July 2, 2025 • 46 mins
Laura Correnti isn't waiting for permission; she’s building the new power structure in women’s sports from the ground up. In this episode, she joins Michael to unpack how she's turning under-leveraged markets into power plays, architecting culture-shifting brand deals, and proving that when you own the game, you don’t have to play by the old rules.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good Company is a production of iHeartRadio. If you're a
buyer sitting within a holding company and you're asked to
go out and find as many eyeballs as possible, as
efficiently as possible, and somebody presents you with Monday Night
Football versus the WNBA Playoffs, I know where that dollar
is going nine, if not ten out of ten times.
Because you don't have to make the business case for
(00:21):
putting it with the NFL, you sure as he'll have
to work hard to justify it in women's sports because
it has not historically had the access and leverage to
build to deliver on those metrics.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I'm Michael Cassen, and this is Good Company. Together we
will explore the dynamic intersection of marketing, media, advertising, entertainment,
sports and technology. I'll be joined by visionaries, pioneers, and yes,
even a few disruptors who are shaping the future of business,
the future of culture, and everything in between. My bet
(01:00):
is you'll pick up a lesson or two along the way.
As I like to say, it's all good. Welcome back
to Good Company. Today's guest is somebody who's not just
breaking barriers, she's building entirely new markets. Laura Corenti, founder
and CEO of Deep Blue Sports plus Entertainment, is rewriting
(01:20):
the business playbook for women's sports and beyond. Laura's impact
is a masterclass on turning passion into power, from architecting
bespoke brand deals that don't succumb to antiquated playbooks, to
pioneering original media slates, or to co creating game changing
ventures with icons like Alison Felix. Laura is showing us
(01:41):
what happens when you stop asking permission and start building
the future for yourself. She's a leader who understands the
controlling the money means controlling the market, that data can
drive deals, but community drives culture, and that if you
want long term momentum, you can't treat women's or any
other under leverage market as just a box to check.
(02:05):
Get ready for a conversation about leadership, disruption and why
betting on women's sports might be the smartest business move
you haven't made yet. Laura, I want to thank you
for joining me today on Good Company.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Thank you for having me, Michael, such a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I want to start at what I said in the
little introduction about you being a builder. Can you sort
of for our listeners identify the inflection point that made
you realize it was the right time. You know. There's
that famous quote from theology that I think has attributed
(02:41):
to Hillel, who was a great thinker in Biblical times,
and he said famously, if not now, when, and if
not me, who, When did you have that moment?
Speaker 1 (02:53):
My mother would probably tell you when I was born.
But in full sort of recap mode, I'll take you back,
Michael to the summer of twenty nineteen. You and I
were both in the south of France the Canlon Festival,
around the same time that the US women's national team
was playing just a few miles away. So yeah, the
(03:16):
team was playing in France for the twenty nineteen Women's
World Cup as they made it to the finals. I
actually was back home in Jersey at the Jersey Shore,
watching at a local bar, as one does. And it
was such an incredible moment in time because as the
US women's national team won that tournament and we're lifting
the trophy. This was at the same time that a
(03:37):
number of players on the US women's national team had
also sued their employer in US Soccer for equal pay,
and in winning that lawsuit. Many people will recall the
entire crowd in that stadium in France was chanting equal
pay instead of USA when the team hoisted the trophy,
(03:58):
and it was one of those moments where where you realize,
as somebody who is both in the world of marketing
but also as a lifelong athlete and fan, there's something
here that things will never be the same. But also,
putting on your marketing hat, you start to look at
it through you know, our rose colored lens of is
(04:18):
this actually sustainable? Because many of the commentators, as this
moment was unfolding, started alluding to the fact that we've
reached a unique moment in women's sports history. Hearing the
crowds chanting equal pay, the momentum that the national team
had the awareness that it was placing on the value
of female athletes and women's sports, Many of the commentators
(04:39):
and a lot of the chatter in the feed was
alluding to the fact that you know, this is ushering
in the next era. Well, Michael, that very day in
twenty nineteen, I go to the NWSL website, knowing full
well the National Women's Soccer League that many of these players,
if not most of them, would be coming back to
play Stateside in our domestic league. And if you scroll
(05:00):
to the very bottom of that website, which I did
in twenty nineteen, and have the receipts in the form
of screenshots, you would know that there were four partners
for the NWSL in the summer of twenty nineteen. Nike
had the kits, the uniforms for the team for the league.
Rather you had Thorn, the supplement's company, Lifetime, the Women's
cable network was the media distributor at that time, and
(05:22):
there was a fourth brand that was a long care
service that didn't have a website. And it was in
that moment, and as you know, in this industry, what
makes all of this go round is brand investment, media rights, access,
exposure and scale, none of which the culmination of those
four partners could guarantee would help to not only grow
(05:45):
but sustain women's soccer, let alone women's sports in the
same way the commentators and the fans, I think at
that time we're expecting it. That was a light bulb moment.
Fast forward, doing a ton of research and really asking
the question, well, why is there so much high and
enthusiasm and demand from the consumer but little to no activity,
let alone interest from the brand community, and I started
(06:07):
reaching out to a number of cmos, many of whom
I know had actually played collegiate soccer, our friend Andrea Brimmer,
who played at Michigan State being one of them, and
started asking the questions, you know, we move a fraction
of a fraction of our media budgets to support this
industry and to support these leagues, we can single handedly
overnight change the trajectory of its success, which led to
(06:31):
a multi year bit of research, a lot of you know,
interviews and conversations, and just really digging into the business
of which ultimately culminated into placing a bet in December
of twenty three when we opened Deep Blue Sports and
Entertainment as the first firm in the world dedicated to
bringing commercial investment to women's sports.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
That is a masterclass in something I say, if you
can find somebody who can combine opportunityanistic tendencies, and capitalistic tendencies,
that's a win. So what you saw at that inflection
point was an opportunity. What you've done, which is brilliant,
(07:14):
was found a way to capitalize on that and commercialize it,
and the manifestation of that being deep blue.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I had been an athlete my entire life, three sport athlete.
Growing up. I played division and college soccer, and so
the passion has and will always be there, and there's
a competitive spirit and mindset that comes to continually working
to be the best of the best. And for so
long that was, you know, competing in the world of
media marketing and advertising, which is where my career went
(07:43):
post playing, but ultimately recognizing the ability to take a
skill set as somebody who grew up predominantly in the
media buying space, understood the mechanics for how brand investment works,
how to drive access, visibility and exposure on me, how
to extract brand dollars to create value, not just find savings.
(08:05):
Ways brands could use their investments to get the media marketplace,
to pay attention and change models if they put their
thumb on the scale with respect to wanting to see
more coverage in this space. I thought, if I could
take that skill set, coupled with my network which was
cultivated over twenty years, having represented some of the biggest
(08:26):
brands in the world, including brands like General Electric for
fifteen I knew how to play the game in the
world of media, marketing and advertising. What I needed to
figure out was how then, do you apply it to
such a nascent market, one that has been so under
resourced and under leveraged that marketing departments, data and analytics
they didn't even exist eighteen months ago in some respects
(08:47):
with some of the biggest leagues and teams.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
To that end, Laura, because you came to the party
with the experience you've had in the media buying side
of the business and the strategy side of the business.
Was there a particular metric or model or assumption in
sports and media as the two come together that you
(09:09):
believe needed to be kind of you know, the baby
and the bath water thrown away.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I mean the systems that women's sports still continue to
and have played in are not designed for women's sports
in its current life stage. And what I mean by that,
And as part of that light bulb shattering moment when
you start to peel back the layers, you realize again knowing,
as a result of my media buying experience, that women's
(09:36):
sports has and still continues to be sold on a
CPM basis. Now, what does that mean? You're looking at
lowest common denominator reach and efficiency. Guess what women's sports
hasn't had because it hasn't had the exposure on broadcasting cable,
let alone primetime. In many cases it's behind paywan, paywe
and paywall. It hasn't even had the chance to achieve
scale and defined efficiencies. Yet that is the currency a
(09:59):
metric we're putting on it when we bring it to market.
So if you're a buyer sitting within a holding company
and you're asked, you know, to go out and find
as many eyeballs as possible, as efficiently as possible, and
somebody presents you with Monday Night Football versus the WNBA playoffs,
I know where that dollar is going nine, if not ten,
out of ten times. Because you don't have to make
(10:20):
the business case for putting it with the NFL, you
sure as he'll have to work hard to justify it
in women's sports because it has not historically had the
access and leverage to build to deliver on those metrics.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
We're in a moment there's nobody who would argue that
women's sports there's a massive ground swell. You obviously were
at the front end of that in twenty nineteen, because
what a difference five years.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Makes okay in the last twelve months.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
And for all the reasons we know, but we're in
the midst of that. How do you because you're so
passionate about this, and you know, I was chatting with
somebody yesterday, an investor who leads a private equity fund,
and I said, we're more of a venture fund. What's
one of the most important things that you look at
(11:07):
when you invest in a new company? And they said,
obviously the management, the leadership, the owners, the founders. What's
the thing you look for in that person the most
passion And you certainly have it is exuding from everything
you've said thus far. I'm sure our listeners would agree.
