*Disclaimer: The Sponsorship Space is a Media Partner for Hashtag Sports for the second straight year. If interested in the event, don't hesitate to take advantage of our 25% discount by entering the discount code “TSS18“ here.
In a small town called New York City next week, we will be attending one of the biggest sports media and innovation conferences in the world. Not sure if you can tell, but our team is pretty excited for Hashtag Sports - and there's a few reasons for that.
The conference only started in 2015, but has grown quickly within the three year span to attract over 2,000 people and it's mainly because it features an unparalled industry speaker lineup with an unconventional event model. With a great balance of executives attending, it promises to be one of the must attend events of the 2018 season for sports professionals.... well, even if you're not in sports, just go!
We'll be attending to provide insights live from the event over our social channels and so stay tuned for some content over the next few days.... but there's also some reasons why we're excited to attend and I've highlighted them below. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, the below should help you understand why this is a must attend event this summer.
The Location
There's a reason that New York City is known as the mecca of sports marketing. With so many properties, agencies and brands housed in the greater New York area, you'll have a chance to build your network among some of the best in the industry. You would be spending three days in Times Square, NYC with events happening across two core venues—the prestigious Times Center and Microsoft Technology Center (MTC). They even have networking events each night being held at places like the Bleacher Report offices, Callagher's Bar and the Wework offices - all you really have to do is show up and be open to new conversations. If you need to plan meetings, you're only a short subway or taxi ride away.
If that's not enough, it's summer in the Big Apple and U2 is playing at Madison Square Garden.
The Workshops
Every conference offers thought-leadership from industry leaders, but what's really interesting about Hashtag Sports is the ability to offer tailored deep-dives into topics depending on what your interests are. They are hosting intimate and interactive 30-minute workshops designed to offer actionable insights for you to take back to your day-to-day work. There's workshops offered for the following: Startups & Investors, Brands & Agencies, Properties & Teams, and Athletes & Influencers.
These workshops are smaller and limited to capacity restrictions, but it offers a chance to really learn in an interactive setting. Want a preview on who is leading these startup sessions? Here's a few of the workshops we're looking forward to.
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The Speakers
I'm just going to list some of the speakers below as this needs no explanation. There's over 200 world-class executives & speakers participating which range from television personalities to athletes to C-Level Executives. but in the case that you're looking for the full list, check it out here: https://hashtagsports.com/speakers
Steve Stoute (CEO, Translation)
Juju Smith-Schuster (Wide Reciever, Pittsburgh Steelers)
Melissa Proctor (CMO, Atlanta Hawks)
Alicia Tilman (CMO, SAP)
Erika Nardini (CEO, Barstool Sports)
Micky Lawler (President, WTA)
Max Barnett (SVP & Global Head of Digital, Nielsen)
Sandra Lopez (VP & GM, Intel)
Rory Brown (President, Bleacher Report)
Morgan Sword (SVP of League Economics, Major League Baseball)
and tons more........
The Programming and Topics
The programming isn't limited, so you technically have three days of topics that can range from hearing leaders in e-sports to sponsorship. With speakers such as Steve Toute and Tom Rogers, you're even hearing from the best in the world outside of sports. Each session will give you content that will no doubt be helpful to take back to the office, but they are focusing on the below greater themes this year:
Content & Distribution, presented by Verizon Digital Media Services Athletes & Creators, presented by opendorse Sports Betting, presented by Genius Sports Fan Experience, presented by OMNIGON Sponsorship & Advertising, presented by GumGum Next-Gen Partnerships SportsFronts Startups & Investment
We're excited to be at Hashtag Sports this year and if there's any content or sessions you would like our team to cover, feel free to send us a note - but hopefully we'll be seeing you somewhere in Times Square next week. Stay tuned for more content!