It wasn’t long ago that marketing in the NBA meant buying a billboard for season tickets on a highway and calling it a day. Today, CMOs must be data-driven decision makers, experts on customer experience, social media superstars and masters of storytelling. Hear from the CMOs of the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and the Portland Trail Blazers on how they stay on top of it all. They’ll talk about what it means to market their teams in 2020, how it’s changed over the years and how that change will only keep accelerating. They’ll talk about engaging the next generation of basketball fans, intertwining pop culture with basketball and how they continue to evolve in the most innovative sports league in the world.

1. S W I S S A R M Y M A R K E T I N G
A C H AT W I T H C H I E F M A R K E T I N G O F F I C E R S O F T H E N B A

2. M A R K E T I N G I S N O W E V E RY T H I N G .
• Running any marketing department today now means
you must be an expert in analytics, consumer marketing,
social media, mobile applications, customer experience,
event management, storytelling and much, much more.
• These days, if it has to do with the customer, it becomes
something on marketing’s to do list.
• We’ll talk about how we keep all of these groups
working together and fighting the onslaught of
disruption of the sports marketplace.

3. W H Y P I C K O U R PA N E L ?
• Why should I listen to people who work at sports teams? It’s not just
sports that faces these challenges. This panel could apply to anyone
who leads or has aspirations to lead a marketing department of their
own some day. However, the sports industry is among the best there is
at understanding and creating compelling digital content thanks to the
ferocious fandom that exists.
• OK, so why the NBA though? The league was named one of the most
innovative companies by Fast Company.
• Sure, but why do I care what these teams have to say? These teams
are leading the way in the NBA and driving brand value for their teams
with unique partnerships, killer content and an understanding of what it
means to market in 2020.

4. B U T D O N ’ T J U S T TA K E O U R W O R D F O R I T.

6. A L I T T L E B I T A B O U T U S …
• MIKE GRAHL, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
• Won NBA’s “Event of the Year” for Prince-inspired uniform launch event
• 20 years of experience and formerly Chief Digital Officer of the Milwaukee Bucks
• 4X NBA Digital Innovation Award winner (three with Milwaukee, one with Minnesota)
• Sports Clio and IDEA Award Winner
• DEWAYNE HANKINS, PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
• Team has been honored with NBA’s Digital Innovation Award in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2014.
• Team led innovative game night poster program, which engaged local artists as featured in the New York Times.
• Leaders Under 40 Class of 2018
• Two-Time SXSW speaker
• MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH, MIAMI HEAT
• Michael’s team was behind those Miami Vice jerseys that broke NBA retail records.
• 32 years of experience in marketing including the last 22 leading marketing for the Heat in the era of Shaquille
O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and many others.
• Leads an award-winning retail operations department that is the envy of the NBA, if not professional sports
• KATIE O’REILLY, PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
• Named 40 Under 40 in 2016 for the Philadelphia Business Journal
• Sweet jersey collaboration with the Creed movie franchise.
• NBA honored her team with Game Experience Satisfaction Award
• Sports CLIO Winner for “Phila Unite” Integrated Brand Campaign

7. W H AT Y O U ’ L L L E A R N :
• How to develop the skills to take on the multi-faceted role
of a Chief Marketing Officer in the most innovative sports
league in the world. And what skills are necessary to work in
an NBA marketing department.
• What keeps us up at night as marketing leaders
• How we’re fighting demographic trends that say sports fans
aren’t getting any younger.
• How we manage the deep fragmentation of our content
across multiple channels and devices