But how do you make sure, in the world of
(11:27):
shiny new toys, because we all live in the world
of shiny new toys, that this moment has legs because
it should, it's important that it does. How do we
make sure that for the market and for the good
of women's sports.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Yeah, I mean, this is really where you have to
pick a lane in terms of what you're going to
tackle first. And it took me about six and nine
months in terms of being in a full throttle to
understand where the biggest gaps were and the ones that
I could tackle first given the skill set, network and
experience that I had. And what you quickly realize is
women's sports don't have a product issue. Some of the
(12:04):
greatest competition is unfolding around. You know, NCAA March madness.
You know, you saw the season that the WNBA had
as being named the top brand in the world last year,
the US women's national team one gold, you had, you know,
Simone Biles setting the world on fire. You know, the
product is there, the stories are there. Look no further
(12:26):
than Alona mar and what she has been able to
do single handedly for the world of rugby. What isn't
there is the systems and infrastructure to support it and
sustain it. So we have been actively looking at how
we can influence those systems by bringing brands online. Yes,
of course, looking at strategic positioning, not just going in
(12:49):
and buying off the shelf sponsorship packages, to actually leverage
not just their financial capital, but their resource and human
capital to actually contribute to the growth of as opposed
to the adjacent sponsor ship to women's sports. So we're
working with a ton of brands to really come into
the space and say Okay, we're not just here to
be an official league partner or buy a team patch,
(13:10):
but how can we actually impact the experience and leverage
the resources we have beyond our media investments per se
to really build a platform that has the ability to grow.
It's also working with the teams and leagues to level
up their metrics ability to understand their analytics, who their
fan and consumer is. As you start to drill into that,
(13:32):
knowing how important it is for the ad community to
understand not just who they're reaching, but how they're reaching
them when they're reaching, what the engagement is. You realize,
with the exception of the Kansas City Current, which plays
in the NWSL, there is no other women's sports team
professional sports team in the United States that owns its
own facility. So you don't have the immediate sort of
(13:54):
feedback loop of turnstile data, of concessions of you know,
fanning engagement in and around key touch points of the
end game experience. That's a hindrance in terms of then
having to rely on third party who you're renting the
facility from, you know, external vendors, et cetera. To start
to ductape together the story for a brand by the
time you do it, it's too late.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
And so the can I can I interrupt to say,
I don't know what our listeners are going to think,
but I'm loving geeking out with you as to the
two as two reformed media buyers here, this is good.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Yeah, I love it, but yeah, I mean you start
to poke holes in the system. So it's not just media,
it's infrastructure. We're starting to see more investment coming in
and around practice facilities, but it's not enough. It really
has to come into how can these teams and leagues
and even the athletes themselves who have bigger followings and
platforms than the leagues and teams they play for. I
(14:48):
mean as a as a uh you know, microcosm of
an example, Angel Reese has over four point six million
followers on Instagram. The WNBA has three point one. So
you know, you have to start thinking about as a marketer,
you know, not just coming to the table buying your
classic thirty second schedule, but really starting to understand where
(15:08):
the influence exists, where things are hamstring, and how you're
going to connect the gaps. And so that's we are
hyper focused on systems. And then once Michael, you know
these teams and leagues get the media exposure, they're getting
the investment. There was just a report that came out
not that long ago from EDO where go figure. You
give women the platform, they're on broadcasting cable, they get
(15:30):
primetime positionings. At primetime positioning, viewership was up last year
by over one hundred and thirty one percent. AD impact
surged and increased fifty six percent year over year. Women's
sports ads drove forty percent more consumer engagement than average
primetime ads. So as as one of our I think
(15:53):
common friends, Alexis o'hanian says, facts don't care about your feelings.
So we are hyper focused on the systems, the data
and making the business case. We are way past this
is the nice thing to do. The results are here.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Can I tell my favorite Alexis o'hannian peez So. I
was fortunate to be at Wimbledon in one of the
last years that Serena was participating, and I was there
for the women's semi and I saw Alexis and he's
been a friend for many years, and I saw him
from the box. I was a guest in. He was sitting,
you know, watching Serena play, and I texted him and
(16:29):
I said, hey, Alexis, after the match, come up and
you know, let's hang out. And Serena won that match.
That was a good thing, so he was in a
good mood. He comes up to the box and one
of our clients was in the box with me, and
I wouldn't of course introduce him other than just saying
this is Alexis o'hannian. I didn't say this is Alexis
(16:50):
o'hannian who was married to Serena. I didn't say any
of that. We start talking and I and this other
guy says something in Alexis, it's one of my favorites
or is. Alexis says, well, until I got married, I
really wasn't interested in tennis. And the guy, but not knowing, says,
what did getting married have to do with your interest
in tennis? He said, oh, well, I'm I'm married to Serena.
(17:13):
Wis go to the goat and I just remember that
moment and the guy was mortified, and I said, it's
quite all right. You know, Alexis is the boldfaced name
on his own right.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
But yeah, alexis the first person who saw the business
plan for Deep Blue and literally in the back of
an suv heading to see Serena play at the US Open,
and his friendship, his guidance and just overall approach to
the space keeps me on my toes and continually iterating.
(17:48):
And I think, you know, having investors with the acumen
and the experience that Alexis has will forever change the
world of women's sports. I mean what he did with
Athlos and re imagined the track and field experience last
fall at Ican Stadium in New York City, turning it
into an entertainment spectacle where track was happening as opposed
(18:10):
to a track and field meat that you attended to
me is just indicative of where this industry is going.
And with groundbreakers and trailblazers like Alexis Ohanian, I think
the industry will be better for it.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
I've been trying to get Alexis and I to make
a deal because Olympia and my one of my grandsons
are exactly the same age. I said, let's just get
them together now and we can make it all easy.
They don't have to go through the hard part. We
could just be matchmakers. So you know, I'm going to
Swiss gears here for a second, because you know, collaborations
are something you and I both know a fair amount
(18:43):
about just from our experience, and recently my understanding is
alongside Religion of Sports and Ensemble, you launched something called
Next is Now, which is effectively an anthology slate as
I understand it, kind of closing the gasp of this
massive media coverage gap for women's sports. How did that
(19:05):
partnership come together? And I've spent some time with the
Religion of Sports folks. They're very impressive group. And what's
the business model for that sort of collaboration and you know,
kind of innovation model if you could chat about that.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
You know, you have the insight that women's sports largely
gets coverage obviously in game, but anything outside of you know,
women's sports very rarely has pregame, halftime, postgame coverage forget
shoulder or ancillary programming oftentimes, you know, premium programming comes
in the way of when an athlete retires or you know,
(19:41):
once in a generation feature. But we don't have the
consistent drum beat. You know, if the WNBA team has
an average of forty games, well what's happening the other
three hundred and twenty five days? Of the year, there's
no storytelling. And how do you grow fandom, both in
addressing rabbit fandom, but then also pulling through casual fans
is through storytelling and access and making sure that that
(20:03):
access is not prohibited because of a paywall or subscription.
It needs to be accessible, and it needs to be free,
and it needs to be add supported until it reaches
critical mass. So in doing that sort of went to
the best of the best. Religion of Sports is well
known for putting together incredible docs about athletes. They have
(20:24):
done Serena's Dock, they did Simone Biles doc and brought
this idea forward and saying, you know, how can we
develop a model where it's not reliant? Mike go long
like we go. We make the thing and then we
sell it to you know, the production company or the network,
and then we're at the mercy of somebody else selling
it who has no passion about this, or it's part
(20:45):
of their portfolio of assets and it's a nice to have,
but it's not a mandate to sell, and then the
thing never sees the light of day. Knowing how much
interest there was from the brand marketplace as well as
you know, one of the chief complaints from brands is
that there's not enough inventory to buy, let alone premium.
We figured, let's just cut out the process and go
direct a brand to fund this thing so that it
(21:06):
actually you know, makes it to a platform for distribution.
But then also recognizing it's not just about making it
and getting it onto the platform, it's also about promotion
so that people know where to find it, that it exists,
and that it's accessible. So a big part of the
deal in working with Roku as well as Ensemble, which
is bringing a number of creators to the platform to
(21:27):
help amplify this across social media and YouTube. We know
in essence, not only funded the project to make sure
the production happens at the premium level that we want it.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
To funded through advertiser support.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yes, so entirely brand funded. So we're working with a
number of brand partners to actually underwrite the production, but
then we're also tapping into their media budgets to be
able to also drive tune in, which is a huge
barrier in women's sports again, the lack of discoverability and access.
So not only is it advertising supported and free and
discoverable and roke, but we're ensuring that people know it
(22:02):
exists and where to find it. So brands not just
supporting it from a production but tune in. And I
think that combination is critical for the success from a
ratings perspective and overall engagement with the content.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
We're going to hit pause for a moment, but stay
with us after the break. We've got more insights to
share it. Or you talked about social following, and you
talked about you know, particular players, particular athletes having bigger
(22:38):
followings than the leagues themselves. That empowerment and today the
actuallyve athletes are not just athletes, they're entrepreneurs, they're creators,
they're investors. How are you, you know, helping them think
beyond endorsement deals to build true portfolio strategies. I mean
(23:00):
I saw this first with entertainers, actors and the like.
These all become mini conglomerates effectively with cosmetic lines and
sportswear lines and you know, whatever it may be, and tequila,
and let's go down the list of products and things
that these athletes are trying to build. They need advice too.
