Setting the Bar on the Strip: CMO Eric Tosi on the Vegas Golden Knights’ Marketing Mastery

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[00:01:26] The best activations, they're going to be on brand for the team.

[00:01:29] They're going to support the partner's goals in terms of visibility or metrics

[00:01:33] that they're looking for and they're going to benefit the fan.

[00:01:35] So we've had a few successful ones of those and one that we really are proud

[00:01:40] of is if we score two goals in a home game, everybody in the arena gets free

[00:01:44] tacos from Taco Bell.

[00:01:45] Nice.

[00:01:45] So that's become a moment now that fans look forward to when our PA announcer teased

[00:01:48] up where he'll say, I have a very important announcement to make and

[00:01:51] everyone knows what's coming.

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[00:02:05] trends within their industry, why it matters now and how you can keep up.

[00:02:09] Welcome to the speed of culture.

[00:02:16] Today, we're thrilled to be joined by Eric Tosti, the CMO of the Vegas

[00:02:19] Golden Knights right here in Las Vegas, where we're here at the CES 2024 show.

[00:02:24] Eric, it's so great to see you.

[00:02:25] Yeah, thanks so much for having me.

[00:02:26] Absolutely.

[00:02:27] So to chat with you.

[00:02:28] Yeah.

[00:02:28] So it's always great to kind of get a little bit of a texture of the local

[00:02:31] flair of what's going on here in Las Vegas.

[00:02:33] It's such an exciting market and there's so many new things that are happening.

[00:02:36] Of course, the Sphere is a new venue that I'm staring at from our hotel

[00:02:40] room every day and it just, it really is the heart of entertainment and

[00:02:44] where things are headed and sports in Las Vegas itself was something that

[00:02:48] a dream until a couple of years ago and now it's quickly becoming a major hub.

[00:02:52] Talk just about what you're seeing more broadly here in the entertainment

[00:02:55] and sports world, more specifically here in Las Vegas.

[00:02:58] Yeah, it's been incredible to see how this city has transformed and evolved

[00:03:01] in the last six, seven, eight years since the arrival of NHL hockey

[00:03:04] and the Vegas Golden Knights.

[00:03:05] As you said, there was a bit of a stigma around Vegas in terms of

[00:03:08] professional sports, would have been here because of gambling,

[00:03:11] the integrity of the games, leagues made explorations into seeing that

[00:03:15] this was a viable market and just was determined for whatever reason,

[00:03:18] multiple reasons that it wasn't going to be viable for those reasons.

[00:03:20] So when Vegas Golden Knights came in in 2017, that ushered in new era of the city.

[00:03:26] And it's not just the entertainment cap of the world anymore.

[00:03:28] It's the sports entertainment cap of the world, which is amazing

[00:03:31] to see what has happened with the NHL's arrival.

[00:03:33] You have the Raiders now here.

[00:03:35] You have the two time WNBA champion, Las Vegas Aces, Formula One race

[00:03:39] this past November, which was incredible Superbowl here in February.

[00:03:42] So it's evolved past just a gambling convention town.

[00:03:46] And it's now with the UFC here, it's now a premier sports destination

[00:03:50] with whatever your interest.

[00:03:51] It's going to be in Vegas, which is incredible for the city.

[00:03:54] And I think there's news about major league

[00:03:55] baseball coming here as well.

[00:03:56] Oakland A's will be here in a couple of seasons, too.

[00:03:59] So that just got approved this this past offseason.

[00:04:01] So another major thing is the last piece.

[00:04:03] Right. NBA team T-Mobile Arena, where we play at the

[00:04:06] Golden Knights is made for an NBA basketball team.

[00:04:08] Yeah, there's another significant project that's happening

[00:04:10] on the south end of the strip that got approved.

[00:04:12] That has plans for another arena here, too.

[00:04:14] So NBA is not too far behind.

[00:04:16] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:04:17] And what do you think changed that allow the Golden Knights to come here

[00:04:21] based upon some of the hesitations that existed with the major sports leagues?

[00:04:24] I think there was more adoption of sports betting and gambling.

[00:04:27] I think there's just more of a tolerance.

[00:04:29] But it is everywhere right now.

[00:04:31] But also the Golden Knights provided proof of concept in the city.

[00:04:34] And in terms of the connection that the fan base has here to the Golden Knights,

[00:04:38] people didn't really understand the market and knowing that it is fairly

[00:04:42] it's viewed as fairly transient, but there's still two point two million people

[00:04:45] that live here, which is puts it around 40th in terms of the DMAs in the country.

[00:04:49] But with the Golden Knights success in that first season,

[00:04:53] it proved that it was a viable sports market.

[00:04:55] Yeah, it was more than just, again, the conventions or marquee events,

[00:04:58] big fights that comes through here that it could support local sports teams.

