Anjali Bal hears from many Babson students who want to work in the sports industry, which to outsiders can seem like a difficult field to find a foothold in.
So during a recent panel discussion at Babson College, the associate professor of marketing turned to Brett Jukes and asked him what advice he could give to students focusing on sports.
The Jews had a lot to say. He has worked in communications within the industry for many years, including NASCAR, where he served as Chief Communications Officer. Since 2015, it has been an integral part of the Blank family of businesses, which includes the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I’m sitting here 30 years and three months into my career,” said Jewkes, executive vice president and chief brand communications officer for Blank Family of Business. “I have seen and done almost everything I ever dreamed of doing.”
Jukes is a frequent visitor to Babson’s campus. He enjoys its energy and beauty and the bright students who call it home. “I love the way I feel when I come here,” he said. Last month, after listening to student presentations during the annual “Good Game, Good Company” course, he participated in a marketing panel discussion with Bal at the newly opened Haring Family Entrepreneurship Village.
With his vast experience, Jukes not only offered advice on getting into the sport, but also ideas on how to build brand loyalty and create a great fan experience. Insider insights like this help shed light on the business and inner workings of sports, and were a perfect topic for Babson’s audience. This year, Babson began offering the popular sports management intensive course.
“Integrating the world of sports into Babson is essential to the long-term success of the concentration,” said Bal, whose research focuses on sports and entertainment marketing. “Mr. Jew talked with students about applying classroom concepts to real-world scenarios.”
Here are some of Jukes’ insights about working in the sports world and providing memorable experiences for fans.
Take advantage of the opportunities available
Brett Jewkes (right) participates in a panel discussion with Babson College Marketing Associate Professor Anjali Bal. (Photo: Jake Belcher)
Jewkes says finding a job in sports isn’t as difficult as people think. The problem is that when college graduates try to earn a position in the sports world, they often aim too high, applying to teams in major professional leagues and missing out on opportunities in lower-level professional and collegiate sports. That’s a lot. Major League Baseball teams and leagues receive thousands of resumes from job applicants. “For someone new to the field, these are the most difficult ones to break through,” he says.
Instead, Jew advised students to start small and used himself as an example. His first job out of college was working in the sports information office at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. His pay wasn’t great and his department was small, but the job allowed him to try a wide variety of jobs, from writing speeches for the president to selling scoreboard signs and program advertising.
It was a job he loved and served as a solid starting point for the rest of his career. “I took the opportunities that were there and made the most of them, and that created new opportunities,” Jewkes said. “It was the best vacation I ever had. It was a small exercise program in a small town.”
know your customers
In addition to viewing sports as a career, Jukes said he has a lot of passion for his work, including the dynamic nature of team rosters that make it difficult for spectators to identify teams with the constant turnover of players, and the rise of players. He also talked about the challenges he faces. Fantasy football often takes fans’ attention and passion away from their teams and instead focuses it on individual players scattered around the league.
A big focus of Jukes’ job, simply put, is allowing fans to watch the Falcons on TV and attend games at the stadium. “This is like any other marketing challenge: You have to really understand your customer,” he said. “We do a ton of research into who our fans are and make sure we can best reach them through their preferred channels.”
“I’m sitting here 30 years and three months into my career. I’ve seen and done just about everything I ever dreamed of.”
Brett Jukes, Executive Vice President and Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Blank Family of Business
One of the findings of this study is that, as much as fans once sought out sports news, they no longer necessarily only seek out traditional TV programming, such as ESPN’s “SportsCenter” or their local nightly newscasts. That is not the case. With the proliferation of content consumption across digital, social and mobile platforms, the Falcons built an in-house studio several years ago to create custom content for fans. “We want to reach them the way they want to be reached,” Jewkes said. “We provide content that is relevant, timely and connects them to our players and team.”
When fans come to the stadium, teams try to make sure they have a good time. This means, among other things, that you’ll be able to easily use your phone to send messages to friends and check up on your fantasy team while watching a game. To that end, the Falcons invested millions of dollars in stadium Wi-Fi. “We have to have our fans leave saying they had a great experience on their terms, not on our terms,” Jewkes said.
focus on pride
So what happens when a team’s roster changes drastically, or worse, the organization loses a star player? How can you keep fans interested?
Jukes looked back at NASCAR around 2008, when many of its star drivers were retiring, the economy was in a downturn, and many fans couldn’t afford to take the multi-day trips they normally would to visit racetracks. It was a tough time for the sports world. “The challenges have been steep,” he said. “And with so much star power moving away, the sport has had to work hard to maintain its presence in a star-driven market.”
“Integrating the sports world into Babson is essential to the long-term success of the concentration.”
Anjali Bal, Associate Professor of Marketing, on the new sports management concentration at Babson.
It was at this time that NASCAR pivoted its marketing direction, and that shift once again demonstrated the importance of knowing your fans. “At that time, almost all of the marketing around NASCAR was designed to build star power for the drivers,” Jewkes said. ”
By emphasizing gathering at the racetrack, tailgating, and reuniting with friends and family, and adding a touch of racing, the marketing capitalized on the pride fans feel in NASCAR and its community. They were fans who often felt left out in the larger sports world, but they had found a tribe in each other.
“NASCAR fans wear their fandom like a badge. And part of the reason NASCAR fans wear it like a badge is that everything about the sport, the drivers, and the experience… Because it allows them to be their authentic selves,” Jewkes said. “In my experience, NASCAR fans are more proud of being fans of their sport as a whole than any other fan. They’ll say, ‘I’m a NASCAR fan,’ but almost every other fan Fans of all sports will say they are fans of a particular team or player.
Category: Insight
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