Levelling up the fan experience at LIV Golf Adelaide – Nick Haslam

Sean Callanan (00:01.676)
Very happy to welcome Nick Haslam. He's the executive tournament director of LIV Golf Adelaide. Nick, welcome to the podcast.

Nick Haslam (00:08.76)
Hi Sean, thanks for having me.

Sean Callanan (00:10.702)
Not a problem at all. We've tried a couple of times to get this organized and we had a few misstarts in getting a book. So I'm glad we finally reconnected it at SportNXT. I always start by asking people how they got their way into sport. What about yourself? How did you find your way into the world of sports business?

Nick Haslam (00:27.512)
Well, I'm a passionate sports fan. I like all my sport and I left school without really knowing what I wanted to do. I was always told that commerce was a good sort of broad degree to do. Did that, spent 10 years working in professional services at PwC and I just started the process of knocking on doors to see how I could get into sport. Became president of my local footy club in Sydney, the UTS Bats Football Club.

And eventually got an introduction to Carl Dilena, was the CEO of North Melbourne Football Club at the time. So that was how I got my start really just relentlessly knocking on doors and finding any opportunity I could to get my toe in the water. And then, yeah, I got to spend some time at North Melbourne and then the Melbourne storm. Yeah.

Sean Callanan (01:10.509)
Yep.

Sean Callanan (01:14.542)
So with that, mean, we've had a few people that have sort of done that move from the world of corporate and sort of, you know, had that passion for sport and wanted to work in the world of sport. How did you take your, know, Ernst and Young and your PWC and your commerce background and the finance background to a footy team like, you know, North Melbourne and, and, Carl Dilena and say, Hey, this is what I can do in the space.

Nick Haslam (01:37.923)
guess I was able to articulate that they had a need at that time for a commercial person who had a lot of sales experience and I had done a fair bit of selling in my roles even though I was in the commerce space and that was something that attracted Carl. Carl had a similar background to me and was aware of the BD, I guess things that you need to do in any sort of business. So that was helpful for me, right place, right time. But I certainly to my point probably I reckon there would have been

Sean Callanan (01:50.925)
Yep.

Nick Haslam (02:06.646)
and over 20 conversations similar to that where I wasn't able to get my break. So I'm really grateful for that opportunity.

Sean Callanan (02:13.078)
And so again, you're at North for five years and then at the Melbourne Storm in a similar sort of role. What did you learn sort of being in what we term here in Australia, club land?

Nick Haslam (02:26.172)
It's very different to working in professional services. That's the first thing, but that's a great thing as well, Sean, to be able to work with people from all walks of life with a vast array of different backgrounds. From kids who've come straight out of school that are draft picks, working at playing for an AFL club, to someone that might have been there for 40 years and all they've ever done is work in football. And you can really glean different bits of experience from different people. and I think that team environment in club land is

is something that you can't really manufacture to the extent that you can. Each week, if the team wins, it's a better place to be. And if it loses, you can't wait for the next week. So I guess different experiences are great. And you've got quite an intimate atmosphere inside a club. And everyone feels it's really obvious what you're there to achieve.

Sean Callanan (03:18.21)
think, you know, one of the things you said, there has been different avenues of people getting in, but it's like how those skills translate and business development and sales. It's always one if you can move the needle on those things in the world of sport, you will find a home because it's always clamoring for new revenue.

Nick Haslam (03:35.852)
Yeah, that's right. It's a competitive environment. We know that Melbourne and Australia is one of the most competitive environments for professional sport in the world. I think that's being in an environment where you're really willing to do everything you can to maximize revenue will put you in good stead.

Sean Callanan (03:55.086)
And so from those roles, you've sort of moved to the other side to the consultant and then agency side now at 54. How has that change been from working inside an internal team and being a rights holder and going to market to sort of moving to the agency side?

Nick Haslam (04:15.648)
It's been good again, it's a different level of experience. Again, I think the great thing about working in an agency like 54 is that we've got a really good global footprint and the guys developed this agency first in Vietnam where they ran the Ho Tram Open and eventually worked across the likes of F1 and golf and global football to then have an opportunity to be involved in the LIV Golf journey right from the start. So for me,

It is different, but it's been super exciting to be involved in something which has had such a really big impact globally on world sport. that's been great. And then for us as an agency, LIV Golf is what we've been known for, particularly in these parts in Australia. But it's great now to have an opportunity to work with brands and rights holders and other events around the country to be able to do more.

