, who is that primarily for for you and what you're trying to do when you're going after business? Is it the CMO for the team? Is it you know is it a creative person? Is it a producer? Like who's the one that when you say, hey, we have something that I think is a little bit different, you might want to you might have a conversation. Who's the one that really, who would that resonates with?
00:12:24
Speaker
Sure. Yeah. that's ah That's a combination of all three that that you already ah ah noted. Each team, each league, their internal capabilities is built up a little bit different. And so once you kind of immerse yourself in ah the makeup of that team or organization, I think you can kind of start to ah understand who who is the primary decision maker, um but it is a combination. It is the CMO. ah There's creative directors, art directors, And a lot of times, it's very collaborative within a sports organization. So you got your pitch into three, four, or five different team members, and you're aiming to resonate with with all three. And so, yeah, I would say those are the ah kind of the main three, CMO, creative director and art director.
00:13:06
Speaker
and There's no like project manager producers or the kids of players or something like that approach that you kind of get you try to get in on. No, no, I think I thinking through I would say those are those are the main ones that that we've come across. What do you say when you're pitching Diamond View? How do you you like say you're you got a cold lead or a warm lead, but someone you don't that doesn't know you and you're trying and you think you have something to offer? what What's the positioning of Diamond View and what you think that you have that separates you from the rest?
NASCAR Project and Emotional Storytelling
00:13:36
Speaker
For us, it's like, how how are we how are we connected to their brand? I think a lot of times we we ask a lot of the right questions, but at the end of the day, it's like a lot of these decision makers and sports teams, ah team members, therere they're looking to work with people that are going to help elevate their creative or or their idea. but also understand and believe in their message. And so a lot of times we'll internally with our with our creative team, we'll start thinking through like, how how is Diamond View connected to their brand? One good example is we got a chance to work with NASCAR on their 75th anniversary. And ah we're pitching this idea called the Photo Finish Series. And NASCAR is celebrating 75 years of of racing. And so this is a pivotal moment for them and and their fan base as they continue to grow and stay relevant. And so the goal of this this series was was to retell four impactful stories that have happened through those 75-year years of NASCAR are racing. And so how are you going to tell a story that's been told so many times by the same drivers and the the fans have all heard it? And so our director, Jason Blanc, and his father, shared the memory and experiences of fandom for NASCAR ah as a kid. And so you know that that was something within them that an element to their relationship as father and son of of building those memories. And so we went ahead and this is ahead of the pitch, we went ahead and and brought in his dad and and all of a sudden we're in this
00:15:08
Speaker
ah studio and we're we're talking through this experience and and so Jason you know is talking to his his father and asking him all these these questions about this specific race. And here's a moment about father and son connected to a brand that we're pitching to and it's it's it's a really cool opportunity that that we were able to take advantage of. And so we we created that that proof of concept. and went ahead and and played it to them during the pitch. And I think, you know, within one minute of watching, it's decision making is a very emotional one. And so as much as we want our videos to create emotion for the fans, it's part of the pitch too. And so we were able to connect a NASCAR with with Diamond View, ah specifically on that pitch. And and Jason Blanc was a ah ah key mover in that opportunity. He ended it up directing the entire
00:16:01
Speaker
ah piece but But yeah, i think I think that went a long way. We ended up securing the contract and we produced four of those photo finish videos. and And so going back to the to the start of your question, James, it's like, you know what what are you going to provide that's a little bit different than you know what everyone else is pitching? And so we try to think things of like, how are you connected to the brand? and really with an end goal of trying to build trust as soon as possible. you know From the business development side, ah you you start to see the patterns of of wins and losses and you kind of try to teach yourself like, hey, don't get too high, don't get too low, just stay even keel. And and as I've gotten older and and started to really understand ah my role within the the company, it's not even so much how many project opportunities I bring on that get signed off. it' A lot of times, how many opportunities do we get to to pitch ourselves in in front of these potential brands and sports teams. and ah Because maybe it's not a good fit to today, but you know down the road a year later, we end up back at the table and and that one was the the right pitch and the right opportunity for us. so But for us, it's you know too it's like pitching creative. Now with AI, ah there's a lot of you know AI-generated ah creative decks.
