The Power of Storytelling in Sports – Barbara Maningat, LA Galaxy

This transcript has been transcribed by Riverside.fm, no edits (please excuse any errors)

Sean Callanan (00:02.425)
Very happy to welcome Barbara Maningat, Director of Content and Brand at LA Galaxy. Barbara, welcome to the podcast.

Barbara Maningat (00:10.875)
Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here.

Sean Callanan (00:13.965)
Not a problem at all. I always start the podcast trying to find out people's sports biz origin story. What about yourself? How did you find yourself in the world of sports?

Barbara Maningat (00:25.336)
Yeah, well, first off, I just want to say thank you for having me. I've listened to a handful of your podcasts and I've honestly really enjoyed hearing the diversity of stories and how all different marketers, especially in the sports world, can come from many, many different backgrounds, but we all share a lot of similarities in how we did end up where we're at now. So I don't think my story will come as too much of a surprise to too many people, but…

I did study journalism in college and I thought I was going to be a multimedia reporter of sorts. I went to the University of Missouri, very proud J -School alum there, the Missouri School of Journalism, and definitely thought I was going to be more in the weeds of hard journalism. And then I almost fell upon the sports world with a summer internship.

And when I realized that, I could maybe work for a sports team and cover soccer games as opposed to going to like city council meetings, it really opened my eyes to, you know, how storytelling can really broaden, but also be very specific and something that's a little bit more lighthearted a lot of the time. And I was really, really engaged with that.

Barbara Maningat (01:50.488)
So from that summer internship, was the local professional soccer team, from my hometown in Kansas City, Missouri. So I'll date myself for any of the soccer nerds out there, but it was the Kansas City Wizards at the time just before they rebranded to Sporting KC. And I think in the world of sports, the degrees of separation are so small, but especially in soccer, the degrees of separation are insanely small. So I had a great experience at that internship.

Sean Callanan (02:09.358)
Yep.

Barbara Maningat (02:18.996)
I chose to study abroad the next year at my college in England and through my connections at the Kansas City Wizards, I was able to get an internship with the England FA and work out of Wembley Stadium for that summer. And then from there on, just continued within the soccer world. I got a grad assistantship with the Mizzou women's soccer team and kind of ran like all the media, social media, video content for them and I feel like that's truly where you get your hands dirty and learn the most when you're wearing many many hats.

And then through my connections there, I started working for the women's national team for domestic and international camps for a little while. And then landed myself my first full -time gig in Houston, working for the pro women's and men's teams there. And then made my way to the LA Galaxy where I've been now, this is my sixth season mostly behind the camera in the trenches, filming sweaty professional athletes my whole life.

And then now I kind of lead a team in the storytelling and guide them to ensure that our key messaging points are there or that they have everything they need to bring campaigns to life and almost dive deeper into some of the storytelling that some brands might shy away from kind of thing. So yeah, but.

Barbara Maningat (03:45.664)
My story in a nutshell a little bit.

Sean Callanan (03:45.667)
So I wanted to, in a nutshell, but again, you're right, like you said earlier, how people start somewhere and sort of have a few different turns to end up where they are. You've been very much, even you said in your study, you were a multimedia from a journalism point of view. Was it something that you found during college and then found through those early gigs that you were like, I do like telling those stories through video. It seems to be a bit of a theme, you be going in as a videographer and your role previously at Houston Dynamo, that something that you followed as a passion or found through doing?

Barbara Maningat (04:30.774)
Yeah, I think I found it through doing, Yeah, multimedia, you kind of learn the fundamentals of each of the different types of mediums. But I don't know, there is something about video that I was really gravitated toward. And this is like a hot take for all the creatives out there. But I feel like with video, it's like the, I don't know if it's like the most efficient.

But it's like truly a gateway to storytelling in a manner that you really can't replicate in a single photo or a graphic or even audio stories that are done so eloquently by NPR and other things. So there was something about the visuals matched with how audio can also transform that. And then the way that you can lay out that storytelling in a way that guides people through a roller coaster of emotions.

