The Future Game:
The Road from Pro to CEO
While at MGO, I led the strategic planning and execution of a marketing campaign to support the launch of a new line of business for the firm. After conducting extensive market research, we determined there was an untapped opportunity to develop the Business Management practice by providing financial planning and management services to professional athletes.
The centerpiece of the ensuing go-to-market strategy was The Future Game, a multi-media marketing approach aimed at:
Creating a media presence within the Professional Sports market
Engendering brand awareness and industry partnerships
Developing relationships with athletes and their decision-makers, including agents, lawyers, and financial advisors
Creating a new business funnel for the Business Management practice.
Multi-Media Activations
The Future Game was launched to address the market opportunity presented by the poor state of financial education and guidance provided to professional athletes at both the junior and professional levels.
Far too many athletes sign multi-million contracts at young ages without a fundamental understanding of financial management, investment strategy, or the basics of bill pay and maintaining accounts.
The Future Game built goodwill and developed positive relationships in the space by provided free educational resources and guidance to athletes.
These resources took three key forms, exclusive video content, educational guides, and social engagement.
Exclusive Video Content
The centerpiece of The Future Game’s content marketing initiatives was a series of videos I produced. These supported both our greater purpose of promoting financial education, and elevated our service providers as thought leaders in the space.
To accomplish this, I led the production of a series of interviews with current and former professional athletes. Through our industry connections we were able to secure several leading athletes, including:
Draymond Green - Current NBA Star
Matt Barnes - Former NBA Champion
Eben Britton - Former NFL Star
Geoff Walker - Former NCAA Basketball Player and Industry Expert
Additionally, we produced a series of complementary videos featuring our service providers drilling down and further demonstrating key principles of The Future Game’s brand position and programming.
Educational Materials
To support the video series through written content and provide leave-behind collateral for sales meetings with prospective clients, I produced a series of educational articles and other resources.
These articles laid out the fundamental principles of The Future Game’s approach, drove SEO/SEM performance for the initiative, and provided talking points for meetings with alliance partners and current and future clients.
Social Media
The final initiative for The Future Game was a series of social media events designed to highlight our videos, thought leadership, and the partnerships we formed with athletes and the business ecosystem.
To achieve our goals of engaging directly with our audience, we produced informative posts for our social media channel, and hosted live events on both Instagram and Clubhouse.
Each event was a tremendous success, with high levels of engagement and follow-up from industry leaders and additional athletes asking to participate in the program.
