Ryan Gellis, Founding Partner, RMG Talks Digital and the Future of Sports Retail

Ryan Gellis joins Rick this week on iHeartRadio. He is founding partner of RMG Media.

Ryan founded RMG to help brands make genuine connections with their customers. He has a background in technology and over 10 years experience in ecommerce strategy and management. The list of companies he has worked with include industry titans like Charming Charlie, Sally Beauty, and Verizon. When not leading RMG, Ryan enjoys playing music, gaming, and starting (but not finishing) construction projects at home.

Have a listen as they talk the latest:

With e-commerce sales up 30 percent in the Covid marketplace, business prognosticators have been adamant about the death of brick and mortar, with online channels predicted to become the dominant business model. However, the situation is more nuanced than presented by market analyst doomsayers. For instance, a recent article by Square noted how, despite a recent survey showing that 51 percent of Americans say they prefer shopping online, only 10 percent of the estimated $3.3 trillion in annual retail sales last year came from online transactions.

Rick and Ryan talk about the current state of sports ecommerce and where it is heading.

Gellis has worked as a veteran craftsman of retail strategies and brand experiences for over a decade. He can tell you that those calling for the death of retail are off the mark in their analysis.

Clothes, watches, jewelry and other luxury goods will remain in physical retail, as that customer base wants to be able to handle and try products on–and this experience cannot be replicated online. The gentrification of urban areas has led to a preference for mixed use spaces that combine commercial spaces with residential. Malls will adopt this model to adapt to modern times.

Customers often browse and research online before going to stores, and thought leaders in the industry will be looking to smartphone apps and other digital solutions to augment and enhance the retail experience.

Sports is wild animal and without fans for the most part in 2020, an evolution is taking place.

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 7/4/20 - PGA Tour Radio's Brian Katrek

Rick literally ran into Brian Katrek at Dogwood Golf Course, so they did a quick sit down to check on and see how the worldwide pandemic has affected Brian and his broadcasting of golf and the PGA Tour.

Rick and Brian:

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 5/3/20 - Don Southerton, Hancom Group, South Korea

Rick is joined on iHeartRadio by Don Southerton, friend and longtime PR person for the Hancom Group, representing interests of many South Korean companie.

They talk about how South Korea is coming back quickly from COVID-19.

Have a listen:

Don is a long time C-suite advisor providing strategy, consulting and mentoring to Korea-based global businesses.  Over the past decades he has supported Fortune 500 firms including the Hyundai Motor Company, Yum Brands, Bristol Myers Squibb, the SK Group, and media giant Omnicom—to name but a few.

He currently serves as head of global communications and PR for the Hancom Group, one of South Korea’s leading tech and digital companies.

Southerton writes and speaks frequently on business related topics  contributing to The Economist, Automotive News, the BBC, CNN Fortune, Korea Times, Yonhap, Korea Herald, tbs eFM, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes.

You can visit him on the web at: www.bridgingculture.com

For many of us globally South Korea could be a glimpse into future best practices for an economic recovery. It appears that Korea is on the fast track.
 
How South Korea tackles rebooting their economy will also be closely followed—as Asia's fourth-largest economy it is considered a bellwether for world trade.

When it cam to recent elections, South Koreans turned out in record numbers. The country went ahead with elections as its massive and rapid testing and quarantine efforts have slowed the spread of COVID-19.

They are also getting sports back on track.

As the country weathered the difficulties caused by COVID-19, voting was seen as a powerful weapon in the war against the coronavirus and will add strength to the efforts to overcome the economic crisis.

 
Says Don: "For me, this was very apparent by the end of last week in Zoom calls and correspondence with Seoul."

In one EOW example, a Korean colleague asked what was needed as the next step into jump-starting our marketing outreach for a stalled product launch. More so, sensing the urgency and some pressure, they shared leadership's new and rather hefty quarterly goals for the product launch.
 
In another instance in a Friday call with a team, senior leadership jumped in to get an update on a number of global business outreaches I’d made in the last few weeks—leadership then asked to move forward ASAP with whatever support was needed from his teams and HQ.
 