It's hard to like really pinpoint for me, but that's truly what I was gravitated toward. And I didn't like directly study video in college, but like through experience and like finding more opportunities, interning, taking on volunteer shifts at our broadcast station, like all these different things. And honestly, learning a lot of like VFX work and After Effects on YouTube is really where I found a lot of thethe extra skill set that's needed, whereas journalism really laid the foundation for me when it came to storytelling and how to set up ideas for the viewers.

Sean Callanan (06:12.013)
It was a little bit of right place, right time, because at that time when you're entering the scene, all the social platforms and the trends were, we've now got to have more video and they were all pushing for more video. Instagram story was the thing that people were trying to push as reels, TikTok, and all of those things became that strain on the sports digital teams to go, we need more video editors.

Sean Callanan (06:41.631)
We need people to be able to both edit this content and also shoot this content was a sort of for you right place, right time to go, hey, I'm following this passion. I'm learning new skills, new platforms on the fly. But video is where it was at.

Barbara Maningat (06:54.99)
Yeah, I think so. mean, even to this day, when we have like cross functional department brainstorm meetings about like, what are some content pieces that people have ideas for? They want nine times out of 10, it'll be a video idea. And like, I don't know what it is. I think you touched on it a little bit, like the industry culture, pop culture, social media has drastically changed the landscape of even how people think about ideas.

And most of the time their ideas come in like video form. They see really cool effects. They see storytelling. They're moved by the emotions of certain pieces that like stick with them longer than like certain pieces the other pieces do. And a lot of the times those are video. And so I think when I came up in the industry, you know, the foundation had already been laid. Like I had no idea that you could work.

In video as a professional videographer for a sports team until I got that internship. I had no idea it existed. Of course, you see the stuff on social media, you see the posts on TV, you see the highlight reels that are on local broadcasts, but I don't even think that that could be a full -time position until I dove into that world. So I think a lot of podcasts like this or even community outreach programs where you can educate the high school or youth classes that these jobs even exist.

Those are so powerful. But I am dating myself, I think. I think when I was coming up, like after college and stuff, like Instagram reels, like YouTube shorts, like none of that stuff existed. And I remember when the transition from 16 by 9 on Instagram went to 4 by 5 and I thought it was like the death of like art in video. So yeah. That's 9 by 16.

Sean Callanan (08:51.405)
Yeah. Well, that, and that's right. And now we've, you know, we've flipped the phone completely. Everything is vertical. Like it's yeah. Yeah. You know, and now it's in that, in that space. So in your time at the galaxy, you, you, you came in at a role in the, in the video production side and you know, really had that video creative focus, storytelling focus. Your role now is director of content and brands. What does, what does that entail? Because content and brand are different things to different people. But what does that role look like for you?

Barbara Maningat (09:22.732)
Yeah, no, I love that. I love that the title is super nuanced as well. I do agree with you. There's so many different definitions and the education of that is also really minimal. Like to our sales and service team, like content is everything that comes out from our Galaxy Studio sides of things. yeah, I think the role itself is that it's an, I'm in charge of kind of all of the video content that comes out.

Representing the LA Galaxy and Dignity Health Sports Park, which is our home stadium, as well as all of the other entities that fall within our brand, which includes our second team and our Academy teams and our Academy school program as well. So there's a lot of beautiful ways that we can pull them into different directions. But yeah, we own the video side of things. We own the storytelling.

So everything that you see on our social media accounts, if it's moving, that comes through us and we kind of dictate how the movement happens. We figure out the lots and like manners in which stories are told and which stories are told in what ways on social media. And then like, if you come to a home game, highly recommend, but all the video content that you see up on the video boards at drastically impact the game day dynamics comes through our team as well.

We also have some other back burner projects that we're working on that hopefully will bring in some monetary value to the company as well in terms of a long form documentary series and some other independent video shows that are hosted by some of our Galaxy legends. Those are coming through the pipelines.

Obviously sponsorship videos and then MLS has this great deal with Apple TV where we're required to like populate our own channel on that platform. MLS season pass and we have a really talented team on my video team who curates all that long form content on a weekly and monthly basis as well. So lots of ownership over the visuals and the storytelling. You'll hear me say that word so many times, storytelling. Yeah.

