Intern Symposium in Bristol, CT

                Being in the New York office of ESPN, we don’t get much of a taste of the day to day production of the shows that really help define ESPN as a brand. At Trinity one of my classmates and I film, edit, and broadcast our own version of SportsCenter on what we call the Trinity Sports Network so naturally I was incredibly interested to see the production aspect in Bristol, CT where ESPN first got its start back in 1979.

This past Tuesday, the entire summer intern class of 2012 converged on the Bristol campus bringing interns from California, New York, Chicago, and North Carolina together to see what went on behind the scenes. We began the day with an introduction speech by President John Skipper who was every bit a leader as I could have expected. Between his comedic anecdotes and subtle put downs of Duke (UNC is his alma mater) he was a relatable figure who storied rise to his current position was riveting to hear. I was also relaxed by the table I was sitting at which could have been easily supplanted in a 6 year olds sports themed birthday party, complete with sporty name cards and ESPN letter salt and pepper shakers.

 Skipper explained that as we dive headlong into today’s technology focused age we must anticipate the convergence of platforms as the difference of screens between computers, TVs, and smartphones will cease to be important. One of the things that has astounded me most as an intern is the ability for those in charge to captivate an audience. In all the seminars and meetings I’ve attended I have always been sucked in by the passion and the knowledge behind the words and John Skipper was no different in his ability to dominate a room. Later on in our panel discussion, the theme of passion emerged again and again as the driving force as to why ESPN was at the top of its market. Its employees and talent genuinely have a love for what they do and want to go out and put forth an effort unequaled by other companies in our field.

The next part of the day was the recreation of a show on ESPN called Stump the Schwab with Howie Schwab. I claim to know an exorbitant and seemingly endless amount of useless sports knowledge, but compared to Howie I knew about as much as… well, someone that doesn’t know much about sports. The questions ranged from naming the starting 11 on Chelsea FC to listing the first overall picks in the NBA draft for the last 23 years. Needless to say it was a slaughter out there, but I was impressed by how many right answers my fellow interns were able to get.

The last part of our visit to Bristol was a tour of the entire campus, 30 acres of pristine sports paradise. As we headed out the doors to make our way to the production studios, Stephen A. Smith of such critical acclaim with First Take and other ESPN analyst positions, walked past us sending up a series of gaps and inducing a few star struck jaw drops. Our tour guide, Jeff, assured us that this type of sighting was a common occurrence, but many of us were still incredulous that the man we saw argue on the TV with Skip Bayless everyday had passed not more than a few feet away from us. Although hard to top that experience, we were equally in awe under the bright lights of the familiar studios in which we’d seen countless broadcasts over the years. I’d just like to say that sitting behind that desk was a pretty great feeling. Unfortunately the day had to come to a close after the tour, but I hope one day I can sit back in one of those seats under the lights in Bristol, CT.

Just a few links to a few old Trinity Sports Network Videos

NBA Jersey Advertising: Flop or Not?

On June 20^th the National Basketball Association decided to accept advertisements on the uniforms of its players becoming the first of the four major sports leagues to allow this. Being an intern in the Consumer Marketing and Sales group, I felt that this was an interesting step in advertising, essentially creating a new medium for advertisers to get their brands out to the public.

Before the NBA sports like the WNBA and NASCAR had allowed advertisers to put their products on jerseys, driver’s suits, race cars, and whatever else they could slap a Wonder Bread sticker on. Advertising in NASCAR has always felt somewhat natural as brand names and advertisers often go hand in hand with a particular driver or car. Example being, every mother’s son at any of the big cup series throughout the NASCAR season knows that Tony Stewart is the Office Depot car and Jeff Gordon drives the Du Pont car. It’s just common knowledge and how the sport has developed. During the race there isn’t as much of a focus on the driver because all we see is the car and thus the advertisements, but to begin putting advertisements on athletes really doesn’t seem in line with what the NBA is.

