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Las Vegas Raiders’ Kristen Banks on marketing to old and new fans alike
21 minutes Posted May 22, 2024 at 10:00 am.
] Damian: I'm Damian
] Illyse: And I'm Ilyse Liffering and
] Damian: welcome to this edition of The
] Illyse: This week,
] we're delighted to talk with Kristen
] Damian: but since 2020, the Raiders have
] That's the first time in NFL history that
] Illyse: In fact, the match was the most
] Damian: Now, although the Raiders weren't
] We started by asking Kristen what all that
] Kristen: it's incredible. Uh, you know,
]
] was incredible. It was incredible for the
] Illyse: And you know, also thanks to
] Kristen: What I would say is again,
] absorbing and
] Certainly you see that even more so with
] Damian: That's interesting. One of the
] How do you think about that
] Because that seems like a pretty exciting
] Kristen: It's such a unique world, right?
] And how are you giving them? A opportunity
] , I'm quite new to the Raiders
] term.
] When you think about the avidity scale of
] So how do I get them to watch a piece of
] And these types of fans that are much more
] Damian: I'm very curious on the, you know,
] your marketing team have to that? How do
] Kristen: From week to week, you know, win
] How do we create content? Taking those
] Damian: That's really interesting. And the
] way makes that all the more
] Kristen: Right. I would say, there's
] Is it five different messages? Is it three
] Illyse: I feel like the NFL and sports
] personalities. , everybody has their
] How do you then use these storylines to,
] Kristen: My background is sports and
] Illyse: do you think that even work with
] Kristen: I'll pick on maybe a little bit
] but, in naturally partnering with a
] And that's easier for brands to attach to
] And he's an incredible figure and
] we create a whole
] Show up and represent, which is usually
] For the coach, that's that's quite unheard
] Damian: yeah, so the executive side of the
] of
] I wonder if you could talk a little bit
] Kristen: I think, you know, the Raiders
] Over the past 60 years, and so it's
] the
] Kristen: And to be at the forefront of
] Illyse: Do you believe that then has an
] power roles really speaks
] Kristen: Yeah, I think it has to. I think
] We certainly reach a lot of other markets
] And also 10 percent is African American.
] diverse fabric
] Illyse: One of the most interesting facts
] Kristen: I think it's making sure that
] Angeles and
] but then to say, okay, now we need to
] You never want to upset the core. But you
] Illyse: And, you know, I'm curious about
] Kristen: You know, [00:15:00] I think,
] I mean, that's a little bit of, you know,
] And what's that experience? And to your
] But there's
] So, those really casual fans, keeping them
] Damian: So, Kristen, you talked, you
] You know, um, learned from that experience
] Kristen: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I
] moved to Las Vegas back in 2015. was with
] One, there was no stadiums. and there
] But what I will say is, is that is good
] doing now, which
] And building from that is to say, okay,
] Illyse: Speaking of Vegas how is the
] Kristen: In Las Vegas, because of
] Naturally, I'd say, it's really working
] teams individually to say, hey,
] Illyse: Yeah, It's definitely interesting.
] Kristen: They really represent and tap
] It's about, being yourself authentically.
] non sports
] And then I think about, you know, just
] Damian: And that's it for this edition of
] We'll be back next week so stay tuned.
] Illyse: The current podcast theme is by
] Damian: And remember
] Kristen: You never want to upset the core.
] that you're constantly growing and
] Damian: I'm Damien
] Illyse: I'm Ilyse.
] Damian: we'll see you next time. And if
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Show notes
Las Vegas Raiders’ SVP of Marketing Kristen Banks joins The Current Podcast to discuss the importance of balancing old and new fan bases alike, and not just in Las Vegas. Episode TranscriptPlease note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.[
[
[
Current
[
[
Banks, the SVP of Marketing for the Las Vegas
Raiders, formerly known as the Oakland Raiders, and
for a while the Los Angeles Raiders from 1982 to 94,
[
made their home in Las Vegas, and this year the
Raiders hosted the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.
[
a Super Bowl was played in the state of Nevada.
[
streamed in history by a record setting audience.