Sean Callanan (11:38.915)
No, but it is, know, I've spoken to a few MLS teams around, you know, the Apple deal and everything that is offered in, you know, distribution, but then it also sets you up with the, he's a big channel. And it's like, hey, Barbara, we're going to channel, we're going to keep having content coming through there. So it does sort of set both that pipeline, but you've now got a, you know, a channel that needs servicing that is a real big opportunity for you. How do you tackle?

Sean Callanan (12:06.915)
Like you sort of touched on that, you know, that original content. So you're doing all of the video requirements that is now required of sport, you know, all the stuff around the game, all the stuff for social, all the, and then connecting that with the stadium to make sure that that is connected and you don't get that disjointedness, which I think early on was happening. We had had the stadium operations people managing the scoreboard and putting things up and some, you know, digital and social things.

Sean Callanan (12:36.527)
And it wasn't quite connected. mean, getting that connected experience is important, but that piece of the app, you know, the app having the Apple destination and the the season pass there and making sure that you know, you're hitting the standards that Apple require your fans require what does you know, what does that sort of requirement push onto your team?

Barbara Maningat (12:51.726)
Yeah, I think we're just at the tip of the iceberg of really understanding what opportunity we have at our fingertips right now. And we're still really early in this partnership. think that the Apple deal is a 10 -year deal with MLS, which is, you know, unsurpassed. So I think even on the Apple and the MLS side, they're still trying to figure it out as well. But what I can say is probably echoing what some of your previous guests have said, like when the deal was first signed, it…

To be really frank, it was really difficult. We have a full -time staff of videographers and content creators who are already stretched to our limits when it comes to just doing our core job responsibilities. So to add a brand new platform with a whole new worldwide audience and being able to provide required content on a weekly and monthly cadence.

is one thing, but then to do that with content that we're proud of and that represents our brand and doesn't water it down, that's a whole different ballgame. And so I think a lot of MLS teams kind of went through the gauntlet a little bit and trying to figure out how we can accommodate these things. And so I pushed really hard to get two full -time employees, 100 % dedicated to populating that platform and doing it in the best way possible.

And it took a while, but we now have two full -time employees doing that. And I'm incredibly proud of how they go about tackling these things and that they've really taken ownership over it. So my role in that is instrumental, but also minimal. like I've been with the club longer than most of them have. So like my understanding of our brand and our team and what our fan base wants and what they need to hear is a little bit different.

So offering that insight as they plan a month in advance of like, what are the stories that should be told, like has been really helpful, but they're the ones who do all the interviews and they set the standard of how they cinematically want to capture these things and visually bring them to life. I think that's been really, really nice to see. And especially this year.

Barbara Maningat (15:17.346)
I think the most engagement that we get on our videos on YouTube are with those episodes. called Our Galaxy, which it kind of covers like the entire brand as opposed to just the first team stories. And the way that those stories are being told right now, I think is what a lot of our fan base have been commenting on of what they want more of. So like you talked about trends a little bit earlier.

There was a time when like short videos like were the name of the game. And if anything was longer than a minute, a minute 30, like sayonara, doesn't even, it's not even relevant. No one's going to watch it. But now the, there's a resurgence of long form video and the Apple TV platform and YouTube have really rose to the occasion. And,

Sean Callanan (15:52.494)
Yeah.

Barbara Maningat (16:12.686)
And I think it's really nice to see because that's kind of where my heart lies is those types of storytelling. And if it would have been such a shame if we had to pivot completely to all 30 second or less videos forever.

Sean Callanan (16:27.023)
Absolutely. mean, one, first of all, well done in doing that hard pitch to get those resources. Because there's that, you you've got the hindsight now of, we've created these great videos and we're getting this deeper engagement from our fans. But you always have to be, you know, future planning and sort of telling, you know, C -level executives, we need this. But the other piece around the longer form content, which I do think it does help..

Sean Callanan (16:55.629)
Deepen those ties as those storytelling, but you also still get all of the great short form snippets from that actual asset that become drivers. you sort of get both in that instance. You spoke about sports content teams and digital teams and video teams being stretched, you know, always under high demand and very much a high performance team.

Sean Callanan (17:24.621)
How do you go about managing a high performance team that does have the pressure of, there's a game next week, there's pressures from partners wanting certain things, and then you've got to keep filling that pipeline, whether it's Apple or YouTube. How do you keep your team as a high performance team working?

