[Editor's Note: After our meeting with the Sharks, the caravan left for Redwood City, CA where we visited EA Sports Headquarters. As an employer of many Warsaw alumni, we were able to have a beneficial talk both on EA's business with COO Peter Moore but also a general conversation with Warsaw grads working at EA and Sony on how to attack our summer internship applications. In addition, we were able to learn more about the late Jim Warsaw from those who knew him. We want to thank EA and Sony for a great visit; I will hand it off to our resident gamer, Gary Wang, to detail the specifics. - MVW]
On Thursday afternoon, our class arrived at the Electronic Arts headquarters to meet with Warsaw alums and EA Sport’s Chief Operating Officer, Peter Moore. Moore previously was the Corporate Vice-President of Microsoft‘s Interactive Entertainment Business division, overseeing the Xbox and Xbox 360 game consoles. For avid gamers such as myself, it was truly a dream come true to meet such a prominent figure in the gaming world.
EA Sports develops sport juggernaut franchises Madden, FIFA, Tiger Woods PGA Tour; and accounts for 35-40% of all of EA’s profit. While EA is widely known for their sports games, other titles such as Call of Duty and Battlefield have been crucial in progressing competitive gaming culture to where it is today. Naturally, questions pertaining to the future of gaming culture were asked.
Moore stated that the future of gaming, especially with EA, will focus on delivering content digitally to the consumer. In fact, digital entertainment is the area where EA is currently the most aggressive. To illustrate, EA’s FIFA and Madden franchise are offered on 12 different gaming platforms from consoles to mobile applications. In the future, there will be no need for disks, and consumers could have the opportunity to purchase games for a fraction of what it costs today.
If that holds true, how would EA make money? Moore discussed EA’s AEM strategy, or Acquire, Engage, Monetize. Meaning, games would essentially be free, or “Freemium,” and EA would make money by monetizing in game extras. For example, in Tiger Woods PGA Tour, a gamer can play $5 for a Nike Club that would give their character +5 in swing power.
Additionally, Moore talked about the rise of competitive gaming leagues and how EA will monetize that area. With the rise of leagues such as Major League Gaming, video games are increasingly being considered a sport. Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets, stated at this year’s MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference that he believes that video games will be the world’s number one sport in the future. Moore agrees and told our class that the future of EA competitive gaming will be to provide a platform for gamers to compete against each other for monetary benefits. Personally, as an avid Madden player, I would welcome the extra cash in my pocket. Check out the trailer for the new Madden ’13 below, can’t wait!
After leaving Visa, the group piled into our vans and headed to the HP Pavilion in San Jose to meet with Malcolm Bordelon, Executive Vice President of Business Operations for Sharks Sports and Entertainment. Malcolm has worked for the organization for 17 years and it was a privilege to get to speak with him for an hour and a half.
The conversation centered around the NHL franchise but we also learned about the other aspects of the business. Malcolm brought up the importance and growth of social media as a tool to establish customer touch points with fans. This medium has allowed the Sharks to increase fan affinity in a way that resulted in 100 percent capacity for home games this past season (according to Sports Business Journal). Malcolm even told us about the Sharks’ policy for fans who unsubscribe from team emails. When people unsubscribe, the Sharks organization will call them and thank them for their time; this lets the fans know that they care and often results in resubscribing to the emails. It has also given the Sharks the ability to address complaints from fans through social media and repair relationships before they are permanently damaged.
The conversation ended with in-depth discussion on dynamic and variable pricing techniques and also the Sharks’ logo re-branding. Malcolm brought in all of the uniforms and talked about the theory behind the design and the placement of logos on jerseys that are easily visible on television broadcasts. The amount of planning and thought that went into those jerseys was impressive. My favorite jersey was the all black one below.
We want to thank Malcolm for taking the time to host the program, it was an informational and enjoyable session. – Matt Van Wyen
[Editor's Note: After a afternoon meeting at the Pac-12, the group checked into our room at the Serrano Hotel in San Francisco and got ready for day two which included a visit to Visa, The San Jose Sharks/Sharks Sports & Entertainment, and EA Sports. Accelerated MBA Student Katrina Galas will now detail our visit to Visa. Enjoy! - Matthew Van Wyen]
While most companies use a sponsorship in sport to become “top of mind” with their customers, Visa’s goal is to be “top of wallet.” It’s vision – to be life’s currency.