You could argue that the WNBA has been doing this for years, but the Women’s National Basketball Association is an entirely different beast, a beast which is in fact starving for advertising dollars. The article reports that teams could expect to earn anywhere from $1.5 million to $7.5 million per year a relatively small amount in a market that grosses around $3.5-4 billion a year. The question then must be asked, is the revenue from these advertisements worth what could potentially be a hit to the NBA brand? The ESPN website could cover 90% of its websites in advertisements that move and vie for your attention while you are innocently trying to read about how your team did in last night’s game. It could have pop-ups and prestitials, all manner of distracting and annoying ads that although they would make ESPN more immediate dollars the detriment to ESPN’s brand is undeniable.

Fans have been clamoring since this announcement about how the “uniqueness” of jerseys will essentially be ruined by advertisements. Jersey sales go up with great athletes that change the face of the game and reconstruct how we perceived certain organizations. The way Jeremy Lin came bursting onto the scene for the Knicks this year was a revolutionary period for the NBA. Never had one player so shocked the basketball world in 25 games like he managed to. I honestly wonder if the same amount of Lin jerseys would have been sold if the Knickerbockers had uniforms sponsored by T-Mobile, one of their larger advertisers. I mean, how many Boston Celtics fans would happily trade in the KG or Ray Allen jersey they have now for one that has a big Sprite logo sewn on? How many Spurs fans want to see Tim Duncan sporting a jersey sponsoring something you blow your nose with? Let’s be real. The two organizations and their fan followings couldn’t be more different (something I cringe about as a Knicks fan), but it’s safe to say neither set of fans is going to be greatly appreciative of this change.

It’s at this point that the NBA must see that the advertising dollars it’s getting from these companies are worth the cheapening of the brand. Personally, I hope David Stern Armani Exchange’s this policy before he Lacostes the league its rep. Paul Frankly I’m sorry for making these jokes.

YP and the VP

The other day I had the opportunity to attend a meeting sponsored by the ESPN Young Professionals, which is a group of driven young men and women working within the ESPN community who are truly the industry’s best and brightest. The guest speaker for this meeting was none other than the Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Sean Bratches. I’d just like to say right off the bat that Mr. Bratches was one of the best public speakers I’ve ever had the privilege to listen to and it was really enlightening to hear him speak on so many diverse topics I didn’t have a large amount of knowledge about.  I don’t usually gush like a pre-teen girl who’s just seen Justin Bieber, but I can confidently say that every person around that table was enthralled with what Mr. Bratches had to say.

                In an increasingly changing market characterized by the rise and fall of competitors and new technological innovations that radically redefine business plans, ESPN must continually be willing and capable of change if it is to remain at the top of the industry. One of the most striking things about Mr. Bratches was that he knew an astounding amount about the business and how it has been evolving, while many of his peers at companies like Comcast or NBC frequently ask themselves how advertising dollars translate to Tweeter. The mobile and digital mediums of advertising and marketing are on the up and up as people today have so many portable options to carry with them throughout the day. Whether it’s an iPad, iPhone, or simply a laptop we consume more now than ever on the go and working at ESPN we are more conscious than most about the fact that people need access to information anytime, anywhere.

               Developments like WatchESPN and the Scorecenter mobile app are tailored specifically for a generation of people constantly on the move so that sports fans around the world never miss a single moment of their sports teams. In my last post I mentioned the Euro Cup which was a major event that WatchESPN covered among its 24/7 programming of live events, and in the month of June during the tournament 5.3 million viewers tuned in, racking up 862.2 million minutes of viewing while ESPN apps hit 1,555,906,950 minutes. According to NCTA Cable studies, in 1977 only about 6.5 million people had cable television. So in one single month WatchESPN achieved almost as many viewers which really just goes to show how these industries can evolve quickly. One of the things Sean Bratches mentioned was that in this day and age, in order to achieve the desired 10% annual growth ESPN would have to have to expand its market by over $1 billion. In order to hit those numbers every year, new radical innovations need to be implemented and ideas like WatchESPN and mobile apps are exactly what this era calls for. As an intern who focuses on largely digital sales and marketing, I was informed in my first week that at ESPN the television side of sales and marketing makes over $4 billion each year whereas digital and mobile only take in about $300 million. The main difference here is that television has been in households worldwide for over half a century, while the internet and its application to mobile devices is relatively new technology and so digital and mobile markets are growing significantly faster because there is the most room for innovation and change. Ten years ago the way people used the internet was radically different from how people use it today and men like Mr. Bratches see that this growth in the market is where ESPN needs to be.