Barbara Maningat (17:46.348)
Yeah, I keep my team sane and not burnt out. Yeah. I mean, it's a real conversation in sports, especially in content. But I mean, I think you can like blanket statement here. Like every sports, like front office team is stretched thinly. Like I feel like you can never have enough people on staff to like keep your heads above water when it comes to like volume. And there's always more ideas. You always want to do more.

And so I think, I don't know how to solve that problem necessarily, but I do think it's like a blessing and a curse. But how we kind of manage things on our end is prioritization. I think you never want to have too many meetings on the calendar, but meetings are so, so important for everyone to have a seat at the table and hear and understand why this takes priority over that and why like in this moment,

You need to work on these assets because not just because their deadlines are earlier, but because this has a greater impact in what we're trying to promote from the club or what we want fans to know. And so I think the more that you have those conversations and the more transparent you are and the why's, then it becomes more inherent for each of the individual creators and videographers to like have those have their own measures of priority themselves.

So then they know out of like their own reassurance, like, I have these six or seven projects on my plate right now and it's very overwhelming. But I know that I have the, I don't know, authority to spend more time on this one project and then like work on the other ones later. Still trying to hit deadline, but knowing that you have that versatility to push over, there's a side so that you can prioritize one in that moment. There's a lot of freedom in that.

Sean Callanan (19:51.567)
Absolutely, especially, you know, we use the term creatives. But like when you are creative, you need that, that space to be creative. And also that runway to be creative, if you're just ticking boxes all the time that it sort of dulls the creativity. So yeah, like people are super important in sport, and they all do an amazing job, you know, because they come up with the ideas and execute, but then also getting the process right to be able to remove some of those blocks, and also allow them the runway, is super important.

Sean Callanan (20:20.623)
Is there certain things that you do to look at your process to go, is there something that is causing us to trip up or there's part of your process that sort of tries to free up your creatives to do what they do the best?

Barbara Maningat (20:36.728)
Yeah, for sure. I think I'm a huge filter with that as well. We do have a project manager on staff who's really great in fielding lot of requests and almost floating them by me first before they're ultimately assigned by my manager of video production. So if I can do some of the dirty work on the front end and having the conversations from the different departments who are requesting things

Where I'm like, helping to clarify what is it that you're actually looking for? Do you actually need it by this time? What all is it entailed in this event coverage type things and like really like narrowing down to the nitty gritty? I think that only helps set my team up for success more. And then once I understand those things, then I can help prioritize like, hey, this is actually really important for this department.

And if one person can make this a priority, then maybe the rest of the team can kind of supplement and pick up where it's not the slack, but pick up the projects that are still priorities as well. So that nothing is necessarily like falling through the cracks. I think that's been a huge part in our processes is that a lot of things are transparent, that they do go through filters before they're ultimately assigned.

And then once they're assigned and those individual videographers, they're running point. This is your baby and it's up to you to have that proper communication with everyone to ensure that it's executed in the best way possible. But at the end of the day, sometimes I think there's such a faux pas in saying no, especially for creatives and especially for in -house studios or agencies for sports teams.

When a request is made, it's the number one priority for that department. So how do you balance that with what you have going on? ultimately, that decision does fall on myself. And then our manager of video production is also figuring that out with me as well. And so I hate saying no. I don't like disappointing people, but it's always solution driven.

Barbara Maningat (22:59.544)
Like, hey, unfortunately we're not able to accommodate this because of X, Y, and Z that's going on right now. Would you be open to having something of a lighter lift or could this be done as a graphic versus a video, which is a lot more of a bigger bite type thing.

Sean Callanan (23:19.725)
And is that part of just, guess, that process that you're managing with the other departments that are coming to you to go, you know, we can deliver. Here's some of the things that we've done previously. Look at our sizzle reel. But like we need this pipeline. We need to be able to give the head space to be able to come up with the creative ideas. Like sports are sports. You're always going to get the, Barbara, we need this by game time and it's two days away. We'll always get that. But has it always been for you working with your departments to say, This is where optimal flow is.