[00:05:01] Yeah. And unlike other markets,

[00:05:03] there is such a huge tourism component here that on a normal night

[00:05:06] for a Golden Knights game, do you have more locals coming

[00:05:09] or is it predominantly tourists that are coming?

[00:05:11] That's a great question.

[00:05:12] We have heavily marketed and positioned ourselves as the local team.

[00:05:16] So while we appreciate visiting fans with their curiosity

[00:05:19] and coming in and seeing what our fan experience is all about,

[00:05:21] we want it to be local.

[00:05:22] And so they're visiting fans that come in.

[00:05:25] We view this as the most sought after destination.

[00:05:27] If you were visiting NHL fan, if you were going to pick one trip

[00:05:30] to go to during a season to watch your team play,

[00:05:32] if you were from Columbus or Detroit or Boston or Chicago,

[00:05:35] you want to go see your team play the Knights.

[00:05:36] You want to come to Vegas, see a game on the strip,

[00:05:38] see what our fan experience is all about.

[00:05:40] But in terms of how we want our home ice advantage to be,

[00:05:43] we want it to be local.

[00:05:44] And so our fan base is predominantly local.

[00:05:46] That's how we like it. It's how we want it.

[00:05:47] And it's on us to make sure that it stays that way.

[00:05:49] Yeah. And when I think of the NHL,

[00:05:51] historically you think of cold weather environments,

[00:05:54] whether it be Boston or Toronto, the Maple Leafs or the Red Wings,

[00:05:58] places where it's cold and Las Vegas is in the desert.

[00:06:01] I mean, I know there are other warm weather NHL environments,

[00:06:05] but with their concern just about the receptivity to an NHL team

[00:06:08] and what sort of work went into the market analysis of that decision?

[00:06:12] Very legitimate concern.

[00:06:13] So, yeah, it's a paradox in and of itself.

[00:06:15] Is that ice hockey team in the desert where it gets to be 115 degrees

[00:06:19] sometimes in the summer looking at the market prior to the arrival,

[00:06:23] three sheets of ice in the entire town to service two million people.

[00:06:26] So if you look at there's some facilities in New England,

[00:06:29] some facilities in Minnesota that have four sheets of ice

[00:06:31] and one complex in suburbia in those markets.

[00:06:34] So there really wasn't much of an ice hockey or youth hockey

[00:06:38] community or infrastructure that existed here.

[00:06:40] So there are a lot of unknowns.

[00:06:41] But what we've seen in terms of the adoption, we like to say

[00:06:44] and point out the fact that we were terms of USA hockey enrollment,

[00:06:47] which is a good metric to look at as far as where the hotspots are

[00:06:50] for interest in hockey and participation, youth hockey,

[00:06:53] particularly at the youth levels.

[00:06:55] We were 48 out of 50 in the country in terms of USA hockey

[00:06:58] enrollment in 2016, and we've now climbed up into the top half

[00:07:02] just because of us adding more ice hockey infrastructure in place here,

[00:07:06] programming training and then obviously interest.

[00:07:09] Yeah. With the success of the team, there's more families,

[00:07:11] there's more kids that are, hey, I want to be like William Carlson.

[00:07:14] I want to be like the gold knights.

[00:07:15] I want to play for the gold knights.

[00:07:16] And now there's a pathway and a development program

[00:07:19] that we've instituted that's helped the game flourish here.

[00:07:22] Absolutely. So in your role as CMO,

[00:07:24] I imagine first and foremost, it's putting worm butts

[00:07:27] in cold seats, so to speak.

[00:07:29] But so what goes into that?

[00:07:30] What goes into the, I guess, the pie chart of the role of the CMO

[00:07:33] of a professional sports organization?

[00:07:35] Yeah, there's a lot that goes to it and a lot of different spokes

[00:07:37] and verticals that roll up underneath our marketing group.

[00:07:40] And there's our creative team, which has been really critical for us, I think.

[00:07:44] And I come from a creative and storytelling background,

[00:07:47] something I'm really passionate about and would argue one of my strengths as well.

[00:07:50] So that's something we definitely prioritize.

[00:07:52] And if you go to one of our games, you'll see that's a big piece

[00:07:54] of even the area around the arena in terms of just the signage

[00:07:58] that you're going to see the wraps.

[00:07:59] We really feel it does help elevate the overall experience,

[00:08:02] get people excited.

[00:08:03] And then when you go inside, same thing, just the visuals that you're seeing,

[00:08:07] the retail products that we're offering and then that overall vibe

[00:08:11] and energy that we're going to help cultivate and curate.

[00:08:13] Now, we always like to say, too, is that we can play the loud music.

[00:08:16] We can have the fun interactive games.

[00:08:18] We can have the fun video features that we play in arena.

[00:08:20] But if our crowd's not energized or bring it either,

[00:08:22] then it's not going to work.

[00:08:24] So so that's where our fans really come in.