00:17:13
Speaker
and Now that everyone's, you know, cop to speed on it, now everyone's presenting, you know, mid-journey AI-generated creative decks. And it's like, what are you going to make that's custom that's going to allow ah these sports teams and decision makers to really feel your concept. And so a lot of times we're trying to build some sort of custom animation or rip-o-matic or some so sort of proof of concept to help them kind of feel what we're presenting. you know Look, at the end of the day, sports moves very fast. And if you could fill a need as soon as possible, you know that's going to always help your chances. And when we first started like knocking on doors with sports teams, it was like our pitch was, hey, give us the most undesirable project you have. And undesirable in the sense of the smallest budget and the tightest turnaround. And so we knew that the power of getting into the door with someone. with these, quote unquote, undesirable projects would be able to play the long game and showcase our capabilities, but also get in the door with these teams. And so we're we're saying, hey, you got no budget, no problem. You need this turned around in a week, no problem. We're here to work with you. So so I say that that's like been the main journey for Diamond View as far as getting immersed in the sports realm and really coming to the table with with these pitch opportunities.
00:18:25
Speaker
I'm so glad that you brought up the NASCAR story because I looked at all your work and kind of studied it and tried to understand your point of view. When I saw those NASCAR videos, I cried. I'm straight up. And I don't, I mean, I've been to a NASCAR race, kind of boring to me in some ways. I was in, man. I mean, just, oh. listeners have to go to Diamond View and check out the NASCAR stories. They're so well done, so beautiful, so simple, yet so powerful. Just really a good job on that. I'm glad that you brought that up because it strikes me to be one of those great case studies that you have. Did that come about from an RFP or was that you looking at it and soliciting an idea you know to them? How did that first come about?
00:19:07
Speaker
Yeah. So for for that specific one, NASCAR reached out about doing this testimonial series ah for NASCAR 75. And so we kind of took that and ran with it. ah We got into virtual production during COVID, which is a separate story that perhaps I could share later ah on this episode. But but yeah, And so we we knew what what what resources we have. and And we have studios in Tampa, Orlando, Nashville, in Las Vegas. And so we knew where the drivers were located at. And so we kind of reverse engineered it. And a lot of times with these pro athletes and superstar talent, A-level talent, you got to go to them. And so ah for us, again, we presented a solution that was over where they were located at. And yeah. like
00:19:53
Speaker
Here's the thing is going back to that project, everyone's seen the the races that we're talking about, everyone's seen the images, everyone's seen the drivers. But when when these drivers came into this ah LED studio and got to see the images projected on such a grand scale, um they couldn't help but get emotional. And so that was the moment that we we needed because it's like, how how are you going to create this moment for the drivers that are that are signed up for this to to retell the story that they probably told a million times? And so we we knew we had to project these images in in a unique way. And that's kind of how we came up with the the title for the series Photo Finish. And we just honed in on that one moment, one moment that has
00:20:36
Speaker
a story that just unfolds with with so much emotion and so much so many good memories for the fans. You can hear it. I can't remember which driver it was, but one of the drivers was retelling the story and his voice is cracking. And he's really, you could tell he's just full of emotion. And I was you knowm like, this guy's told the story gazillion times probably. And yet here he is really choked up telling the story. It was very cool. So well done on that. Thank you.
Virtual Production and Partnerships
00:21:00
Speaker
Let's talk about the virtual production because I do think that you guys have made an investment into something that is extraordinary. And one of the things that I really appreciate about your company when I learned more about it was your willingness to show how the sausage is made. You have a great kind of behind the scenes case study on what you did with the WWE and you show all of the virtual production and the spots altogether. And it really demonstrates what you're using with that wall. Is that something that you always knew? Was it a result of COVID and then you realized you had something great and you could sell it? Is that a big part of how you sell it now? Yeah. COVID impacts a lot of people in different ways. For us at the time, we were out at Spring Training creating a five-part behind the Braves docu-series. We never got to episode five, we got through four, then the fifth one was when COVID
00:21:53
Speaker
ah sent us home and so we got home and obviously there's a lot of uncertainty and trying times for a lot of people and and at that moment we're all sitting at our house trying to figure out the next step because all of our contracts were on pause and all the sports teams were trying to figure out like what's the next play and so ah We're sitting there and of course Star Wars Mandalorian was on and it was thriving And so we saw the technology and we saw virtual production or like wow Like I wonder, you know, what is that the future of production? And so really ah Tim Moore the founder of of diamond view and and view studios, you know took a calculated risk and we all had a like I guess a meeting of the powers and trying to figure out like what is the next step for for diamond view because right now we're on pause and we've got 20 plus team members to
00:22:37
Speaker
to figure out work to do. And so we took a calculated risk. There was a mall about five minutes down the road from us. And we we brought in some panels. ah We gutted out an old Dillard store, you know, and this 40,000 square footprint. And so we ended up putting 100 by 20 LED volume and had no idea what we were doing. We had never shot virtual production. We had never explored into virtual production. We had done a form of virtual production through a rear projector. that was pretty much the experience that we had up to that point. And so Florida was wide open at the time. New York, LA are all looking for a place to shoot. So they ah flew into Tampa, Florida and it expedited our growth. And so we found a niche into virtual production and then we were just all hands on deck. And at that moment, we knew that ah Diamond View and View had separate clientele. And so we so we separated the companies and View Studios kind of went what went off and running. and And at the same time, Diamond View,
00:23:34
Speaker
ah which we shoot both virtual production and traditional on-location ah content. you know we were We were shooting a ton of virtual production work. And so at that time, ah the WWE, the WrestleMania was in town in Tampa, and and we're we're currently working with a um with the the New York Giants on a 100-year campaign series. And so one of our contacts out there who who runs all the production for the Giants, Don Sterling, he said, sometimes it's better to be lucky than be good. and And so i look I look back and it's cool to kind of you know revisit the story, but you know we were right place, right time.
