Business Of Social

David Brickley, CEO of STN Digital, takes the stage to tackle a topic that impacts every team, league, athlete, brand, and sponsor in sports - why so much sponsored content misses the mark and how to fix it. Drawing from more than a decade of experience working across the sports ecosystem, David breaks down real-world examples from brands like Amazon Prime, Fanatics, Royal Kingdom, CarMax, Castrol...

NFL teams generated over $1.5B in social value last season. But most teams still are not capitalizing on the content that actually drives engagement, reach, and sponsorship revenue. In this episode, David Brickley sits down with Dan LaTorraca, Head of Marketing at Zoomph and former NFL and NHL team executive, to break down the biggest trends from the 2025 NFL Social Media Report. You'll learn: • W...

Recorded live at the SPORT BEACH Clubhouse content studio during Super Bowl week in San Francisco — a destination where sport, culture, and innovation collide — David Brickley sits down with Kati Fernandez, Chief Content Officer at TOGETHXR, for a candid and strategic conversation on content, community, and the meteoric rise of women's sports. Kati breaks down her career path — from the NFL to Hul...

A lot of people have "marketing" in their title—but what they're doing is actually just low-funnel performance tracking. In this episode, David Brickley breaks down the real reason most marketing strategies fall flat: skipping the top of the funnel entirely. He dives into why awareness still matters, how to build real community and trust, and what it actually means to be additive to culture. If yo...

Everyone's talking about AI—but is anyone talking about what's not working? In this episode, David Brickley breaks down why AI adoption isn't moving as fast as the hype, and why marketers need to approach it with more patience than panic. He covers: The Ben Affleck quote that reframed his thinking Why 95% of AI pilots are failing, according to MIT The $1.5B lawsuit that could shape copyright law f...

This WNBA season was historic…and the data proves it. STN teamed up with Zoomph to analyze 20,000+ posts from every WNBA team, tracking engagement, growth, and earned media value. David Brickley is joined by Zoomph's James Ho to reveal the biggest takeaways from the 2025 WNBA Social Rankings, including the teams, formats, and content types driving massive impact. This episode covers: • How the Fev...

Sabrina Zohar, host of The Sabrina Zohar Show (7M+ downloads, top 0.1% globally), joins David Brickley for a raw, honest conversation about mental health, dating, relationships, and childhood trauma—and how all of it ties into the patterns we carry as adults. They unpack the psychology behind anxious vs avoidant attachments, the neuroscience of texting anxiety, the truth about boundaries (hint: it...

Caity Bransby, Head of Global Social - Growth, Strategy, Analytics at StubHub, joins David Brickley to break down how her team built a content engine that taps into real-time trends, drives massive earned reach, and keeps StubHub top-of-mind across sports and entertainment. They walk through the exact moments that broke the internet—from the Kendrick Lamar tower edit to Coldplay's HR scandal to th...

Too many brands still try to hijack the culture instead of creating with it. In this episode, David Brickley breaks down seven sports sponsorships that actually worked—each one built trust, earned credibility, and showed how to add to the conversation instead of interrupting it. From LeBron's viral Prime Day tease to Nike's emotional Asia Wilson campaign, these are the moments that didn't just che...

It's official: TikTok is getting a U.S.-based spinoff. Trump signed an executive order valuing the U.S. portion at $14 billion, shifting control of the algorithm, data, and oversight into U.S. hands—likely via Oracle. But here's what's still unclear: Will you still be able to search for global content? Will your For You Page feel like a walled garden? Will brands and sports teams need regional acc...

In this episode, David Brickley sits down with Casey Hurbis, Chief Marketing Officer at BetMGM, to talk about brand-building in crowded markets, the evolution of betting, and how smart marketers earn attention. They cover: - Why a great customer experience still beats a great offer - The biggest challenge in regulated markets—and how BetMGM navigates 29 states - The power of loyalty programs in a...

🔥 The Indiana Fever and Pacers are out-engaging major brands—and they're doing it without relying on follower count.   David Brickley sits down with Tyler Beadlecomb, SVP of Marketing Content at Pacers Sports & Entertainment, to break down how his team builds shareable content, taps into cultural moments like Stranger Things, and turns viral spikes into long-term fan growth.   📱 This episode cov...

🎙️🌴 Recorded at Sport Beach during the Cannes Lions Festival In this special edition of the Business of Social, David Brickley sits down with Theresa LeBlanc, VP of Client Services at STN Digital, for her first on-the-record interview. They dive into: How agency life has evolved—from hero graphics to real-time shareable content Why embracing change is non-negotiable for anyone in social The minds...