[
playing in the match, the event marked a watershed
moment for the NFL, for Las Vegas, and the game in
general.
[
attention meant to the Raiders.
[
coming into working for a brand that's been around 60
years. So the Raiders organization is [
been, you know, around since 1960 and they've never
hosted a Super Bowl. So for the first time, you know,
coming to a new stadium being built in Las Vegas in
2020, not having it open for the first two years that
the stadium was in full operations because of the
pandemic, And then fast forward to this year hosting
the Super Bowl on a wide, really global stage.
[
brand. It was incredible for the city of Las Vegas.
And I think it really represents a new chapter in
sport and what's happening in this city.
[
streaming and probably also Taylor Swift a little
bit, let's be honest, we're seeing new fans come to
the NFL.
[
drafting back to the pandemic is that there's, you
know, there was already a change in consumer behavior
and how consumers were [
watching content. Certainly with the pandemic that
increased that aptitude. And so you saw this
incredible spike in how people are consuming content,
certainly migrating away from being cord cutters or
potentially Cord nevers who had a cable package and
moving into streaming services.
[
the younger population and Gen Z. It's about simply.
Being available to every audience type that's out
there, and that could be on their mobile phone, on
their tablet, when they're watching the game, still
on regular television, but going to social media
platforms or YouTube to consume additional content
that only enhances the experience.
[
things that you said to me, Kristen, was about that
streaming and second screen experiences that, in
effect, there's a sort of virtual community of fans
who are sharing content as the action is happening
and unfolding. [
and leverage that as a marketer?
[
real time opportunity.
[
Particularly for younger audiences, we'll say, under
the age of 25, if they haven't documented it, then
it's almost like it didn't happen. So, as a brand and
as a marketer, you have to think about when someone's
attending a game, when they're watching it at home,
how are they engaging with the experience?
[
to tell their story and what it means to engage and
experience that activity with the brand.
[
organization. I joined, um, six months ago, right at
the start of the 2023 season. the height of Super
Bowl. And so my team is deep in the throes of the
strategy and planning of how do we build audiences
and how do we ultimately create customer journeys
long [
[
the very core passionate fan who maybe is a season
ticket member, buys merchandise can't get enough of
the Raiders podcast that type of fan. is very
different than a very casual fan so for a very casual
fan, I'm not going to immediately try to sell them on
a season ticket member because they're likely not at
that stage of ready to make that commitment
financially, ready to make that time commitment.
[
content? So it's really about building out each
person individually and saying, okay, this subset of
fans represent this group and follow this typical
pathway.
[
avid may follow a very different pathway. And this is
what this looks like.
[
when you mentioned the coach and the teams and all
that dynamic that goes on, how much access do you and
[
you, how does that kind of infuse what you have to do
on the, on the executive front?
[
or loss, you know, there's this constant narrative
that's playing out on a real time stage and on social
media and live on broadcast. And so then you have to
say, okay, how do we ultimately take that draft
quickly? If maybe a player made a stunning catch, or
had a, you know, a fumble, or did something on the
field that was really extraordinary, how do we then,
you know, how do we dovetail off of that?
[
things that are really quick hits and ultimately
doing a quick turn to be relevant and, you know, in
that social media moment of continuing to capture
that interest and intent.
[
way that advertising now is deployed in a much more
agile [
possible, I assume.
[
challenges with that. Yes, for sure. It's. It's
easier to do nowadays. I mean, certainly you've got
social media, you've got digital content. It's easy
to push something out, but you also have the
challenge of, as you think about customization and
personalization and audience segmentation, what does
that look like, right?
[
different messages? Is it one different message, but
a different channel? So, you know, Even still, when
you're trying to move as quickly so that you're still
relevant, and it's happening, that lightning in that
moment, you have to also be able to take a pause,
say, what's the strategic approach here, and is this
reflective of the right audience, and where do we
ultimately push this to make it relevant?
[
leagues overall, There's a lot of, like storylines
that you can actually, draw from, and, like,
[
favorite player their favorite moment in time that
that player, really succeeded. [
like, infuse your marketing content as you think
about, keeping things relevant and authentic?