Sean Callanan (05:08.3)
And so yeah, LIV Golf , you know, there from the beginning and LIV Golf Adelaide being one of the one of the big events on the LIV Golf calendar, take us back to that, you know, year one when, you know, LIV Golf was disrupting the world of not only golf, but sport. But then you had that runway to say, well, we've got to deliver event, what were some of those key things you were looking to lock down and succeed in on that first event?

Nick Haslam (05:33.378)
Great question. I think early on it was about how can we execute. What are the things, and I've spoken to a few people when we first started working on this event, what are the things that you really need to focus on? And it's operationally being able to execute at a really high level. that was probably one really key point. And then working really closely with our partners. And one key partner was the South Australian government and the South Australian Tourism Commission. made a…

you know, a pretty gutsy investment to be involved in this product. But it was really important for them and the Premier of South Australia to change the perception of the state. So as well as attract people and put this put the city of Adelaide on the global map and LIV Golf was an avenue to do that. So in terms of things that we were focused on, it was working really closely with the state government to ensure that we were achieving the objectives that they set out in order to

execute this event at a particular level and then work with suppliers around the country. We've had some excellent suppliers to make sure that we could get this event to a level that has got really some very high levels in terms of what they were able to produce from the start with the first LIV Golf event in London at Centurion Golf Club in June 2022 to what we see today. So, shout out to some of our suppliers. Harry the Hire has been a really key supplier in terms of infrastructure and

and event build. Gemma has been an outstanding caterer from day one, Event-ELEC. could go on. There's that have been left out. Probably another one is TGI. I've been working on the PR for this particular event. And having established suppliers that have worked on major events around the country so that we could execute to an appropriate level was really important from the get-go.

Sean Callanan (07:16.558)
but also you were, I guess, with effectively a new playbook because, know, LIV Golf is not a standard golf tournament. You were sort of breaking some of the norms, changing up some of the fan experience, taking pieces from other parts of the world of entertainment. What were some of those, I guess, initial discussions of, hey, we're gonna set up the watering hole and we're gonna have a grandstand around a green and that's not a normal thing to do. you know, putting DJs on the course like,

Nick Haslam (07:29.314)
Yep.

Sean Callanan (07:45.868)
some, you know, coming up with these either new ideas or applying these new ideas to to a golf tournament. What were some of those initial, I guess, conversations like?

Nick Haslam (07:54.87)
Yeah, they were exciting. mean, we've had LIV Golf as the right side and the team who are based across the US and UK have been incredible to work with. these were not necessarily ideas with individual people, but they were certainly putting together the theme of what they wanted from the event and we were there to execute. Yeah, I think everyone was pretty excited, certainly, I probably started in November 2022 and that first event was in April 23. So there was a lot we had to do in a short amount of time and some really

excellent contributors across the the LIV Golf ecosystem from local suppliers to global suppliers and we managed to get there but it was certainly an experience those first few months leading into the first event.

Sean Callanan (09:05.518)
And I guess from a point of view of you're looking to execute the event, but you're also working with partners to make sure you do get that that PR payoff to make you know, put Adelaide on the map and those kind of things. So it was it was that sort of a balancing thing to go well, we want to make sure we can execute the tournament and the people who do turn up have great experience because we want them coming back and, you know, talking positively both with their friends and on social media, but then also, you know, tick those boxes that you require for for the government from a

you know, PR point of view and a media coverage point of view.

Nick Haslam (09:37.592)
Yeah, yeah, it was. Look, we then that's we've been really blessed to have excellent people work on this assignment from the start. And we had we've got some really people with excellent experience across golf in Australia. And as I touched on before, the team at the South Australian Tourism Commission, they're big contributors in the and certainly are very involved in the marketing of the event and then TGI from a PR perspective. it's a matter of everyone playing their role and balancing those different

objectives, but clearly, I think, you know, what we've been able to do in terms of not only attract the traditional golf fan who the Aussie, the Aussie golf fan has been starved of the seeing the best golfers come to Australia consistently. And that's what LIV Golf has done. But also attract a new audience has been a really key part of our strategy. And you look at what we've done probably with influencers and people who might not traditionally come to a golf event want to come and

and be at LIV Golf , it's been a pleasure to be a part of it.