(23:22):
It's not just business management advice. You bring a different
level of expertise because you've been a buyer of some
of these things relative to your own experience. So I'm
curious with Always Alpha your venture around management, how does
that play into the overall Deep Blue strategy.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
If you think about the portfolio that is deep Blue,
and I very intentionally never wanted to call Deep Blue
an agency I think it's a very loaded term, and
it was sort of narrowing in terms of what we
anticipated we could build and will build. And so agency
services was always meant to be one piece of the
broader portfolio you just reference in the next is Now deal.
That's part of a different division within the company, which
(24:05):
is focused around IP. But going back to the agency
services bit, you know, from a brand perspective, and as
you alluded to in your intro, you control the money,
you control the market. I don't think there's anybody know
that knows that better than Michael Cassen. But in addition
to controlling the money, the other side of that coin
is influenced and we are in an era where is
absolutely driven by individuals over institutions, regardless of category. No
(24:31):
place has been more true than the world of women's sports.
And so as you start looking at how these women
are navigating not just their on core performance, but they're
off court ventures. What you have to unpack is that
many of these women have had to do it out
of necessity, and necessity in so much that again, you know,
you think about an athlete like Caitlin Clark top one
(24:53):
percent of one percent, made seventy eight thousand dollars as
a rookie last year out of necessity and by.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
The way, as opposed to a male counterpart who made
seventy eight thousand dollars an hour. But let's see.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Separately, there's there's much to be discussed and that could
be an entirely different episode, but with respect to know
how they approach their portfolios. Again, it's had to be
out of necessity. Many of the top professional athletes have
to work two and three jobs just to make ends meet,
and so as you know the market is evolving, it's
really important to think about longevity and what is longevity
(25:27):
require strategy, not just about one off deals, but really
thinking about how you're going to leverage your platform and
your playing time to set yourself up for future endeavors,
which doesn't have to just be when you retire from
playing professional sport. It can start while you're active in
the space, which is what we are seeing in real time.
(25:47):
No market is doing this better than ANIL. You have
multimillionaires being created overnight at the collegiate level. Take for example,
one of my favorite collegiate athletes, fla je Johnson. J
Johnson is a star for LSU women's basketball. She's a
national champion, She's a junior. She's also a recording artist
signed a rock nation. Flasee is and I believe will
(26:10):
be the next iteration of the rock. But we won't
need to reference her as the rock. She will be
in her own right, her own star, and I think
will be a triple threat. You know, with respect to
Hollywood music and support, we've never seen that from women.
But with the exposure and access, what's the differentiator now
that hasn't exist prior And how these athletes are able
to make their you know, business portfolios work, social media.
(26:33):
The ability to go direct to their consumer, to build
this audience and then transfer it to their projects is
absolute game changer between the last generation and the current one.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Well, it's so interesting you talked about the need for
multiple jobs to be able to do your prime job.
I was fortunate to spend time with Britney Griner obviously
after her experience, and she spoke at a conference and
it was a kind of a small conference, and then
it was dinner, and I had the good fortune of
sitting with her at dinner, so I got to know
her a little and you know, it was a clear
(27:05):
statistic that we all learned. But she said, Michael, the
reason that I was playing in Europe was that's the
only way I could make any money, because I certainly
wasn't making money playing basketball.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Here is why, and Rivaled was started this year.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
You know, that's the you know, so I heard that
firsthand from somebody who said I was ended up being
a captive in Russia because I had to be over
there because I needed to make money.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, and you make more money playing overseas in a
truncated season than you do an entire season here stateside. Now,
hopefully that was that will evolve. There's cbaiations underway.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Yeah, I was going to say that was then this
is now not happening.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
But to go back to your question around Always Alpha.
So Always Alpha was started by Alsam Felix, her brother
Wes Felix, and Cassette Chapat that effectively was going to
be the first dedicated agency or management firm dedicated to
supporting female athletes exclusively. And I remember the day it
was launched, I got a ton of texts saying, oh,
(28:02):
you have competition. But what many of those people texting
me didn't know was that I was a believer that
we could lock arms because what they were doing was
controlling the influence. What we were focused on was controlling
the money. Bringing together that brand investment that media know how,
coupled with the athlete influence factor, it becomes a lights
(28:24):
out offering. And so serendipitously, I got connected with Cassette
and we went off and had a series of meetings,
and it became a no brainer to very quickly enter
into a joint venture to become right now the largest
platform or service offering in the world dedicated exclusively to
women's sports and female athletes. And so, while you know,
(28:46):
Ali's Alpha is responsible for managing the day to day
of some of the most elite athletes in the world,
we are now supporting those athletes with brand strategy. How
to think about commercial development, how to think about you know,
looking for equity instead of just transaction. You know, how
do you approach a brand conversation where you're not coming
in and just saying, hey, I have millions of followers. No,
(29:07):
who is that audience? What are you selling? How do
you do something that's not just transactional but is transformative
with a brand. And so it really is treating the athlete, name, image,
likeness as its own entity, as its own brand, as
opposed to just an individual. And that's a game changer
when historically that just has not been afforded or offered
(29:27):
largely to female athletes.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Well, Laura, I know why you're as good as you
are because I'll let the audience in on a little secret.
You know this. I've tried to recruit you any time.
So one of the things that you are famous for,
and I give you tremendous credit for it in any
place I've ever encountered you, you build environments where culture
(29:53):
is just as important as capability. What's your secret in
terms of nurturing but retaining top talent while always challenging
them to think bigger, think outside that proverbial box. Is
there a secret message you could share with our audience?
Speaker 1 (30:11):
I love that you said secret. And then my last
name which ends in a vowel, so you're not typically
supposed to do that. You know, I run my business
very much in the same way I've approached everything in life.
You know, when you talk about transferable skills from being
an athlete to now being in the corporate world. I
was a captain on many of the teams that I played,
(30:32):
and being a captain.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
By the way, I'm not surprised.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
But when you're a team captain, you know you're navigating
a ton of personalities, a ton of scenarios, a ton
of outcomes that you need to be thinking about out
in front. And you know, in managing the Deep Blue
Sports and Entertainment portfolio, it is about injecting you know,
my vision and my passion and you know all of
the know how that I have. But then it's also
(30:57):
about building a team around me that unlocks areas that
I may not have strengthen that brings additive value that's
going to help us get to the next milestone. I
run a very transparent, open book business. I'm very direct
with my team about how we make money, where the opportunities,
how do we think about it? Same way with the
athletes we work with. You know, many of the athletes
(31:19):
Michael that I've encountered some of the top athletes in
the world have never read a contract, have given away name, image,
and likeness. And then it turned around and asked me, Laura,
what does im perpetuity mean? You know, I bring that
up because you know, if I'm successful at my job
and in running this company and working with these athletes,
they shouldn't need me. Even though this is a founder
(31:40):
built business. The goal is for this to continue on.
And while we are the first, I sure as hell
hope we're not the last. And I think in order
for this space to thrive, I don't approach it in
a competitive way. I mean I'm competitive as hell, let
me be clear about that. But it is really about
collaboration and bridging gaps. And I make sure my team
shows up in a way where they lead with integrity,
(32:01):
they lead with passion, they lead with skill, and they
play other strengths and I don't focus on the areas
where weaknesses exist. I build around them to ensure that
my team, my athletes, my clients have everything they need
to have a competitive advantage.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
You're a baller. I want to just say that, thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
I want a T shirt that says that with you quoted.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Okay, I'm going to make that happen.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Good company, will be right back after the break.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
The other thing I want to talk about is so
many people that I encounter, you encounter, we all encounter.
You know, I was taught a great lesson by my
grandmother a long time ago, which is, don't read people's lips,
watch their feet, don't listen to what people are saying,
watch what they're doing. You know you're doing it. Even
with the Business of Women's Sports Summit, you're actually doing it.
(33:02):
You're That's what I love about this and that's what
our audience should really take away from this. Chatter is nice,
but making shit happen is what matters.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Well, you and I both know that's what makes the
world go round. And so I think, you know, developing RIP,
but also thought leadership was really important to me. You
you your famous quote that you started the interview with
about you know, if not now, when, if not me,
then who is really how the Business of Women's Sports
(33:34):
Summit came to be? I mean, in twenty twenty three,
this was not a popular conversation. In fact, it wasn't
a conversation, and I decided to host that summit in
April of twenty twenty three with Alexis Ohanian because he
had just invested in Angel City, was approaching it wild.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
It turns out to be prescient as hell.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Yeah, and that was a really great investment. Bought in
for I think it was around two million, sold for
two hundred and fifty million within a matter of I
think it was two years.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
So very interesting. Bought to an interesting buyer.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Very yeah, very But you know, when you think about
the ability to leverage his platform and megaphone and then
to put in the work, I'll just tell you the
story when we were founding the Business Women's Sports some
and I went to him and I said, like this,
will you do this with me? I really need your platform,
I need your expertise, and I need your network. And
he said, if you can make it happen, I'm there.
And I called over to NBC and said, I need studio, ah,
(34:25):
which you and I both know is SNL Studios. Because
I wasn't going to do this in the you know,
the basement of a hotel in the middle of Times Square.
It had to be an epic space for epic conversations.
And it really was a litmus test to you know,
if you build it, will they come. And in April
of twenty twenty three, Now this is pre Caitlin Clark
Angel rees, I mean this is a year earlier. Not
(34:47):
only did people come, but there were cmos of some
of the I will say fortune fifties who flew in
on their own dime and spend an entire day and
you know, Michael, for a CMO to do that, there
is interest. After eight hours of programming where people didn't
get up, they didn't leave, they didn't side stage and
you know, mingle and talk, they were dialed in. I
(35:09):
literally walked off that stage and I was like, I'm
going for it. And that was the moment I decided
like there's no turning back, Like I am going to
will this shit into existence. This is going to happen.