🎙️🌴 Recorded at Sport Beach during the Cannes Lions Festival David Brickley sits down with TJ Adeshola (Operating Partner at Arctos and former Global Head of Sports at Twitter) to talk about everything—from the evolution of social, to athlete-led storytelling, to why sports remains the most undervalued asset in media. 👀 Highlights: How lived experience—not just information—is the new marketing a...

🎙️🌴 Recorded at Sport Beach during the Cannes Lions Festival David Brickley reunites with long-time industry friend and Fresh Tape Media GM Danny Halpren for a real-time pulse check on social, agencies, platforms, and where things are headed next. 🧠 In this episode: Why small agencies are thriving (and what big agencies still don't get) The rise—and over-saturation—of lo-fi content How creators...

🎙️🌴 Recorded at Sport Beach during the Cannes Lions Festival David Brickley sits down with Cassie Kennedy, Director of Player Marketing at the NFLPA, for a wide-ranging conversation on athlete partnerships, storytelling, and how brands can stop missing the mark. 🔥 Topics include: The real reason some athlete-brand deals fall flat Why followers are a distraction—and what actually drives engagemen...

🎙️🌴 Voices of Sport Beach | Recorded at Sport Beach during the Cannes Lions Festival David Brickley sits down with Karin Kildow, Owner & CEO of Content Capital Group (CCG Social), for an inside look at how her team builds and manages the personal brands of athletes—from NFL stars to retired legends—through authentic, creator-first social strategies. 📱 In this episode: What it actually takes to r...

🎙️🌴 Voices of Sport Beach | Recorded at Sport Beach during the Cannes Lions Festival David Brickley sits down with Keisha Taylor Starr, CMO & GM at Scripps Networks, for a wide-ranging convo in Cannes—covering everything from launching WNBA Friday Nights on ION to building authentic brand energy and championing women in sports. 📺 In this episode: The real reason Scripps bet on women's sports (be...

Who's really winning on social media in sports? David Brickley and Jason Samuelsen break down the most comprehensive sports social media report to date—ranking all 124 teams across the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB by engagement per post, total engagements, and year-over-year growth. 📊 In this episode: The top team across the Big 4 leagues (based on real data) The content buckets driving the most engage...

📍Recorded live at the Gondola Sports Summit 2025 in Denver, Colorado David joined Gondola's Sports Summit 2025 panel: "The Agency Assist: How Various Production Companies and Creative Agencies Are Powering Team Growth." Alongside David Herman (Fresh Tape Media) and Andrew Carter (Two Circles), this panel digs into what it really looks like to bolt on external support that actually moves the needl...

Everyone's talking about AI tools. But no one's talking about the lawsuits. In this episode, David Brickley breaks down why using AI-generated content—especially images, video, and audio—might be putting your brand at serious legal risk. ⚖️ This episode covers: Why the first AI copyright court case just set a major precedent How Getty, The New York Times, and Sarah Silverman are fighting back What...

Sleeping on YouTube Shorts = leaving serious money on the table. In this episode, David Brickley breaks down why YouTube Shorts is the most underrated (and underused) platform—and why your brand should be taking it way more seriously. 📊 This episode covers: - Why 90% of $75K+ US earners are on YouTube - The crazy scale of YouTube Shorts (70B+ daily views!) - Why just cross-posting your vertical c...

Your content isn't going viral because… it's not being shared. In this episode, David Brickley explains why shares and DMs are the most valuable engagement you can get—and why a simple like isn't nearly enough anymore. 📈 This episode covers: - Why shares and DMs matter way more than likes - How platforms reward highly shareable content - What a share really signals about your content - How to ret...

"Gen Z just has no attention span." Nope. Your content just sucks. In this episode, David Brickley breaks down why short attention spans aren't a generational issue—they're a boring content issue. If your video isn't grabbing attention, it's not because your audience is too distracted. It's because your content isn't good enough. 🔥 This episode covers: Why blaming Gen Z is lazy marketing The myth...

12 years. 8 figures. Dozens of hires, pivots, wins, and mistakes. In this episode, David Brickley shares the 12 most valuable lessons he's learned after building STN Digital from a two-person startup to one of the top social-first agencies in sports and entertainment. 💼 This episode covers: The one question that reveals if a team member is in the right seat 🙋 Why stress usually comes down to one...