Sean Callanan (10:39.456)
And now that was one of the pieces I did want to ask about that. The fact that it is built out as an entertainment event that can attract someone that might not be, you know, into golf or might be new to golf. How important has that been to sort of expand the audience and make the, I guess, the attracted to a more mainstream audience?

Nick Haslam (10:50.722)
Yep.

Nick Haslam (10:58.936)
Yeah, it's been really important, Sean. And I think LIV Golf is really from the start being something which is designed for the fan. And look, the players love being a part of it. And they've had some really great feedback in terms of what they've said about the LIV Golf format and what it's meant for them to be a part of and be at LIV Golf Adelaide where it's so exciting. But clearly the strategy has been not just someone who has always come to golf events. think 60 % of our audience have never been to a golf event before.

The skew of females to males has certainly changed and we're attracting kids. We had a family fairway this year, which was the kids' party hole. So if people were coming to the event and wanted to be on the watering hole, that was great. But there's so many options in terms of a family fairway. There's the 14th hole, is a really interesting path through where you've got a couple of facilities, which you can see multiple holes of golf. yeah, I think.

What LIV Golf ‘s done is attract more than just a traditional golf fan. And I think so far with the stats that we can see, it's certainly managed to do that. And even if you think about the government perspective, the South Australian government, when they invest in events, they're really keen to get people from interstate or overseas to come to the event. And in all three years, it's been at the 40 % or above mark that people that are coming are coming from outside South Australia and Adelaide.

Sean Callanan (12:21.006)
And that must be so exciting to be able to effectively, know, a golf course is 18 holes, but you can effectively segment different parts of the golf course for different customer segments, you know, the family fairway, and that's where, you know, that's where you can take your kids and have a fun day, but you can also, you know, be, you know, on a party hole or hang around for Dom Dollar or Fisher later on. Is that again, part of the equation to sort of say, you are gonna have, I guess, parts of the course available for different parts of your fan base?

Nick Haslam (12:50.52)
Yeah, I think so. want to make it as accessible for everyone. there's probably a piece around all abilities and all abilities golfers being feeling as though they're welcome at the event and children and elderly people that might just love going to the golf and always like to be a part of it. yeah, we certainly try to do that. We have sensory areas as well within the Fan Village. it's…

We want to make it accessible for everyone, but not just this area is exclusively for kids, for example, or this area is exclusively for people that might want to have a beer. want to make it, but you know, people feel comfortable that wherever they can go, they can come to LIV Golf Adelaide and have a good time. But clearly, yeah, the way that we put the golf course together, there'll be people that think, okay, I don't want to, I want to go to the to the family fairway, but I don't want to go to the concert after. But ideally, we've got spaces for everyone wherever you want to go.

Sean Callanan (13:46.414)
And with over 100,000 in the tournament in this just third version of the tournament, that success is growing. Take us into, you talk about, you've got a lot of partners, an event like that is controlled chaos. You're trying to make sure everything runs. What does your event day look like and how do you set your team up for success?

Nick Haslam (14:10.936)
Well, we start with a, you know, get there pretty early just before the sun comes up and, you know, that's when security getting underway and the course is being set up. The Grange Golf Club, talk about event partners, the Grange Golf Club have been incredible to work with and all of the members at Grange, the disruption, you know, it's an incredible course. They've got two courses, an East and a West course, but, you know, we're lucky enough to have full control over the course on event week, which we're very grateful for the members for that opportunity.

But yeah, it's getting there early. Speaking to key suppliers, we've got an incredible team. We have a daily operations meeting with everyone from the 54 event management side, as well as the LIV Golf team. have, yeah, so there's probably about 20 people in that event, which talks about what happened the previous day, what's on schedule for today. this is from event week. So event week is classified the Monday before the event. And you have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is Pro-Am.

Friday, the event kicks off proper. So you have those meetings at about 8am or depending on what the schedule is, could be at 7am, where people essentially just go around in the room like a standard WIP meeting, I guess, Sean, and people will talk about what they've got planned for the day. What are some things that happened to the previous day that they could have got right or things that were on the previous day that could have gone well.