00:24:09
Speaker
WWE WrestleMania was in Tampa. So sure enough, we had all the WWE executives over at our studio checking out what virtual production was and how to get their superstar talent inside this space. And so we ended up shooting a two day for sports teams would call like ah ah a media day marketing carwash. And for them, it was a superstar ID shoot. And so we had three different unique sets and got to ah highlight each of their superstars. And so that was a really successful shoot. And then the next year they reached out and were thinking about us. And the next year they they had WrestleMania out in LA. And so they wanted to highlight six Hollywood ah films. And so we kind of titled this project the WWE Hollywood Vignette series. And so we were able to recreate scenes from The Joker, Top Gun, Stranger Things, Titanic.
00:24:59
Speaker
40-year-old Virgin and Goodfellas. And we were able to do it across two days of production. And and look, here here was going back to speed and timing. ah When they approached us, they needed to get the first ah spot out in a three-week timeframe. ah So when we got the green light, it was three weeks before we were set to to begin shooting. And so with virtual production, it's very heavy into the backgrounds through Unreal Engine and and creating those environments, which which is a pretty streamlined process. But what's a little bit more involved is the art and the props that have to support those environments to make it very immersive and make it feel very authentic and very photorealistic. And so you know virtual production is a really good use for this to
00:25:44
Speaker
particular project because we can't fly these superstars all to these different locations. We had to bring it to them. And so we shot that in in the Orlando studio. Everything is is captured in camera. So there's no longer any make-believe. So the superstars were were out there. They felt immersed in the environment. And we were approving things in real time and and we were able to get the first vignette out two days after production. That's impressive. you You made a considerable investment in this kind of BTS approach, and I'm assuming that's part of a sales strategy right to like show off a little bit of what you're capable of. And it you do it well, by the way. Was that an idea that you had before and you're like, hey, let's let's turn this into something that we can use for attracting more clients and make the investment in that? And is it something that you use to attract more clients?
00:26:32
Speaker
Yeah, I think it works in twofold. First, we want to identify us as a video production partner that can handle projects of this scale from concept through completion. And then the second part to this is really explaining virtual production. A lot of people are interested in it. We feel it's the future of production and it's it's currently a big use for production. And so we found this as a project opportunity to really highlight that the entire workflow and how streamlined it can be, even during the chaoticness of a three-week window. Each year, we kind of I try to identify one project that we feel like is that one project that really stands out. And and so we knew with this WWE Hollywood vignette series, it was going to be very unpredictable, very uncertain, it was going to be a fast pace. And so we knew we had something special here that we needed to highlight. And we didn't know where the case study was going to go, but we knew we just had to start hitting record. And oftentimes, that's always the best stories, is the ones that are a bit unpredictable. And so we started that process from the right from the get-go, right when we got the green light. And so we we made ah a pretty involved effort after the fact just to make sure that we're telling this case study in the appropriate way from the client side, but also from our side as well in our collaboration between Diamond View and View Studios. Well, I appreciate it. For any any listeners that are curious about this, I highly recommend you go check out in their work section on the website because you show off some real pro tips. You show you know how practical and virtual work together. You show some real
00:27:59
Speaker
Um, I think important lessons in doing this type of production and how it can benefit, how it can fail. So I really appreciate that kind of, uh, you know, transparency and how you're operating. That's really good. When you're sending this to clients, have you like done, uh, Hey, we're going to come up to you. Do you go to visit clients quite a bit and do like a road show where you're kind of showing off work? What's the best way to get the eyeballs to check this stuff out? There's different approaches as far as acquiring potential partners. and for For me, it's always persistence, but also patience. ah Sometimes you you connect with someone and and you end up not doing a project for them until 6 months, 12 months, even 5 years down the road. and so You just never know when that opportunity calls. and so ah For us, it's providing ah very specific content that I think will resonate with them.
