Statistical Informational Interview

 My informational interview with Jonathan Martinez (Vice President of Revenue Planning and Analytics at the Las Vegas Raiders) was very helpful in my understanding of data and analytics in the world of sports. My first question was asking about his journey through sports. Mr. Martinez started in the Raiders organization as a sales and marketing intern which he got out of college and moved his way up to his current position. He started in ticket marketing and then went into merchandising which he oversaw building email marketing campaigns in which he looked a list for lead generation which he segmented. After knowing about his current journey, I then asked him: What his future goals in sports was? In the future, he is looking to move into a Chief Marketing Officer or Chief Revenue officer role. I also asked what a previous leader has taught him that helps him become successful today? Something a previous leader has taught him that has contributed to his success is that when he started his boss would have regular check-ins and allowed him to do his work till, he needed to be corrected. His boss put job offers in front of him even if it wasn’t part of the Raiders which he later took with Reaction Search International before returning to the Raiders. As a boss today Mr. Martinez lives by the same principles for those who works for him and if he can’t give them the best offer, he will ask his contacts in the industry to see if they can offer something his current employees are looking for. He has done this recently with some of his employees because of the Raider's recent need to move to Las Vegas. He has reached out to his contacts at other sports teams in the Bay Area to find a place for his employees to work when the Raiders leave.

Currently, they use data and analytics in every business function, from the generation of PSL (personal seat license) lead scores to survey fans who have placed deposits. In his position, he reviews survey results created by the outward business group and makes decisions from the surveys to run loyalty programs and to present to the team president and owner.

My second informational interview was with Gabe Myers (Digital Marketing Coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers). I first asked what the biggest struggle was in working in the Los Angeles Market is? Mr. Myers stated that the biggest struggle about working in the Los Angeles market. He said it is harder, but they have different strategies such as promotional blasts, community events. Their goal is to put people in nurture programs and push them to a sales representative once the lead has expressed interest. During our interview, he advised me to do the little things such as volunteering to work on random sweepstakes and familiarize myself with CRM and digital marketing platforms such as Salesforce and Trailhead by researching them online.

My questions to him about analytics was: How is analytics used in your everyday work? Mr. Myers's work currently, works closely with the CRM and analytics team. He uses the numbers that he is given by them in order to see how email marketing campaigns are performing. Key metrics he looks for is the open rate and click rate, which is tracked through a pixel through Salesforce. He uses this to compare performance of email marketing messages based on time (2 P.M. vs 5 P.M.) and to see what content that people are interested in to send more messages that are tailored towards those times and messages. To test which content is most effective they use AB testing with subject lines and see what performs better and use that information to cater to messages for quick surveys about football interests and how to improve the fan experience. Once the data has been collected than one of his co-workers maps the data and then he goes over the numbers with his boss but in the future, they are looking to streamline this process with one person.

This informational interview has exposed me to the uses of different programs and tactics in order to draw conclusions from raw data in order to develop marketing plans for success.