               Mr. Bratches left us with one last point, encouraging us to all go out with the same attitude as Steve Jobs in his creation of Pixar and Apple. Nothing can be off the limits and nothing is guaranteed, we need to all go out there and constantly be looking to change instead of accepting what is around as an inevitable truth because as Steve Jobs proved, we can improve, innovate, and succeed even when others are so sure we'll fail.

Here is a link to WatchESPN http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index

               

Euro Cup

Living in Hartford, CT I thought I knew what it was like to live in a city, but coming to New York is something entirely different. New York is home to so many different cultures and things to do that it is hard to wrap your head around. In the first week of the ESPN internship all of the interns met together every day for training and we were given the opportunity to get to know one another as well as train for the work ahead of us. The topic on everyone’s mind seemed to be the upcoming Euro Cup, which draws viewers from every corner of the globe. Most every child is thrust into playing soccer, or football, as our non-American friends insist we call it, at some point in their life. Some of us only play a year or two in a recreational town league where our favorite part is the orange wedges at half time, but others develop a true love for the sport.

 I myself worshiped renowned backs like Danny Alves and Gerard Pique as I played a back or defender position. My sophomore year of high school, our team was left without a keeper, or goalie for those of you less soccer inclined, and I was graciously volunteered by my teammates because of how tall I was. My role models evolved into players like Casillas, Joe Hart, and other famous brick walls and net minders as I remained in this position throughout my high school career.

Now obviously the Euro Cup isn’t quite as big of a deal as the World Cup but these tournaments are far more than simple soccer games between countries. In this day and age the pride and sheer bliss that comes with your nation’s striker beautifully finishing a crossover or a header into the back of the opposing teams net is unparalleled. The world is in a dark place financially as citizens in countries like Greece, Italy, and many others struggle to make ends meet. But you can absolutely bet that fans of those countries forget their every financial worry when players like Di Natale or Karagounis put one in the back of the net to the sound of a stadium full of screaming fans. I thought I knew what it was like to love a sport more than anything, but the roar of Madison Square Garden when the Knicks and Rangers played or when the Yanks played at home seemed laughable in comparison. In the U.S. many of us grow up watching multiple sports and thus our allegiances and hopes are divided, but in other countries their is only soccer. When your team loses in the quarterfinals, there is no "well hockey starts in a month so I'll just focus on that" in soccer. It is the end all to be all. The first time I went to a Barcelona vs Madrid game in Barcelona I realized that the sport meant so much more than simple soccer. It was the manifestation of history and every single person stopped what they were doing to cheer on their team. Nothing made you look quite like an outsider like not watching the futbol game that day, or saying soccer for that matter.

Regardless, soccer is a way for people to escape their everyday troubles and align themselves with something great, with something perennial. 50 years down the road, people will talk about how their country triumphed against all odds to win the World Cup or the Euro Cup. They will know exactly where they were and who they were with when they were watching it. How they accidentally threw that nice vase they used to have in the TV room after the referee missed that off sides call. How everyone hugged and cheered and was so horse and hung over the next day but everyone at work the next day was exactly the same from the same revelry.

One of the coolest things about working at ESPN is that I feel like I’m in the thick of it. We are a hub for millions of fans seeking for information, replays, and actually watching the games themselves. The new ESPN FC website is a veritable Holy Land for those who follow soccer religiously. The WatchESPN link from this site extends soccer fandom even farther than we ever thought imaginable.

Check out a few of these links to relive the greatness.

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/visuals/tag/_/name/euro-2012

http://abcnews.go.com/International/slideshow/2012-european-soccer-fans-faces-16597147

http://www.eurocuppictures.com/k-euro-2012-football-fans-(guys)-74.htm

Empire State of Mind

Intern life has been very busy lately, but no complaints here! It's been awesome. I am well over half way done with my internship and not quite ready to believe it. I can finally say I'm at the point where I really understand what my team does on a day to day basis and I am confident in my knowledge of the Digital Advertising world.