00:28:47
Speaker
And so anybody who I've had some sort of conversation with specific towards virtual production, ah it was a good chance that I was going to send them our case study. And you know, this case study is a little bit longer. So the people who are watching this from start to finish have to have a little buy-in in virtual production and have
Innovation in Client Relationships
00:29:04
Speaker
some interest. And at the end of the day, that's kind of who we're interested in working with are the people that are taking virtual production seriously and and want to take that next step. And and for us too, ah we're not just tied into virtual production. We're always looking for what's going to be best for the end product. And so sometimes virtual production from a tech standpoint is an intro to a contact or or to an organization. And then we end up doing some project that has nothing to do with virtual production. And so building those relationships is pretty crucial for us, especially when you're at the pitch at the table, you know, you're you got to see at the table with four other vendors. It's like how you're going to stand out. And ah for us, each opportunity is a little bit different. But in a time where there's so much business that that's done through ah video calls, ah sometimes it takes that ah extra step of flying in and and meeting people in person. and
00:29:52
Speaker
and doing that pitch in person because you can kind of get a vibe ah for for their presence or or um their interest or or their energy. And so we we feel like that'll stand out for us. So any chance we get, we try to make pitches in person. Yeah, it's unique to each opportunity, ah but it is one that that we we hold as allowing our creative team to be a part of that process. And it's not just me. I like to say I bring people to the door and then our our entire creative team and our process from the directors to producers to editors close the deal. And again, for for us, it's ah it's a partnership. And so we try to continue to pitch ideas
00:30:32
Speaker
for our partners that ah they perhaps and may not have even thought of. And so we want to be thought of as a, I guess a form of ah an idea factory, but always pitching and presenting ideas that could continue to be projects that we work with ah down the line. And so we're not just kind of waiting at the door ah for the next ah project opportunity. We're pitching um ideas that perhaps that team or organization hasn't thought of.
Advice for Entering Sports Marketing
00:30:57
Speaker
Are there any other pieces of advice you would give for someone trying to enter the market with their company or any other trends that you would think somebody needs to be paying attention to in sports? Yeah, for us, before we started working with sports, it's like yeah you got to build your portfolio. And so oftentimes, we were creating spec work with local universities. And we used to joke around here because I was always the one, ah the stand-in. And so I was always wearing the football pads and
00:31:26
Speaker
and wearing the baseball jersey and and and wearing the the basketball jersey. and so Thankfully, we we phased out of that part of of spec work. but you know that's I think that's a big big entry into sports is is having a portfolio that can qualify you ah right from the start. And then like you mentioned, it's it's small budget, tight turnaround and and getting in the door and then immersing yourself in in that environment. you know For us, it was spending that full season with the Atlanta Braves that kind of expedited our growth. and But we we try to put ourselves in as as much of a circumstance to be as lucky as possible. and so yeah i mean you know At the end of the day, there's always niches that you can get into. For us, virtual production scaled us ah rapidly, and so ah we didn't plan for it. ah COVID happened, and we made a decision to move in this direction, and so it it worked out for us.
00:32:19
Speaker
And so you know it's always the next technology that that comes through the door and how you're going to implement it. And now with ah with AI and Apple Vision Pro and wearables, it's like spatial entertainment is big, augment augmented reality and stadium experience is huge. And so you know you you have to evolve with the technology. And if you could find a niche and bring something to the table that sports teams ah are interested in getting into or don't know enough about, um you could be that expert in that field. So yeah, I would say lean on that. It strikes me that um everything in society for the most part is copycat, right? We see someone who wouldn't, everybody wants to be part of that. But I think it's especially true in sports, certainly in sports teams and coaching and playing and all that kind of stuff. But I think it even comes across in the external marketing and communications as well. So it strikes me to figure out like, how do you stand apart? How do you become the thing that other teams and other franchises copy versus copying what everyone else is doing seems to me to be a good way to go to. Definitely. Yeah. You want to be at the start of the domino. Um, it's, it's an industry that you're always looking left and right. And so for us, a lot of what we try to do is utilize work that's, you know, music videos or films, um, and not just stay in the lane of sports of what other sports teams are doing. Uh, and so yeah, we're always trying to stay ahead of that. So.
