Internship Opportunity: Fayetteville SwampDogs

2014 SEASON (Spring/Summer) INTERNSHIP INFORMATION

Collegiate Summer Baseball at  J.P. Riddle Stadium

Overview

The Fayetteville SwampDogs are seeking friendly, motivated team players for summer internships at “The Swamp”. Are you a people person? Do you have a passion for baseball? Are you a person of integrity with a good work ethic? Do you have a dream of working in sports? Then a summer internship with the Fayetteville SwampDogs may be for you!

As an intern with the SwampDogs you will receive a unique, well rounded experience to put yourself in a position to be successful in the sports industry. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity allows you to learn the operations side of summer collegiate baseball at it’s best for 28 regular season home games, plus exhibition games.

The Fayetteville SwampDogs are a member of the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer league featuring teams in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The SwampDogs play at J.P. Riddle Stadium, a Fayetteville landmark, with 28 regular season home games during the summer season.

Intern responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, assisting with grassroots marketing, group sales, promotional efforts, on-field activities and many more incredible facets of summer baseball. Intern positions are offered for the 2014 summer from mid-May through mid-August.

The SwampDogs are looking for current undergraduate and graduate students in sport management, or related fields, that are serious about a career in professional or amateur team sports. If you are a successful candidate, you will get the opportunity to gain practical experience in multiple areas of team operations, including sales, marketing, promotions, stadium operations, ticketing, merchandising, media and public relations and management. You will be working with general manager Jeremy Aagard and assistant general manager Phillip Sims. Aagard was an Assistant General Manager in the Northwoods League for two years, and is entering his eighth year with the Dogs. Under Aagard’s leadership, the Dogs have been honored with the CPL Organization of the Year award in 2007 & 2011. Sims enters his second full time season after spending three seasons as an intern with the Dogs. What does this mean to a potential intern? It means that SwampDogs’ management understands what skills and experience are needed to succeed in this business. You will be challenged with a variety of responsibilities designed not only to ensure the success of the SwampDogs in 2014, but also to impress hiring officials with teams, leagues and organizations, in the future. It also assures you, upon successful completion of your internship, experienced mentors who can assist you with the advancement of your career.

This will not be your typical internship. The SwampDogs organization is committed to making our interns an integral and equal part of our operation. Considering our small staff, you will be relied upon to provide insight and to make decisions regarding all aspects of the operation. Your opinion will be solicited and your ideas will be welcomed. You will oversee a special area of responsibility that will permit you some autonomy in its operation, with guidance and support from the general manager, and will assist in group-oriented projects with your fellow interns. As an intern with the SwampDogs, you will work hard for a significant amount of hours during the summer, for very little compensation. (If money and free time are high priorities for you, it would be advisable that you consider pursuing a different career path.) Due to the importance of your role to the team, you will be expected to commit full-time throughout the 2014 season. Realistically, this type of internship is not for everyone, only those select individuals who are committed to career success in sport marketing or related fields. Please note, however, that you will not be asked to do anything that is not similarly expected of all members of the management team.

During the time you are an intern with the Fayetteville SwampDogs, you will experience first-hand all aspects of the operation of a baseball team. The practices of our organization closely resemble those of all minor league teams, and, on a smaller scale, most major league and intercollegiate sports organizations. The skills you will acquire will be easily transferable to any sports field in which you desire to work. At the end of your experience, you may feel that you worked harder in those few months than at any other time in your life. However, you will be rewarded with significant practical experience, the positive sensation of a successfully completed season and new friendships among your fellow staff members, ballpark employees and fans that will stay with you and be very beneficial to your future success.

Job Duties

General Responsibilities

All Interns will assist in the following areas:
· Promotional Nights. You will assist with implementation of promotional events at selected home games.
· Game Operations. You will assist in set up and operation for J.P. Riddle Stadium for each game night.
· Community Marketing. You will assist in grassroots marketing of the Fayetteville SwampDogs throughout the community, including: delivering pocket schedules and ticket information to area businesses, assisting with displays and information distribution at area events, supporting speaking engagements, and even performing as the team’s mascots, Fun-Go and Cookie.
· Administration Assistance. Yes, you will have to answer the phones, make copies, stuff programs with inserts, send out mailers, etc. However, with a small front office, we all have to do it, too.
· Other Operations. We have a philosophy that no one, from the general manager down to the batboys, is ever allowed to say, “That’s not my job.” There will be a variety of projects and tasks that will surface and we will all have to pitch in and get them done. These may often be jobs that a college-educated person would not expect to perform on a daily basis, but are necessary to our operation.

