Over this nice long fall break I decided to a little school work and get my interview source done for project three. I usually enjoy doing interviews with people, especially on topics that I have an interest for. So, over the weekend I met with Jeff Johnson the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Developmental League. Johnson who has been with the team since their inaugural season in 2007 has witnessed the growing pains of a professional sports organization.
Having personal ties with the team, as I interned with them during their first two seasons, the interview was very informal. During our conversations I did not realize how much I had experience first hand while interning with them. We discussed the sales and marketing side of the buisness, which I personally interned for, it was interesting to learn how they started up their intinal sales process and what it took to get the organization off the ground. The more detailed parts of sales, like formualting ticket prices and packages, sponorships, and contractural realtionships. The one thing that really caught my interest was how the orginzation had to create and drive demand for their product. Fort Wayne is very know as a fair weather city when it comes to sports and starting up a brand new team with no track record was no easy task. Overall the interview gave me an update on the new trends happening with the Mad Ants and in the developmental league.
Being entrepreneurial myself I truly admire and have learned a lot from my time with the Mad Ants. I was able to attain real world experience from a management team that was willing to work with a high school student and teach him the ropes of the sports industry and business.
This does sound like a very interesting interview! Sounds like this organization definitely had their share of work cut out for them. Good luck with your project!
ReplyDelete