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SBJ/Feb. 7-13, 2011/People and Pop Culture
What I Like: Christopher Erb, EA Sports, Vice President, Brand Marketing
Published February 7, 2011, Page 30
Professional
What I Like …
■ An insight: Managing up is not as important as managing down and across.
■ An influential person in my career: My parents, who taught me the value of hard work and honesty.
■ An out-of-the-box idea: Netflix completely changed the rental market and then cannibalized its own business with streaming. Don’t be afraid to change the model.
■ A timeless idea: Listening to your customers.
■ A business deal: In this current economic climate, it’s all about partnerships and collaboration.
■ A sports facility: Yankee Stadium.
■ A sports event: The Super Bowl.
■ A strategy: Quality and focus. Do fewer things better.
■ A hire: Alex Ferguson.
■ A brand: Nike. Constantly impressed with their endless ability to “edit and amplify.”
■ A trend: Social media. It is changing everything … for the moment.
■ An innovation: Consuming digital content.
■ A pro league or team business initiative: The NFL expanding overseas with regular-season games. Is the Super Bowl next?
■ A story that bears watching: Upcoming potential NFL and NBA work stoppages.
■ An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: Monetization of Twitter.
■ A fantasy job: Brian Cashman’s!
What I Like About …
■ My job: The opportunity to connect with EA Sports consumers on a daily basis and see their tireless passion for the brand.
■ Sports: The ability of sports to bring entire communities together. Nothing else can galvanize a city, state or country like sports.
■ Sports business: Its permanency.
■ Sports media: ESPN’s “30 for 30” series. A great idea, executed well.
■ Sports technology: No other entertainment industry sets the pace for technology like sports does.
■ Competing: The constant, relentless drive to be the best.
■ Sports fans: Their pure passion and loyalty.
What I Would Like To …
■ Change in what I do: Less time working and more time playing FIFA 11.
■ See: An NBA team return to Seattle.
■ See more of in sports: Washington Husky victories.
■ See less of in sports business: Personal seat licenses.
■ See different: Same thing as everyone else — a playoff in college football.
■ Eliminate: The current BCS system.
What I Don’t Like …
■ In general: People who don’t put in the effort.
■ Pet peeve: Negativity.
■ In sports: Potential work stoppages.
■ In business: E-mails. What happened to picking up the phone?
■ About sports fans: Over-consumption.
Personal
What I Like …
■ People: Faith and loyalty.
■ That would surprise those who know me: I was a batboy for the Seattle Mariners for six years.
■ Heroes: My wife for delivering our twin boys last year. She is an inspiration.
■ Players: Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr.
■ Possession: My TV and DirecTV subscription.
■ Memento: Game-used, signed baseball by Derek Jeter from his major league debut in Seattle.
■ Time of year (because): Christmas break. Nothing means more than time with family.
■ Music: Changes daily.
■ Books: Mostly business or biographies … if I am not learning, I would rather be doing something else.
■ Author: Malcolm Gladwell.
■ Magazine: Fast Company.
■ Websites: Twitter (@ChrisErb) and Facebook.
■ Gadgets: My Xbox 360 and iPad.
■ iPad app: MLB.com At Bat.
■ Chore: E-mail.
■ Hobby: E-mail.
■ Movies: Anything by Christopher Nolan.
■ TV: “First 48” on A&E.
■ Concerts: Patiently waiting for the upcoming Soundgarden tour.
■ Artist: Frank Miller and Marc Ecko.
■ Dessert: Chocolate mousse.
■ Drink: Unsweet iced tea … by the gallon … from Chick-fil-A.
■ Vacation spot: Paris.
■ Singer: Eddie Vedder.
■ Quote: “Well done is better than well said.” — Ben Franklin.
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| MICHAEL YOUNG |
■ An insight: Managing up is not as important as managing down and across.
■ An influential person in my career: My parents, who taught me the value of hard work and honesty.
■ An out-of-the-box idea: Netflix completely changed the rental market and then cannibalized its own business with streaming. Don’t be afraid to change the model.
■ A timeless idea: Listening to your customers.
■ A business deal: In this current economic climate, it’s all about partnerships and collaboration.
 |
■ A sports event: The Super Bowl.
■ A strategy: Quality and focus. Do fewer things better.
■ A hire: Alex Ferguson.
■ A brand: Nike. Constantly impressed with their endless ability to “edit and amplify.”
■ A trend: Social media. It is changing everything … for the moment.
■ An innovation: Consuming digital content.
■ A pro league or team business initiative: The NFL expanding overseas with regular-season games. Is the Super Bowl next?
■ A story that bears watching: Upcoming potential NFL and NBA work stoppages.
■ An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: Monetization of Twitter.
■ A fantasy job: Brian Cashman’s!
What I Like About …
■ My job: The opportunity to connect with EA Sports consumers on a daily basis and see their tireless passion for the brand.
■ Sports: The ability of sports to bring entire communities together. Nothing else can galvanize a city, state or country like sports.
■ Sports business: Its permanency.
■ Sports media: ESPN’s “30 for 30” series. A great idea, executed well.
 |
■ Sports technology: No other entertainment industry sets the pace for technology like sports does.
■ Competing: The constant, relentless drive to be the best.
■ Sports fans: Their pure passion and loyalty.
What I Would Like To …
■ Change in what I do: Less time working and more time playing FIFA 11.
■ See: An NBA team return to Seattle.
■ See more of in sports: Washington Husky victories.
■ See less of in sports business: Personal seat licenses.
■ See different: Same thing as everyone else — a playoff in college football.
■ Eliminate: The current BCS system.
What I Don’t Like …
■ In general: People who don’t put in the effort.
■ Pet peeve: Negativity.
■ In sports: Potential work stoppages.
■ In business: E-mails. What happened to picking up the phone?
■ About sports fans: Over-consumption.
Personal
What I Like …
■ People: Faith and loyalty.
■ That would surprise those who know me: I was a batboy for the Seattle Mariners for six years.
■ Heroes: My wife for delivering our twin boys last year. She is an inspiration.
 |
| GETTY IMAGES |
■ Players: Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr.
■ Possession: My TV and DirecTV subscription.
■ Memento: Game-used, signed baseball by Derek Jeter from his major league debut in Seattle.
■ Time of year (because): Christmas break. Nothing means more than time with family.
■ Music: Changes daily.
■ Books: Mostly business or biographies … if I am not learning, I would rather be doing something else.
■ Author: Malcolm Gladwell.
■ Magazine: Fast Company.
■ Websites: Twitter (@ChrisErb) and Facebook.
 |
■ iPad app: MLB.com At Bat.
■ Chore: E-mail.
■ Hobby: E-mail.
■ Movies: Anything by Christopher Nolan.
■ TV: “First 48” on A&E.
■ Concerts: Patiently waiting for the upcoming Soundgarden tour.
■ Artist: Frank Miller and Marc Ecko.
■ Dessert: Chocolate mousse.
■ Drink: Unsweet iced tea … by the gallon … from Chick-fil-A.
■ Vacation spot: Paris.
■ Singer: Eddie Vedder.
■ Quote: “Well done is better than well said.” — Ben Franklin.