Contrary to popular belief, Visa profits are transaction driven – it doesn’t actually make money off of late bill payments. It is an enabler – the company that brings the world the technology to borrow money. As a result, its main objective is to be the preferred credit card for the most number of purchases, thus “top of wallet.”
Warsaw Alumni,Kara Linse, was a gracious host, especially since she began her career at Visa as Global Sponsorship Marketing Manager (FIFA & Olympics) only a few short months ago. Kara not only spoke about the background of Visa, but her career journey and how her various roles after graduating from Warsaw led her to this great new opportunity in the world of sports business. “It all connects back to my time at Warsaw,” she said, “and being proactive about meeting people and gaining as many relevant experiences as possible while you’re a student.”
By becoming the exclusive IOC TOP sponsor in the Global Payment category back in 1986, (as well as sponsoring 205 National Olympic Committees), Visa is able to require its own credit card as the only acceptable form of payment during these large scale, highly visible and well-attended global sport events. Furthermore, Visa provides the necessary infrastructure (kiosks, etc.) on-site to make this possible.
After listening to Matthew Kauffman, Head of Global Sponsorship Marketing Olympic & NFL teams, it was obvious that Visa is very proud of its sport sponsorships and treats them very seriously, acknowledging that sports are a platform that presents the best opportunity to engage with its consumers. Sports are at the core of its marketing activation strategy, costing significant amounts in association rights and generating impressive ROI year after year. In fact, after speaking with Rob Prazmark, one of the creators of the IOC TOP program, on an earlier Warsaw class trip to NYC, the Olympic Games occupy an entire page in the Visa history books, showcasing the beginning of the Visa Olympic sponsorship as being largely responsible for the turning point in Visa’s global success.
Visa recognizes that the athletes themselves are the essence of any Games and the passion and energy around the event emanates from the athletes. Visa knows its consumers care deeply about the success of their countries’ athletes at the Games and can therefore build a strong brand connection by supporting athletes. Visa over-delivers when it comes to caring about its athletes, going out of its way to get to know them and their families, and honoring them appropriately for their achievements. For example, Visa aired a Michael Phelps congratulatory ad moments after he finished his legendary performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Rich Greene, Sponsorship Marketing for the NFL, spoke about Visa’s association with the NFL and explained that its activation strategy is built off the key insight that for its consumers, experiencing the NFL is “Better Together.” He also shared how Visa taps into existing passion for various teams, rather than trying to create passion itself. This approach allows the brand to have a seat at the table for creating legitimate experiences around the NFL property and its core events, like the Super Bowl. The timing of the NFL, which has recently evolved into a becoming more of a year-round property, compliments the timing of the Olympic and FIFA activation schedules nicely, rounding out Visa’s key sport sponsorship properties.
Finally, Nancy Panter, Business Leader, Global Public Relations, concluded our visit, sharing insights about the role of PR as it relates to sponsorship activation. It is critical to prepare for every scenario that could exist, both positive and negative, so that it can be dealt with promptly and properly if and when it happens. The brand needs to be upheld in every situation and she works extremely hard to ensure that that happens.
A big thank you to Visa for hosting us all at their San Mateo office on April 4, 2012 – it was definitely one of the highlights of our Sports Business week in San Francisco.
[Editor's Note: Our meeting with the PAC-12 spanned numerous topics including the conference's efforts to expand into China. Due to this, we have two contributors for this post. Matthew Maxson covers the PAC-12's rebranding efforts while Shuo Cheng will cover the China initiatives as he was able to meet one-on-one with Carrie Xu, Senior Manager International, about the conference's strategies to enter the Chinese marketplace.]
Rebranding Efforts
After a great visit to Marmot to kick off the trip, we all jumped on the vans and headed to Walnut Creek to visit the Pac-12 Conference. There we were greeted with some of the leaders of the Pac-12’s rebranding effort: Danette Leighton, Chief Marketing Officer, Heather Vaughan, Senior Director Marketing, Taylor Lien, Manager Business Development, and Carrie Xu, Senior Manager International.