And then we're away, people are on radios all day. often if it's the first day of the event, the shotgun start is a really key part of LIV Golf. And for those who don't know, the traditional golf event, all the players start on the first hole from sort 6.30, 7 a.m. and you tee off throughout the day and everyone finishes on the 18th. The thing about LIV Golf is that everyone starts at the same time on various holes around the course. So there's 54 players and everyone will start on a different hole essentially. So that process around getting

all 54 players to different holes around the course is quite a process. And our security and operations team make sure that they work with the volunteers to get players to their individual spots throughout the course. That's quite a process. then, yeah, once the shotgun start happens, we're away. And then before you know it, something incredible might happen like the Patrick Reed hole-in-one, which happened on, I think it was the second group that went through the watering hole on the very first day of the tournament.

Nick Haslam (16:29.72)
And then, know, we had the Dom Dollar concert, which was one of the biggest ever concerts ever to take place. Certainly would have been the biggest concert ever to take place at the Grange Golf Club. And then we're trying to get people safely out of the venue. So I would have skipped a number of parts over that little journey, Sean, but yeah, it's really ops meeting. Things are happening all day and it's just, you know, keeping on top of things. And from a management point of view, it's really, the team are really well, we've got some,

team members with some incredible experience and it's giving everyone the autonomy to be able to do their jobs and they genuinely do their job really well but feel comfortable to I guess have someone that they can touch base with if they're not happy with if they've got a question as they go.

Sean Callanan (17:14.988)
Yeah, I mean, yeah, speaking to a lot of people that work in the major event space, and, you you've got that high stress, long hours of that of that of that week of that event week, but you also just need to have people that, you know, problem solvers can, can, can tackle what they need to tackle can can fix things on the fly, because you don't know what will happen with all the best planning. And sometimes you once you get that team in place, that's why an event looks smooth.

But you need those people that can solve those problems on the fly to make an event like that smooth.

Nick Haslam (17:51.436)
Yeah, that's right. And you know, we're getting better each year at this particular event, 23. And it's a challenge in an event environment as well, because you have so many contractors that, you know, you don't with them all year round. there is a lot of them are coming into an event for the first time. But certainly at manager level at different levels throughout the team, we've got with we've generated a lot of IP. So each year it does get a little bit easier and one and one quick example of having the right people in the right place at the right time is the

is the Patrick Reed Hole-in-One, which happened on the very first morning, straight after the shotgun start, which is an event within an event in itself. The Hole-in-One happened. I actually just got back to the tournament office that day and was eating my lunch quickly with the laptop in front of me. And I saw the Hole-in-One, ran out to the 12th hole, but we had a really great team. The cleaners were there. By the time I got there, most of the cups which had been thrown onto the hole had been packed up. The greenscapers had…

positioned in a certain spot to help quickly fix up the reasonable mess that had been created. that probably gave us some confidence to me that, we've come a long way because a couple of years before when Chase Koepke got his hole in one on the Sunday afternoon, we probably weren't as efficient in picking up the mess as we were in 2025.

Sean Callanan (19:11.564)
Yeah. And again, that's, that's what, you know, that learning and improvement from each, each year. I guess, you know, planning for some of that chaos happen. Like you can't, you know, can't plan that a whole lot will happen, but if it does happen, what's going to happen and how the crowds crowds going to react. You've already spoken about the partnership with the, you know, the South Australian government, which, know, it's very much a trend in using events and event tourism to, to, to bring, bring people in. What excites you about the partnership going forward?

Nick Haslam (19:20.363)
Yeah.

Nick Haslam (19:42.42)
I just, mean, one thing we've been just so grateful for is the buy-in of everyone in government. The South Australian Tourism Commission have been outstanding partners, but you can't go past the Premier. He was really keen in having some conviction in speaking to Greg Norman to get this event here in Adelaide. His relationship with Greg's been really key and hats off to Greg and what he's involved in LiveGolf and now the new CEO, Scott O'Neill, where I think Sean's been on this podcast in the past.

