Jon Sinden: Professional Sports Marketer, Wannabe Professional Napper
I have followed Jon on Twitter for a few years now, and started while I was still pursuing my degree in marketing. There aren't a lot of sports marketing positions out there, especially for national leagues, making talented and successful sports marketers just as rare. Here, Jon tells us about his transition from radio to sports marketing, and his real dream job ;)
Tell me about yourself, and how you got into marketing.
When I was younger I always wanted to get in to radio. I went to school for radio and worked my way through all kinds of jobs within the industry. I wrote commercials. I produced commercials. I sold advertising. I even talked a bit on the radio. The Marketing & Promotions Department is where I felt most comfortable. I worked at a number of stations in Toronto… Jazz, Classical, Top 40.
I helped launched a station called FLOW 93.5 FM which at the time was Canada’s 1st Urban radio station. That was so much fun… choosing a logo, a 1st song, all the stuff that comes with launching a new brand. From there I became the Director, Marketing & Promotions of 102.1 the Edge. I really focused on developing content and all the stuff that happened between playing songs. We were the 1st radio station in the country to utilize Facebook and Youtube (among other platforms) to actively engage audience and create experiences. This was around 2003. It was unheard of for a radio station to focus on creating great content instead of giving away a boatload of money or some prize. The journey was much greater than the destination. People still ask me about Todd finding a fiancée, the Cougar Hunt and various Dean Blundell Show stunts.
We took major calculated risks and it seemed to work every single time. Ratings went up year over year, every year of my tenure. Then one day, I stopped listening to the radio. It was a strange feeling, but the great shift in technology was on, and I needed to be a part of it. I started doing my own thing, a venture called Big Thinker, where I helped brands investigate and utilize new spaces and technology. 100 percent of my clients knew me from the Edge and we had some great successes. Marketing is such a broad term and in today’s landscape in gets sliced and diced so many ways. I know a little bit about making the connection between audience and brand. If that’s marketing, then I guess I work in Marketing.
How did you find yourself in sports marketing?
I started talking to MLSE after a client pointed me in their direction. The client was NBA Canada, who are an amazing group of people, which I collaborated with on digital strategy among other things..I reached out to MLSE about a position they had open. These were the teams I already supported so the conversation was easy and natural. We could all see the huge potential with the sports teams having a real impact across multiple platforms. They needed someone to lead that charge and I loved the teams, so the rest is history.
You built a solid career in the radio industry before MLSE - what was the transition like from radio to sports?
The transition was easy. There is a common thread in my career about connecting audience with brands. I did it for well over a decade in the radio biz, then in my own start up, and now in the sports biz. Music and sports are two huge emotional connectors. And with all the technology that surrounds us today, it’s easier to connect with audience on a real level: where all (or most) brands should be.
Personally, I felt I needed to fill my tool belt with all the digital media and marketing tools out there. Get my hands dirty, so I could add many new skills and expand my current marketing knowledge. A modern marketer. Is that a term? ‘Modern Marketer’? If not, stamp-sies no erase-sies.
This seems like it would be a dream job for a lot of marketers - was this your dream job?
Great question. I really enjoy what I do. I work with some super smart and creative people. Dream job is just one of those terms for me that doesn’t sit well. Great gig = yes. Dream job = I’ll have to get back to you on that. I think my dream job is still to be a fireman or professional napper.
What does the future hold for Jon Sinden?
I truly believed we would all be flying around with personal jetpacks by now… so, I’m a little bit disappointed. All I know about my career in the future is that I’ll be working with amazing people and creating some magical moments at the intersection of brand marketing and technology. I also believe that in the future, people will wear more silver and no one will use the word “awesome-sauce” or the phrase “that was too much information!”.