This great group led us through the conference’s rebranding effort when Commissioner Larry Scott took over in July 2009. The conference had previously been considered an afterthought in the minds of the country and it was their job to bring it to the forefront of college athletics. This was a prime example of establishing what an entity wants its brand image to be known for and sticking to that. The conference set out core values of student athlete welfare, academic excellence, and integrity and continually seeks to promote these things in all decisions that are made. The key brand attributes the conference established are: west coast, innovative, and excellence.
By having a core set of values and attributes to focus on the Pac-12 has become a leader in the college athletic space. They signed a groundbreaking media deal with ESPN and Fox for $3 billion over 12 years. On top of this they were able to retain enough rights to create their own networks that are to be launched this summer. It was great to hear how great leadership, vision, and focus can take an entity to the next level. With a unique story to tell of the conference with the most overall NCAA championships and the far leader in Olympic sports, it will be exciting to see how the Pac-12 continues to build it’s brand nationally and globally. See the attached clip to see their media campaign around the London games.
The visit ended with a call to action from the Warsaw team to help come up with ideas for promotion of the coming Track and Field Pac-12 Championships in May coming to Eugene. Thanks to Danette, Heather, Taylor, and Carrie for opening the Pac-12’s doors and giving us insight into a great best practice for branding and innovation. We look forward to seeing how the conference continues to evolve and look forward to hopefully meeting up again in May.
-Matthew Maxson
China Initiatives
Carrie Xu, who recently received her masters degree from the University of Southern California Business School with a concentration in sports business and marketing, gave us a fascinating presentation about the Pac-12’s China Initiatives that she has been working on since last year. The Pac-12 decided to try to open the gate to the old and mysterious country after Larry Scott, the Pacific-12 Conference commissioner, spent fours day in Beijing last year, meeting with various officials, including NBA China, Nike China, and NFL China to try to put together a “road map” for a way to expand the presence of Pac-12 universities in China.
The Pac-12’s push into China came from Scott’s initial meetings with all the Pac-12 presidents. He said “the light went off” when he kept hearing about the wide international scope of various universities. The 12 famous universities along the west coast consist of the Pacific 12 conference, which have a higher percentage of international students than other conferences in the United States due to its geographic advantage. As Carrie said, the percentage of international students at the University of Southern California, University of Los Angeles, University of Washington, and University of Oregon is higher than 20%.
In order to increase future recruitment and positive culture exchange, there is a strong desire for the Pac-12 to establish itself overseas. Carrie said the first step for the Pac-12 is to create more exchange programs through major sports such as basketball and volleyball because students in China are familiar with the two sports and there is a plenty of infrastructure to accommodate them. It will be very interesting to see the evolving strategies that the PAC-12 will employ to increase exposure in the Chinese market. Thanks to Carrie for meeting with me individually.
[Editor's Note: This post begins a series of articles that will detail the Warsaw Center's week long visit to the San Francisco area. This trip occurs annually for first year students going into spring term. This year Paul was able to set up 11 visits to a broad group of apparel, gaming, team, college, and advertising organizations all related to sport. The end goal of the trip is to give us all a good snapshot of the various areas in sports we could work in and hopefully lay the groundwork for potential internship opportunities this summer. As a collective, we want to thank Paul for his diligent work setting up a great trip that is definitely one of the highlights and differentiating aspects of the Warsaw program. Without further adieu, I will hand it off to Dylan Packebush to detail our first stop - Marmot --Matt Van Wyen]
Due to a quick weekend trip to the Women’s Final Four in Denver, I arrived in Santa Rosa a little after my classmates. At 2:30am to be exact. While I’m glad to say I missed what surely was an exciting 500 mile drive South, I am a little jealous of the extra sleep they got in. Regardless of the lack of sleep, I woke up excited for the day and the start of an amazing week. We meet in the lobby of our hotel bright and early and departed after a quick breakfast.
