HEADACHES OF LAUNCHING A NEW SPORTS TEAM SEASON!

For those readers that are affiliated with a sports team program, you’ll understand and appreciate this piece.

I remember when moving into my current position in Sioux Falls, SD to start up an expansion hockey franchise, the first thing I told my business partners was that no matter how many year’s we work together, opening up a season is one of the most difficult things we’ll ever do. It is stressful as it gets, especially in areas of sponsorship fulfillment when you are responsible for producing the signage, publication ads and promotional items for starters. This process usually takes place within 30-45 days or so before the arrival of your home opener.

In a world that is driven by high tech gadgets and computer software, you’d think every business would be so aware of these alphabet letters: EPS, PDF and JPEG. They are computer file formats so needed to complete your sponsored projects yet in dealing with the client and your graphics company prior to a season’s start-up is enough to make your head of hair turn a different shade of grey each year! Example: A signage production company all prefer to deal with e-mail files submitted in an EPS format. When assembling your game program, yearbook or pocket schedules, the local printer will want that same customer of yours to submit its art work in PDF files. Oh, and when creating your sponsor’s website banner ads and pop-up messages, a designer will want mostly a JPEG working file!

As you lead into a season’s start-up, every employee feels the intensity and you start to budget your day’s accomplishments by the minutes versus hours. Then you get that client who procrastinates and is finally ready to get their art work to you for his signage. You open up your e-mail box and see this LOW REZ piece of art staring you in the eyes that the client obviously copied off from their website. They didn’t have anything else on hand to send. Yet, you are working with client on a 10-foot wall sign for your ballpark or a hockey rink board. Your graphics company barks at you and say “It’s too weak. I can’t deal with it!” We’ve all been there. You’re probably chuckling reading this. I just lived through this for the past two months, enough that I am still fighting sleep deprivation!

Yes, I love those clients that direct me to their ad agencies to work out the creative elements. That’s when life’s a beach but trying to fulfill the package elements signed on by your smaller (local) businesses is, and will always be, extremely challenging year-to-year. Most just do not understand the complexities of today’s technology nor have they ever invested in getting their brand identification assembled in all computer formats.

As you develop relationships with your business partners, do encourage the client to seriously invest in their logo and licensed marks and get them all reformatted in all current day working computer formats! It can really take a load of stress off the client and not to mention you as the sales rep. Any graphic design shop or agency can set up an EXTRANET SITE for the company (should be at no additional cost). This is a web access site that will store a client’s logos in all formats, from color-to-black & white.


Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports Professionals
Email address: loria@sfstampede.com