And now I got to roll up my sleeves and
get to work. But we decided to continue it because
still to this day, women's sports is largely it's the
side act. It's not the main act in sports programming
(35:31):
conferences B to B events, and so we wanted to
create a space where it would have exclusive, focused discussions
and so this year's event was very much focused on futures.
We really wanted to convene stakeholders and thought leaders, not
about the ratings and you know attendance and you know
merchandise success of twenty four, but now, what are you
(35:52):
going to do about it? How do you grow it?
And what comes next? And so that was what we
focused this year's event around, and then we follow that
up with our Women's Sports Housing can which we started
last year. Is a way to expand that conversation globally
because sport is universal.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
I get to, first of all, not end here because
I get to do my favorite part, which is what
I call the Lightning Round segment. But this has been
a pleasure and I've learned a lot, and.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
I'm can I ask you an earnest question because you
have a lot of conversations. What would you advise brands,
marketers and those trying to connect the dots and making
it happen. What do you think is missing for women's
sports in order to make it move it from a
nice to have to a must buy.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
Well, I think it's what we talked about at the
beginning that question. I asked you about what are the
metrics or things that you want to see disappear, so
that decision making cannot be based on you know, this
is what the marketing mix models tell me, and this bullshit.
Pay attention.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
It's culture moving.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Yeah, it's culture. And if you want to be in culture,
you have to be you have to anticipate. You know
what I've said about that Holy Grailed demograph that everybody
seems to want whatever it may be, at the right moment,
but especially the youth. And when we were in the
early days of social media and people, I would say, look,
here's the problem when they when you find them, it's
(37:14):
too late because they've already moved on.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
That's a great point.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
They have to find you if you find them. And
I and I'm not picking on meta, but you know
the example I gave back that if you think you're
going to find young Sally on Facebook and you find
out that Sally's mom and dad are on Facebook, that's
when Sally's gone. Sally's already moved on. That's so i'd
(37:41):
say to brand, because it's not just brand the early
get there early.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
It's also the media companies. You know, I think you
look at it as a nice to have or a
value add in your portfolio of assets to sell. But
when you're selling it on the wrong currency, of course
you're not incentivized. And how are salespeople incentivized to sell.
They're based on quarterly goals. They're not based on the
line items that are within those goals. And so if
you have you know, the MBA or MLB or NFL
(38:05):
in your portfolio, and then you have NWSL and WNBA,
it's a hard sell. Yeah, you have to work hard
for that money, but if you're not incentivized to sell it,
it falls by the wayside. So it's a complete upending
of the way we do business in advertising, media and marketing.
And I think those that embrace it and engage with
it will be way out in front in terms of
what we're talking about over the next you know, decade
(38:27):
of where culture is moving and consumerism is happening.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Well, if we could post your phone number and the chat,
I would do that, Laura, because they should be calling you.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
That's the advice that they could go you and then
you find me so that you get a cut.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
Or let's flip to the lightning. Let's steal it around.
What's one small habit in your daily routine that brings
you unexpected joy.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
My dogs.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
It's a good one who made an appearance on the
shell no dog show.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
I have two shepherds and two labs, and one of
the labs is just a puppy a year old. And
women's sports and how difficult it is has nothing on
navigating raising a puppy from the beginning again. So now
my dogs bring me such joy and just a beat
away from everything to recalibrate with unconditional love is a
(39:18):
nice place to be.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
That's how I feel about my grandchildren. It's unconditional.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
I love that, Laura.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice,
what would it be?
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Have you heard of this book by mel Robbins?
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Let them no, but I'm about to so.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
It's an incredible book about what you can control and
what you can't. And as somebody who's I know this
will be shocking to you, Michael, type A and an overachiever.
Worrying about what everyone else thought and how I showed
up and what the perception was, as opposed to believing
(39:55):
what I was capable of and not worrying about the
opinions of others would have made a lot of difference.
And so there's this incredible book by mel Robbins. She's
a podcast host and author, and the let them theory
is very much about controlling the controllables. You're never going
to be able to control what others think about you,
so let them, you know. For me, it's very much
(40:17):
about now at this stage in my career. You'll appreciate this.
I think everybody gets to the zero fox stage of
their career where you know what you know and you're
confident in that. For me, it's like I also know
what I don't know and being resourceful enough to find
the expert in the space. And for me that has
come with a lot of work, a lot of deep
reflection as somebody who is a competitor, but also I
(40:37):
would argue at an EmPATH and a people please are
in a lot of ways. Over the course of my life,
it is very much about the balance between believing and
doing while also being considerate and respectful. So that is
something that even to this day, I'm constantly toggling.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
I love that, Laura, was there a particular mentor early
in your career, and if so, somebody you could point to.
Was there a particular piece of advice that that person
gave you.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
You're gonna love this answer. Linda Both, the former CMO
of ge is somebody who I owe much credit to
and will be indebted for the rest of my life too.
And I'll give you a very very specific story about
my relationship with Linda Bov. We went on to have
a fifteen year run of some of the greatest work
(41:25):
I'll ever do in my career on behalf of that
brand and her leadership. I was about my mid twenties
working in a holding company and on a Sunday night
got an email on my BlackBerry that's how we're going
to date this conversation, and the message said, I saw
the work that you did for ge Capital, and I've
(41:45):
learned from the client that shared it with her internally
within that business unit that you were the brains behind it.
I'd like to see you in my office at thirty
Rock tomorrow. Now you're in your mid twenties and the
CMO of gees messaging you that she would like to
see you tomorrow, like, well, I guess I'm going, And
so I had talked with my team and I ended
(42:05):
up there and very naively, probably because I was in
my mid twenties, just sat down and took her through
the work and the thinking, and in that moment Linda
both turned over ge Corporate's work to me to lead
the media strategy at the right page of I was
probably twenty five, twenty six, and my career has never
been the same. I mean, I never looked back and
in trusting me at that point in my career with
(42:27):
such a big responsibility working across such an incredible inner
agency team that you know, included some of the biggest
heavy hitters in this industry. That trust and that belief
in my abilities and hurting things in me that I
didn't even see in myself. I just turned forty, and
I can tell you I'm still sitting down for Linda
both for those conversations. So I owe much much respect
(42:50):
and gratitude to her because she single handedly changed the
trajectory of my career.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Well, this is public knowledge, but were I think you
know this. Linda will be inducted into the Advertising Hall
of Fame in twenty twenty five, and proudly as a
member of the Hall of Fame myself, I can say
how important that is. But I had the good fortune
of recording part of the video message to Linda, because
(43:14):
I share a similar view of Linda as one of
the real important people in our industry for what she's
done and how she's done it. And I had the
good fortune of her offspring, Nelly, working for me for
many years and had the privilege of helping train Nellie
and watch her blossom into such an astounding young lady
(43:35):
as well. So you and I not surprisingly share a
great affection for Linda Boff and anything she touches. And
she obviously and she obviously touched you, Laura CURRENTI major,
good Major. That's a good place to so from fact.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Linda inducted me into the af Hall of Achievement a
couple of years back, and I will be inducting her
into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Laura Corenti, I can't thank you enough for take the
time today to join me on Good Company. I said
it earlier, I'll say it again. I learned a lot today, thanks,
and I continue to think you are a force to
be reckoned with in this industry across so many aspects.
But at a point in time, you're representing something that's
(44:17):
so important, and I personally thank you.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
Thank you, Michael. Before I go There's just one stat
in fact, that I always leave these conversations with if
you don't mind me sharing, because the culture and the
influence and the fun and the hype of women's sports
is you know's, there's no contesting that, But the stakes
around it are massive. And what I want to share
is that over ninety percent of women in the C
suite today have played sports at some point in their life.
(44:42):
This is a very well reported stat. Over fifty percent
of that number have played collegiately, so at the highest levels,
and there is an absolute correlation between girls who play
becoming women who lead. Yet, in twenty twenty four, there
was a study that came out from Nike and Dove
that said percent and of girls are dropping out of
sport by the age of fourteen, largely due to body
(45:05):
confidence issues. Nearly one out of two girls are dropping
out of sport today. And do you know who influences
confidence issues? Media advertising, and marketing. So I take it
serious because that number is astounding, and what we are
hyper focused on and talking about the stakes when people ask,
you know, the why and making the business case because
(45:25):
the social and economic implications of not doing what we're
doing at deep blue sports and entertainment are too great
of a risk to not pursue. So I just share
that because I think it's important to ground people in
that we are talking about long tail. This is not
just a short term hype moment, and so I wanted
to share that. And I'm absolutely grateful to you for
(45:47):
giving me this platform to share, you know, the founding
story of why we did it, what we're doing, and
ultimately where we hope to take it. And if I
can give one point of feedback, this podcast should be
called best Company, because I always find my time with
you to be just that.
Speaker 2 (46:02):
So thank you, Thank you, Laura. I'm Michael Casson. Thanks
for listening to Good Company.
Speaker 4 (46:12):
Good Company is brought to you by Greasy Ventures and
iHeart Podcasts. Special thanks to Alexis Borger Prudeo, our executive
producer and head of Content and Talent, and to Carl Catle,
executive producer at iHeart Podcasts. Episodes are produced and edited
by Mary Doo. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you
next time.