First stop: Marmot Clothing and Equipment (For those that may have never heard of it, Marmot is a growing company that produces outdoor recreational equipment for all skill levels and uses. Think North Face, Patagonia, Columbia and the like). The organization grew out of what started as a student organization at UC-Santa Cruz called the Marmot Club. Avid outdoorsmen, founders Eric Reynolds and Dave Huntley began designing and creating their own down sleeping bags and other clothing in their dorm rooms as a way to push the envelope of outdoor equipment. Soon after graduation, in 1974, Eric and Dave opened an outdoor store in Grand Junction Colorado with a friend. This paved the way for the company that we know today. Marmot broke into the sleeping bag and tent scene by being the first to introduce Gore-Tex to the world of outdoor recreation. They remained relatively small through the 90s, but were recently funded by an investment firm that will hopefully allow them to compete with the big brands of North Face and Patagonia. Check out a recent commercial for the company, this is in line with their company positioning and marketing strategy of magnifying the fun of the outdoors rather than extreme aspects.
Our tour guides for the day were Tom Fritz, VP of Marketing, and Greg Houser, VP of Design/ Product Development. Tom took us through the history and development of the Marmot, as well as through the facility. I was surprised with how small the space was. Tom did tell us that we would be the last Warsaw class to see the current facility since they are moving to a brand new facility at the end of the month which will be exciting for future classes to see as it sounded top-of-the-line. Stops on the tour included: the office spaces (or Cubical City as Tom called it), the photography studio, the returns and warranties area (Marmot offers a lifetime factory warranty on ALL equipment), and maybe the most interesting part was the down room where they still hand stuff all their sleeping bags as a way to pay homage to their roots in a college dorm room. Filling every Marmot sleeping bag by hand is a key way that they keep the foundation of their brand sacred.
After the tour, Tom took us through some of the business initiatives that Marmot is facing. We covered everything from financing to competing with the major players in the industry to the importance of telling their story. After Tom informed us, Greg took over and walked us through Marmots design strategy. We discussed the importance segmenting their products based on the needs and wants of their consumers and how each design and segment flowed into and overlapped with the others. It was enlightening to see how much went in to the process of designing a jacket. Greg also walked us through the retail and distribution efforts behind the bringing a product to market. My main take away was that Marmot, and other companies, design and create new, flashy equipment as a way to advertise and grab the attention of consumer while knowing that at the end of the day their solid colors and traditional equipment will remain their top sellers.
After a quick lunch and a brief question and answer discussion, we were off to Walnut Creek to meet with the Pac-12 Conference.
I would like to thank Marmot Clothing and Equipment, on behalf of all of Warsaw and the Lundquist College of Business, for taking the time to share the ins-and-outs of their organization with our group.
On March 2nd and 3rd, a group of Warsaw students, myself included, had the privilege of attending the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston. In November, we started planning our trip to the conference in hopes of taking advantage of both the information presented at the panels and also the networking opportunities that could result from so many leaders of the sports industry being in one place at one time. After talking with Paul, we decided that we would make the sacrifices to attend the conference in the middle of the term and booked our flights.
We left on Thursday morning out of PDX and arrived in Boston in the late afternoon. After checking into the hotel, we decided to walk around the city and find some place to eat. Dinner ended up being at Parish Cafe; this was by far the best meal of the trip and got us started off right in Boston. After that we did some more sight-seeing before we went back to the hotel to get some rest before the two-day conference began.
For those who don’t know what the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference is, check out this short video from the series “Numbers Never Lie”:
The conference had high attendance this year with a mix of students and professionals. Day one was a full slate. With sessions like “Business of Sports: Winning Off the Field,” “Brand Equity: Valuing Sports Sponsorships,” and “Competitive Advantage: Sports Business Analytics” headlining my schedule, I knew it was going to be an enlightening day. If you would like to watch videos from this year’s conference, visit this link.