[00:08:26] And it's a relationship where they have a high level of expectation

[00:08:30] and we want to meet and exceed.

[00:08:31] And then they bring the energy and the atmosphere has been

[00:08:34] regarded as the best in the NHL.

[00:08:36] Yeah, players have voted on that media has voted on that.

[00:08:39] So it's regarded as one of the best experiences.

[00:08:41] So back to your question, digital marketing will fall into there

[00:08:45] or out of home advertising will fall underneath our marketing group, too.

[00:08:47] And then data and insights as well.

[00:08:49] So there's quite a bit.

[00:08:50] And then our traditional fan development.

[00:08:52] How are we growing our markets?

[00:08:53] How are we adding to our fan base?

[00:08:55] We view really kind of four categories of where our fans fall in terms

[00:08:59] of our own internal segmentation.

[00:09:01] There's our diehards, our most passionate avid fans.

[00:09:04] Those are season ticket members.

[00:09:05] Those people who were hockey fans even before the team came into the market.

[00:09:08] Yeah, yeah, a lot of them were hockey fans, but a lot have become

[00:09:11] they're going to 30 of our 41 home games are going to 35 plus of our home

[00:09:15] games are watching our games on television on the road.

[00:09:17] And if they're not attending a game, they're watching.

[00:09:19] So they own a lot of our merchandise.

[00:09:21] So that's our most hardcore fan.

[00:09:23] And we got to keep them happy.

[00:09:23] We got to keep you engaged.

[00:09:25] We have to make sure the product on the ice, which is outside of obviously

[00:09:27] marketing control and purview.

[00:09:30] But the team on the ice has to be competitive and the experience needs

[00:09:34] to change to like we're in year seven right now, which is wild to think

[00:09:37] about that it's been as wild.

[00:09:39] Yeah.

[00:09:39] It's been such an amazing ride.

[00:09:41] But then you have our casual fans who probably go to a few games per year.

[00:09:44] So as a marketing team, like our vision is to pull them.

[00:09:47] We want them to become your, your avid.

[00:09:48] And then there's your, then your brand aware, but don't really kind

[00:09:52] of indifferent.

[00:09:53] So we want to pull them to start coming up with different ideas or programs,

[00:09:56] initiatives that, Hey, you went to one of our games, but you haven't really

[00:10:00] followed up or like a family night or something that like appeals them

[00:10:03] individually to bring them into the consideration.

[00:10:05] Exactly.

[00:10:05] Yeah.

[00:10:05] Then maybe you have a great experience at a game with your kids and the

[00:10:08] family, and then you're going to start watching more games on TV.

[00:10:10] You might buy a Jersey on the holidays or a birthday gift.

[00:10:13] And that's going to cultivate and accelerate their passion infinity

[00:10:16] for the golden Knights brand.

[00:10:18] And then the last group would be your brand unaware.

[00:10:19] So they live here, but they don't really follow hockey, care about hockey or

[00:10:23] presumably fall in that category.

[00:10:24] Tourists could fall in that category too.

[00:10:26] So what programming can we develop and engage those communities to

[00:10:28] grow our fan base as one of the core principles and goals of a marketer?

[00:10:32] And I would imagine programming in the venue is important to,

[00:10:35] to keep them excited.

[00:10:37] So there's a lot of thought going into everything from the music you

[00:10:40] play during the breaks and the giveaways and all sorts of things

[00:10:43] that make up the fan experience.

[00:10:44] A hundred percent.

[00:10:45] So we, we view, and this goes back to our brand storytelling is our

[00:10:48] golden Knights brand.

[00:10:49] We're really proud of the story that we have here and how unique it is and

[00:10:52] how it positions us uniquely, not just in our market, but really

[00:10:56] in all professional sports.

[00:10:57] So our owner, Bill Foley, he is a West Point grad military background

[00:11:02] went to serve in the air force as well.

[00:11:04] And he brings a lot of those mantras that are militaristic themes.

[00:11:08] You would say always advance, never retreat, which we actually

[00:11:10] have on the inside collar of our Jersey, never give up, never give in.

[00:11:13] So those are applied to kind of the mantra and philosophy

[00:11:16] that we want our players to have.

[00:11:17] Always advance.

[00:11:18] You can see how that can apply to a playoff team to advance the next round.

[00:11:22] And so personally and professionally, that's something that we

[00:11:25] embrace as a business staff is that we want to get better, improve every day,

[00:11:29] improve our business, improve ourselves in terms of professional development.

[00:11:32] So he's one pillar of our brand triangle.

[00:11:35] The second is our name, which is the golden Knights.

[00:11:37] So Bill was very intentional about what the concept of the

[00:11:41] Knight represents it's they're noble, they're valiant.

[00:11:43] They protect those that are unable to stand up for themselves.