Good Company is a production of iHeartRadio. If you're a
buyer sitting within a holding company and you're asked to
go out and find as many eyeballs as possible, as
efficiently as possible, and somebody presents you with Monday Night
Football versus the WNBA Playoffs, I know where that dollar
is going nine, if not ten out of ten times.
Because you don't have to make the business case for
(00:21):
putting it with the NFL, you sure as he'll have
to work hard to justify it in women's sports because
it has not historically had the access and leverage to
build to deliver on those metrics.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I'm Michael Cassen, and this is Good Company. Together we
will explore the dynamic intersection of marketing, media, advertising, entertainment,
sports and technology. I'll be joined by visionaries, pioneers, and yes,
even a few disruptors who are shaping the future of business,
the future of culture, and everything in between. My bet
(01:00):
is you'll pick up a lesson or two along the way.
As I like to say, it's all good. Welcome back
to Good Company. Today's guest is somebody who's not just
breaking barriers, she's building entirely new markets. Laura Corenti, founder
and CEO of Deep Blue Sports plus Entertainment, is rewriting
(01:20):
the business playbook for women's sports and beyond. Laura's impact
is a masterclass on turning passion into power, from architecting
bespoke brand deals that don't succumb to antiquated playbooks, to
pioneering original media slates, or to co creating game changing
ventures with icons like Alison Felix. Laura is showing us
(01:41):
what happens when you stop asking permission and start building
the future for yourself. She's a leader who understands the
controlling the money means controlling the market, that data can
drive deals, but community drives culture, and that if you
want long term momentum, you can't treat women's or any
other under leverage market as just a box to check.
(02:05):
Get ready for a conversation about leadership, disruption and why
betting on women's sports might be the smartest business move
you haven't made yet. Laura, I want to thank you
for joining me today on Good Company.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Thank you for having me, Michael, such a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I want to start at what I said in the
little introduction about you being a builder. Can you sort
of for our listeners identify the inflection point that made
you realize it was the right time. You know. There's
that famous quote from theology that I think has attributed
(02:41):
to Hillel, who was a great thinker in Biblical times,
and he said famously, if not now, when, and if
not me, who, When did you have that moment?
Speaker 1 (02:53):
My mother would probably tell you when I was born.
But in full sort of recap mode, I'll take you back,
Michael to the summer of twenty nineteen. You and I
were both in the south of France the Canlon Festival,
around the same time that the US women's national team
was playing just a few miles away. So yeah, the
(03:16):
team was playing in France for the twenty nineteen Women's
World Cup as they made it to the finals. I
actually was back home in Jersey at the Jersey Shore,
watching at a local bar, as one does. And it
was such an incredible moment in time because as the
US women's national team won that tournament and we're lifting
the trophy. This was at the same time that a
(03:37):
number of players on the US women's national team had
also sued their employer in US Soccer for equal pay,
and in winning that lawsuit. Many people will recall the
entire crowd in that stadium in France was chanting equal
pay instead of USA when the team hoisted the trophy,
(03:58):
and it was one of those moments where where you realize,
as somebody who is both in the world of marketing
but also as a lifelong athlete and fan, there's something
here that things will never be the same. But also,
putting on your marketing hat, you start to look at
it through you know, our rose colored lens of is
(04:18):
this actually sustainable? Because many of the commentators, as this
moment was unfolding, started alluding to the fact that we've
reached a unique moment in women's sports history. Hearing the
crowds chanting equal pay, the momentum that the national team
had the awareness that it was placing on the value
of female athletes and women's sports, Many of the commentators
(04:39):
and a lot of the chatter in the feed was
alluding to the fact that you know, this is ushering
in the next era. Well, Michael, that very day in
twenty nineteen, I go to the NWSL website, knowing full
well the National Women's Soccer League that many of these players,
if not most of them, would be coming back to
play Stateside in our domestic league. And if you scroll
(05:00):
to the very bottom of that website, which I did
in twenty nineteen, and have the receipts in the form
of screenshots, you would know that there were four partners
for the NWSL in the summer of twenty nineteen. Nike
had the kits, the uniforms for the team for the league.
Rather you had Thorn, the supplement's company, Lifetime, the Women's
cable network was the media distributor at that time, and
(05:22):
there was a fourth brand that was a long care
service that didn't have a website. And it was in
that moment, and as you know, in this industry, what
makes all of this go round is brand investment, media rights, access,
exposure and scale, none of which the culmination of those
four partners could guarantee would help to not only grow
(05:45):
but sustain women's soccer, let alone women's sports in the
same way the commentators and the fans, I think at
that time we're expecting it. That was a light bulb moment.
Fast forward, doing a ton of research and really asking
the question, well, why is there so much high and
enthusiasm and demand from the consumer but little to no activity,
let alone interest from the brand community, and I started
(06:07):
reaching out to a number of cmos, many of whom
I know had actually played collegiate soccer, our friend Andrea Brimmer,
who played at Michigan State being one of them, and
started asking the questions, you know, we move a fraction
of a fraction of our media budgets to support this
industry and to support these leagues, we can single handedly
overnight change the trajectory of its success, which led to
(06:31):
a multi year bit of research, a lot of you know,
interviews and conversations, and just really digging into the business
of which ultimately culminated into placing a bet in December
of twenty three when we opened Deep Blue Sports and
Entertainment as the first firm in the world dedicated to
bringing commercial investment to women's sports.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
That is a masterclass in something I say, if you
can find somebody who can combine opportunityanistic tendencies, and capitalistic tendencies,
that's a win. So what you saw at that inflection
point was an opportunity. What you've done, which is brilliant,
(07:14):
was found a way to capitalize on that and commercialize it,
and the manifestation of that being deep blue.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I had been an athlete my entire life, three sport athlete.
Growing up. I played division and college soccer, and so
the passion has and will always be there, and there's
a competitive spirit and mindset that comes to continually working
to be the best of the best. And for so
long that was, you know, competing in the world of
media marketing and advertising, which is where my career went
(07:43):
post playing, but ultimately recognizing the ability to take a
skill set as somebody who grew up predominantly in the
media buying space, understood the mechanics for how brand investment works,
how to drive access, visibility and exposure on me, how
to extract brand dollars to create value, not just find savings.
(08:05):
Ways brands could use their investments to get the media marketplace,
to pay attention and change models if they put their
thumb on the scale with respect to wanting to see
more coverage in this space. I thought, if I could
take that skill set, coupled with my network which was
cultivated over twenty years, having represented some of the biggest
(08:26):
brands in the world, including brands like General Electric for
fifteen I knew how to play the game in the
world of media, marketing and advertising. What I needed to
figure out was how then, do you apply it to
such a nascent market, one that has been so under
resourced and under leveraged that marketing departments, data and analytics
they didn't even exist eighteen months ago in some respects
(08:47):
with some of the biggest leagues and teams.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
To that end, Laura, because you came to the party
with the experience you've had in the media buying side
of the business and the strategy side of the business.
Was there a particular metric or model or assumption in
sports and media as the two come together that you
(09:09):
believe needed to be kind of you know, the baby
and the bath water thrown away.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I mean the systems that women's sports still continue to
and have played in are not designed for women's sports
in its current life stage. And what I mean by that,
And as part of that light bulb shattering moment when
you start to peel back the layers, you realize again knowing,
as a result of my media buying experience, that women's
(09:36):
sports has and still continues to be sold on a
CPM basis. Now, what does that mean? You're looking at
lowest common denominator reach and efficiency. Guess what women's sports
hasn't had because it hasn't had the exposure on broadcasting cable,
let alone primetime. In many cases it's behind paywan, paywe
and paywall. It hasn't even had the chance to achieve
scale and defined efficiencies. Yet that is the currency a
(09:59):
metric we're putting on it when we bring it to market.
So if you're a buyer sitting within a holding company
and you're asked, you know, to go out and find
as many eyeballs as possible, as efficiently as possible, and
somebody presents you with Monday Night Football versus the WNBA playoffs,
I know where that dollar is going nine, if not ten,
out of ten times. Because you don't have to make
(10:20):
the business case for putting it with the NFL, you
sure as he'll have to work hard to justify it
in women's sports because it has not historically had the
access and leverage to build to deliver on those metrics.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
We're in a moment there's nobody who would argue that
women's sports there's a massive ground swell. You obviously were
at the front end of that in twenty nineteen, because
what a difference five years.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Makes okay in the last twelve months.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
And for all the reasons we know, but we're in
the midst of that. How do you because you're so
passionate about this, and you know, I was chatting with
somebody yesterday, an investor who leads a private equity fund,
and I said, we're more of a venture fund. What's
one of the most important things that you look at
(11:07):
when you invest in a new company? And they said,
obviously the management, the leadership, the owners, the founders. What's
the thing you look for in that person the most
passion And you certainly have it is exuding from everything
you've said thus far. I'm sure our listeners would agree.
But how do you make sure, in the world of
(11:27):
shiny new toys, because we all live in the world
of shiny new toys, that this moment has legs because
it should, it's important that it does. How do we
make sure that for the market and for the good
of women's sports.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Yeah, I mean, this is really where you have to
pick a lane in terms of what you're going to
tackle first. And it took me about six and nine
months in terms of being in a full throttle to
understand where the biggest gaps were and the ones that
I could tackle first given the skill set, network and
experience that I had. And what you quickly realize is
women's sports don't have a product issue. Some of the
(12:04):
greatest competition is unfolding around. You know, NCAA March madness.