I would say the highlight of day one for me was the Sports Business Analytics panel which had representatives from NBA TeamBO, the NFL, the MLB, and Ticketmaster.Valerie Camillo from the NBA gave an interesting presentation sponsorship analytics which will undoubtedly help me in our upcoming sports sponsorship course. She detailed the techniques the NBA uses and shares across teams to measure sales bench marking, sponsorship measurement, and seven-figure deal analysis. One of the most interesting practices they encourage teams to employ is shortening mid-court signs in order to place signs at the ends of the bench. These signs are on television broadcasts much more than center court signs and therefore are able to raise more sales revenue. We were able to see this technique when we attended the Celtics vs Nets game after the conference Friday night. We were in the last row, but it was still a good view, and as a basketball fanatic, I relished the opportunity to be in the TD Garden.
After a great first day, the second day would prove to be just as educational. The sessions I attended included “Ticketing Analytics,” “Franchises in Transition,” the MBA case competition, “Fanalytics” and the live interview with Mark Cuban. Each session proved to be extremely beneficial and served as great opportunities to hear from leaders in sports and broadcasting such as John Walsh, John Skipper, Nathan Hubbard (CEO Ticketmaster), Jonathan Kraft, Adam Silver, Gary Bettman, Scott Boras, and Daryl Morey.
The group learned a lot about the evolution of sports and there were some key themes. First was the importance of social media, specifically Twitter. The conference was practically ran through Twitter and all questions had to be submitted through the social media tool in order to be answered. These questions would then be displayed in the conference on huge screens; I’m proud to say that the #Warsaw contingent was featured often on the board. All of the panelists stressed the importance of Twitter on both driving traffic to broadcasts and increasing ticket sales.
The second big theme was the difficulty and importance of pricing of tickets. Whether teams and organizations preferred variable or dynamic pricing, each stressed the critical need for efficient pricing mechanisms. There were differing points of view regarding secondary ticket markets such as StubHub, but in the end, Nathan Hubbard from Ticketmaster summed it up best by saying “these secondary markets exist because we are not good at pricing.” Ticket pricing was such a focal point that the MBA case competition, sponsored by the NFL, was based around developing an economic model for deciding on the proper allocation of club and general admission seats in addition to deciding on the optimal pricing structure. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business ended up taking home first prize this year. Although it was well-deserved, we all felt as though we definitely need to compete next year and represent Warsaw in this competition.
The last takeaway was the importance of fan interaction. The “Franchises in Transition” panel turned into a discussion on how important the fans are to sports franchises and how each franchise can reward fans for their allegiance and investment in the team. Brian Burke, President and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, was originally scheduled to be in this panel but fired his coach Friday night and had to cancel. He was replaced by Drew Carey, owner of the Seattle Sounders in the MLS. I don’t think any of us thought that Drew Carey would be so knowledgeable about sports and so radical in his approach. He really takes fan engagement to a new level and allows season ticket holders to vote out the GM of the Sounders every four years. I encourage you to watch the attached video of this panel if you have any interest in fan engagement; it was truly one of the better panels of the conference.
Gary Wang meets Daryl Morey
All in all, the conference was a great experience and we all really appreciated all of the help Paul Swangard provided to help us get there. Attending conferences is a privilege and I am thankful that a group from Warsaw was able to attend one of the biggest conferences in the industry. But I don’t think anyone was as happy as Gary Wang was when he got to speak with his idol, Daryl Morey, the GM of the Houston Rockets!
The conference was everything I wanted it to be and I learned what I can do next year to make it better: set up networking meetings in advances. There were some opportunities to speak with panelists, but I think it would be better to find people who are attending ahead of time and plan meetings. Personally, I cannot wait until next year, not only to hear the newest developments in sports but also to hopefully compete in the MBA competition. Until then, I will have to settle for attending classes at the leading sports marketing program in the country; this truly is a great program.
In anticipation of our Wednesday meeting with executives at the NBA’s 5th Avenue headquarters, the majority of the Warsaw crew made the judicious decision to pass up a late Tuesday night in NYC for much-needed rest. We arrived in the morning looking impressively bright-eyed and alert, and were greeted first by NBA Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver.