An exciting update: I finally designed my capstone summer project! I will take all I have learned by interviewing various departments within the Digital Ad Ops team and create a training program for the future Seattle Interns. I am the first ESPN intern in Seattle, so I decided it would be a great way to leave my mark by helping develop this program even further. I have 4 weeks left, and I can't wait to dive into it and produce a quality product. I will be presenting it once it is complete (to who, I'm not quite sure yet).

I can't believe I am already back from NYC where I attended the Intern Speaker Series Event with George Bodenheimer. Not only did I meet Mr. Bodenheimer, President of ESPN, but I also got the chance to meet all of the interns from NY and Bristol, as well as some amazing people in the NY office! It was a blast. Here are some of the highlights of my trip:



-I got to stay in the amazing Empire Hotel, where (I was very excited to learn) some scenes from Sex and the City 2 and Gossip Girl were filmed. Below is a picture of the view from the Rooftop Bar, it was incredible! The hotel was only a few blocks from the ABC building, which was convenient when heading to the office.





-Monday: after a 6:30am flight and a 4pm arrival at my hotel, I was pretty exhausted. That night, Susan Grouse and Laura Jaroch from HR took Cicely (St. Petersburg Intern) and I out for dinner. It was great to get to know them after all the email correspondence this summer!

-Tuesday: The big event! Spent some time in the ABC building with the NY interns, then they took us over to Good Morning America Studios where all 88 of us interns were invited in.
We were welcomed by Paul Richardson (SR VP of HR). Paul spoke to us about making connections, not only with employees in the company, but with our fellow interns. He also praised our intern class for being one of the most successful, hard working classes the company had ever seen. He informed us that there were over 10,000 applicants nationwide for this internship program and that we were selected because of our potential to help the company grow. There are interns representing nearly 30 different colleges/universities across the nation. He also informed us that on average 25-33% of interns are hired on full time, and he hopes this number will grow.
Next, Katie Bridges (Internal Communications Intern) presented her "Intern Diary" video to us, showcasing some of the great work interns have done this summer as well as their insight on how it feels to be an ESPN Intern. She then turned it over to George Bodenheimer. The key take away from his speech was his encouragement for us to create goals and let them be known. To become a manager, lead a new department, be employed by ESPN when you graduate, whatever your goal may be.

Then, he said, go tell someone about it. Tell your manager, tell your friends, tell your family. He said one of his biggest frustrations is when people expect you to know what they want. They won’t unless you go out and make it known. He also said that maybe our goal should be to become President of ESPN. He loves that. He wants to know that people are out there working hard and aspiring to be on top. The best advice he has ever received, advice that he wanted to pass on to us, is “Be a student of the business.” Continue to learn and grow, don’t ever settle.

My impression of George: he is an inspiring leader and incredibly humble for all that he has accomplished. Part of this comes from his story getting into the company. He’s been at ESPN for 30 years and started at the bottom of the chain, driving around Texas selling for the company. I was one of the first interns to enter the GMA studio, and he walked right up to me and shook my hand, introducing himself, “Hi, I’m George.” With his sincerity and warmth, it was hard to believe he is the President of one of the biggest media brands in the world. He actually made the point to go up to every single intern and do the same, all 88 of us.

After he concluded his speech, the interns had time to mingle in the studio and take pictures with George. Then, the interns, along with Paul Richardson and the rest of the HR team, went to Dave and Busters for a luncheon. It was great to sit in a casual environment and get to know everyone, especially for me who had yet to meet any of the other interns. The interns from NY and Bristol were there, and myself and Cicely Parsons from the FL office were the only two to fly in from other parts of the country. We both felt very grateful to get the opportunity. It was also entertaining to introduce myself and get the response, “Oh, YOU’RE Seattle.” (Seattle= my new nick-name for the trip) I also enjoyed the immediate follow-up question after this discovery (primarily asked by the guys), “So do you have a crush on Jake Locker?” or “So will Jake Locker live up to the hype?”