[00:11:46] And so we brave, those are qualities that again, apply to our players on the ice

[00:11:52] and best case scenario, but they also help instill the mantra and philosophy

[00:11:57] and ethos that our business has in terms of being leaders in our community

[00:12:00] and inspiring our community.

[00:12:01] So that's what a Knight represents is something that we pull from.

[00:12:05] And then last piece to go to your question is what Vegas is all about.

[00:12:09] And what do you think of when you think of Vegas?

[00:12:10] It's fun.

[00:12:11] It's the bright lights.

[00:12:13] It's the Knight life.

[00:12:13] And so when we're talking about music selection, when we talk about our in arena

[00:12:17] activations, giveaways, like that's where we're on the strip.

[00:12:20] And there's a lot of competition for entertainment on the strip.

[00:12:23] The bar is pretty high.

[00:12:24] The bar is pretty high and we want to be the best show on the strip.

[00:12:27] And that's our goal.

[00:12:28] And that's our internal belief is that we are and need to continue to set

[00:12:31] that bar to be the best show on the strip.

[00:12:33] And that's where the music comes in, the lights, the giveaways, our hosts,

[00:12:39] and also just our partner activations that we have in arena, in venue too,

[00:12:43] that add to the overall entertainment experience that you're going to get when

[00:12:46] you come to one of our games in person.

[00:12:47] We'll be right back with the speed of culture after a few words from our spot.

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[00:13:56] And in terms of sports marketing, in general, one thing that's definitely

[00:13:59] changed at least from when I was a kid is like people listen to the songs

[00:14:04] and not the albums mean like they follow the players, especially the

[00:14:07] younger generation.

[00:14:08] They love the highlights versus just the team in general.

[00:14:11] There's fantasy sports, there's gambling and all other things that kind

[00:14:14] of have altered what it means to be a fan of sports.

[00:14:17] Is that translating to NHL as well?

[00:14:19] Yeah, so I think if we're being honest and we have to be in our own assessment

[00:14:22] of where there's opportunity to grow, I think NHL is lagging behind some of

[00:14:26] the other leagues in terms of that start of elements.

[00:14:28] I think you did a random poll on Las Vegas Boulevard to ask if you

[00:14:32] could name five NHL players or who's the best top three NHL players that

[00:14:36] you'd have a hard time getting.

[00:14:37] Because you don't have Wayne Gretzky in the league right now?

[00:14:40] Yeah, but the thing is, is we have a lot of exciting players and

[00:14:43] Connor McDavid and Edmonton, we have an extremely talented young player that

[00:14:46] was a rookie this year, Connor Bredard in Chicago, who's going to be a

[00:14:49] household name here in a few years.

[00:14:50] So the talent is there, but sometimes the personality doesn't always

[00:14:55] translate or connect to that more of that lifestyle transcendent beyond

[00:15:00] just NHL circles that are in awe of their ability, if that makes sense.

[00:15:04] A hundred percent.

[00:15:05] Yeah.

[00:15:05] So that's where even for us here, we have some incredible personalities

[00:15:09] and that's on our market responsibility and our content side too,

[00:15:12] is to make sure that we are putting our players in positions and lighthearted

[00:15:15] situations through our content and through our story telling, that creates

[00:15:19] more of that affinity and more of those laughs and fun that should be

[00:15:24] part of the experience when you're following and supporting a team.

[00:15:27] So how can we cultivate that from a content perspective?

[00:15:29] How can we utilize our players to shine a brighter light on their

[00:15:32] personalities beyond just how good of athletes they are?

[00:15:34] Yeah.

[00:15:35] And what about like platforms like TikTok in terms of short-form

[00:15:38] content highlights that are so very important to the younger generation of

[00:15:41] every name is at a fold.

[00:15:42] Exactly.

[00:15:42] So I think that's where we do have an advantage in hockey circles is that

[00:15:45] the highlights are extremely impressive.

[00:15:47] You can know very little about hockey and see some of the skill

[00:15:50] that's involved at the pace.

[00:15:52] Yeah, sports center brings it up to 10 almost every night you have hockey highlights.

[00:15:55] Exactly.

[00:15:55] Yeah.

[00:15:55] Saves big saves that you don't need to know much about hockey to

[00:15:58] see why that's a big time save.

[00:15:59] So definitely TikTok's a platform that across the league and especially

[00:16:03] here in Vegas, they've owed a lot of resources and time and strategy

[00:16:05] tours and you're going to continue to see that.

[00:16:07] We want to meet our fans where our fans live and where our fans are

[00:16:10] consuming content and reaching new audiences as well.

[00:16:13] So seeing doesn't take an expert to know just the adoption of TikTok

[00:16:17] and what those audience sizes look like.

[00:16:18] So it's a space where we're active and definitely a great home for

[00:16:22] those short form pieces of content highlights.

[00:16:24] Yeah.

