The Undeniable Leader with Rob Cressy

Sports retailers continue to struggle. Gander Mountain recently declared bankruptcy and Finish Line sold off its running speciality business JackRabbit for nothing (literally.)Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy talk about why sports retailers continue to struggle. What can they do to take a page from the brands that are delivering a fabulous in store experience and building a community around it? How...

Risk and reward: two fundamental elements of life as an entrepreneur. On this episode, Brian and Rob share insight into situations they've encountered along their entrepreneurial journeys that have required some serious risk, but come with the rewards to match it. Learn about their approach to each situation and how they took action in the moment to better understand what you can do if you fi...

March Madness is a huge opportunity for brands to engage sports fans. To help get a true representation of which brands are doing the best at engaging fans during March Madness, Bold Worldwide created March Adsanity. On this episode Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy give a preview of what exactly March Adsanity is and who they expect to win it all. The format is simple: the tournament starts during t...

LaVar Ball is trying to change the way the sports marketing game is played by creating Big Baller Brand, a lifestyle and apparel brand inspired by his three highly touted basketball playing sons, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy talk about why they like the idea of LaVar Ball taking control into his own hands and building a brand around his sons. Why should schools be ab...

March Madness is one of the most magical times of the year. Both casual and diehard sports fans embrace on a month long shared experience of fun, excitement and passion. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy talk about the best ways for brands to market around March Madness. Hint: it’s super simple. Create a bracket challenge, engage with your audience, have fun. If you want to go next level, go and find...

Many sports brands are making a concerted effort to doing more to bring equality in sports. It starts with getting the conversation going and making it part of an ongoing narrative. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy talk about which brands are doing their part in marketing around equality in sports. What can be done to help increase awareness to women’s sports? What ways can content be used to keep t...

The New York Knicks keep piling on to the train wreck of a season they are having by playing no music, videos, or in-game entertainment in the first half of a nationally televised game against the Golden State Warriors. The results were awful as players, coaches, and fans all did not like the experience. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy try and make some sense out of what in the world the Knicks wer...

Adidas promised to give an island to any NFL draft prospect who broke Chris Johnson’s 40-yard dash record, as long as they were wearing the 2017 adizero 5-Star 40 cleats and accepted an endorsement deal with the company before the 2017-18 NFL season. Amazingly, John Ross, a WR from Washington, broke Chris Johnson’s record by running a 4.22. He did so, however, in Nike’s. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cr...

Chris Zoller, Director of Marketing and Product Development for Everlast Worldwide, joins Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy to talk about what it is like marketing an icon brand and pushing it into new places. Everlast has built out an in-house studio so what role does podcasting and live video play in helping them engage their community and tell their story? How should other brands be thinking about...

At the 2017 Social Media Week in New York Brian Cristiano hosted a panel alongside Megan Ryan, from the Atlanta Hawks, and Daniel Roberts, from Yahoo Finance, where they talked about sports, content, and marketing. In this episode Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy talk about the best takeaways and quotes from the panel. In each episode of The Sports Marketing Huddle, CEO of BOLD Worldwide Brian Crist...

Lindsey Naber, Director of Marketing for Rawlings Sporting Goods, joins Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy to talk about Rawlings 130 year history and how they’ve been able to sustain their excellence. How have the evolved over the years and used their relationship with Major League Baseball to their advantage? What do MLB teams do with all of the balls that are no longer suitable for game play? How d...

Jonathan Cane, Founder of City Coach, joins Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy to talk about the running community, brands who are doing a good job of embracing it, plus Nike’s marketing campaign around breaking a 2:00 marathon. Is this just a marketing ploy or is it actually possible? What impact, if any, occurs if a Nike athlete is not able to accomplish this? Is controversy good for brands? In each...

James Royer, Director of Digital Media & Strategy for the Kansas City Chiefs, joins Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy to share his keys to success for delivering engagement. The Chiefs ranked number one among all NFL teams in Facebook engagement, and number five in Twitter engagement. In the final eleven weeks of the NFL season their Instagram engagement increased from 22nd to 8th. What changed t...

Everyone loves to see their name in lights, especially fans at sporting events who are always trying to get on the Jumbotron, Kiss Cam, or get a quick glimpse on TV. 15SOF reached a partnership with Major League Baseball Advanced Media to deliver personal highlights and video footage to fans after they appear on TV on in-stadium Jumbotrons. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about how this level...

Sports ratings are down across the board for the major sports. Why is this? Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about why declining sports TV ratings are only telling one side of the story. It’s not as much about the sports themselves as it is about how sports fans are consuming sports content on multiple platforms, not just TV. At the end, Brian and Rob give actionable advice on what you can impl...

Major League Baseball has launched Facebook live studio shows just in time for Spring Training. Content has included the first two innings of the Boston Red Sox game, “Bartolo Cam”, and a commercial shoot with Marlins Giancarlo Stanton. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about why more teams, leagues, and brands need to embrace Facebook Live and give the fans what they want. For teams with limite...

Let’s get tactical. What are the best ways to increase awareness via organic and paid social strategies? Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy drop a ton of actionable knowledge from their own experiences on how sports brands and teams can deliver better results with their organic and paid strategies. What are the specific tactics that can help social media marketing teams increase engagement? What are t...

How important is having the same social media handle across all platforms? What if your handle isn’t easy to spell? Does it actually matter? Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about the value of consistency in a social media handle. Brian recently changed his social media handle across the board and shares insight into why he did it. At the end Brian and Rob give actionable advice on what you can...

Monster Energy has said that they won’t have their models at NASCAR races change their risque outfits despite some criticism voiced on social media after the Clash at Daytona. Monster is in its first year of a $20 million a year deal as title sponsor for NASCAR. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about why they agree with Monster Energy’s decision to not change the outfits their models wear at NA...

Kara Hutchinson, Director of Marketing for the Boston Celtics, joins Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy to share insight into what it was like marketing around the Big 3 (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen) enroute to winning an NBA Championship, the rise of Isaiah Thomas as the face of the franchise, the balance of marketing a team vs a Superstar, the benefits of having multiple other professi...

Snapchat filed for their IPO and people are losing their collective shit. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dedicate this entire episode to talking about all things Snapchat. What is their likelihood of success considering how much of a loss they are running at right now? What exactly is their revenue model? How worried should we be about the competition and the attention they are taking away from Sn...

Sports publishers are finding it increasingly difficult to stay in business thanks to a shift from desktop to mobile consumption, which is harder for publishers to monetize, and the inventory they are able to monetize continuing to have decreasing CPM’s and click thru rates. One example of this is Scout Media, who recently sold for pennies on the dollar. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about t...

Gatorade just became the new title sponsor of the NBA D-League, marking the first time one of the four big U.S. professional sports leagues has named an entitlement sponsor. The league will now be called the NBA G-League. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about if Gatorade’s sponsorship of the G-League is a good thing. What ways does the sponsorship align with the Gatorade brand and goals? What...

NBA All Star Weekend took place in New Orleans this past weekend and unfortunately did not deliver on what is usually a phenomenal NBA product. One of the main reasons is the lack of excitement surrounding the Slam Dunk contest and the lack of competitiveness of the All Star game itself. Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about various topics from NBA All Star Weekend including Aaron Gordon using...

What makes a great leader? In their conversation with a sports marketing class at the University of Dubuque, Brian Cristiano and Rob Cressy dish about the qualities and standards for great leadership. -In each episode of The Sports Marketing Huddle, CEO of BOLD Worldwide Brian Cristiano, and Founder of Cress Media & Bacon Sports Rob Cressy give a forward-thinking perspective about some of the...