Just when we thought the day couldn't get better, the Sales and Marketing Interns (myself included) were sent to the ABC building where about 20 of us got the chance to sit down with Sean Bratches, the Executive VP of Sales/Marketing. He is a very friendly and charismatic guy and really took interest in who we were/what schools we went to. He gave us some great insight on what he looks for in in the hiring process. Digital marketing knowledge, social media experience, and the ability to think outside the box all came up as key qualities. As far as advice goes, he told us to find what interests us most and stick with it. He found a passion not only in his profession but with the industry it is in. He loves the fact that he can go home to his kid’s everyday and tell them about cool things going on at ESPN because his family all shares a love of sports. As far as the company goes, he stresses that ESPN must be willing to venture into new uncharted markets (Used 3-D as a great example). His enthusiasm not only for the company as a whole, but for the Sales and Marketing division, was admirable and incredibly contagious.

-Wednesday/Thursday: The big intern event was over, but my trip wasn't! I got the opportunity to work in the NY office on Wed. and Thurs. and meet with over a dozen employees one on one to discuss their positions in the company. Everyone was so incredibly welcoming and encouraging, and I couldn't appreciate it more. I met with account managers, planners, sales execs, mobile/video experts, and even a couple of the big bosses :) I was also excited to meet some people from Marketing, a division I am very interested in. I really could go on forever about my experiences with each of these people, but to summarize it: couldn't have gone any better.

NYC was a huge turning point for me, it brought so much together in this experience. Now, with four weeks left, I can't wait to challenge myself to finish my big project and really leave my mark in Seattle. Stay tuned...

The Weekly Newsletter

One of my jobs as an intern is to keep the team I work with here and in New York updated on things specific to ESPN as a company and in the Digital Sales/Advertising industries. To do so, I will be pulling information from articles on various online publications to come up with what I call the EAS AAM Weekly Newsletter! Below is a copy of last weeks letter, which I sent out on Friday. I will post these weekly!

Weekly EAS AAM Newsletter

ESPN a WC Mobile Success
The airing of the WC on ESPN Mobile TV channel is MobiTV’s highest performing live event to date. As of last Friday, 88 million minutes of live WC action had been viewed on mobile screens across America.
http://moconews.net/article/419-world-cup-goes-digital-only-for-some/


Official Sponsors Trump “Ambushers” After Start of World Cup
Study from the Neilson Company shows that brands like Nike and Carlsberg (not official WC sponsors), labeled as “Ambushers,” got the most online buzz around their brand before the start of WC action. However, 2 weeks in, Adidas and Hyundai (official sponsors) have now moved up in ranks thanks to exposure during the live streaming of the matches. Adidas now holds number one spot for most online buzz. http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144773

Foursquare and CNN, Unsuccessful WC Partnership
Foursquare partnered with CNN to encourage fans to “check-in” with their mobile devices to win special badges, like “South Africa Explorer” for people traveling to the WC or “Super Fan” for those attending games. It was a flop. For the tens of thousands of fans in attendance, the Elkah Stadium in Johannesburg only got 241 check-ins.

ESPN and ACC Reach 12-Year Agreement
ESPN gains exclusive rights to every conference-controlled football/men’s basketball/women’s basketball/Olympic sports games and conference championships. Both parties are very excited about the deal.


Google Dominates Smartphone Platforms
All major smartphone platforms lost share to Google Android in recent 3 month period. From Feb 2010 to May 2010, while Apple and Microsoft lost 1-2 percent of marketshare, Google gained 4.
http://moconews.net/article/419-android-gains-marketshare-while-all-others-lose-it/

World Cup Final this Sunday!
Shout out to Alex Pepperl, who is still in the running to win the team jersey if Netherlands takes it.

Does Google Belong in Your Living Room?

Google Web, Google Images, Google Videos, Google Maps, Google News, Google Shopping Google Mail, Google Books, Google Finance, Google Translate, Google Scholar….I think I’ve made my point, but the list still goes on. What can’t Google do for you? The phrase “Google it” seems to be the solution to any unsolved problem. And Google hasn’t just limited itself to household use, it’s even expanded to the mobile market (the fastest growing market today) with the Android OS, giving the iPhone a run for its money. There is one giant piece of the puzzle missing though, and Google knows exactly what that is. Television. The average American watches 4.5 hours of it per day. TV drives nearly 70 billion dollars in advertising per year. TV matters. It seems a logical next step for companies such as Google and Apple to get involved, right? Well, it really isn’t that simple. Apple did take a stab at TV with Apple TV, but it wasn’t successful, and Steve Jobs admitted that it was simply a hobby and that he believes the TV industry is nearly impossible to overhaul. But for the first time, with Google TV, we may see some success. Google is bringing something entirely different to the table this time, and the keys lie in their timing along with content, technology, and their path to market.