[00:16:25] One thing that's really growing that we're seeing in talking to brands

[00:16:28] here at CES and this has been the case for years is just

[00:16:31] live sports is where it's at.

[00:16:32] That's where you can garner eyeballs at scale on linear television

[00:16:36] and streaming, et cetera.

[00:16:38] So I imagine another part of your role is also working with your

[00:16:40] corporate partners and sponsors to make sure they can leverage their

[00:16:44] investment and to create new partners.

[00:16:46] What are some of the trends you're seeing there and how are you

[00:16:48] guys working with your corporate partners?

[00:16:49] Yeah, yeah, it's interesting.

[00:16:51] There was a report that just came out for all 2023 that of the

[00:16:54] hundred most viewed events on television, 96 were live sports.

[00:16:58] Yeah, it's across male and female view too.

[00:17:00] 96 and then of the four that were not live sports, one was the

[00:17:04] cooking show that happened after the Super Bowl.

[00:17:06] So that is where the value can be for partners.

[00:17:13] And we know the regional sports network landscape has changed

[00:17:16] drastically in the last, really the last several months.

[00:17:19] Yeah.

[00:17:19] So we're now on it with a different partner on the broadcast

[00:17:22] side that is over the air.

[00:17:23] So we're going back in terms of just if you have cable, if

[00:17:26] you have digital Robert ears, you're able to watch gold

[00:17:29] nights games now within our TV territory.

[00:17:30] But we also have a streaming product too that we launched

[00:17:32] this season.

[00:17:33] So definitely a trend that we're seeing, but in terms of where

[00:17:37] you're providing value for your partners is the audience size

[00:17:39] is number one, but how can you genuinely connect and help them

[00:17:43] achieve their goals through unique activation?

[00:17:45] Yeah.

[00:17:45] And the best activations they're going to be on brand

[00:17:48] for the team.

[00:17:49] They're going to support the partner's goals in terms of

[00:17:51] visibility or metrics that they're looking for, and

[00:17:54] they're going to benefit the fan.

[00:17:55] So we've had a few successful ones of those and one that

[00:17:58] we really are proud of is if we score two goals in a home

[00:18:01] game, everybody in the arena gets free tacos from Taco Bell.

[00:18:04] Nice.

[00:18:05] So that's become a moment now that fans look forward to when

[00:18:07] our PA announcer teased up where he'll say I have a very

[00:18:10] important announcement to make and everyone knows what's

[00:18:12] coming.

[00:18:12] And it brings a casual fan in and more engagement.

[00:18:14] And look, it's a couple of tacos from Taco Bell, which

[00:18:16] may not be for everybody, but it's still we were at a

[00:18:19] poll and we have, if you survey our fans about what

[00:18:21] activations are they most familiar with, everybody knows

[00:18:24] that you score two goals in a period, you're getting free

[00:18:26] tacos.

[00:18:26] And so whether or not you're redeeming those tacos or

[00:18:28] not, it's great for the partner.

[00:18:30] It's part of the fun.

[00:18:31] Yeah.

[00:18:31] And then those are the most successful activations where

[00:18:34] again, that's on brand for us.

[00:18:35] There's no creative that doesn't look like ours or

[00:18:37] messaging that doesn't look like ours.

[00:18:39] It's benefiting a fan and the partners getting great

[00:18:42] exposure and benefiting the fan as well.

[00:18:44] Absolutely.

[00:18:45] So shifting gears a little bit to you.

[00:18:46] I mean, you'd spent most of your career in sports

[00:18:49] marketing.

[00:18:49] You worked for the Red Bull New York Major League Soccer

[00:18:52] team and then spent a good deal of time working for the

[00:18:55] Bruins in Boston, which is far more of an institution in

[00:18:58] Boston.

[00:18:58] Obviously Vegas is a much more transient market where Boston

[00:19:02] Bruins have advanced the years.

[00:19:04] So I imagine that was a lot different than here, but you

[00:19:08] probably got a lot of learnings that you've already

[00:19:09] talked to us about that experience working in Boston

[00:19:11] overall.

[00:19:12] Yeah.

[00:19:12] It's great sports down.

[00:19:13] Yeah.

[00:19:13] Loving from outside of Boston too.

[00:19:14] That was a team and grew up rooting for a team that's

[00:19:17] been around since 1924.

[00:19:18] There you go.

[00:19:18] Very traditional original six market, traditional fan base

[00:19:22] in terms of what is expected from the fans who've been

[00:19:24] following the team for decades and also have had their

[00:19:27] fandom passed down from generation to generation.

[00:19:29] So my dad Bruins fan, my grandfather Bruins fan passed

[00:19:33] down, which is great here.

[00:19:34] You're allowed to be a Bruins fan now?

[00:19:36] Yeah.

[00:19:37] We're actually playing them soon here and it's of the

[00:19:39] gold night.