00:33:32
Speaker
We oftentimes are are researching or or checking out content that we've seen out there that's just not in the sports realm, that hopefully we can implement into the sports realm. And and really with a goal of start starting that domino effect of when when you see other teams doing content, capturing content in a way that you captured it, it's it's a pretty cool feeling.
Measuring Success and Closing Thoughts
00:33:52
Speaker
What about getting into the return of investment of a campaign? I know oftentimes these are more like anthem style and the kind of broad and perhaps the ultimate goal for these campaigns is just to have butts in seats, right? To people to go see things and buy tickets or to watch them.
00:34:07
Speaker
Are there other things, though, that I'm not aware of that you can lean into to say, hey, if we do a campaign this way, you can expect some kind of results that will be meaningful for the team, for the company, for everything. is Do you guys ever get into that level of business strategy? Yeah, I think the initial answer is going to lot oftentimes be the ticket sales, the merch revenues, sponsorships. But ah we got a chance to work with the Atlanta Braves on ah a Jersey Patch video pitch video. And so you know that's a unique opportunity to have a a brand
00:34:40
Speaker
own a part of a jersey. And so what we went ahead and did is is we created this pitch video to present to other companies. And you know that's immediate opportunity there for Atlanta Braves and Quikret was able to land that one. And so you know again, it's it's going back to the ah emotional decision making of the buyer. And so ah the Atlanta Braves found that of a high value to create a unique pitch video that would only go to these sales opportunities. and so It's one that is held ah very highly and one that we thought, like what an immediate impact. like Whoever lands this this patch is going to be you know be able to see our video and and hopefully ah be a part of the recipe of allowing them that ah that emotional impact to make that decision and to own the rights of the Jersey pads. I think partnerships is is always going to be a big one, brand partnerships. and then Also, it's like, you know what are the fans saying? you know so we're We're trying to build fan trust, brand reliability. ah and and yeah you know At the end of the day, we want our clients to be the heroes and are other teams looking at at at the teams that we're working with as as inspo? you know or Are they sending links of of our collaborations together around the league? I can't really calculate that, but it is one that we enjoy hearing and about whenever we get wind of that. But also, you know one unspoken thing is
00:36:11
Speaker
But it's it's it's held at such a high ah standard and it and it should be is is how do we treat their players? You know, that player relationship is so crucial in building trust between the marketing department um and all these player requests that they get. And so we're a part of that formula. And so when players leave our set, you know, there's a vibe, there's a heightness to it or a vibe just being out there with us that we want these players to leave excited or happy about that process. And so ah if you could continue to hone in and make these players pretty excited, what whatever type of campaign you're making, whatever ah whether it's ah a fan anthem or if it's just a media day a project or an intro video, whenever we're in set with the players, we want them to feel really, really good about what they're doing. And so oftentimes, you know that that allows the marketing department to continue to build that relationship with the players who play on the field. and And so I think that's kind of one area that not a lot of people talk about, but we hold our set culture and our set etiquette to a pretty high standard. This has been such an amazing conversation. Thank you for being so transparent about how you do business development. It's refreshing to have someone kind of open the book and explain their process and how they're bringing clients. You're clearly having success and appreciate you sharing that.
00:37:30
Speaker
Any final words of advice for production companies that are hearing this and thinking they they have something to offer? Yeah, no, definitely. I think just trust the process. Be patient, but also ah be persistent. Oftentimes, what you thought was a loss ends up being a win down the road. And you know I look back at some project opportunities that we didn't land early on and in our and and our growth. and And I'm actually glad we didn't because we weren't ready for that at that time. And so now, I think ah yeah you know we're rolling and and we've got a really solid ah process and a really solid team you know as business development, account person. It's like, just don't don't look at the macro too much. don't Don't look at the wins and losses that are right in front of you. Oftentimes, those are ah made by people that that make decisions that you don't have control over and then just continue to stay ah the course and and you know hope for the best ah in the future. so Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Anthony Santa. I appreciate the conversation. James, thanks for the opportunity. I'm really excited to to be able to chat with you.
00:38:32
Speaker
Thank you for listening to Crossing the Axis with James Keblis. If you're interested in joining the conversation or have a topic you'd like covered, please drop a note at keblis.com. That's K-E-B-L-A-S dot com.