On this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Wealthy Battista, govt chairman at ADWEEK, sits down with Steve Koonin, CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Enviornment, to discover how advertising and marketing can rework a sports activities franchise right into a cultural establishment. 

Steve shares how the Hawks constructed one of many NBA’s most engaged fan bases by specializing in expertise, neighborhood, and viewers relevance slightly than relying solely on wins and losses. 

He explains why including “sport expertise” as a 3rd enterprise pillar creates loyalty that survives efficiency fluctuations, how a single piece of content material may be repurposed into a whole lot of platform-native property, and why empowering inventive groups results in breakthrough campaigns. 

The dialog additionally highlights the ability of focus, neighborhood funding, and place-based advertising and marketing in an more and more fragmented media panorama. 

What you’ll be taught:

  • place sport expertise as a bonus when on-court efficiency lags
  • Why viewers denial is a enterprise killer
  • The three-pillar blueprint for sports activities advertising and marketing
  • activate youthful audiences by platform-native creativity
  • Why focus is the marketer’s most feared phrase
  • construct long-term model fairness by managed risk-taking
  • The underrated alternative in place-based advertising and marketing
  • leverage neighborhood affect as a model platform

In regards to the visitor:

Steve Koonin is the CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Enviornment, the place he oversees the group’s enterprise, monetary, and strategic operations. A lifelong Atlantan and completed advertising and marketing govt, he beforehand held management roles at The Coca-Cola Firm and Turner Broadcasting. 

Since becoming a member of the Hawks in 2014, Koonin has reworked the franchise into a frontrunner in fan expertise, neighborhood affect, and innovation. He’s a recipient of the Atlanta Sports activities Council Lifetime Achievement Award and SportsBusiness Journal’s Sports activities Govt of the Yr. 

Episode Highlights:

[05:09] Flip Experiences Right into a Aggressive Benefit — Steve Koonin explains that sports activities groups historically promote both hope for the long run or sustained success, however the Atlanta Hawks constructed a 3rd pillar: sport expertise. By making each sport a cultural and leisure occasion, the group created loyalty that wasn’t depending on wins and losses. This technique helped the Hawks earn seven consecutive years because the NBA’s prime sport expertise whereas sustaining robust attendance and fan engagement no matter on-court efficiency.