But yeah, the efforts of Greg, sorry, of Peter Alanouskas has been outstanding. what I'm excited about is his continued involvement and commitment. One of the things he said that there's ever anything that you need a hand with, he's actually happy to be involved. And that's just incredible from a state premier to be so engaged and involved in this event. And in terms of what's going on in the future, he's been really important in

developing a plan to take this tournament from the Grange Golf Club, which is out in Westlakes about 25 minutes from the CBD to the North Adelaide Golf Club, which comes up right alongside the Adelaide Oval and has got incredible views over the city of Adelaide. It's not in a position right now to be a championship level golf course, but Greg Norman, course designer, being involved in the redevelopment of that golf club and to see what is possible to bring a live event like this into.

right into the city of Adelaide is incredibly exciting. And for me to be a local Adelaide guy and have some involvement in that project is just awesome. that's what I'm looking forward to. I think each year the interest in this event continues to grow. I'm sure it will continue to grow. We've got to manage the crowds to be able to make sure that everyone's still having a really good time. But I think…

Yeah, what excites me in particular is this move into the North Adelaide and what it will mean for the golf tournament, for LIV Golf globally, and for the city of Adelaide and the state of South Australia.

Sean Callanan (21:41.632)
And absolutely. You did mention Scott O'Neill, I did want to ask you about him. He was in the podcast back on episode 303 talking about leadership and he's just recently come on as CEO of LIV Golf and coming in at a time where, you know, LIV Golf is in a maturing phase. It's not in that disrupting, hey, we're into the market. We're bettered in, you know, we've got deals in place. We've got regular events. What have been some of the things that he's looking for, for LIV Golf going forward?

Nick Haslam (22:12.204)
Look, I'm on the agency side, Scott, as Sean, so I haven't had too much direct engagement with Scott other than, you you can see what he says publicly. He can really see, you know, he's super excited to be involved in what is a truly global golf product. And as a business, LIV Golf have recently changed their marketing tagline to “Long LIV Golf.” which I guess speaks to the essence of this is an event which

and a format of golf, is here to stay. he's been a super approachable guy when he was here in Adelaide. He was anyone and anyone he'd be happy to talk to. But I think he's just, as I sort of said, an incredibly approachable guy. He has a long-term vision for LIV Golf to certainly ensure that it's a global event and you can see the interest in LIV Golf .

Within Asia in particular, there's an event in Korea this year. There's an international series event the week after in Japan. And certainly there's been some really successful events in Hong Kong and Singapore. There's another event in Mexico City this year. So I think one thing in terms of you've seen within golf is that there's been some incredible golfers and there's been some incredible talent. But for so long, the best golf's really been played in the US with a little bit in Europe.

I think with the advent of mid golf has become a truly global league. And I think that's been the focus of Scott O'Neill. it's great to have someone with his level of experience across, you know, American sports like the NBA and his work at Madison Square Garden and more recently at Merlin. So to have someone of his sort of stature in world sport, step into the role as the CEO is really exciting.

Sean Callanan (23:57.922)
And then from a like industry looking forward, you're in the major event space and you you would have, you'd look at the Australian open or the Grand Prix or, or, you know, LIV Golf and looking at different things that are working in, in, those, those events. What are some of the trends that you're seeing that, that, that are things that you're, you know, thinking about for, for future LIV Golf events in Adelaide.

Nick Haslam (24:20.406)
Yeah, it's a good question. I think you touched on it earlier, Sean, having an event which is not just aimed at a traditional fan of that particular sport is really important. It's something that we've tried to do with LIV Golf Adelaide. you can see what's been happening with the Grand Prix and as well as the Australian Open Tennis. There's certainly two live events that we look to and I was lucky enough to spend some time there to see.

how they're putting together their structures, how they're formulating the fan journey from the moment they leave home to get on public transport. And you can see, just as a quick example, we worked with the South Australian government to make, we had some DJs at bus stops when fans got on the bus here in Adelaide to go out to the Grand Golf Club. So that fan journey from the moment they leave home to arriving at the venue, to being able to access the best sort of information on where to go and when, that's really important for us.

And in terms of where it's going, well, I think globally with sports, I was lucky enough you sent me some pre-prepared questions. And one of the things I was thinking about was augmented reality and virtual reality within sport. You can see the sphere in Vegas. And I think globally, sport is going to that spot where fans might not be able to get there to a live event, but to be able to experience something unique. I how cool would it be if

You got to watch the 1988 FA Cup final in the sphere. They're the sort of things that I think globally using the technology that's available, that's something that could be, yeah, that could be reality soon. But at the same time, I think you can still see there's an appetite for people to attend live sporting events. And when they get there, how can you make sure that they're seeing golf? And I think one of the things that we've tried to do with LIV Golf that

you might not be able to achieve in all sports is have fans get really close access to the players. is a sport where you can do that. You can see some of the vision. You've got fans and kids who can get right up close to their idols. And that's something that we really try and do with LIV Golf yeah, that gives you bit of an insight of what we're trying to do. Continue to try.