[
entertainment, which has really what I'd like to say
is baked in stories and they're happening on a daily
basis, right? I think it's why when we then partner
with brands or we bring in partnerships and we say,
okay, brand X, Y, Z, who maybe doesn't have some of
those built in storylines to play from, how do they
make what they're doing, you know, speak to the fan
base
[
brands that don't have an obvious affinity with a
sports team? Like how do you create then like
extensions of the story?
[
of finance and insurance because maybe they're not as
sexy, [
brand or a sports property helps allow that to
happen. And then it creates that opportunity to say,
Okay, well, that finance or that insurance brand, you
know what, when there's a setback, oh, that may
relate to somebody's personal life in how they're
investing, right?
[
versus having to try to create something from
scratch.
one of the interesting narratives that came out of
2023 season was certainly with our Interim head
coach, who's now the head coach, Antonio Pierce.
[
certainly quite the motivator and just, gives these
incredible speeches and really. Kind of these amazing
lines that just play really well into marketing. Um,
and it was, okay, how do [
blackout kind of experience? It was clear they
weren't going to be making the playoffs, but how do
we still make it impactful to the fans that they want
to show up, that they want to watch, so if you take
that story of, okay, everybody's going to dress in
all black in the way that he does.
[
kind of one of his sayings and to see that come to
life, to see many of the fans dressed in all black at
the game, to see messages of encouragement posted on
social media. And then, which it was incredible to
see him walk off the field and have people chanting.
[
of. So that was a really cool. Um, it was a really
cool moment to see and witness and from a marketing
side, help create that,
[
Las Vegas Raiders, you've got a very powerful story
there too. And I know that it's a team [
firsts with the first female black president of an
NFL team and more.
[
about, you know, that side of the story.
[
has a really an illustrious history. , you have, you
know, the first black head coach. You had the very
first female president in the NFL. They all came from the Raiders. Now you have the very first female
black, uh, president of the Raiders. And so, you
know, it's an organization that's been in firsts.
[
incredible to say that, you know, whether it was, ,
Mark Davis, our owner of the Raiders, or his father,
Al Davis, they constantly said it was really always
about just finding the right person for the role and
really just that. And not, and diversity and
inclusion becomes just part of that because you want
to make sure that you're representing [
audience in the right way.[
doing that is to make sure that in the back office,
and on the field, and in the coaches and staff all
reflect that representation as well. And so I think
that's just a fabric of the Raiders DNA that's always
been present. But To be here now, to be part of the
leadership team, to have, a female president who's
African American, to be a part of that executive
group as myself being a female and being in sports,
it's really trailblazing and it's an exciting, uh,
time for sure
[
effect on the marketing? I know, there are obviously
a ton of female, NFL fans out there and Raiders fans,
I'm sure. And, I feel like. Often, though, football
is more marketed to men. Do you feel that having more
women in those, [
to the women that are fans?
[
it's a natural influence and that, you know, whether
it's women, whether it's other ethnicities, whether
it's different backgrounds, different cultures, all
of that is really important because if you think
about just, right, I'll just take Las Vegas because
that's obviously where the Raiders, our home base is
now.
[
and audiences, but I'll talk about Las Vegas, which
is. You know, naturally, just about 50 50 split in
between men and women. 28 percent of the audience in
Las Vegas is Hispanic. 11 percent is, is Asian
Pacific Islander. Las Vegas is called the Ninth
Island for a reason, a lot of Hawaiian transplants.
[
So, you look at that really [
of people in Las Vegas who could potentially be fans
of the Raiders, and who ultimately we want to ingrain
so that they feel the Raiders are their hometown
team. The employee base should reflect that and I
would say for sure, my background, my experience, and
even my team around me, should reflect the diversity
and diverse opinions of those communities for sure.
[
about the Las Vegas Raiders is that you're a legacy
brand, but you're now in a new location how do you
ensure that you're engaging those fanbases while
reaching new fans?
[
nothing that you're doing is going to, Be damaging to
the core or feel not authentic. We certainly have
still quite a fan base in Los [
Oakland
[
bring in. New fans, completely different that are not
part of those generations that are introduced to the
team because now we're here in Las Vegas that has
never had an NFL team before that honestly never had
any professional sports team up until the last. Five,
10 years, that would have been completely frowned
upon in what was formerly called Sin City.