[00:19:40] You aren't going to win the cup.

[00:19:40] Yeah.

[00:19:41] For the games when the gold Knights play the Bruins,

[00:19:42] we hope it goes to overtime and the gold Knights win.

[00:19:45] That's the hope.

[00:19:46] So very different coming to town like Las Vegas, first

[00:19:49] ever professional team in the city transient as you

[00:19:52] mentioned, whereas if our kids went to school together,

[00:19:55] mine might be from Boston.

[00:19:56] Yours are Philadelphia, right?

[00:19:58] So they could be Eagles, Phillies fans, Sixers fans,

[00:20:03] minor Patriots, Bruins, Red Sox fans.

[00:20:05] Though when it comes to playoff time, there's really

[00:20:07] not that connection between our kids.

[00:20:08] We live in New York, but I grew up in

[00:20:10] Philadelphia and I brought that to my kids and

[00:20:12] other Philadelphia fans even though we live in

[00:20:14] New York.

[00:20:15] Yeah, exactly.

[00:20:15] So that's what exactly how it played out here.

[00:20:18] But now with the arrival of the gold Knights,

[00:20:20] you're starting to see classrooms that would do

[00:20:22] math lessons or bulletin boards that have

[00:20:24] a golden Knights theme because that's something

[00:20:25] that's united the whole community together, which

[00:20:27] has been super cool and powerful to see.

[00:20:29] So the other piece that I think has been really

[00:20:33] rewarding is just that we viewed ourselves as

[00:20:36] a startup, a startup mentality or entrepreneurial

[00:20:40] mentality where we didn't have them.

[00:20:41] We were empowered to look at things differently

[00:20:43] and we're a hockey team in Las Vegas.

[00:20:45] We don't need to do things the way that the

[00:20:47] other 30 at the time in the NHL and we had

[00:20:50] that empowerment right from the start.

[00:20:52] I think that's where we got a lot of acclaim and

[00:20:54] recognition is because now teams around the

[00:20:58] league and even teams across the other sports

[00:21:00] have looked to us on as we've re-imagined the

[00:21:03] fan experience and what particularly the in

[00:21:05] venue experience looks like.

[00:21:06] So the opportunity of what works in Vegas

[00:21:09] isn't going to work in Boston.

[00:21:11] So while just two very different markets,

[00:21:13] very different fan bases and sure there's going

[00:21:15] to be transferable skills and learnings, but

[00:21:18] two very different markets.

[00:21:19] And the most exciting piece of it was that the

[00:21:22] ability to have no limits in terms of what we

[00:21:24] can imagine and what we can potentially look to

[00:21:27] execute on.

[00:21:27] And ride it all the way to the Stanley Cup,

[00:21:29] right?

[00:21:29] Ride it all the way to the Stanley Cup.

[00:21:30] Tell us about that experience and that run

[00:21:32] up and what it was like to be in this city

[00:21:34] and be involved with the organization to have

[00:21:36] them win a Stanley Cup so early in the

[00:21:37] life cycle of franchise.

[00:21:39] So first year everybody after we had our

[00:21:41] expansion draft, the reports were out there

[00:21:43] that we were going to be the worst team in

[00:21:44] the league, worst expansion team ever.

[00:21:46] And we went on this magical lightning in a

[00:21:48] bottle season where we made it to the

[00:21:50] Stanley Cup final, but we lost in that first

[00:21:52] year.

[00:21:52] So a bunch of misfits cast offs from other

[00:21:55] teams cobbled together this roster and

[00:21:56] somehow it galvanized the sport.

[00:21:58] So many fans from other markets were really

[00:22:00] pulling for you guys.

[00:22:01] Yeah, exactly.

[00:22:02] And our games were fun.

[00:22:03] The market is fun as we talked about from

[00:22:05] the outset, Vegas is a city that people go

[00:22:07] to to enjoy themselves.

[00:22:08] And that's what we want to capture when

[00:22:10] you attend one of our games in person.

[00:22:11] So from there still had some successful

[00:22:14] teams, but missed the playoffs two years

[00:22:16] ago and brought in a new head coach.

[00:22:17] And so then we go into year six and that

[00:22:20] was the year that our owner predicted

[00:22:21] before our journey began as an organization.

[00:22:23] He said that we would win the cup in six

[00:22:25] years, which everybody crazed their

[00:22:27] eyebrows at, laughed at thought it was

[00:22:29] just so audacious to make that type of

[00:22:32] statement.

[00:22:33] And so we had a really good team, got

[00:22:35] off to a good start last year and then

[00:22:36] sure enough, playoffs just were juggernaut.

[00:22:40] We only were trailing once in a series

[00:22:42] and that was the first game we lost in

[00:22:43] the first round and then made it all the

[00:22:45] way to the final.