Barbara Maningat (23:52.782)
I don't know if it's like optimal flow necessarily. I think we have standards in our processes where hopefully requests are made with like 10 business days in advance so that we have time to ideate and really like put our best foot forward. But like you said, like more times than not, like things come up where it is a little bit of a scramble, but I think we end up doing what we think is like what the project itself deserves.

But then trying to like find that balance of like what's actually feasible. So if it's something where like, we need to promote this new hydro flask that the, that our season ticket members receive if they sign up for a season ticket membership by X date and they want to do like a whole promotional campaign around this product. It's like, well we just clinched playoffs.

We're planning a playoff campaign. We're finalizing the end of the regular season. We have three games in eight days or whatever, like with that balance of things, I do have a team of videographers, like can one of them take it on? So then we kind of look at what their schedules look like over the course of those weeks. And honestly, I took on the project because like I didn't want to take away from the extra time that my team had. I wanted them to focus on like being creative with the certain projects that they had.

So if I can take that on and step behind the camera again and like produce some things and like, I'll do it justice, but I might need their creative help because they're much more, they're stronger editors than I am at this point. So there's such a balance when it does come to like knowing what's possible, but still delivering what the content needs. Like I'm never, I'll die on this hill, but like I never want to just have a throwaway piece of content.

Barbara Maningat (25:56.638)
Because we don't have the time to do it or like, we want this video, but we don't have the time for it. So let's just make a graphic. Like we, need to take a step back. And I think that's a lot of my job is taking that step back where a lot of my team is still in the weeds all the time. And like seeing the higher level, like what's the point of this campaign? What's the point of this asset?

Barbara Maningat (26:25.363)
And then what's the best way to tell that messaging point or that story and then like we can then narrow in on like what's possible, what can be accomplished today.

Sean Callanan (26:34.255)
Absolutely. One of the advantages of working in sport, especially in inside the team, is the access that you get. I recently had Vince Rugari, who's talking about his book and a lot of the content he got for his book on Ange Postecoglou was from the digital team that was recording the coaches addresses because the video team had won the trust of the coach and that the coach was using them. How do you help? You know, a big part of video is the capture.

Sean Callanan (27:02.135)

Like you can have all the editing tricks in the world, but if you don't have the content, there's not much you can do in your editor. How do you help your team build that trust with your, you know, your coaches, your high performance staff, your players, so they're comfortable to, you know, sit down and answer questions for a documentary or, you know, do those in a sanctum type videos that the fans love. How do you, you know, on board a staff or make staff Understand that trust process is so vital for what you want to produce.

Barbara Maningat (27:35.56)
That's such a good question. mean, there's soft skills, right? Like you can't teach that in classes or anything. I think you touched on it a little bit, but it kind of starts from the applicant base, like finding people who not only can do the job technically, the whole culture fit thing.

I don't like the term, but there's a lot of nuance to that. You wanna find people who you feel like are personable, but have their own unique takes on things and offer like fresh perspectives. So how do I wanna, our coaching staff, for example, they have kind of made it their brand, their thing to recruit players who are younger, who are up and coming.

They're not necessarily like the big stars anymore that the LA Galaxy have been known for over the years, like the Beckhams, the Robbie Keans, the Zlatans, grabbing them at the end of their careers. And like, they're the stars of the team. Like our coaching staff brings in up and coming players, develop them, and like have them perform at their peak here.

Along with that is like, they're also really good people. Like I think on our roster right now, it's just full of really good humans and our coaching staff and our scouting staff really pride themselves on that. I approach filling my team in the same way. Like I want really high performing, talented people, but like being good, a good person is also really subjective.

Like, you know, that measure of like, can you be respectful? Do you know how to listen? Can you ask the right questions? Do you know when it's best to take a step back or when you need to like, like dive in, no questions asked and like, you know, put in the time, the hours that's, that's needed. It's so hard to identify those things in an interview process, but that has become a priority.

Barbara Maningat (30:00.502)
And then once they're here, it's, you know, stating kind of the obvious. I think like a lot of that, especially in the workplace is harder of a concept to understand that even though it's really like obvious to me, it might not be obvious to the next person. So all the unwritten rules that come with working with a team.

