Going Off The Grid: Four Sports Industry Execs Weigh In On Biz & Pop Culture

A weekly survey of sports execs and personalities, offering their positions on a handful of pressing (and trivial) issues in sports and pop culture. This week, we take the pulse of four sports marketing execs from four corners of the industry:

• Buccaneers CMO Brian Killingsworth
  – Twitter helps him stay on top of relevant pop culture items and trending topics so that he can "know enough to be dangerous but not too much to be consumed"

• ‎MKTG Senior VP/Marketing & Communications Stephanie Rudnick
  – She "would be lost" if not for Twitter, Instagram and NextIssue on her iPad

• Chicagoland Speedway VP/Sales & Marketing Communications Scott Howard
  – Does not own a selfie-stick, use emojis or eagerly await the next Apple product, but does use Uber, eat organic food, use Starbucks as a frequent meeting spot and watch TV almost entirely on-demand

• 16W Marketing co-Founder Frank Vuono
  – Stays current through his wife and three daughters, as well as through Facebook

Going Off The Grid
	Time spent on Twitter per week	Best athlete/brand pairing	Most common mistake in athlete marketing	Brand With Best TV Ads	Song that describes your life
Killingsworth	I am addicted to Twitter	Aaron Rodgers; State Farm	Not diversifying	Budweiser
Rudnick	It's one of my main news sources	Sage Kotsenburg; GoPro	Inauthentic pairings	Dick's Sporting Goods	"I'm Every Woman" -- Chaka Khan
Howard	Less time than it takes to tweet		Assuming athlete is recognizable out of context	Doritos	"Cool" -- Morris Day & The Time
Vuono	Pretty regular visitor	Jordan Spieth; Under Armour	Mismatch between athlete and brand		"My Way" -- Frank Sinatra

Do you want to get your thoughts in the Grid? If so, shoot an e-mail to adamharris@sportsbusinessdaily.com.