Group Projects

Interns will work together on a number of projects in 2014, for example:
· Group Ticket Sales. The SwampDogs offer various group packages including discounted tickets, pregame picnics, birthday parties, field-of-dreams little league promotion, etc and you will assist with the operation of this program. This sales experience will provide you with an important advantage over other full-time job seekers in the future. We are not going to just turn you loose without guidance.

Areas of Responsibilities

The following are general outlines and interns are not limited to this, but will gain experience in these areas:

Operations

Interns will assist in many aspects of stadium operations during the 2014 season. Some duties include; assisting with set up and operation of food service and catering, scheduling and supervising stadium employees, assisting with many team issues (including host families, travel, field maintenance, uniforms, etc.), assisting with game operations (including set up for sponsor displays and playground).

This part of the internship is a great opportunity to get a real understanding of how a sports facility operates. While J.P. Riddle Stadium is a smaller venue than a major league, major collegiate, or even a motorsports facility, its operation is very similar to these venues.

Promotions/Marketing 

Interns will gain experience with in-game promotions and on-field entertainment while assisting in projects that enhance the marketing of the SwampDogs. Duties of the portion of the internship include supervising on-field contests and on-field entertainment, assisting with management of in-game atmosphere, including PA announcements, music, sound effects, etc., will also oversee player and mascot appearances, coordinate camps and similar projects and will take part in community relations projects.

Promotions, marketing and community relations are very important to sports organizations as a way to create a positive market image and create a more entertaining environment to attract fans. Because of that need, this enhances the experience for someone looking for a well-rounded experience in these areas.

Merchandising/Promotions 

Interns will take part in the SwampDogs’ merchandising operation at J.P. Riddle Stadium, including all mail, phone and Internet orders. This part of the internships will be responsible for inventory, staffing, and all sales of SwampDogs’ merchandise, including; caps, T-shirts, novelties, scorecards, etc. Through this section of the industry, interns will learn to discuss sales trends, inventory, promotional ideas and other aspects of merchandising. In the area of promotions, this position will oversee all sponsored promotional events, primarily any premium giveaways.

Other Information

Start Date: Early May. We can be flexible based on school schedules, but interns should be available as soon as possible in May.

End Date: August 20, 2014

How to Apply

If you are serious about a career in the sports industry and are willing to make the commitment it takes to be successful, then send a cover letter, resume and three references (with at least one professional reference) to:

Fayetteville SwampDogs Baseball
Attn: Jeremy Aagard, General Manager
2823 Legion Rd
Fayetteville, NC 28306
Email: jeremy@goswampdogs.com

"Seahawks' Richard Sherman Gets Hounded by Media in This Perfectly Timed Ad"

From Adweek

Video from the game

Review by Becca Gibbs in SRM 435 (section 2)

This article highlights Washington Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman’s recent post-game interview with Erin Andrews influencing his brand new Beats by Dre commercial. The timing of this commercial could not have been better or worse, in some opinions. After Sherman’s final play of game against the San Francisco 49ers, he screamed into Erin Andrew’s microphone “I’m the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you’re going to get. Don’t you ever talk about me!” (Gasper, 2014). Sports journalists and bloggers alike began writing and posting about Sherman being a thug from Compton, California.

Sherman’s Beats by Dre commercial was released the day of the NFC Championship game, the same day Colin Kaepernick’s, the 49ers quarterback, aired. When the Seahawks won, Kaepernick’s commercial was pulled and only Sherman’s would be played. Sherman had the reputation of being a thug before the championship game, but his rowdy interview reinforced this reputation. His Beats by Dre commercial promotes the adaptive noise canceling headphones with the slogan “Hear what you want”. This was the perfect pitch for Sherman because he pays no attention to the trash talkers calling him a “thug”. In the promotional standpoint, it is unclear which is being advertised more, the headphones or Sherman. The interviewers’ questions during the commercial become increasingly personal until one interviewer asks “how do you feel about your reputation as a thug?”. Although it was a relevant question, and it reflected his post-game interview, I believe that the questions were too personal and focused too much on Sherman and not enough on the product. Had Sherman been calmer during his interview with Erin Andrews, the commercial would not have gotten the attention that it has received.

Although many reporters claim that the release of this commercial was perfectly timed with Sherman’s NFC Championship game interview, I believe that the cornerback’s publicity outshined the Beats by Dre headphones. The commercial stars Sherman and only features the headphones. When promoting a new product, it is extremely important to keep the focus on whatever it is you are selling. I think Beats by Dre chose an appropriate athlete for the product, but Sherman stole the spotlight of the commercial after his interview. Although the commercial is good publicity for the Seahawks’ player, it does not promote the headphones enough.