NBA Commissioner David Stern and the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center
Discussion focused on the new CBA, competitive balance and the potential for a revenue-sharing business model in the coming years. Although Stern postulated that revenue-sharing could once again bring up the possibility of small-market team contraction, NBA owners in the last week have reportedly initiated discussions to make it a reality (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/revenue-sharing-plan-taking-shape-143828186.html). Stern also stated that the current 30-team alignment is working well and that the plan for the next decade is to “exploit the brand globally” by providing access to international audiences through the expansion of digital media. After Stern and Silver left to attend to more pressing matters, we had the chance to meet with WNBA President Laurel Richie. The Warsaw students took a keen interest in discussing the demographics of WNBA fans, and Ritchie explained that the league is focused on making the experience rewarding for all fans of basketball, not just for women and families.
WNBA President Laurel Richie and the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center
Richie also mentioned that the two core points of differentiation for the WNBA are its accessibility and the purity of the game. Next in the distinguished queue of executives was Chris Granger, the EVP of Team Marketing and Business Operations , or “TeamBo”. Granger explained the NBA’s concept of “teamnet”, in which all 30 teams share ideas and best practices in order to create value for consumers in every market. He, like Stern, iterated that management, not market size, was the primary determinant of team success. Another interesting topic of conversation was dynamic food and beverage pricing, in which arenas equipped with digital menu boards are able to strategically modify concession prices at different times before or during the game. In the cleanup spot was EVP of Production, Programming and Broadcasting, Danny Meiseles. Meiseles discussed the NBA’s efforts to ensure production consistency across all its platforms and broadcasting partners, including TNT, ESPN and the Olympics. Last up was EVP of Basketball Operations and former Duck, Stu Jackson. Fearing fines or suspensions, we steered clear of the tougher questions, but managed to talk about the NBA’s increasing focus on data collection and analytics and how that will impact future business decisions. For the Warsaw students, this was an unbelievable opportunity to meet some of the most influential people in sports. Hopefully this great experience will lead to some of us being in their shoes someday soon.
- Tim Dobyns, Warsaw Sports Marketing Center MBA ’12
As we approach week four of the term, I thought I would give you an update on how the second term is going so far. Although last term was extremely interesting and beneficial, this term each of us was given a little more leeway to pick our own classes. We have two or three required core classes, and then got to pick a few electives. This means that we are all beginning to decide on our focus and what directions we want to take the Sports Marketing discipline.
More importantly, less required core business classes means that the Warsaw students get to take Marketing Sports Properties, our first class of many devoted to the business of sport. So far the class has been thought-provoking, interactive, and current. We spend at least 10 to 15 minutes per class (it’s a three hour class) discussing a current article from the Sports Business Journal and what the implications of the article are for us as sports marketers. Our instructor, Declan Bolger, says the purpose of the class is to help us not get fired from our first jobs in sports business within the first few months. The first article we focused on was about how consumption of sports is changing with the economy. Sports fans may not be able to attend as many events and shift their behavior to consumption of sports media not tickets to live events. If this is indeed the case, can people develop intense love for a sport without attending the live event? We have also discussed how marketing sports properties is different than marketing other consumer products. In essence, we as sports marketers must generate attention or “eyeballs” as Declan puts it. It has been a great class so far, and it is always the best class of my week.
In addition to that class, we also still have a weekly seminar with Paul Swangard where we continue to get to interact with some of the leading minds in the industry. This past week we had the privilege of getting to speak with Yves Garceau, the founder and CEO of The Search for the Ultimate Athlete (SFUA). SFUA is a cross-sport competition with a goal of finding the best athlete across a set of 24 events. Gender doesn’t matter; everyone competes against each other. See the video below for a quick synopsis. This session was thought-provoking and interesting. Yves was very open with us and I learned a lot about what it takes to put an event like this together.
That’s all I have for now. Updates will become more regular as the term goes on, and we have some big things coming down the pike including a trip to the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in March, our program’s trip to San Francisco, and multiple sports projects that I’m sure will interest you as the reader.
As the bus pulls onto One Bowerman Drive, your eyes scatter as you look at the architecture inside the vast campus nestled in the quaint greenery that is Beaverton, Oregon. The campus is home to the brand that has transformed a worldwide perception of sports culture with controversy, athletes and hard-nosed, in-your-face marketing. As I wait with the other students from the Warsaw Sports Business Club for our panel presentation and tour, I have this sensation that ignites my senses rapidly wondering what’s going on around me. The students and I are standing inside the nucleus of the sports footwear that is Nike, Inc.