You know, you saw the season that the WNBA had
as being named the top brand in the world last year,
the US women's national team one gold, you had, you know,
Simone Biles setting the world on fire. You know, the
product is there, the stories are there. Look no further
(12:26):
than Alona mar and what she has been able to
do single handedly for the world of rugby. What isn't
there is the systems and infrastructure to support it and
sustain it. So we have been actively looking at how
we can influence those systems by bringing brands online. Yes,
of course, looking at strategic positioning, not just going in
(12:49):
and buying off the shelf sponsorship packages, to actually leverage
not just their financial capital, but their resource and human
capital to actually contribute to the growth of as opposed
to the adjacent sponsor ship to women's sports. So we're
working with a ton of brands to really come into
the space and say Okay, we're not just here to
be an official league partner or buy a team patch,
(13:10):
but how can we actually impact the experience and leverage
the resources we have beyond our media investments per se
to really build a platform that has the ability to grow.
It's also working with the teams and leagues to level
up their metrics ability to understand their analytics, who their
fan and consumer is. As you start to drill into that,
(13:32):
knowing how important it is for the ad community to
understand not just who they're reaching, but how they're reaching
them when they're reaching, what the engagement is. You realize,
with the exception of the Kansas City Current, which plays
in the NWSL, there is no other women's sports team
professional sports team in the United States that owns its
own facility. So you don't have the immediate sort of
(13:54):
feedback loop of turnstile data, of concessions of you know,
fanning engagement in and around key touch points of the
end game experience. That's a hindrance in terms of then
having to rely on third party who you're renting the
facility from, you know, external vendors, et cetera. To start
to ductape together the story for a brand by the
time you do it, it's too late.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
And so the can I can I interrupt to say,
I don't know what our listeners are going to think,
but I'm loving geeking out with you as to the
two as two reformed media buyers here, this is good.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Yeah, I love it, but yeah, I mean you start
to poke holes in the system. So it's not just media,
it's infrastructure. We're starting to see more investment coming in
and around practice facilities, but it's not enough. It really
has to come into how can these teams and leagues
and even the athletes themselves who have bigger followings and
platforms than the leagues and teams they play for. I
(14:48):
mean as a as a uh you know, microcosm of
an example, Angel Reese has over four point six million
followers on Instagram. The WNBA has three point one. So
you know, you have to start thinking about as a marketer,
you know, not just coming to the table buying your
classic thirty second schedule, but really starting to understand where
(15:08):
the influence exists, where things are hamstring, and how you're
going to connect the gaps. And so that's we are
hyper focused on systems. And then once Michael, you know
these teams and leagues get the media exposure, they're getting
the investment. There was just a report that came out
not that long ago from EDO where go figure. You
give women the platform, they're on broadcasting cable, they get
(15:30):
primetime positionings. At primetime positioning, viewership was up last year
by over one hundred and thirty one percent. AD impact
surged and increased fifty six percent year over year. Women's
sports ads drove forty percent more consumer engagement than average
primetime ads. So as as one of our I think
(15:53):
common friends, Alexis o'hanian says, facts don't care about your feelings.
So we are hyper focused on the systems, the data
and making the business case. We are way past this
is the nice thing to do. The results are here.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Can I tell my favorite Alexis o'hannian peez So. I
was fortunate to be at Wimbledon in one of the
last years that Serena was participating, and I was there
for the women's semi and I saw Alexis and he's
been a friend for many years, and I saw him
from the box. I was a guest in. He was sitting,
you know, watching Serena play, and I texted him and
(16:29):
I said, hey, Alexis, after the match, come up and
you know, let's hang out. And Serena won that match.
That was a good thing, so he was in a
good mood. He comes up to the box and one
of our clients was in the box with me, and
I wouldn't of course introduce him other than just saying
this is Alexis o'hannian. I didn't say this is Alexis
(16:50):
o'hannian who was married to Serena. I didn't say any
of that. We start talking and I and this other
guy says something in Alexis, it's one of my favorites
or is. Alexis says, well, until I got married, I
really wasn't interested in tennis. And the guy, but not knowing, says,
what did getting married have to do with your interest
in tennis? He said, oh, well, I'm I'm married to Serena.
(17:13):
Wis go to the goat and I just remember that
moment and the guy was mortified, and I said, it's
quite all right. You know, Alexis is the boldfaced name
on his own right.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
But yeah, alexis the first person who saw the business
plan for Deep Blue and literally in the back of
an suv heading to see Serena play at the US Open,
and his friendship, his guidance and just overall approach to
the space keeps me on my toes and continually iterating.
(17:48):
And I think, you know, having investors with the acumen
and the experience that Alexis has will forever change the
world of women's sports. I mean what he did with
Athlos and re imagined the track and field experience last
fall at Ican Stadium in New York City, turning it
into an entertainment spectacle where track was happening as opposed
(18:10):
to a track and field meat that you attended to
me is just indicative of where this industry is going.
And with groundbreakers and trailblazers like Alexis Ohanian, I think
the industry will be better for it.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
I've been trying to get Alexis and I to make
a deal because Olympia and my one of my grandsons
are exactly the same age. I said, let's just get
them together now and we can make it all easy.
They don't have to go through the hard part. We
could just be matchmakers. So you know, I'm going to
Swiss gears here for a second, because you know, collaborations
are something you and I both know a fair amount
(18:43):
about just from our experience, and recently my understanding is
alongside Religion of Sports and Ensemble, you launched something called
Next is Now, which is effectively an anthology slate as
I understand it, kind of closing the gasp of this
massive media coverage gap for women's sports. How did that
(19:05):
partnership come together? And I've spent some time with the
Religion of Sports folks. They're very impressive group. And what's
the business model for that sort of collaboration and you know,
kind of innovation model if you could chat about that.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
You know, you have the insight that women's sports largely
gets coverage obviously in game, but anything outside of you know,
women's sports very rarely has pregame, halftime, postgame coverage forget
shoulder or ancillary programming oftentimes, you know, premium programming comes
in the way of when an athlete retires or you know,
(19:41):
once in a generation feature. But we don't have the
consistent drum beat. You know, if the WNBA team has
an average of forty games, well what's happening the other
three hundred and twenty five days? Of the year, there's
no storytelling. And how do you grow fandom, both in
addressing rabbit fandom, but then also pulling through casual fans
is through storytelling and access and making sure that that
(20:03):
access is not prohibited because of a paywall or subscription.
It needs to be accessible, and it needs to be free,
and it needs to be add supported until it reaches
critical mass. So in doing that sort of went to
the best of the best. Religion of Sports is well
known for putting together incredible docs about athletes. They have
(20:24):
done Serena's Dock, they did Simone Biles doc and brought
this idea forward and saying, you know, how can we
develop a model where it's not reliant? Mike go long
like we go. We make the thing and then we
sell it to you know, the production company or the network,
and then we're at the mercy of somebody else selling
it who has no passion about this, or it's part
(20:45):
of their portfolio of assets and it's a nice to have,
but it's not a mandate to sell, and then the
thing never sees the light of day. Knowing how much
interest there was from the brand marketplace as well as
you know, one of the chief complaints from brands is
that there's not enough inventory to buy, let alone premium.
We figured, let's just cut out the process and go
direct a brand to fund this thing so that it
(21:06):
actually you know, makes it to a platform for distribution.
But then also recognizing it's not just about making it
and getting it onto the platform, it's also about promotion
so that people know where to find it, that it exists,
and that it's accessible. So a big part of the
deal in working with Roku as well as Ensemble, which
is bringing a number of creators to the platform to
(21:27):
help amplify this across social media and YouTube. We know
in essence, not only funded the project to make sure
the production happens at the premium level that we want it.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
To funded through advertiser support.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yes, so entirely brand funded. So we're working with a
number of brand partners to actually underwrite the production, but
then we're also tapping into their media budgets to be
able to also drive tune in, which is a huge
barrier in women's sports again, the lack of discoverability and access.
So not only is it advertising supported and free and
discoverable and roke, but we're ensuring that people know it
(22:02):
exists and where to find it. So brands not just
supporting it from a production but tune in. And I
think that combination is critical for the success from a
ratings perspective and overall engagement with the content.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
We're going to hit pause for a moment, but stay
with us after the break. We've got more insights to
share it. Or you talked about social following, and you
talked about you know, particular players, particular athletes having bigger
(22:38):
followings than the leagues themselves. That empowerment and today the
actuallyve athletes are not just athletes, they're entrepreneurs, they're creators,
they're investors. How are you, you know, helping them think
beyond endorsement deals to build true portfolio strategies. I mean
(23:00):
I saw this first with entertainers, actors and the like.
These all become mini conglomerates effectively with cosmetic lines and
sportswear lines and you know, whatever it may be, and tequila,
and let's go down the list of products and things
that these athletes are trying to build. They need advice too.
(23:22):
It's not just business management advice. You bring a different
level of expertise because you've been a buyer of some
of these things relative to your own experience. So I'm
curious with Always Alpha your venture around management, how does
that play into the overall Deep Blue strategy.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
If you think about the portfolio that is deep Blue,
and I very intentionally never wanted to call Deep Blue
an agency I think it's a very loaded term, and
it was sort of narrowing in terms of what we
anticipated we could build and will build. And so agency
services was always meant to be one piece of the
broader portfolio you just reference in the next is Now deal.
