Connecting with peers globally, Greg Oakford

This transcript has been lightly edited by AI

Sean: In team sports with rivalries, fan engagement is about connecting with your own fans. Dewayne's experience with the LA Kings during their Stanley Cup run showed how tweets that their fans loved were disliked by others. It's not about selling to those who don't like your team, but you need to consider how far is too far and if it aligns with your brand. We had great discussions with people like Melissa from the Jets and Andrew Nicholson from the Kings, because this approach doesn't work for everyone. Even Dewayne mentioned that Portland has a different feel as the big team in town, positioning themselves differently than the Kings.

Finding your own voice is crucial, but it's valuable to have conversations with others facing similar challenges. At SEAT, you realize that everyone deals with similar issues, just at different scales. Golf Victoria has a small team, but when you talk to NCAA college teams, they're also running lean operations. They might have students helping, but the core team is often just one to three people managing a market as big as some pro teams.

Greg: That's an interesting point about SEAT. The NCAA operations are lean, but even someone like Danny Martinez, one of the social media managers for the Miami Heat, manages enormous platforms with just a small team. They have around 16-17 million Facebook followers and other massive platforms, yet only two people work on them. It's fascinating to see the faces behind these major sporting brands, especially considering how intense it gets during the season.

Sean: Absolutely. From a resourcing perspective, leagues like the AFL and NRL typically need two or three people to manage their social media, working staggered schedules to cover weekends. But you can only cover so much, so it's about figuring out what else you can do beyond the basics. The networking events at SEAT are also a crucial part of the experience.