Explore every episode of the podcast The Hartwell Studio Works Sports Branding Podcast

An athletics strategic plan can be an effective tool for helping navigate this competitive higher ed market. Dr. Paul Plinske, VP for Athletics and Strategic Partnerships at Colorado State University Pueblo, talks about the importance of developing mission, vision, and values statements as foundational to a plan's success.

Among the many factors necessary for effective small college athletic fundraising, one of the most important is strong strategic messaging. Ross Douma, AD at Dordt University, talks about the role strategic messaging has played in Dordt athletics' eye-opening fundraising success.

Higher Education is a competitive market, with schools under pressure from multiple directions to keep their doors open. Tony Hoops, AD at Bethel College (KS), shares how his department looked inward to develop experiences that have led to a higher level of competitiveness and institutional growth.

It has been said that an athletics department best serves its purpose on campus when it is properly aligned with the goals and objectives of its institution. Sherrie Weldon, CMO at Lynn University, joins the show to talk about how that alignment has implications for the branding and marketing of both the athletic program and the institution itself.

D1/Power 5 college athletics brands are big time, driving tickets, merchandise, and media rights. Small colleges don’t live at that same level, so why should they care about athletics branding? John Phillips of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Jake Ripple of Dodge City Community College join the show to share their thoughts about why branding should be important to every small college athletics program.

Meighan Julbert, the Assistant Athletic Director for Student Athlete Success and SWA at Bethany College in Bethany, WV joins the podcast to talk about the ramifications of the Name, Image, and Likeness era (NIL) for small colleges.

Dan Tudor, President of Tudor Collegiate Strategies, returns to the podcast to talk about the role of storytelling in your branding efforts and how it plays a critical role in separating your brand from your competition.

Darnell Smith, Director of Athletics at Texas A&M University - San Antonio talks with John about what he's learned about creating a new athletics brand for a new athletics program.

College athletics recruiting guru Dan Tudor joins John for a presentation on the three biggest mistakes he's seeing in college recruiting in the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown of Fall 2020 sports.

Josh Cornwall, the Assistant Director of Athletics for Communication at Agnes Scott College, joined me a conversation about how small college athletics can best react to the pandemic crisis as Fall sports are cancelled for the new school year.

Karen Whalen, the Director of Athletic Engagement and Fundraising at Wesleyan University, joined me a conversation about fundraising and donor engagement in the midst of this COVID-19 uncertainty.

Devin Crosby, the Directory of Athletics at Lynn University, joined me for a small college AD Zoom conversation to share three (and a half!) tips the most valued employees practice in their organization in this time of pandemic uncertainty.

Amanda Workman, the Senior Associate AD for External Relations at West Texas A&M University, joined me for an small college AD Zoom conversation to talk about how she and her team had to shift gears on the launch of their annual giving campaign in the face of the COVID-19 shutdown.

Saint Xavier University AD Allison Kern joined me for an online "virtual" conversation with small college ADs from around the country to talk about the "New Normal" waiting for small college athletics after the COVID-19 crisis passes.

Jen Johns, the former VP for marketing and communications for the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee, talks about what she learned working with one of the biggest sports brands in the world.

Agnes Scott College athletics director Allison Kern joins the show to talk about her athletics brand-building efforts and the role that brand has played in the growth of Scotties athletics.

Lynn University AD Devin Crosby joins the show to talk about the role of culture in building a successful athletics brand.

National Sports Forum president Ron Seaver shares the latest information on sports sponsorship trends and the role of your brand in this always-changing environment.

John flies solo for this episode to talk about the "Concept Gap" some college athletics programs struggle to close in their athletics identities.

Atlanta Braves creative director Insung Kim joins the show to talk about how understanding a sports brand's target audience can help attract and win more fans.

Jim Abbott, athletics director for Oklahoma City University, talks about the role of athletics at small colleges, and how a strong athletics brand can be an effective tool for a stronger school.

Univ. of Iowa Asst. AD for Trademarks and Licensing Dale Arens joins the show to discuss how licensing can be a powerful tool for a sports property to drive revenue.

Kevin Donovan, founder and president of the Tour of America, discusses the process of creating a new sports brand from the ground up.

Mountain West Conference Sr. Assoc. Commissioner Dan Butterly joins the show to talk brand and sponsorship from the sports property point of view.

With the 2018 Winter Olympic Games underway, Olympic consultant Terrence Burns stops by the podcast to give some insight into the biggest sports property brand in the world.

Sport marketing expert J.W. Cannon joins the podcast to talk about the role of sports branding in successful sponsor partnerships.

Using a great column by Paul Lukas of Uni Watch and ESPN as a starting point (see show notes), John takes a look at how today's sports branding principles can be applied to the Houston Astros' famous 1975 tequila sunrise rainbow uniforms.

In this second part of our two-part "Create your brand story" episode, we use a hypothetical new sports property as an example of how to gather information we might use to create a new brand story. Also: pork chops!

We start this two-part look at creating a sports brand story by introducing the Discovery process and three perspectives we can use to organize information about your property.

The Hartwell Studio Works Sports Branding Podcast kicks off with the basics: defining what we mean by a "brand." Along the way, we discuss what a brand is not, and how a "brand" is different from a "logo."