Like, hey, when you're around the players and the team, don't go fangirl with them and like bring up random conversations. Like, find your moment. Have a plan and a purpose or a reason to be like having these conversations. If they engage with you in conversation and chit chat, 1000%. But if you're with the entire team, kind of know your place and know the moments when you can step in and still be yourself and be conversational and create those relationships, but it's that nuance.

And whenever you're boarding the bus, when you're on the road, you're not the first one on the bus. You let everyone find their own seats and you bring your stuff on. If it's game day, you're kind of a little bit more quiet. Don't make a scene. This is their focus time. This is the most important part of their day. So all of those nuance, unwritten rules.

You just kind of have to speak into insisting and making a standard for your team. Like the best thing that a videographer can be is a fly on the wall in the biggest moments of any players days or careers of a coaching staff. like over time, that type of body language and that demeanor is seen as respect from the coaching staff and the players because they know that you get it to a certain degree.

So I think that's what's really cool. Like we've been able to get some really nice access over the last couple of years. And I think the team that we have right now are incredibly talented and they get it and they want success. They want the team to perform at their best. And so if they can capture those moments in a way that's not distracting, then that's great. And then what's really beautiful about this roster also and our coaching staff is that when they notice these things, also bring you into the fold

Barbara Maningat (32:19.34)
There's this beautiful thing that our team is doing this year where they take photos in the locker room after every win to kind of like celebrate the little things. And over time, they've had my video team be a part of those photos. And so they're seen as part of the family and it's not like a team versus front office thing. Like they've been with the team every step of the way. And so that's a beautiful gesture to see. And so that's like a really good sign that the trust is being built and it continues to be growing.

Sean Callanan (32:55.983)
Absolutely. they're the I mean, for me, they're the little magic dust that make sports digital work. But the bit that I also took away was how a strategy and how your instructor team can completely change depending on like who's in the locker room, whether it be, you know, a player that's near the end of their career and has had lots of press in England. The way they get approached is completely different to a young up and comer that's making their first strides and looking to build themselves up as a player.

Sean Callanan (33:24.737)
It must be really exciting for you to have a young and up and coming roster that is one eager to succeed on the pitch. But then also, there is much growing with your team that are in there documenting it at the same time. And so you can really build that rapport. who knows, one of those players does go on a rocket ship and becomes a superstar

Sean Callanan (33:51.425)
But you've already got that relationship with them. So it is that nuance of knowing like the room you're walking into, whether it's for a pre -season game or you're walking into an all -star game and there's all these stars, like having that understanding of, you know, how you will be approaching it is really important, but it must be exciting having that, you know, a roster that will welcome you into those photo moments.

Barbara Maningat (34:15.926)
Yeah, for sure. like that trust is so, so crucial. Like not only for the upcoming players, like for the entire coaching staff and even the veteran players who have probably worked with dozens of other content teams and stuff before this team, for them to feel that comfort level. Trust is the best word that you could even possibly use, like respect and trust.

So they know that like you're there, you're capturing things, but you're not trying to put anything out in a bad light. Ultimately, we have their best interests at heart. And I hope that they know that and it's showing that they do.

Sean Callanan (34:57.999)
Creating a creation and video creation, everything in that side is always a collaborative effort. I also want to dive into your process when there is a project that comes up that says, hey, we want to do this. What does the process look for you like in an ideal world? Like we said, we get out the right amount of days and we do get that time to RDA. But when you have things like a kit launch, what does it look like when you say, okay, you know, the design team has done a terrific job with this jersey.

Sean Callanan (35:26.893)
Hey, what, how do we best tell that story? What does that process look like for you?

Barbara Maningat (35:32.078)
Yeah, the storytelling component, I mean, we start almost really big picture and then we like dive into the ditty gritty. The campaign building process is one of my favorites that we do here at the LA Galaxy. I think this year has been like a record breaking thing where we've had probably like 12 plus different campaigns that we've had to plan so far. And we're deep in the weeds of our playoffs campaign as well right now.

But one of them in particular was our retrograde campaign for our third kit launch where Adidas and MLS chose a handful of teams this year to have a third kit. And it was part of the MLS archive collection. So it was supposed to be inspired by the past, but with a refreshed take and a refreshed spin.

