Where did you grow up, and how did you end up in sports data of all things?

I grew up in Texas, but I spent 15 years in the Valley of the Sun so Phoenix, Arizona has a special place in my heart. Although the premise of your question is that I am grown up, which is up for debate.

A college professor suggested I apply for an internship with the Spurs in what was back then just called the “Internet Department”. I started in 2003, doing web design and content which led to supporting their Spurs E-News email campaigns. As the email industry evolved, I was growing alongside the tools and technology, so I've kind of seen it from its origin to where it is today.

What do you actually do on a Tuesday?

First thing I do is realize I forgot to log any time in my timesheet on Monday, so I probably have to do that Tuesday morning.

Most of what I do, and I know how this is going to sound, but I'm still going to say it, is very much like I'm one of the members of the A-Team. I'm probably Murdock. My day is figuring out: what place needs support, how could we help with a solution, and then how do we assemble the right team that can do what needs doing. I do a lot less getting locked into a barn and building a tank.

What common stumbling blocks or mistakes do you often see in implementations?

What I see go wrong is not being considerate. And I don't mean 'being rude’. I mean not putting the time into considering the downstream impact of a change, whether that's future systems or others in the current state, and not considering the overall fan experience. Being too focused on one journey, or one KPI, and not saying, oh, did we know the fan actually has four touch points all simultaneously because of all these different campaigns?

What do most teams get wrong about their own data?

Assuming that everything they see on the internet is true. Meaning, when they look at their data or their marketing platform and they see something, assuming that whatever's feeding it is accurate and up to date.

So many times we've heard, “We use this field for our segmentation”. And then you peel back the layer of the onion and say, “well, what's feeding that?” Maybe the logic needs updating, or maybe the data is stale because a feed broke due to new credentials. That's what I've seen clients miss, not doing their rounds on what data is being fed into the platform, and whether it's still good.

When it comes to ticketing, a lot of times it's, “we didn't know these price codes were involved in this segment”. Who is a season ticket member is one of the foundational questions a lot of marketers have to face. Can they easily email every season ticket holder, or do they need to go to BI to get an extract? And the ingredients that go into that segment need refreshing over time, because the box office comes up with a new plan that counts as a season ticket holder for marketing but not for reporting. And it's that times every game in the season.

What do you look for when evaluating new technology?

The biggest thing I look for is: can I imagine myself using this on a Tuesday. What's the opportunity cost, and how can I imagine using it day-to-day?

Through a marketing lens I have to decide: does this actually move the needle on how we do things, and is the barrier to entry too great, or can we realistically adopt it?

What is the part of a build that nobody notices when it is done right?

For marketing, I would say personalization. In my world, the worst thing you can hear is “people are tweeting about this email”. That's what we're all trying to avoid, the wrong kind of attention.

Personalization is a double-edged sword. It has a lot of benefits when it's wielded well, but when it goes wrong, it breaks the relationship, and the fan feels like they're a database record instead of a person. When it goes right, you don't hear about it. It's effective, but it's not something that gets attention.

What is something you have changed your mind about in the last two years?

This one's going to get me in trouble. Being a Texas A&M fan has meant there are a lot of teams I’m against, and Alabama was always near the top of my list. Then I met a friend who is a die-hard Bama fan, and I realized with some maturity that maybe they aren’t ‘the worst’ and I don't have to live to hate a logo. Though there are still some logos I will still forbid my kids from wearing.

A team, brand, or campaign that has your attention right now?

I'm going to have to rule out existing clients, just for objectivity, but one series of emails I get as a subscriber that's really strong is the Cincinnati Bengals. They're planning to stripe their arena, so different colors for different sections. The fan education there is daunting, and they're doing a great job of communicating which section gets what. Also their pregame emails are good – including which jerseys are being worn.

You have one Lego set that you can choose from to build and display at home. What would it be?

That is a very good question. My son would say Harry Potter, because I've stepped on several Harry Potter Lego sets. I would have to do something from Star Wars. Vader's shuttle. Always looked cool to me.