In this week’s episode of The Breakout Growth Podcast, brought to you by SAP, Sean Ellis, and Ethan Garr talk with Jonathan Becher, President of Sharks Sports & Entertainment. If you are a hockey fan you probably know the San Jose Sharks, the flagship brand of Jonathan’s organization, but in this discussion, we quickly learned that when it comes to growth, the sports team itself is just one component of an exciting and complex ecosystem.
With its huge media presence, four buildings (arenas and skating facilities), and fans with varying interest levels and unique backgrounds, Jonathan has a variety of tools and resources he and his team can tap into to create meaningful experiences to attract and retain audiences. But it is not without its challenges.
Professional sports are typically steeped in tradition and slow to embrace change, but sports teams can’t afford to ignore the world around them. The Sharks literally live in the heart of Silicon Valley, and the world around them is becoming more digitized every day. Jonathan sees his job as one of “pioneering the future of sports entertainment,” so growth is then about embracing traditions while at the same time building new, engaging, and interconnected digital experiences for the future.
A hockey fan at his core, Jonathan believes his staff is up to the task, and he brings a wealth of experience that includes everything from working as a developer to building startups, to even serving as CMO of SAP, to inform his approach. We learned quickly that Jonathan is a growth hacker at heart; working to understand the must-have experiences powering growth, and using data and experimentation to meet the needs of diverse audiences.
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We discussed:
* Much more than just a hockey team; Sharks Sports & Entertainment (05:40)
* A future built on content and connected experiences (28:18)
* Tattoos for die-hard fans – a mistake and important growth lesson (33:58)
* Digital-First; beyond “Butts in Seats” (40:42)
* Managing growth and culture: “the tyranny of the urgent” (48:15)
* Thinking forward when sports is often about tradition and looking back (50:43)
And much, much, more . . .
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