This 193-acre campus is home to athletic research and shoe development; it also acts a playground for its employees. A shivering Jordan Mara came up to the group of students and greeted us (it was around 45 degrees that morning). Jordan is a former college student from the University of Arizona who is a part of Collegiate Recruiting for Nike.
Jordan ushers us into the iconic Pre hall.
When you enter the glass doors, you are greeted at the end of the hallway by a bronzed statue of University of Oregon’s own Steve Prefontaine, Nike’s first endorser who took the country by storm with his hunger to win at all costs on the track. We entered the theatre room inside Pre Hall while Ernest Adams, Nike’s Global Acquisition Talent Manager–whose face is eerily reminiscent of Darius Rucker–saluted us. Ernest began with his story and how he ended up with the swoosh. Right off the bat, I realized that Nike just doesn’t hire ANYONE, and Ernest’s track record proved it. Ernest stressed Nike’s mission to hire those who embody a drive that sets them apart from other candidates. They look for individuals who are willing to improve upon their best. Basically, it comes down to the belief that “There Is No Finish Line.”
Ernest went on with his presentation with a brief history of Nike and its beginnings that started at Oregon with a student, Phil Knight, and his coach, Bill Bowerman. We watched early TV ads, including the iconic commercial that used the Beatles’ “Revolution” song. When Ernest was done, Michael Hansen, who’s in charge of Global Sports Marketing, presented us with slides about Nike’s mission and how they target local and global markets. He presented us with Nike’s eleven maxims, which were created by current CEO Mark Parker. The maxims are the brand’s core values for employees to live by. They are a guideline and template to how the company became what it is today.
The Maxims read as follows:
It is our nature to innovate.
Nike is a company.
Nike is a brand.
Simplify and go.
The consumer decides.
Be a sponge.
Evolve immediately.
Do the right thing.
Master the fundamentals.
We are on the offense. Always.
Remember the man.
Before Michael was done, he stressed the same focus that Ernest explained when talking about Nike’s mission: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
Right after Michael’s slideshow, we were treated to a small breakfast in the Joan Benoit building. When we finished, we were greeted by the Oregon alums in the auditorium. Each of the four alums–including recent graduates Darron Strong and Rob Griesinger–gave us the lowdown about how they started and what they did to get into Nike. They each stated that Nike is the place to work, and that they wouldn’t want to be any other place. But what is necessary to get to where they are, is that you need experience and establish yourself as a product that a company needs; everything–including your work ethic and attitude–has to be honed to perfection.
As soon as the panel discussion was finished, we split into groups with guides who would walk us around the campus explaining each building and its meaning. Alyssa, also an Oregon alum, led us in through the majority of the buildings. Each building was named after a Nike athlete who cemented a bond with the company. The athletes were staple endorsers from the time they became professionals in their respective sport.
There’s a building named after San Diego Chargers legend, Dan Fouts; a building named after home run king, Ken Griffey Jr.; and the building named after the best basketball player ever, Michael Jordan. Every building housed a mini museum explaining the significance each athlete contributed to their sport and the brand. It’s amazing how Nike paid tribute to these people who they consider as “family.” Not many companies honor those who helped them reach new levels of exposure and success like Nike has.
As we saw the remainder of the campus which included Lake Nike, a manmade lake in the middle of the campus, the Lance Armstrong fitness center and the Mia Hamm building that’s home to the Nike Sports Research Lab, Nike gave us one last gift: a pass to the Nike Employee Store.
The store is like any other Nike store, but with an applied discount of 50% to everything inside the store. When each student was done doing damage, the bus was carrying more than 8,000 dollars worth of gear and goods. In all, this trip was such a great way to start a new year for the students. I’m really thankful Warsaw and Nike were able to give us this opportunity. The trip certainly pushed us to try even harder to reach our goals.
By: Christian Prieto, student in the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication
Run under the auspices of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the UO | Lundquist College of Business, the Warsaw Sports Business Club welcomes all UO students, regardless of class standing or major.
