Profile of a Sports Marketer: Casey Wasserman
Over the past couple weeks I have been focusing on what makes greatness in sports marketing. Last week I wrote about Mike Veeck and how Fun is Good through creativity and implementation ultimately providing a better experience for fans. Today when I was walking by a sports marketing conference on my way to lunch I listened in to pick up the latest buzzwords of sale tactics on how to fill seats and make money. The coldness of the speaker resonated with me as someone would be the anti-thesis of a Mike Veeck in that they don’t really get that it’s not about the money. It reminded me of some cheesy take on evil corporations that I had seen in a movie. Yes, you need to make money to survive but ultimately you want to believe in your product and know that you genuinely want to help provide memories to fans. Providing these memories to sports fan means you have to work hard, 110% everyday. But if you love what you do then it is not really work but fun. Casey Wasserman is someone I have only studied recently but has shown a tremendous amount of passion, drive and hard work to be one of the best Sports Marketers in the business.
Casey Wasserman
Casey Wasserman is building a sports marketing empire while still in his 30s. Wasserman Media Group or WMG is taking on the kingpin of the sports marketing world, IMG. What is interesting about Casey is he has a keen eye to take a discarded sports firm, buy up its properties and integrate it with his own firm in an effort to expand his reach to different sports. From American Football to European Football Casey has WMG on the move. WMG is a turnkey operation that has some of the best in the business. Casey has a knack for surrounding himself with talent and hiring some of the brightest minds in the business from agents to sponsorship sales to join his team. While this might make sense to the average American it often makes too much sense in a world that favors nepotism and connections over talent. Why is this important? If you want to be the best you need to surround yourself with the best. During these tough economic times it is hard to stay afloat; WMG has managed to stay strong. Casey Wasserman didn’t end up on CNN Money’s 40 under 40 list by being afraid to take on challenges; he brought 110% to the table everyday. One challenge he faced was the promotion of the athletes his firm represented and recruiting more athletes through examples of their innovation. He pushed his firm to be more digital in the presentation of their athletes and to do it better than anyone else. So to aid in this he purchased an outfit know as Studio411 for their ability to produce and distribute DVDs. This grew into going digital on iTunes and other mediums. The result allowed him to better promote more extreme sports the likes of which you see on ESPN’s X Games.
Casey Wasserman is a huge sports fan and an even bigger fan of sports business. How else could you have the drive to wake up everyday with a continued passion to be the best? Casey Wasserman has taken his love of the game and formed a team to be the best in the world in sports marketing. Their significant and continued success makes him one of the best in the business.