What exactly is Google TV? The video below will tell you, in Google’s own words.



An important point to take from this is that Google believes they have pinpointed the problem with TV today: the user has to change their schedule to fit their TV schedule. I guess I can relate to this, seeing as Monday nights I find myself moving my usual work-out aside in order to catch the newest Bachelorette episode (embarrassing as that is to admit). Google recognizes this, and believes that more and more people are watching shows online these days anyway due to the pure convenience of it. They ultimately ask us this question:

"If the web is so smart, and our TV’s are so fun to watch, why do we have to choose? Why can’t they work together?"

Starting this Fall, people won’t have to choose anymore because Google TV will launch. Now, let’s address the keys to their predicted success. Timing is crucial because we are living in a world where the technology is available to do something like this, and Google is going to use it to the full potential. Content is also a crucial piece. With users already spending countless hours per day on the web--in addition to watching TV--there is plenty of material out there that people want to watch, and they do it on their computers because it is the best/only option. If they had to choose between watching it on their 17” laptop or their 42” flat screen, which do you think would win? I’m guessing the latter. What makes Google most unique in their approach and gives them what seems to be the biggest advantage is the path to market they have laid out for themselves. They have partnered with Sony, Logitech, and Intel to put Google TV inside of televisions, Blu-ray players, and companion boxes, which will be available at Best Buy this Fall.

With this, Google believes they will, “turn the living room into a new platform for innovation.” But what does this mean for advertising dollars? In the immediate future, very little. For now, the ad opportunities will remain in the content itself. Senior Product Manager Rishi Chandra said, "We want to get the product experience right first." But Chandra also believes that we will soon see similar developments as with the mobile industry; sites will begin to mold and evolve for the Web TV experience. But as the product becomes more available and usable, Google will be constantly working to innovate it. With that, we can predict that they will likely capitalize on Google TV Ads (http://www.google.com/adwords/tvads/) with new ad formats in attempts to grab some of the share of the nearly 70 billion TV ad dollars floating out there.

If successful, Google hopes they can someday completely change the face of advertising by, in the words of Henrique De Castro (Google's Global VP of Media & Platforms), “unbundling the ad from the content.” Commercials can become highly personalized, just as ads can be on the Web, and Google has provided a few examples of possible changes to come. The complexity of ads will change and be very dynamic by taking cues from the weather, traffic, political conditions, or even game results. What if you woke up to a rainy Seattle day and your Google TV plays you ads for new rain boots or a trip to Disneyland, then days later a heat wave arrives and Home Depot is exposing you to an air conditioner? They will also have the ability, based on your history in using the product, to provide you with things relevant to your personal life. “Social is Life. Life is social…” De Castro said, stressing the point that constant connection is important to people these days, something that Google TV can provide.

Personally, I don’t know what to think about it. My generation is programmed to accept innovations and changes, and I generally fit into this stereo type. I’m all for the advancement of technology. But when is it going too far? Is Google going to take over the world? Will Google know more about it’s users than they know about themselves? I'm not too concerned with this, but there are a lot of people out there who are. While reading articles concerning Google TV, I found tons of negative feedback. Comments like, “Call me paranoid, but this sounds like a bad sci-fi movie becoming a reality!” or “I wonder how long it will take for the Department of Homeland Security to starts accessing the data!” Also, many people associate the TV with sitting back and relaxing, crashing, and being entertained, not with interacting. However, as proven over the past decade, things change and they change fast. So if Google TV truly is a success, who knows what is in store for TV in the next few years.


SOURCES:
CMS Wire:
http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-engagement/google-tv-is-taking-digital-advertising-on-a-wild-ride--007917.php
Google TV:
http://www.google.com/tv/
James McQuivey:
http://blogs.forrester.com/james_mcquivey/10-06-10-google_tv_bigger_deal_you_think
All Things Digital:
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100630/hulu-ceo-jason-kilar-were-no-cable-killer-we-swear/