When the announcement was made at the Warsaw Sports Business Club’s biweekly meeting that there was an opportunity to visit Nike World Headquarters I just about fell right out of my seat. Being a native Oregonian, I had been on the Nike campus many times but never had I been while in college. This time I’d be touring the campus and networking with the pros from the perspective of future applicant instead of a Nike-obsessed high school business club student.
Members left UO at 6:30am, sharp. Everyone was dressed in his or her most impressive and able-looking attire; business casual was the name of our game on this trip. Now, anyone who has ever been to the Nike campus would know that people who weren’t dressed in Nike shoes, Nike jackets and a pair of dark wash jeans would stick out like a sore thumb but as Professor Wagoner put it, “we hadn’t earned the right to wear the swoosh.”
We arrived at the campus right on time but our car (I didn’t ride the bus) got lost on the campus trying to find the right place to park. This seems like a small feat until you realize that the Nike campus is most likely seven to eight times the size of your high school and there are umpteen amounts of parking lots that look eerily similar. In true “rookie” form our car parked on the wrong side of campus and we had to run through parking lots and buildings in search of the Prefontaine Building where everyone else was already waiting. I can report that although not on time (mistake number one) we did find the building and the group. My advice? Ride the bus, or if you don’t ride the bus, follow the bus in your car like a hawk.
With that behind us we keyed in on the presentation. The room was just as I would expect it: amazingly cool. There were comfortable black leather seats for us to sit in, a mini stage with a screen to undoubtedly watch a plethora of Nike videos and a killer sound system. I tried to contain how impressed and excited I was to be there but I can tell you this room lived up to every “Nike” expectation I had.
Ernest Adams, the global talent acquisition manager, was our main presenter for the morning. A few other speakers and a panel of UO grads now working at Nike accompanied him. Ernest described the company’s Marketing Mix, their eleven Maxims (who they are), their brand truths, the Nike portfolio and their brand affiliates. Learning all of these things–at least for a girl who has always been extraordinarily fascinated with Nike as a global athletic company–was truly thrilling. It was almost as if all of my questions on the inside workings of Nike were being taught in a lecture that I wished I could have attended every day. Beyond learning about their business we were given “insider” advice on getting a job with them:
50% of Nike interns are offered a job at the company
Have something to say, a point of view, and a perspective when you are speaking to an interviewer or an employee of Nike
Have your elevator pitch ready at any given moment
“Don’t leave it in the hands of the judges” Be prepared. Be knowledgeable. Be proactive.
Do not walk into an interview raving about your love of Nike. Obviously, if you are interviewing with them you love Nike. What specifically do you want and why are you the best person for that position? Sell your personal brand.
Understand what moves you, your passions, and your values
Do not wear business clothes to an interview. You are interviewing with Nike so understand the culture of their business. Wear your Nikes proudly!
Put your interests at the top of your resume; let them know who you are outside of the working environment
Personalize your resume. Come prepared with the standard resume that the career center or your business class made you make but also have a resume that speaks to who you are. There is nothing more off-putting than a boring resume.
Demonstrate patterns of success within your resume
Lastly, make eye contact and adjust quickly if you should ever find yourself interviewing with them
Take note of every one of these key points if you are looking to get an internship or a job with Nike. Knowing these things will place you ahead of much of your uninformed competition.
After the information session the group broke into smaller groups to take a tour of their campus. As we expected, the campus was incredible and all encompassing. Aside from offices and conference rooms there is a spectacular a gym, a hair salon, a nail salon, multiple restaurants, and a daycare. With all of these amenities why would you even need to leave campus but to sleep in your own bed? Exactly.
After the tours the different tour groups went to various restaurants on campus. Needless to say, there were no complaints regarding the food or the atmosphere. Finally, and probably one of the most looked forward to parts of the trip, was visiting the employee store. I think it is obvious that taking a group of sports business students to the Nike Employee Store is like putting a kid in candy store and thus, the bus on the ride home was significantly more tightly packed than it was on the ride up.
By: Kayla Glanville, Junior, Sports Public Relations student in the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication
Run under the auspices of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the UO | Lundquist College of Business, the Warsaw Sports Business Club welcomes all UO students, regardless of class standing or major.