Nick Haslam (26:37.954)
to make it as accessible as possible to as many different people as possible and give fans the opportunity to get as close as they can to their idols.

Sean Callanan (26:46.252)
Absolutely. mean, there is definitely been a strong shift post COVID for people to come back and experience live. Like there's a lot of attendance records that are up. But now then it also there's that tipping point of how much success is too much success and like what is the ideal size. And again, when you've got a big footprint like a golf course, it's like, we can fit more people. But it's like, what is the right number of people to then have all the facilities? So I'm sure that's one that you're

assessing every time to go how many people can we have on course? What's the right number? What are you know, what are the options that we need to make sure that you know, that person that does come along does have that experience. And I think that that's I think we're in that edge of sort of looking at different things in in in those big in those big events with those big, I guess big footprint events.

Nick Haslam (27:35.928)
Yeah, that's right. I guess specifically that the examples we've got for the LIV Golf Adelaide are Grange is a flat golf course. It's a beautiful golf course. It's a big golf course. But the way we're to be able to get more people into the golf course is to build up and obviously building up isn't cheap. we need to try and work out a model that we can get as many people in and they can actually see golf. Right. And they can see they can be we moved the concert location this year for the Dom Dollar concert. So it was in more of a natural empty theater on one of the spare holes. So

They're the things that we're constantly looking at. And that's actually one of the exciting things about moving to the North Adelaide Golf Club is that we've got a fresh site. We've got an incredible course designer in Greg Norman. And we can build from scratch to make sure that we can design a facility on a greenfield site so that we can maximize attendance. But not only that, maximize attendance so that people can see the golf and be a part of the action.

Sean Callanan (28:27.758)
Yeah. And then also being closer to the city, it sort of opens up city activations that are, you know, loosely connected to the event. You know, I constantly joke that the Australian Open seems to get closer and closer to my house in Richmond every year. And then we were at Sport Next and they'd already put a fan zone at Melbourne Park Oval, which is nowhere near Melbourne Park. So again, there's some of those trends where you can extend your footprint outside of your course to sort of say, hey, this

Nick Haslam (28:40.642)
Yeah.

Nick Haslam (28:50.381)
Yep.

Sean Callanan (28:57.142)
event is taking over the town. exciting times ahead.

Nick Haslam (28:59.606)
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, Sean. And the quick example, the old footy park in Adelaide where the Adelaide Crows and Power used to play was right alongside the Grange Golf Club. That's moved to the Adelaide Oval and now LIV Golf Adelaide will be moving next door to the Adelaide Oval. And you can see what the impact of playing footy in the city of Adelaide has meant for the city of Adelaide. Bars are busy pre post tournament. It's easy for pre and post matches. It's easy for people to get into the city on public transport.

to think about what the opportunities are, not only for the city of Adelaide and moving the tournament into the city is really exciting.

Sean Callanan (29:36.11)
Absolutely. Well, Nick, I really appreciate you coming on. I want to get to the Sportsgeek Closing Five. Do you remember the first sports event you ever attended?

Nick Haslam (29:46.348)
Yeah, it was the Rio International Challenger Tennis Tournament at Memorial Drive in 1988 and it featured the likes of Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Matt Swirlander.

Sean Callanan (29:58.43)
yeah, terrific time, you know, terrific time in the world of tennis. That would have been a warm up for the Aussie Open and a couple of weeks later.

Nick Haslam (30:03.106)
for up.

Nick Haslam (30:06.582)
Yep, that's right. It was the hottest ticket in town and I remember Dad got that for us in our Christmas stockings tickets to the Rare International.

Sean Callanan (30:17.486)
Terrific. Do you would have been a lot of sports events in your time and one of the things we haven't even discussed, but one of the things that has leveled up over time is the is the food offerings that's at sports events. Do you have a favorite food memory or a go to food at a sports event?

Nick Haslam (30:32.368)
I don't have a go to Sean, but I do always remember having Matani chicken salt on my hot chips at Foody Park and they still have got the contract to supply chicken salt at the Adelaide Oval. And when I am lucky enough to be in some high-end hospitality, if there's an oyster shaker, I won't be too far away.