[
want to make sure that you're doing something that
still pushes the envelope a little bit so that you're
constantly growing and adapting.
[
this too because, you know, we're living in like a
digital world now. Anybody can go on and stream like
a Raiders game, no matter where they are. With fan
bases, especially across cities, across states, does
location matter as much these days to be a fan of a
particular NFL team?
[
think it depends. I think it depends on who you ask,
and I think it depends on what type of fan and what
avidity scale. And the reason I say that is, is I'll
say, you know, the Raiders, we are very, proud of the
fact that we have a season ticket member. In every
state in some 15 countries, um, that are, that grace
our stadium.
[
a little panache to say that, but on top of it, you
know, how fans have access, you know. Can look
completely different to I mean, certainly your bread
and butter are the people coming in the stadium, but
the bigger appeal, the bigger growth potential are
those fans watching at home.
[
point, at least that could be done really anywhere,
right? And then to what they have access to. Um, some
of that, you know, depends on live broadcast rights
and where, games are aired. [
also an incredible amount of content, and for anybody
under the age of 20, getting them to watch a full
game sometimes is a challenge anyway, so they're
going on TikTok and watching some highlights.
[
engaged, which can be at home, on the go, in a
different city, in a different country, is certainly
relative and important, too, to the Raiders overall
growth.
[
mentioned that Vegas is pretty new to sports, but I
do know that, you know, your background, which is
very interesting. You're a lead marketer for the UFC,
which was one of the original sports franchises in
Vegas, along with boxing. I wonder about you.
[
and you, you were in, the midst of, this in, as, as
the city has kind of evolved into this sports center
in a way. It
[
[
the UFC for eight years there, formerly worked in
entertainment for NBCUniversal in Orlando. so I'll
say I've always been, had a background of cast of
characters and rich stories to play with. But on that
end, you know, when we moved back in 2015, Very
different landscape.
[
certainly was no talk of baseball, basketball, or
really any other national sport. and so UFC had
planted a flag many years ago as already being a
boxing town where you'd have, you know, big events.
[
timing of having that past experience because you're
trailblazing. You're saying, okay. How do we set a
flag here? How do we do this? How do we make this
work? How do we get fans engaged locally? To then
parlay that into what I'm [
is working for the NFL and working for, a team
locally that has such an incredible, brand
recognition, brand storyline.
[
well, I can take some of what I've learned from UFC
trailblaze and say, how do we make that cool and
relevant, to new fans here in Las Vegas?
[
Raiders , leaning into sports betting in any way?
[
naturally the betting and the gambling and maybe it
feeling like, Oh, this is, this is too taboo for a
sports team to come to Las Vegas. but today, you
know, some of our partners are sports betting
partners. Um, we have MGM bet, who's a corporate
sponsor. We have DraftKings, and there are league
partnerships with sports betting partners.
[
with the [
how do we make sure that we make sure that the game
stays pure, that it's really just more of a fan focal
point, but that those two don't intersect.
[
The Raiders are kind of, I would say different from a
lot of other NFL teams and I'm curious about what you
would say about why that is. For instance, like the
nickname, I know Raider Nation is, is really strong
and the fans are . Maybe some of the most spirited
in, yes, in the league, I would say. What do you
think?
[
into what the Raiders brand is, which is about
individuality.
[
It's about doing it in such a way that's very
different, almost cosplay esque. Playing into that
it's the team for maybe the [
fan, you know, and silver and black, and how cool are
those colors that everybody looks good in black. So I
think there's, there's just so much fun.
[
where the Raiders came from to, you know, our
incredible history of Al Davis being the owner, and
commitment to excellence, having pride and pride and
poise, those things and that and that kind of ethos,
plays into everything of what we do, and I think that
the fans gravitate to that because it's something
they can identify with.
[
The Current Podcast.
[
[
Love and Caliber. The current team includes Kat Vesey
and Sydney Cairns.
[
[
But you want to make sure that you're doing something
that still pushes the envelope a little bit so
[
adapting.
[
[
[
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