And so with that in mind and like knowing what the kit was designed for and what it looked like and being a part of that process from the beginning, it's like, all right, what does that promise mean to us, the LA Galaxy? What makes that unique? Like, why is it that we were chosen? Why do we think we were chosen for this? And for us, that was like the bread and butter of how we approach the entire campaign. The LA Galaxy brand itself, arguably is timeless. Like we're one of the original teams.

We were so championed in the past. We're still the most championed franchise in MLS history with five MLS cups and no other team can say that. And so there's so much beauty in our history, but that standard was set a long time ago. And what's really unique about the LA Galaxy, that standard is still set today. Like it's been a while since we've won our own MLS cup, but

The fact is time and time again, year after year, no matter what roster, what coach, what front office staff that we have, the brand itself expects that greatness. And I think that's where we leaned in to it in our storytelling for the retrograde campaign was having that classic, timeless, aesthetic look and feel

Barbara Maningat (37:48.751)
to our photography, to our video, and to our graphics, and having it look like something that's aspirational, and intermixing the past and the present together and blurring that line. I think we did that so well, and that was all from the concept. And so once we created that concept, from a photo and video standpoint, we're like, all right, well, how can we bring that to life? What does that look like? Do we use different filters?

And like how often, like in what moments do we use the filters so that it's not overdone and we're not like criticized for focusing too much on the past. So there's a lot of forward thinking that came to that as well in the scripting and in the cinematography. And then even with like some of the photo shoots locations and like stunts that we pulled as well.

So a lot of it focused on the city of LA and like our authentic culture, but then also like thinking outside the box where we actually sent to Jersey into space and only the LA galaxy could do something like that type of thing. So the past and the present floating over the world where time almost stands still in a sense.

Sean Callanan (39:12.099)
And is, mean, talk before, is it really important to bring in as many voices, as many of your creatives in because it's those kinds of things that are the really juicy, I want to be part of this project. I've got ideas. Like, is that really important to fill their creative cup to go, you know, we don't have a lot of credits like you do in the movies and TVs, but you want to make sure that your creatives feel part of those bigger projects.

Barbara Maningat (39:41.662)
Yeah, for sure. They're a part of the project every step of the way. I think the only part where they're not as instrumental is at that very beginning conversation where we're kind of defining like, what are our priorities? What are our key messaging points? And then from that point forward, I love brainstorming sessions with my team because like one idea obviously can lead to another and we don't necessarily need to like have the solution right there in front of us.

But we would never have gotten to where we got with the campaign and the beautiful storytelling and the visuals that we got to had it not been for those initial brainstorm sessions where people can be creatively free and like pull up examples and references from different places and want to apply that to our brand and make them our own. think that's what's really beautiful about it. We talked about it before, the transparency component of things.

I think that's the best way to bring campaigns to life is to have everyone's voices heard. And that also gives like that sense of ownership that it's not just them executing something that like boss man came up with, like this is truly their campaign and we all collectively brought it to life. Sean, do have to say, so sorry. I do have a meeting at.

Sean Callanan (41:00.207)
Absolutely, we'll put a link to that. I did want to ask, I've been asking guests what tools are in their toolkit that help you deliver. What are some of the tools that you use and your team use on a daily basis that help you deliver what you can do?

Barbara Maningat (41:28.286)
Slack, we love Slack. We love Frame .io. It really changed the game for us when it came to video reviews. Those are our main ones in terms of tools. Obviously, like Premiere Pro and After Effects are our go -to software programs. And then like the infinite array of plugins that you can find nowadays for experimenting on VFX and in transitions and things. I think that's been really, really fun for our team to play with as well.

Sean Callanan (42:06.86)
And one thing I did want to ask before we did wrap up, obviously, artificial intelligence is opening up new opportunities from a creative point of view and also an efficiency point of view. How are you either using AI currently or tackling AI as a concept and using those strategies and what you're doing?

Barbara Maningat (42:24.192)
Ooh, I love this question. AI, think we're still, again, we're still at the tipping point of what's actually possible and what can we do with this type of a tool in our tool dot type thing. So we've mainly used it for photo assets. Our photo team and our graphics team, our photo team takes incredible photos and they have incredible work just across the board from in -studio to game action.