Sean Callanan (30:55.234)
Yeah, for those who listening outside of Australia, Matani Chicken Salt is a South Australian institution. And yes, and you're right, if you're getting hot chips in South Australia, if it hasn't got the chicken salt, then it's not quite right, it?

Nick Haslam (31:10.232)
for actual.

Sean Callanan (31:12.141)
Working on a global business, know, in a global sport, a global agency, what's the first app you open in the morning?

Nick Haslam (31:19.416)
Oh, it's a bit boring, Sean, I open WhatsApp because I've likely had some messages overnight and then I'll probably switch to email shortly after. But yeah, we've been lucky enough to work on some really exciting events and LIV Golf is one of them where we're really keen to continue to do more in the sports space, which means that, know, LIV Golf, I know I'm busy, but we're busy all year round. And yeah, it's generally just what do need to catch up on urgently and get to get back to someone on

Sean Callanan (31:48.822)
Yeah. Is there someone that you follow might be an author or someone you follow on social media or a former colleague that the podcast listeners should follow and why?

Nick Haslam (32:00.64)
Yeah, there is. I wrote down some just as reminder. look, in terms of LinkedIn, Patrick Skean is a storyteller that I follow that I guess regularly builds an emotional connection with the things that he's recently seen in media and tells a story and he practices gratitude. I think, yeah, I don't know how I ended up finding him but

Sean Callanan (32:12.92)
Yep.

Nick Haslam (32:27.81)
So maybe someone shared one of his posts or liked it and I followed him ever since. He's someone that I really admire and I like seeing what he produces. I'm not just saying this because he's an important stakeholder, but Peter Malinauskas actually, in terms of a politician who produces some good stuff, is someone else that again, I follow, well, naturally, closely because I've got a bit to do with him, but the algorithm potentially pushes his material. But in terms of a politician,

He really speaks with conviction. If he believes in something, he'll say it. I think that's one of the reasons why he's been such a successful premier here in South Australia. And then the only other one that I follow because it's more a hobby than anything else is lawn hub. I quite like my front lawn and my back lawn, Sean. And I've recently planted some Tift Huff Bermuda Cooch. So I do follow lawn hub in terms of tips and tricks for my lawn.

Sean Callanan (33:11.618)
Ha

Sean Callanan (33:21.582)
terrific. And yeah, and then your algorithm just to show other lawn things. That's the that's the beauty of the beauty of the internet. Lastly, lastly, what social media platform is your MVP?

Nick Haslam (33:29.398)
That's right.

Nick Haslam (33:37.123)
Social media platform. It's not a social media platform, but WeatherZone is probably one that is always reliable. And I don't want to give a shout out to one particular social media platform I've touched on. equally, I'd probably say I use LinkedIn and Instagram to equal proportions, which is a little bit boring. I don't have TikTok, but my MVP would probably be WeatherZone, sure, in terms of short range weather forecasts.

Sean Callanan (34:02.701)
Yep.

That's that's fine Definitely definitely as an event planner it is something that you would really do sweat on Knowing what what days you can and you know as recently attending the the Grand Prix where it was 40 degrees on the Saturday and raining on the Sunday I'm sure there was a lot of Grand Prix organizers refreshing a weather app

Nick Haslam (34:19.212)
Yeah. Yeah.

Nick Haslam (34:23.896)
I could empathize to that. It's not lost on me that we've been very lucky with LIV Golf Adelaide to be in the mid-20s in each of the three years. I'm sure that will be broken, that streak will be broken at some point, but yeah, we've been very fortunate. And even the Wednesday before the event was 43 in Adelaide, but by the Friday it had cooled down. So yeah, it's certainly something we use a lot.

Sean Callanan (34:47.704)
Well, thank you very much for coming to the podcast. I always ask, is there a what is the best way for people to if they've listened to this podcast and want to reach out and say thank you for the podcast, what's the best way for them to reach out to you?

Nick Haslam (34:58.008)
I guess probably just you can hit me up on LinkedIn, which is I guess I'll be tagged in this particular post, Sean. So certainly be happy to answer any questions or be in touch with anyone.

Sean Callanan (35:34.914)
Alright, cheers mate and thanks a lot.

Nick Haslam (35:37.42)
Thanks, Sean. Good to catch up.