Horne will use the Endeavor Lounge to meet with many clients over the course of the weekendMike Villa
Endeavor Global Marketing President ED HORNE touched down in Atlanta earlier this week for Super Bowl LIII between the Rams and Patriots, and the industry veteran has hit the ground running with the agency's numerous events and celebrities in town. Horne took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to take THE DAILY through what Super Bowl weekend looks like from his unique perspective, which includes rubbing shoulders with everyone from SNOOP DOGG to the star of "DEADPOOL."
TOUCHING DOWN IN THE ATL: At Endeavor, this is one of those events where most if not all of our power is connected in one place. We're leveraging endorsement deals, and have everyone here from musical talent (MAROON 5 and TRAVIS SCOTT) to players on the Pats and Rams who came through IMG Academy (AQIB TALIB and JOE THUNEY, among others.) There’s so much to do here that it’s almost overwhelming to have to decide where to spend the time. The focus over the weekend becomes that much more important. We’ve got a fair amount of client activations happening over the weekend, so I’m here helping make sure those are ready to go. Thursday night we had a cocktail party from 5:00-7:00pm ET at the Endeavor Lounge for our sports talent group, and that will really serve as our hub for the week. Clients and brands came through and that’s when things really began to kick into high gear.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Friday we’ll be going to a bunch of different experiments and activations with and from our clients, and we also have a new office here in Buckhead that we just moved into. That morning around 10:30am I’ll walk through the office with Endeavor President MARK SHAPIRO and our CMO BOZOMA SAINT JOHN, then that night there’s a number of different parties. Some are clients, and then I’ll also be at NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL's gathering later that night as well. Lots of people from the brand-clients perspective will be there as well as folks from the league office and teams that we do business with.
PARTY CITY: Saturday I’ll be in our lounge hosting a good number of meetings with clients, then that afternoon actor RYAN REYNOLDS, who is a client, is going to do a one-on-one fireside chat with Saint John. That night we’re going to spend some time with clients for a private dinner. Then I’m on to the Marriott Courtyard's Super Bowl Sleepover contest. I’ll swing by there, and I’ll also be at the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest. Finally I’ll end up at the DirecTV party where the FOO FIGHTERS will be performing. A lot happening in a short period of time! Sunday I’ll spend time at the NFL tailgate and visit with some clients having private receptions before kickoff as well. Then once that’s all over, it’s time to relax a bit and take in a great game. We turn into fans like everyone else. No matter how many Super Bowls I attend, to be able to take it in from the stands after a long work weekend is always a great reminder of how lucky I am to be in this position.
RAMS OR PATS? You’ve got to root for a 41-year-old guy who’s still playing quarterback in the NFL. I’m a Jersey guy, so it’s Giants through-and-through for me, but when you think about what TOM BRADY has done over the course of his career, it’s just a great story.
Know of someone who should be featured in Weekend Plans? Shoot a note over to tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
