A mentor is someone that will guide you along the path you have chosen, someone that will help you overcome challenges and build your character, while being motivated to support you and being a positive influence on your journey.
Have you identified important individuals that have had a positive impact on your life? These individuals could be friends or advisers that you haven’t talked to in years, but they are still mentors to you. Reach out to them, thank them and start up that new dialogue. For me, it was a college professor at Ohio State in 2003, and I never realized how important he was to helping create who I am today and why I ended up in the sports tourism industry in 2012.
After nine years of working in a variety of roles in professional sports – from interning and working full-time for a Minor League Baseball team, to spending time selling sponsorships for a PGA golf tournament and then moving into event operations for a golf contractor, then finally landing...
Our members, pse Event Housing, take care of all the housing details for their clients. From contract & staff room negotiation, real-time room tracking & reporting, to commission & rebate processing, they do it all! Whether you’re looking to start your very first tournament or event, or you’ve been in the game for years, check out these 4 essential questions you should be asking your event housing provider:
1. Is your booking system optimized for mobile users?
In 2018, 57% of all Internet traffic came from mobile users, and that number is only expected to keep growing. With this number on the rise and customers increasingly using their mobile devices to get things done online, offering a mobile-friendly experience is no longer just a nice-to-have feature – it’s a necessity.
What to look for:
Responsive Design:
Most sites are now viewable on mobile devices, but there’s a big difference between just being viewable on mobile an...
When you begin to plan for your event, something that is a driving force of how you plan is the event’s branding strategy. Everything is centered around what colors you associate with your brand, the logo, the tagline, and the name of your event. Beyond that, how your event goes will affect the future of your brand and can change it forever. Keeping this in mind, here are some tips from ‘Wild Apricot’ for keeping your branding strong throughout the event planning process.
Name your event.
The name of your event is the first thing your future consumers will see. It can easily be a make or break if someone decides to participate in it so you need to make sure your tagline is eye catching and easily explains the event. With naming your event, think about how your event is different from others in your area and what are you wanting the message that your consumers read is.
Create a tagline.
Once you have the name, think of a short and m...
Among the numerous segments comprising a destination’s tourism portfolio, often exists sports and event tourism. These efforts may reside in any number of organizational structures from within a destination marketing organization (DMO), a government entity or stand-alone organization. The growth of sports and event tourism has been undeniable. The industry’s professional association originated with merely a dozen communities gathering to share ideas more than 25 years ago. Today, what would become the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC), serves more than 840 members from across the country and beyond.
As the go-to resource for the robust sports and events tourism industry, the NASC serves not only destination representatives, but just as importantly, sports and event rights holders looking for host destinations that can accommodate their events, venue and facility operators, and a plethora of industry suppliers. Destinations ranging in population from less ...
When you plan an event, there are many hurdles to jump over to make sure your event goes perfectly. With that being said, preparing for these obstacles and going in with a strong strategy to get things done is key. Here are five tips from “MeetingsNet” to help make your event go off without a hitch.
Set clear goals and objectives
While this might sound like an easy task, this task puts your team on the same page. You need to have an initial meeting to decide what the end goal is, how you will reach it, and when you will reach it. In this meeting, you can determine due dates and when check-ins will happen.
2. Prepare for the “what-if” scenarios
You get one chance to deal with an unexpected situation. MeetingsNet suggests thinking of them early on so you can create a crisis management plan. The plan should have wiggle room for the surprise situations, but should also have something for each team member to work with.&n...
Really? Another article or blog about leadership from someone? Yep – I know. It seems as if we are constantly exposed to blogs, articles, stories, books, podcasts, etc. about leadership. Why is this?
My guess is because everyone has an opinion or idea about what leadership should look like. In my humble opinion, there is no textbook formula, or perfect blueprint that says if you do A, B, and C you will become a “leader.” A quick search on Google provided a multitude of options to review when it comes to leadership traits; Forbes listed 10, Inc.com 9, CNN 23, Leadership toolbox 7. Wow, so many choices – which one is right?
Please do not get me wrong – there are some very good resources that each of us can take bits and pieces of information from to add to our arsenal, and implement into what we do, or how we lead – if it “fits” the person, we are. I believe you can develop leadership tr...
Want to create a successful sports event or tournament? If so, you’re going to need great sponsors which means a great sponsorship activation plan. The first problem with many people is they don’t truly grasp what sponsorship activation is. For many, they believe simply putting a logo on a banner or poster is considered a successful sponsorship activation. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
In The Secret to Successful Activation blog, Eventbrite says activation “is where audience goals and sponsor goals come together in a way that achieves the outcomes of both parties.” Once you’ve successfully obtained a sponsor, now comes the activation.
Eventbrite says it all starts with understanding what your audience wants along with what they don’t want. To do this, ask them questions- what do they love about your program or event? What didn’t they like? After collecting feedback, talk with your sponsors about the responses. Have they r...
Definition of aha moment
: a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension
I will be attending my seventh NASC Symposium this year, and with each one I have incredible “Aha Moments”. From the definition noted above, I have experienced the following:
A sudden realization that my destination can host events and play in this marketplace.
Inspired by incredible leaders within the sports tourism industry that have made me see things in a slightly different way, changing my whole perspective.
Incredible insight from my counterparts from all over the country on all the aspects of our work.
Recognition, with articles published, successful events achieved and the ability to show the impact of what we do for our communities.
Comprehending all the processes from RFP to Recap.
As we approach the next Symposium in Knoxville, I encourage you to take it all in and let yourself have those Aha Moments. I wa...
FedEx and UPS rates are going up in 2019, and it’s more important than ever that NASC Members know how to mitigate the impact to their business. Here are a few things you should know about the changes to come:
FedEx and UPS small package rates are increasing an average of 4.9% - effective January 7, 2019 and December 26, 2018 respectively.
Your actual costs will vary. Depending on the service you use and your package characteristics, you could see increases above or below the average.
Many common surcharges are also increasing. On top of the base rates, you need to be aware of the charges that apply to your shipments and how they’ll affect your total costs.
PartnerShip®, the benefit provider that manages the NASC Shipping Program, has analyzed the FedEx and UPS increases so NASC Members can accurately prepare for the new year. Download the free white paper to see a break down of where you’ll find the highest increases and get a simplified explanatio...
We are officially under 100 days until the NASC Symposium! Are you joining us in Knoxville, Tennessee from May 6 through the 9th? Each year, leaders from event hosts, tourism professionals and industry partners gather to exchange resources, strategies and solutions.
A few reminders for those of you coming to Knoxville:
Do you have your hotel reservation? The hotel blocks are quickly filling up. Get yours today: https://www.sportscommissions.org/symposium/hotel-travel. Event owners -- NASC will book your hotel room.
Destinations: Register by 2/15/19 to be entered to win your top 3 mutually requested appointments (10 organizations will be selected)
Vendors: Register by 2/15/19 to be entered to win a free pre-symposium eBlast (3 organizations will be selected)
Event Owners: Register by 3/22/19 to be considered for travel assistance
You can start preparing for the 2019 NASC Symposium right now. Check out which event owners are coming and which destinations wi...