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Review by Amy Spring in SRM 435 (section 2)

The article in Adweek about Richard Sherman promoting Beats by Dre was a perfectly timed ad and explains why. It promoted who Richard Sherman is, who he isn’t, and the headphones that he and millions of others use. A game between two of the toughest teams, the two teams that most thought would be the final two in the Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks was held on January 19th. That same day an ad for Beats was released and again aired the next morning on SportsCenter.

Sherman had drawn national attention for his post-game interview with Erin Andrews. He quickly became a highly talked about, controversial, player. He has had fines for trash talking on the field and after the game was played. The ironic thing about the interview and the issues people have with Sherman is one of the most intelligent and philanthropic young players in the NFL. He earned a 4.2 GPA in high school and a communication degree from Stanford University.

Although the interview was in the moment and seems to be genuinely how Sherman felt after the big play, he created a lot of hate and talk about himself. The main focus was on the interview and not on the big athletic play at the end, or how close the game was. Sherman was quoted saying, “If I’m going to get a reputation, I might as well own my reputation.” He is aware he is being talked about but is staying focused on the game and not letting the negative attention get to him.

The article discusses that the intensity of the commercial is not as strong as others in the past; however it is relevant to what Sherman has been dealing with throughout the season. The media is trying to pin him as a thug. This was all great publicity timing for Beats and Sherman teaming up since publicity is free and they were already using him in the commercial to promote the Beats.

This Sunday the Super Bowl will be played at 6:30 pm between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos; anticipation for the result and to see how the “greatest cornerback in the game” performs, both on and off the field.

"The Connected Fan"

From Adweek

Review by Ryan Dixon in SRM 435 (section 1)

“Competing with the couch”, as this article talks mostly about connecting with the fans through social media and ways to get fans attention while at the game there are still some people out there that would rather enjoy watching a game “on the couch.” Stadiums and ballparks are thinking of more creative ways to get the fans engaged not just into the game but into what’s going on around the game. Places like the seats, at the concession lines, or even on the big screen scoreboard. While some stadiums are more technologically advanced than others, they are still trying to rebuild and revamp to get the game day experience more live and exciting.

The way this article ties into this course is that without all the new technology that is being added to the stadiums people wont want to come and watch games in person anymore. They will rather sit at home and be able to get the same experience that they would at the games. That’s why companies are coming together and thinking of ways to get fans to come to the games. With adding new technology to stadiums fans will see that and know they are getting a better experience than they would on their couch. Without fans coming to view the games in person you wont have sales and marketing promotions for other companies and even for your stadium itself. Fans want that wired environment; have free WiFi so their videos or pictures upload quicker onto their social medias. During games you have trivia presented by a certain company that does promotions for the team. While a game is on time out you may have a chance to get and upgrade seat exchange by answering the trivia question right. Its things like this that make fan want to come to the games in person. I feel bad for someone who has never been to an actual stadium to watch a game in person. I know many people say they would rather watch games on a HD TV but I don’t know what is more HD than our own eyes and experiencing everything first hand.

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Review by Cody Fazenbaker in SRM 435 (section 1)

With the emergence of advanced technology, the viewing experience of sporting events is changing drastically. Ten years ago, the action of the game was what drove fans to come watch. Now, with the creation of smartphones and Wi-Fi, it is all about the fan experience. Fans are not as motivated to attend sporting events live as they were years ago because of the convenience of watching multiple games from several angles from the comfort of their own home. Sports organizations are “competing with the couch” and fighting to give fans an irreplaceable fan experience in order to keep fans coming back.

Studies have shown that more than half of sports fans would rather watch a game from their own home than attend the game live. The Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, is one example of a venue that is providing that at-home experience. The addition of Wi-Fi, 4G LTE coverage, and the ability to order food from your own seats are just some of the many amenities that give fans a high-tech experience. Because the value of being at the game does not mean as much as it did years ago, sports organizations and marketers must find ways to appeal to our digital generation. Dallas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, installed an HD center-hung scoreboard that measures 72 feet by 160 feet. The Miami Marlins encourage fans to tweet difference team references before and during the game in order to get their tweets up on the scoreboard. Kansas City’s MLS soccer team asks fans to participate in games on their smartphones with incentives being things such as seat upgrades. The ultimate goal of these organizations now is to have fans arrive to the game earlier, stay longer, and spend more. Knowing what your fans want is more important than ever.

This article is relevant to our marketing and advertising class because those two things are more important than ever in the sports business world. In order to keep fans coming back to attend games live rather than have them watch from home, sport marketers and advertisers must be more creative than ever. It is all about connecting with the fan and personalizing their experience.