That's part of a different division within the company, which
(24:05):
is focused around IP. But going back to the agency
services bit, you know, from a brand perspective, and as
you alluded to in your intro, you control the money,
you control the market. I don't think there's anybody know
that knows that better than Michael Cassen. But in addition
to controlling the money, the other side of that coin
is influenced and we are in an era where is
absolutely driven by individuals over institutions, regardless of category. No
(24:31):
place has been more true than the world of women's sports.
And so as you start looking at how these women
are navigating not just their on core performance, but they're
off court ventures. What you have to unpack is that
many of these women have had to do it out
of necessity, and necessity in so much that again, you know,
you think about an athlete like Caitlin Clark top one
(24:53):
percent of one percent, made seventy eight thousand dollars as
a rookie last year out of necessity and by.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
The way, as opposed to a male counterpart who made
seventy eight thousand dollars an hour. But let's see.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Separately, there's there's much to be discussed and that could
be an entirely different episode, but with respect to know
how they approach their portfolios. Again, it's had to be
out of necessity. Many of the top professional athletes have
to work two and three jobs just to make ends meet,
and so as you know the market is evolving, it's
really important to think about longevity and what is longevity
(25:27):
require strategy, not just about one off deals, but really
thinking about how you're going to leverage your platform and
your playing time to set yourself up for future endeavors,
which doesn't have to just be when you retire from
playing professional sport. It can start while you're active in
the space, which is what we are seeing in real time.
(25:47):
No market is doing this better than ANIL. You have
multimillionaires being created overnight at the collegiate level. Take for example,
one of my favorite collegiate athletes, fla je Johnson. J
Johnson is a star for LSU women's basketball. She's a
national champion, She's a junior. She's also a recording artist
signed a rock nation. Flasee is and I believe will
(26:10):
be the next iteration of the rock. But we won't
need to reference her as the rock. She will be
in her own right, her own star, and I think
will be a triple threat. You know, with respect to
Hollywood music and support, we've never seen that from women.
But with the exposure and access, what's the differentiator now
that hasn't exist prior And how these athletes are able
to make their you know, business portfolios work, social media.
(26:33):
The ability to go direct to their consumer, to build
this audience and then transfer it to their projects is
absolute game changer between the last generation and the current one.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Well, it's so interesting you talked about the need for
multiple jobs to be able to do your prime job.
I was fortunate to spend time with Britney Griner obviously
after her experience, and she spoke at a conference and
it was a kind of a small conference, and then
it was dinner, and I had the good fortune of
sitting with her at dinner, so I got to know
her a little and you know, it was a clear
(27:05):
statistic that we all learned. But she said, Michael, the
reason that I was playing in Europe was that's the
only way I could make any money, because I certainly
wasn't making money playing basketball.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Here is why, and Rivaled was started this year.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
You know, that's the you know, so I heard that
firsthand from somebody who said I was ended up being
a captive in Russia because I had to be over
there because I needed to make money.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, and you make more money playing overseas in a
truncated season than you do an entire season here stateside. Now,
hopefully that was that will evolve. There's cbaiations underway.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Yeah, I was going to say that was then this
is now not happening.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
But to go back to your question around Always Alpha.
So Always Alpha was started by Alsam Felix, her brother
Wes Felix, and Cassette Chapat that effectively was going to
be the first dedicated agency or management firm dedicated to
supporting female athletes exclusively. And I remember the day it
was launched, I got a ton of texts saying, oh,
(28:02):
you have competition. But what many of those people texting
me didn't know was that I was a believer that
we could lock arms because what they were doing was
controlling the influence. What we were focused on was controlling
the money. Bringing together that brand investment that media know how,
coupled with the athlete influence factor, it becomes a lights
(28:24):
out offering. And so serendipitously, I got connected with Cassette
and we went off and had a series of meetings,
and it became a no brainer to very quickly enter
into a joint venture to become right now the largest
platform or service offering in the world dedicated exclusively to
women's sports and female athletes. And so, while you know,
(28:46):
Ali's Alpha is responsible for managing the day to day
of some of the most elite athletes in the world,
we are now supporting those athletes with brand strategy. How
to think about commercial development, how to think about you know,
looking for equity instead of just transaction. You know, how
do you approach a brand conversation where you're not coming
in and just saying, hey, I have millions of followers. No,
(29:07):
who is that audience? What are you selling? How do
you do something that's not just transactional but is transformative
with a brand. And so it really is treating the athlete, name, image,
likeness as its own entity, as its own brand, as
opposed to just an individual. And that's a game changer
when historically that just has not been afforded or offered
(29:27):
largely to female athletes.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Well, Laura, I know why you're as good as you
are because I'll let the audience in on a little secret.
You know this. I've tried to recruit you any time.
So one of the things that you are famous for,
and I give you tremendous credit for it in any
place I've ever encountered you, you build environments where culture
(29:53):
is just as important as capability. What's your secret in
terms of nurturing but retaining top talent while always challenging
them to think bigger, think outside that proverbial box. Is
there a secret message you could share with our audience?
Speaker 1 (30:11):
I love that you said secret. And then my last
name which ends in a vowel, so you're not typically
supposed to do that. You know, I run my business
very much in the same way I've approached everything in life.
You know, when you talk about transferable skills from being
an athlete to now being in the corporate world. I
was a captain on many of the teams that I played,
(30:32):
and being a captain.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
By the way, I'm not surprised.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
But when you're a team captain, you know you're navigating
a ton of personalities, a ton of scenarios, a ton
of outcomes that you need to be thinking about out
in front. And you know, in managing the Deep Blue
Sports and Entertainment portfolio, it is about injecting you know,
my vision and my passion and you know all of
the know how that I have. But then it's also
(30:57):
about building a team around me that unlocks areas that
I may not have strengthen that brings additive value that's
going to help us get to the next milestone. I
run a very transparent, open book business. I'm very direct
with my team about how we make money, where the opportunities,
how do we think about it? Same way with the
athletes we work with. You know, many of the athletes
(31:19):
Michael that I've encountered some of the top athletes in
the world have never read a contract, have given away name, image,
and likeness. And then it turned around and asked me, Laura,
what does im perpetuity mean? You know, I bring that
up because you know, if I'm successful at my job
and in running this company and working with these athletes,
they shouldn't need me. Even though this is a founder
(31:40):
built business. The goal is for this to continue on.
And while we are the first, I sure as hell
hope we're not the last. And I think in order
for this space to thrive, I don't approach it in
a competitive way. I mean I'm competitive as hell, let
me be clear about that. But it is really about
collaboration and bridging gaps. And I make sure my team
shows up in a way where they lead with integrity,
(32:01):
they lead with passion, they lead with skill, and they
play other strengths and I don't focus on the areas
where weaknesses exist. I build around them to ensure that
my team, my athletes, my clients have everything they need
to have a competitive advantage.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
You're a baller. I want to just say that, thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
I want a T shirt that says that with you quoted.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Okay, I'm going to make that happen.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Good company, will be right back after the break.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
The other thing I want to talk about is so
many people that I encounter, you encounter, we all encounter.
You know, I was taught a great lesson by my
grandmother a long time ago, which is, don't read people's lips,
watch their feet, don't listen to what people are saying,
watch what they're doing. You know you're doing it. Even
with the Business of Women's Sports Summit, you're actually doing it.
(33:02):
You're That's what I love about this and that's what
our audience should really take away from this. Chatter is nice,
but making shit happen is what matters.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Well, you and I both know that's what makes the
world go round. And so I think, you know, developing RIP,
but also thought leadership was really important to me. You
you your famous quote that you started the interview with
about you know, if not now, when, if not me,
then who is really how the Business of Women's Sports
(33:34):
Summit came to be? I mean, in twenty twenty three,
this was not a popular conversation. In fact, it wasn't
a conversation, and I decided to host that summit in
April of twenty twenty three with Alexis Ohanian because he
had just invested in Angel City, was approaching it wild.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
It turns out to be prescient as hell.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Yeah, and that was a really great investment. Bought in
for I think it was around two million, sold for
two hundred and fifty million within a matter of I
think it was two years.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
So very interesting. Bought to an interesting buyer.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Very yeah, very But you know, when you think about
the ability to leverage his platform and megaphone and then
to put in the work, I'll just tell you the
story when we were founding the Business Women's Sports some
and I went to him and I said, like this,
will you do this with me? I really need your platform,
I need your expertise, and I need your network. And
he said, if you can make it happen, I'm there.
And I called over to NBC and said, I need studio, ah,
(34:25):
which you and I both know is SNL Studios. Because
I wasn't going to do this in the you know,
the basement of a hotel in the middle of Times Square.
It had to be an epic space for epic conversations.
And it really was a litmus test to you know,
if you build it, will they come. And in April
of twenty twenty three, Now this is pre Caitlin Clark
Angel rees, I mean this is a year earlier. Not
(34:47):
only did people come, but there were cmos of some
of the I will say fortune fifties who flew in
on their own dime and spend an entire day and
you know, Michael, for a CMO to do that, there
is interest. After eight hours of programming where people didn't
get up, they didn't leave, they didn't side stage and
you know, mingle and talk, they were dialed in. I
(35:09):
literally walked off that stage and I was like, I'm
going for it. And that was the moment I decided
like there's no turning back, Like I am going to
will this shit into existence. This is going to happen.