And so we use AI software to kind of like add motion to some of our game action photography because so much of that is like saturated in terms of like quantity and what's available out there. So it's like, how can we like level that up a little bit more? And so we add some motion to it in our creative design, like graphics that we put out on game days.

Been received really, really well and honestly receives more engagement because it ends up being a video. So you can track the views and stuff on it as well. So that's the main piece. AI and video, we've dabbled a little bit in like voiceover technology, trying to find a voice that we can't quite pay someone to do it, but like this one seems to have the edge that we're looking for. Haven't dove 100 % into that yet and then like even script writing,

I don't like it very much, but it's a good thought starter. Like if it's something where we have a really successful brainstorm session, we have like the ideas in mind, we have certain lines that we really like. Then chat GBT can hopefully blurt out something that like makes a little more sense for us and like organizes our thoughts and we can take it from there and really like make it our own, but very very few times have that ever spat out something that we're like, ooh, that's it.

Sean Callanan (44:25.679)
Exactly. That's where I think it's that efficiency piece. So even if it is like, you know, there's a 30 minute press conference and boom, you've got the transcript and you say, Hey, what are the edit points? Like it stopped you every year and they're having to watch that 30 minutes. So it's those kinds of pieces to go, when did they say that you can query it? But you're right. We're very, we're very much at this at the starting point, but it's always how to use it as a tool to get where you're going.

Sean Callanan (44:51.031)
Understand you've got a meeting to go to. So we're going to get to the sports gate closing five, but I really appreciate your time. Do you remember the first sports event you ever attended?

Barbara Maningat (45:01.266)
I think it was a Kansas City Chiefs game back in day, Arlotta Stadium, yes.

Sean Callanan (45:08.275)
Terrific and you would have been to a lot of sports events in your time and the the food in in sports has evolved as much as digital and video over the years. Do you have a favorite food memory or a go -to food at sports?

Barbara Maningat (45:21.234)
Definitely not a favorite memory, but I think nachos are my go -to at any any stadium for sure. Can't go wrong with the classic.

Sean Callanan (45:29.711)
Managing a bunch of creatives in a bunch of projects on the fly. What's the first app you open in the morning?

Barbara Maningat (45:37.959)
Instagram for sure.

Sean Callanan (45:39.905)
Instagram terrific. Is there someone that you follow in the podcast listeners should give a follow and why

Barbara Maningat (45:49.056)
I recently started following Clio's, like the Clio Awards, Muse by Clio's and stuff. Just seeing what other organizations brands are so proud of that they are submitting them for awards or they're like wanting recognition. I think that's really cool as inspiration to see what's out there.

Sean Callanan (46:10.511)
Absolutely. And lastly, you can answer this both personally, but then you can put your Galaxy hat on. What social media platform is your MVP?

Barbara Maningat (46:21.238)
is my MVP. I think for both hats, it's Instagram. I think like we talked on this a little bit earlier, but like so many ideas these days are visual focus, your video focus. And I think that platform, because it's natively meant for the visual audience, I think it's just like the bread and butter for like a video creative like myself and like my team.

So I think that's really great. And then for the LA Galaxy as well, like it's one of the best ways that not only our creative team, but our video team can showcase the care and love that we put into the work, along with our digital team as well, because they're our content creators themselves. So I think those are really top priorities for us.

Sean Callanan (47:14.383)
Well, thank you very much for coming to the podcast. I really do appreciate that you taking the time. If people have listened to this podcast and been inspired and looking at what LA Galaxy do and want to reach out and say thank you, what is the best way for them to do so?

Barbara Maningat (47:28.856)
yeah, all of our social platforms at LA Galaxy. You can find us right there. Or on MLS season pass.

Sean Callanan (47:34.167)
And yourself, how can they, and how can they find you?

Barbara Maningat (47:39.385)
gosh, I don't really post too many work things online, but my Instagram is @bmaningat. You can find me there.

Sean Callanan (47:48.015)
True, we'll put a link to that and your LinkedIn. Thank you very much for coming on the podcast and best of luck for this season with the LA Galaxy.

Barbara Maningat (47:59.97)
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me, Sean. Great to chat with you.