Stepping back and pondering some, I feel we all  need to have a plan in place—and positioned to move forward fast.
 
Deals will probably be revisited, terms subject to renegotiations, and above all expect partner and leadership requests for a detailed localized Recovery Plan! To this, I'd add it's best to include some countermeasures.
 
Having been down this road over the years and seen outcomes both positive and less so, I am here to support and advise when needed.

Jennifer Ko Craft, Sports and Entertainment Attorney with Dickinson Wright

Rick talks with attorney, Jennifer Ko Craft this week on iHeartRadio about sports partnerships in the wake of COVID-19.

Have a listen:

Jennifer  is a partner with the law firm of Dickinson Wright and the chair of the firm’s Media, Sports & Entertainment Department. She practices primarily in the areas of intellectual property including trademarks and copyrights as well as sports and entertainment.  Ms. Craft consults with clients in identifying various protectable aspects of the clients’ products, services and concepts, and in developing and managing their intellectual property portfolios. Ms. Craft also drafts and negotiates a variety of agreements in the intellectual property, sports and entertainment fields such as sponsorship and licensing agreements, talent appearance agreements, player agreements and personal management agreements.

The International Olympic Committee is meeting this week to discuss Olympic delay/cancellation. Many credit unions are sponsors for teams in the NBA, Major League Soccer, etc. What impact might there be on those sponsorships now that most sporting leagues are suspended due to the coronavirus? What happens to the sponsorship/licensing agreements with games and seasons being cancelled?  Do I still have to pay the team/league a sponsorship or license fee?  Are there sponsorship agreements with the IOC unique to that event, underlying issues– is there a force majeure provision, and does it extend the term, give the parties the right to terminate or both?

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Craft served as Associate General Counsel for Agassi Enterprises and Alliance Sports Management, where she negotiated and drafted licensing and endorsement agreements, management agreements, and player tournament agreements for NBA and ATP players and IRL drivers. She was also Corporate Counsel for Sunbelt Communications, where she handled all corporate and intellectual property matters for several NBC and FOX affiliates throughout the United States.

A great talk with Jennifer and I appreciate her taking the time to come on and discuss!

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 3/13/20 - Greg Schwem, Comedian,

Rick talks with his friend and comedian, Greg Schwem this week on iHeartRadio.

Greg's comedic take on the 21st century workplace and work/life balance has landed him on SIRIUS Radio, FOX News, Comedy Central and the pages of Parents Magazine. More than just a business humorist, Greg is also an author, nationally syndicated humor columnist, award-winning greeting card writer and creator of funnydadinc, voted one of the top Dad humor sites of 2016.  He has shared the concert stage with the likes of Celine Dion and Jay Leno.

A graduate of Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism, Greg never envisioned a career in laughter. Instead, he settled in Florida, becoming an award-winning reporter for NBC-owned WPTV in West Palm Beach. But the comedy bug bit Greg hard and he returned to his hometown of Chicago, where he honed his standup act in nightclubs. When he began inserting material about business and technology into his act, audience members approached him and said, “You really should come down to my office and tell those jokes.” Behold! A new approach to comedy was born.

In coming weeks, where the new term "social distancing" is being encouraged, Greg is also a content producer and his works could produce hours of entertainment.

Have a listen and learn how he "crashes pads of normal people looking to rent a room."

A Comedian Crashes Your Pad

Greg has had the privilege of staying in some of the world’s finest and most lavish hotels. But, as he often says, “nothing funny ever happens in hotels.” So when the home sharing market exploded, Greg began to wonder what kind of person would allow a complete stranger to live in their home, often without any vetting?

“A very interesting person. And probably a person with a story to tell,” was the only response Greg could muster.

As a comedian, Greg feels his business is people, not joke telling.  “Without listening to, and observing people on a daily basis, I can’t write material,” he said. That’s how A Comedian Crashes Your Pad was born.

Come along for the ride and watch a series that is funny, uplifting and a bit voyeuristic. And, remember homesharing hosts, upon leaving, Greg will always leave the keys in the dish.