My Fan Seats owner Lara Smedley shares the story of what happened when her successful event business struck by a pandemic. When the sports world shifts to empty stadiums Smedley leans into her event background to grow a new business filling seats with custom cardboard cutouts.
Lara talks about the warp speed ramp up with a new website and processes to create the cutouts, plus the four ways these two dimensional fans are helping reshape sports.
Her story includes some powerful examples of the cutouts connecting fans, families and their sports teams. Plus we talk about creative ways teams are utilizing the cutouts.
March: Cancelled my biggest event
— Lara Smedley (@smeedd) December 12, 2020
June: Launched @myfanseats
Today: Signed our 15th client
Dozens to thank but especially want to shoutout @sportsiren @ShaanVP @theSamParr for inspiring me.
Now go help the #valeroalamobowl raise $1 million: https://t.co/gMiIo9OWO4 pic.twitter.com/xVDfFbzfUx
Next Simon Sez Steve Max joins the Party to talk about his recent shift into Virtual Simon Sez for his world-famous Halftime show.
And we keep the party going with Game Ops maven Amanda Greco who joins Cudo in a duet to sing the praises of the Golden State Warriors Dance Program. Then Greco fills everyone in on something we might have missed from the new hockey team in Henderson Nevada.
- Last Month on the Podcast: Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole joins the Party in the Back podcast. Jesse is the author of “Find Your Yellow Tux” and the engine behind the fun for minor league baseball’s wildest show. The Bananas have sold out every game since their first season and now have a waiting list in the thousands. Plus Rob Wicall on Kid’s Day promotions and fan cutouts.
- One Year Ago on the first episode of the Party in the Back Podcast: Mike Abramson talks about teaching fans baseball, Game of Throne-themed hamburger, effective social media and a lingering passion for the Whalers. We have an excerpt from our interview with Author Josh Pahigan and we close with Amanda Greco on the 2020 Water Cooler Bracket.
- Five Years Ago on The Gameops.com Podcast: Cudo with Matt Heuer and Pat Walker talk owners dunking, building traditions and training kindergartners. Ben Hill then joins to talk about tacos, back hair and nacho cheese…no kidding.
- Lara Smedley on LinkedIn
- myfanseats.com – Supporting your favorite team with a custom Fan Cutout that will be placed in your team’s stadium or arena during games that restrict in-person attendance.
- SteveMax.com
- Steve Max – Simon Sez – Sports teams around the country and their fans simply LOVE Steve Max’s hilarious and outrageous Halftime Simon Sez Challenge.
- Warriors Video Treatment of Dance is Next Level – Warriors are redefining dance production….and it’s amazing.
- Glimpse of the Future in San Fran – Taking the court away for a year may end up being blessing, causing teams to create and reimagine dance production.
- A Double Slice of Kiss Cam Fun
- Saturday Night Live in Calgary
- Sixer Fix
- Briefing 101: The Art of Briefing Your Contestant – When working with contestants, we have developed a straight-forward Three Part Plan for Success that you can use with any contest.
Please enjoy this brief performance from Herald the Town Crier 🎺🎶 pic.twitter.com/sqILMW8B7w
— Henderson Silver Knights (@HSKnights) February 27, 2021
RSS Feed: http://www.gameops.com/feed
The Party in the Back Podcast: If Sports Marketing was a mullet hairdo this podcast covers ‘The Party in the Back‘. We’ll let someone else do the data, analytics, spreadsheets and budgets… We’re talking about the FUN: In-game contests, theme nights, mascots, dancers, social media, atmosphere and giveaways. Join us at the Party in the Back for our monthly discussion with industry leaders on the fun side of Sports Marketing.
Time Codes
- coming soon
Find the Podcast on iTunes or use our RSS feed directly.