[00:22:46] And just to see the city rally and being

[00:22:49] able to be a part of a championship

[00:22:50] parade down Las Vegas Boulevard, one of

[00:22:52] the most famous streets in the world

[00:22:53] and just how the community city

[00:22:54] activated around it.

[00:22:55] We had a full hour long takeover of

[00:22:58] every marquee in the city right

[00:22:59] before the start of the finals.

[00:23:01] When you're talking about activation

[00:23:02] like the market is dream to be

[00:23:03] all unbelievable.

[00:23:04] Yeah.

[00:23:04] And that's where that's where the

[00:23:06] city is really cool.

[00:23:06] Really special is that the

[00:23:08] togetherness and the camaraderie

[00:23:09] within the properties and the pride

[00:23:11] that you take from being a part of

[00:23:12] this community is really strong.

[00:23:14] Absolutely.

[00:23:15] Very cool.

[00:23:15] And did you always know that you

[00:23:16] want to be in the sports world and

[00:23:18] sports marketing?

[00:23:19] Yeah, I think like most young men

[00:23:20] and women, you have aspirations of

[00:23:22] being a professional athlete or

[00:23:23] playing when you're growing up.

[00:23:24] And you learn sooner or later.

[00:23:25] You learn sooner or later.

[00:23:26] They're going to have to find a

[00:23:27] different avenue.

[00:23:28] Mine went sooner maybe a little later.

[00:23:29] Mine was probably pretty soon too.

[00:23:31] I think it was always finding

[00:23:33] something that's the intersection

[00:23:34] of something you're really

[00:23:35] passionate about and something

[00:23:36] you're really good at.

[00:23:36] Yeah.

[00:23:37] And for me, I went to a small

[00:23:39] liberal arts college in Worcester,

[00:23:40] Massachusetts and didn't have a

[00:23:41] communications or marketing or

[00:23:43] journalism program, but that's

[00:23:44] where my extra curriculars were

[00:23:45] based off of.

[00:23:46] And working with our athletic

[00:23:47] department, saw that writing and

[00:23:49] coming up with some of these

[00:23:50] campaigns, I saw as, hey, there's

[00:23:51] opportunity and there's roles

[00:23:53] that are out there that fit

[00:23:54] the skill set in my interest.

[00:23:55] So was able to get some

[00:23:57] internship experience and have

[00:23:58] kind of parlayed that into

[00:24:00] additional full-time roles and

[00:24:01] expanded roles.

[00:24:02] And here we are today.

[00:24:03] That's awesome.

[00:24:03] And moving forward in 2024

[00:24:05] and beyond, anything that you

[00:24:06] have your eye on in terms of

[00:24:07] innovations in the marketing,

[00:24:08] advertising or sports marketing

[00:24:10] sphere that is exciting to you

[00:24:12] that you want to be doing

[00:24:13] more of or getting deeper into?

[00:24:14] Yeah, I mean, everybody's talking

[00:24:16] about how you can adopt AI in

[00:24:18] your day to day and data and

[00:24:19] insights and just some of the

[00:24:21] changes that are taking place

[00:24:22] throughout. But even just being

[00:24:23] at CES on the floor and taking

[00:24:25] a look at some of the amazing

[00:24:26] innovations that are already

[00:24:27] either in market or ready to

[00:24:28] come to market and how that

[00:24:30] can be implemented on a

[00:24:31] sporting team or sporting

[00:24:32] experiences is the transparent

[00:24:34] TVs and the screen technology

[00:24:36] that exists right now.

[00:24:37] I'm excited to go check it out.

[00:24:38] Really impressive.

[00:24:39] Really impressive.

[00:24:39] And then taking a look at the

[00:24:40] sphere here, just reimagining.

[00:24:42] And it's what I love about

[00:24:43] Las Vegas, too. It's a city that

[00:24:44] celebrates disruption and

[00:24:46] city that celebrates innovation.

[00:24:47] And so how can you apply that

[00:24:49] here? And how can you apply

[00:24:50] that to the fan experience in

[00:24:52] a project as ambitious as this

[00:24:53] sphere was to have it here in

[00:24:55] Las Vegas? It's the perfect

[00:24:56] home for it. And they're

[00:24:57] really just unlocking the

[00:24:58] capabilities of that.

[00:24:59] And you two had an amazing

[00:25:01] initial launch to the music

[00:25:03] acts that are coming through

[00:25:04] there. But what we're going to

[00:25:05] see in that venue is all

[00:25:07] sorts of stuff.

[00:25:08] Amazing. So impressive.

[00:25:09] Yeah. So that's what we're

[00:25:10] taking a look at. And it's

[00:25:12] exciting to see where the

[00:25:12] industry is going to go.