And now I got to roll up my sleeves and
get to work. But we decided to continue it because
still to this day, women's sports is largely it's the
side act. It's not the main act in sports programming
(35:31):
conferences B to B events, and so we wanted to
create a space where it would have exclusive, focused discussions
and so this year's event was very much focused on futures.
We really wanted to convene stakeholders and thought leaders, not
about the ratings and you know attendance and you know
merchandise success of twenty four, but now, what are you
(35:52):
going to do about it? How do you grow it?
And what comes next? And so that was what we
focused this year's event around, and then we follow that
up with our Women's Sports Housing can which we started
last year. Is a way to expand that conversation globally
because sport is universal.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
I get to, first of all, not end here because
I get to do my favorite part, which is what
I call the Lightning Round segment. But this has been
a pleasure and I've learned a lot, and.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
I'm can I ask you an earnest question because you
have a lot of conversations. What would you advise brands,
marketers and those trying to connect the dots and making
it happen. What do you think is missing for women's
sports in order to make it move it from a
nice to have to a must buy.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
Well, I think it's what we talked about at the
beginning that question. I asked you about what are the
metrics or things that you want to see disappear, so
that decision making cannot be based on you know, this
is what the marketing mix models tell me, and this bullshit.
Pay attention.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
It's culture moving.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Yeah, it's culture. And if you want to be in culture,
you have to be you have to anticipate. You know
what I've said about that Holy Grailed demograph that everybody
seems to want whatever it may be, at the right moment,
but especially the youth. And when we were in the
early days of social media and people, I would say, look,
here's the problem when they when you find them, it's
(37:14):
too late because they've already moved on.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
That's a great point.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
They have to find you if you find them. And
I and I'm not picking on meta, but you know
the example I gave back that if you think you're
going to find young Sally on Facebook and you find
out that Sally's mom and dad are on Facebook, that's
when Sally's gone. Sally's already moved on. That's so i'd
(37:41):
say to brand, because it's not just brand the early
get there early.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
It's also the media companies. You know, I think you
look at it as a nice to have or a
value add in your portfolio of assets to sell. But
when you're selling it on the wrong currency, of course
you're not incentivized. And how are salespeople incentivized to sell.
They're based on quarterly goals. They're not based on the
line items that are within those goals. And so if
you have you know, the MBA or MLB or NFL
(38:05):
in your portfolio, and then you have NWSL and WNBA,
it's a hard sell. Yeah, you have to work hard
for that money, but if you're not incentivized to sell it,
it falls by the wayside. So it's a complete upending
of the way we do business in advertising, media and marketing.
And I think those that embrace it and engage with
it will be way out in front in terms of
what we're talking about over the next you know, decade
(38:27):
of where culture is moving and consumerism is happening.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Well, if we could post your phone number and the chat,
I would do that, Laura, because they should be calling you.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
That's the advice that they could go you and then
you find me so that you get a cut.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
Or let's flip to the lightning. Let's steal it around.
What's one small habit in your daily routine that brings
you unexpected joy.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
My dogs.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
It's a good one who made an appearance on the
shell no dog show.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
I have two shepherds and two labs, and one of
the labs is just a puppy a year old. And
women's sports and how difficult it is has nothing on
navigating raising a puppy from the beginning again. So now
my dogs bring me such joy and just a beat
away from everything to recalibrate with unconditional love is a
(39:18):
nice place to be.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
That's how I feel about my grandchildren. It's unconditional.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
I love that, Laura.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice,
what would it be?
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Have you heard of this book by mel Robbins?
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Let them no, but I'm about to so.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
It's an incredible book about what you can control and
what you can't. And as somebody who's I know this
will be shocking to you, Michael, type A and an overachiever.
Worrying about what everyone else thought and how I showed
up and what the perception was, as opposed to believing
(39:55):
what I was capable of and not worrying about the
opinions of others would have made a lot of difference.
And so there's this incredible book by mel Robbins. She's
a podcast host and author, and the let them theory
is very much about controlling the controllables. You're never going
to be able to control what others think about you,
so let them, you know. For me, it's very much
(40:17):
about now at this stage in my career. You'll appreciate this.
I think everybody gets to the zero fox stage of
their career where you know what you know and you're
confident in that. For me, it's like I also know
what I don't know and being resourceful enough to find
the expert in the space. And for me that has
come with a lot of work, a lot of deep
reflection as somebody who is a competitor, but also I
(40:37):
would argue at an EmPATH and a people please are
in a lot of ways. Over the course of my life,
it is very much about the balance between believing and
doing while also being considerate and respectful. So that is
something that even to this day, I'm constantly toggling.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
I love that, Laura, was there a particular mentor early
in your career, and if so, somebody you could point to.
Was there a particular piece of advice that that person
gave you.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
You're gonna love this answer. Linda Both, the former CMO
of ge is somebody who I owe much credit to
and will be indebted for the rest of my life too.
And I'll give you a very very specific story about
my relationship with Linda Bov. We went on to have
a fifteen year run of some of the greatest work
(41:25):
I'll ever do in my career on behalf of that
brand and her leadership. I was about my mid twenties
working in a holding company and on a Sunday night
got an email on my BlackBerry that's how we're going
to date this conversation, and the message said, I saw
the work that you did for ge Capital, and I've
(41:45):
learned from the client that shared it with her internally
within that business unit that you were the brains behind it.
I'd like to see you in my office at thirty
Rock tomorrow. Now you're in your mid twenties and the
CMO of gees messaging you that she would like to
see you tomorrow, like, well, I guess I'm going, And
so I had talked with my team and I ended
(42:05):
up there and very naively, probably because I was in
my mid twenties, just sat down and took her through
the work and the thinking, and in that moment Linda
both turned over ge Corporate's work to me to lead
the media strategy at the right page of I was
probably twenty five, twenty six, and my career has never
been the same. I mean, I never looked back and
in trusting me at that point in my career with
(42:27):
such a big responsibility working across such an incredible inner
agency team that you know, included some of the biggest
heavy hitters in this industry. That trust and that belief
in my abilities and hurting things in me that I
didn't even see in myself. I just turned forty, and
I can tell you I'm still sitting down for Linda
both for those conversations. So I owe much much respect
(42:50):
and gratitude to her because she single handedly changed the
trajectory of my career.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Well, this is public knowledge, but were I think you
know this. Linda will be inducted into the Advertising Hall
of Fame in twenty twenty five, and proudly as a
member of the Hall of Fame myself, I can say
how important that is. But I had the good fortune
of recording part of the video message to Linda, because
(43:14):
I share a similar view of Linda as one of
the real important people in our industry for what she's
done and how she's done it. And I had the
good fortune of her offspring, Nelly, working for me for
many years and had the privilege of helping train Nellie
and watch her blossom into such an astounding young lady
(43:35):
as well. So you and I not surprisingly share a
great affection for Linda Boff and anything she touches. And
she obviously and she obviously touched you, Laura CURRENTI major,
good Major. That's a good place to so from fact.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Linda inducted me into the af Hall of Achievement a
couple of years back, and I will be inducting her
into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Laura Corenti, I can't thank you enough for take the
time today to join me on Good Company. I said
it earlier, I'll say it again. I learned a lot today, thanks,
and I continue to think you are a force to
be reckoned with in this industry across so many aspects.
But at a point in time, you're representing something that's
(44:17):
so important, and I personally thank you.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
Thank you, Michael. Before I go There's just one stat
in fact, that I always leave these conversations with if
you don't mind me sharing, because the culture and the
influence and the fun and the hype of women's sports
is you know's, there's no contesting that, But the stakes
around it are massive. And what I want to share
is that over ninety percent of women in the C
suite today have played sports at some point in their life.
(44:42):
This is a very well reported stat. Over fifty percent
of that number have played collegiately, so at the highest levels,
and there is an absolute correlation between girls who play
becoming women who lead. Yet, in twenty twenty four, there
was a study that came out from Nike and Dove
that said percent and of girls are dropping out of
sport by the age of fourteen, largely due to body
(45:05):
confidence issues. Nearly one out of two girls are dropping
out of sport today. And do you know who influences
confidence issues? Media advertising, and marketing. So I take it
serious because that number is astounding, and what we are
hyper focused on and talking about the stakes when people ask,
you know, the why and making the business case because
(45:25):
the social and economic implications of not doing what we're
doing at deep blue sports and entertainment are too great
of a risk to not pursue. So I just share
that because I think it's important to ground people in
that we are talking about long tail. This is not
just a short term hype moment, and so I wanted
to share that. And I'm absolutely grateful to you for
(45:47):
giving me this platform to share, you know, the founding
story of why we did it, what we're doing, and
ultimately where we hope to take it. And if I
can give one point of feedback, this podcast should be
called best Company, because I always find my time with
you to be just that.
Speaker 2 (46:02):
So thank you, Thank you, Laura. I'm Michael Casson. Thanks
for listening to Good Company.
Speaker 4 (46:12):
Good Company is brought to you by Greasy Ventures and
iHeart Podcasts. Special thanks to Alexis Borger Prudeo, our executive
producer and head of Content and Talent, and to Carl Catle,
executive producer at iHeart Podcasts. Episodes are produced and edited
by Mary Doo. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you
next time.
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