Baden Stephenson CEO of Melbourne Rebels chats about his sports business career spanning coaching and administration as well as guiding the Melbourne Rebels through a period of uncertainty in 2017 to a bright future ahead embracing grass roots support.
On this podcast you'll learn about:
- Baden Stephenson's foray into sports that led him to becoming a CEO
- A short history of the Rebels and their journey in the Super Rugby league
- Baden and Dave Wessels' working relationship at the Rebels
- How they are connecting back the Rebels to the grassroots rugby
- The opportunities for digital in Rebels' marketing and developing fan base
- Rebels' main strategy focus for 2019
Listen to Baden Stephenson on Sports Geek
Our fave quote from Baden Stephenson interview
“It was a huge honour and privilege to be to be appointed but without knowing what exactly what the future held it was definitely tough and I think trying to keep a little bit of a steady hand or an even temperament in an environment which was highly volatile was how I tried to manage the people and the staff.”
Baden Stephenson
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Resources from the podcast
- Connect with Baden Stephenson on Twitter @badenstephenson and LinkedIn
- Follow Melbourne Rebels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube
- Some related articles you might want to read more from Baden Stephenson
- Some Sports Geek episodes you might be interested in:
- Ryan Kaveney on Building a team culture around fan
- Michael Briggs on Wallabies social media and digital initiatives
- Loved this podcast episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
- Share your case studies for the Digital to Dollars book go to DigitaltoDollars.com/survey
- Join Sports Geek Nation to connect with sports business executives across the world.
- See the highlights from Sports Geek Nation AMA with Alistair Hogg
Highlights from podcast with Baden Stephenson
4:43 A short history of the Melbourne Rebels
5:33 Baden Stephenson on his entry into sports
7:01 How coaching opened up opportunities internationally
9:42 How the Melbourne Rebels overcame the period of uncertainty in Super Rugby
11:27 How Baden was able to help the team rise above the challenges as the new CEO
14:55 How coach David Wessels works with Baden as CEO
16:12 Connecting back the Rebels to the grassroots rugby
19:26 Melbourne Rebels relationship with Rugby Victoria
21:27 How they work in bringing more fans to games
24:27 How Melbourne Rebels leverage international partnerships
26:39 The opportunities of digital for Rebels to grow fan base growth
33:10 Melbourne Rebels’ focus for the next 12 months
35:16 Sports Geek Closing Five
Some tweets/posts you may have missed
Awesome quote from Sam Talakai
With 8 Rebels named in the Australian Super Rugby Selection XV, Sam Talakai is pretty excited about Friday night. pic.twitter.com/kDbQpSuYG1
— Melbourne Rebels (@MelbourneRebels) July 31, 2018
Looking forward to this
@MelbourneRebels partnership with Rugby South Australia continues to go from strength to strength. Matt Bell presented @BadenStephenson with an Old Collegians Jersey from a junior tour to Melbourne. Our lads look forward to growing the game in Adelaide on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/hHfZU34pYU
— Melbourne Rebels (@MelbourneRebels) September 19, 2018
Nice view for a board room
What a view! | Our Melbourne Rebels Boardroom Lunch was held last week at CBRE overlooking the City – it was great to hear from @DaveWessels & guest speaker @melbournefc CEO Peter Jackson pic.twitter.com/gkWnIcgNLb
— Melbourne Rebels (@MelbourneRebels) August 5, 2018
Join Sports Geek Nation for AMA sessions
The Sports Geek Nation AMA June schedule is underway!
Burton Lee from Peterborough Petes takes the Sports Geek Nation Ask Me Anything stage this week.
Burton joined the Peterborough Petes Hockey Club’s Business Operations team in 2013 where he was appointed as the Director of Communications and Game Nights Operations. In 2015, he was named as the Executive Director for Business Operations. Among his responsibilities were leading the business operations team and overseeing all areas including ticketing and corporate partnership sales, communications, marketing, traditional and online merchandising, game operations, and community events. He has previously held positions in ticket sales, marketing, events, and fan relationship management with The Aspire Sports Management Group, the Ontario Hockey League's Sarnia Sting, and the 100th Grey Cup Champion Toronto Argonauts.
Burton holds an MBA in Sports Management from Southern New Hampshire University and a BA in Kinesiology and Physical Education.
Get your questions ready for Burton Lee. Tag him at @burtonjlee on Sports Geek Nation #ama channel in Slack.
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Thanks for the review on Apple Podcasts
Health and Fitness Digital Marketer
★★★★★ in Apple Podcasts by fitnesslover2 from Australia on September 18, 2018
I love listening to Sean’s podcasts. He knows he’s stuff and provides you with everything you need to know social media, sports and marketing data etc. Highly recommend 🙂