[00:25:13] Awesome. Well, it's been really

[00:25:15] exciting to get to hear about

[00:25:16] your journey and obviously

[00:25:17] congratulatory success that

[00:25:18] you've had in the

[00:25:19] organization for some of our

[00:25:21] listeners that want to get

[00:25:22] into sports marketing and

[00:25:24] end up in the CMO seat of a

[00:25:25] major sports franchise.

[00:25:27] What are some pieces of advice

[00:25:28] that you could maybe impart on

[00:25:29] some of our listeners?

[00:25:30] Yeah, yeah, there's a lot.

[00:25:32] And I think one that I've

[00:25:34] taken with me is just be

[00:25:35] patient but also persistent.

[00:25:37] So I think some people

[00:25:38] particularly right after college

[00:25:40] or getting into the start of

[00:25:41] the business, their hunger is

[00:25:43] a great motivator, but the

[00:25:45] expectations that things are

[00:25:46] going to happen quickly just

[00:25:47] aren't realistic, particularly

[00:25:49] in sports. It might be in

[00:25:49] other areas, but in sports

[00:25:52] it takes a lot of time.

[00:25:52] So you do need to have

[00:25:53] patience with yourself,

[00:25:55] patience with your

[00:25:55] organization. But also that

[00:25:57] can't result or turn into

[00:25:58] complacency either. You have

[00:25:59] to be persistent. And part

[00:26:01] of that persistence for me

[00:26:02] too is educating yourselves,

[00:26:04] looking externally for

[00:26:05] inspiration. Even for us,

[00:26:06] what is a hockey team

[00:26:08] executive doing at a C

[00:26:09] technology conference? Well,

[00:26:10] that's sometimes where we

[00:26:12] draw the most inspiration

[00:26:13] and can get those ideas.

[00:26:14] And there's so many amazing

[00:26:15] things that are happening and

[00:26:17] companies are doing and

[00:26:17] innovating on you could pull

[00:26:19] those in and how you tailor

[00:26:20] those organically to your

[00:26:21] brand can really make an

[00:26:22] impact and help you

[00:26:23] advance. And so one other

[00:26:25] piece too that we actually

[00:26:26] took from Boston, where we

[00:26:27] used in some of the

[00:26:28] videos that were pump up

[00:26:29] videos for our players

[00:26:30] actually is just what would

[00:26:32] you attempt to do if you

[00:26:33] knew you could not fail?

[00:26:35] And so it's an interesting

[00:26:36] question to ask. So if you

[00:26:37] knew you wouldn't fail at

[00:26:38] something, would you try a

[00:26:39] different career path? Would

[00:26:40] you try to pick up the

[00:26:41] guitar and learn to do it?

[00:26:42] Because how many times

[00:26:43] that we've wanted to do

[00:26:44] something personally or

[00:26:45] thought about it, but then

[00:26:45] you kind of get in your own

[00:26:46] head afterwards, of course,

[00:26:47] and say, I don't want to,

[00:26:48] or I can't do it. Or it's

[00:26:50] not for me. And so if

[00:26:51] you erase that doubt and

[00:26:53] take those chances,

[00:26:53] particularly early on for

[00:26:54] the listeners that are out

[00:26:55] there, take those

[00:26:55] chances, take those risks

[00:26:57] coming out here in Vegas

[00:26:58] was a complete unknown.

[00:26:59] Nobody knew how this is

[00:27:00] going to work too. So

[00:27:01] sometimes those career

[00:27:01] opportunities, the ones

[00:27:03] that are most fruitful and

[00:27:04] are going to benefit you

[00:27:05] the most are the ones

[00:27:06] that involve a little bit

[00:27:07] of risk. And you got to

[00:27:07] remove that self doubt and

[00:27:08] just take the chance,

[00:27:09] take the jump.

[00:27:10] I love that. We're going

[00:27:11] to leave it with that.

[00:27:11] It's been awesome to

[00:27:12] hear sir again. Thanks

[00:27:13] for taking the time out

[00:27:14] of your busy schedule to

[00:27:15] share it with us.

[00:27:16] Thanks so much.

[00:27:16] Really appreciate you

[00:27:17] having me.

[00:27:17] On behalf of Suzy

[00:27:18] and the Adweek team,

[00:27:19] thanks again to Eric

[00:27:19] Tosi, CMO of the Vegas

[00:27:21] Stanley Champion Gold

[00:27:22] Knights for joining us

[00:27:23] today here in Las Vegas.

[00:27:24] Be sure to subscribe,

[00:27:25] rate and review the

[00:27:25] Speed of Culture podcast

[00:27:26] on your favorite podcast

[00:27:27] platform. Till next time,

[00:27:28] see you soon everyone.

[00:27:29] Take care.

[00:27:35] The Speed of Culture is

[00:27:35] brought to you by Suzy

[00:27:37] as part of the Adweek

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[00:27:41] You can listen and

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[00:27:42] Adweek's podcast by

[00:27:43] visiting adweek.com

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[00:28:00] here at Suzy,

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