![Virtually Relevant: How to Produce Large Scale Public Gatherings Online]()
May 23, 2020
Remaining Virtually Relevant: When you’re in the business of producing large scale public gatherings, how do you take everything online?
On March 15 the CDC issued guidance related to large events and mass gatherings which specifically included examples like festivals, parades, concerts, and sporting events. That guidance was basically the beginning of the widespread cancellation or postponement of events around the country due to concerns around the spread of the highly infectious COVID-19 virus. In addition to all of the economic, cultural, and psychological impact that this global pandemic is having across the world, it is no less landmark and potentially devastating for the live event industry and its related businesses. So where does that industry go next? What has been the response and the initial impact and where do we go from here? In this podcast, we will discuss how one 65-year-old nonprofit organization that produces live events and is connected to the largest attended single-day sporting event in the world is navigating this new reality, leading with marketing and communications approaches and finding relevance via a virtual landscape.
About Cyndi's guest:
Mr. Bob Bryant has been Chief Executive Officer and President of 500 Festival Inc since 2013 and is only the 4th person in that position in the 58-year history of the organization. Mr. Bryant is a veteran sports management executive having served as Tournament Director of the ATP Tour BB&T Atlanta Open and in executive positions with the USTA, professional hockey, and the Arena Football League. He managed his own firm, Team Works Marketing Inc. producing and promoting a variety of events including the US Open SmashZone, Cartoon Network Smash Tennis, USA vs. Russia Hockey Exhibitions, ACC vs. Big East Basketball Challenge and the IHL All-Star Game. He also spent five years at Turner Broadcasting and the Cartoon Network, mostly as Vice President of the Off-Channel Commerce department, where he promoted and monetized new animation brands like the Powerpuff Girls and managed NASCAR and tennis-related programs. The 500 Festival produces over 50 events and programs for over 500,000 people annually as it celebrates the heritage and traditions of the Indianapolis 500 race and enriches the lives of the citizens of
Indiana. Marquis events include the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, the nation’s largest half-marathon race, and the IPL 500 Festival Parade, one of the oldest and most prestigious parades in the country which is broadcast nationally and locally and attended by over 300,000 people.
Bryant currently resides in Carmel, Indiana with his wife and three boys.
WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Cyndi Greenglass from West Virginia University which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.
![Print Media Isn’t Dead (But Sometimes It Feels Like it)]()
May 15, 2020
After 20+ year career in communications that included positions in public relations, advertising, media, and marketing, Lisa Sands stepped into the role of publisher for Edible Cleveland magazine, a local independently-owned publication that is part of a network of roughly 80 other “edibles” across the U.S. and Canada. After one year, Lisa’s has had to analyze all aspects of the magazine’s operations and face many realities about the role media plays in our lives, how we’re using it, where we get our information, and what we are willing to pay for as media consumers and as marketers. We’ll discuss the holistic media landscape from the viewpoint of journalists and also marketers including:
Is the traditional media landscape all doom and gloom?
Is there still a place for print media in the marketing mix?
Do we want to live in a world where everything we consume is online? If the answer is no, then where do we go from here?
About Mike's guest:
After 20+ year career in communications that included positions in public relations, advertising, media, and marketing, Lisa Sands stepped into the role of publisher for Edible Cleveland magazine, a local independently-owned publication that is part of a network of roughly 80 other “edibles” across the U.S. and Canada.
Edible Cleveland had been a passion project and a side hustle for several years, starting when she was a marketing team leader with Whole Foods Market. During her time with Whole Foods, she discovered her interest and passion for food, particularly with regard to eating better, healthier, more sustainably, and closer to home. At the time, Lisa did not fathom that she would ever advance her part-time passion project into a full-time opportunity. Being the publisher of a magazine about local food merges her professional skill set with her personal interests. She also realized that her extensive and diverse career experience that had helped clients and their projects and brands thrive could be deployed to take Edible Cleveland into some interesting new directions at a time when print and traditional media are especially challenged, yet never more important.
Lisa graduated from the West Virginia University Integrated Marketing Communications program in 2014. Her undergraduate degree is in broadcast journalism from Kent State University.
WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Michael Lynch from West Virginia University which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.
May 11, 2020
Graduating seniors in communications and marketing are facing the daunting prospect of trying to enter the job market during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will not be an easy task. Nearly 4 million students in the US are set to graduate this year in spring 2020. With the world in crisis and uncertainty ahead, the environment continues to be dynamic and fluid. While we can’t predict what the future holds for students and graduates in the short-term, we can help prepare and equip students with information and tips for their upcoming employment journey.
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May 3, 2020
National Geographic was founded in 1888. When its magazine editor first introduced photographs in its monthly publication, 2 board members resigned in protest, saying photos essentially dumbed down the content. But today, National Geographic is the #1 media brand in followers on Instagram. And while magazines are shuttered almost every month, National Geographic’s print version remains on newsstands and is published worldwide in nearly 40 languages.
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April 24, 2020
Without a doubt, the coronavirus pandemic has changed all of our worlds. But one of the hardest-hit industries is travel. US Travel Association and Oxford Economics recently reported that the US is projected to suffer a $519 billion decline in direct travel spending, which translates into $1.2 trillion in lost economic impact. But there is hope. Experts predict there will be pent-up demand for travel. It is in our nature to explore, escape and emotionally attach to our friends and family. And while travel will look different the industry will eventually bounce back.
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April 17, 2020
Advances in behavioral science have come a long way since the discipline’s inception in the late seventies. Robust studies have shown time and again that long-held theories of top-down information dissemination, particularly when scientific in nature, are not only ineffective but perhaps even counter-effective. Ensuring that communications are received as intended, and ultimately acted upon for the purpose of predicting behavioral outcomes, requires understanding how the brain processes information and its cognitive limitations.
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