Joining us on today’s episode is Eric Nichols, the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Branding/Chief Marketing Officer at the University of South Carolina. Nichols oversees Marketing, Digital and Social Media, and the University band and spirit programs as well as serving as the primary liaison for Licensing, merchandise sales, and outsourced entities including Learfield for multimedia rights and Learfield Ticket Solutions for outbound sales.
Eric and David discuss innovation around customer and employee experience within college athletics. From some of the changes South Carolina has been working on over the pandemic and are now launching this year at their football stadium, to renovated club areas and utilizing data and KPIs for your staff, Eric breaks down all the way in which he looks to innovate the college athletics space for his team.
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Show Notes
3:07 New Club Spaces at Gamecock Football Games
10:08 The South Carolina Tailgate Experience
13:04 Beer Caves and Convenient Store Concession Stands
17:17 How to Scale Empathy
19:22 Using Data to Increase Staffing and Resources
26:21 Setting KPIs and a Vision for Your Staff
31:43 Lessons from South Carolina Culture Surveys
35:10 Facilitating Teamwork and Rewarding Your Employees
37:12 Deepening Connections with Gamecock Fans
41:53 Bridging the Ticketing and Licensing Spending Gap
44:56 Eric’s Billboard
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