Danna Rabin has been the CEO of HEED since July '17.HEED
DANNA RABIN is the CEO of technology company HEED, a joint venture between AGT Int'l and Endeavor. The company's first consumer release took place in April as part of a partnership with the EuroLeague, whose playoffs concluded last weekend. In addition to the EuroLeague, HEED has partnerships with Professional Bull Riders and UFC. Rabin, who has been the CEO of HEED since July '17, was previously COO of media and technology company Vocativ from '14-17 and chief of staff and president of new initiatives at AGT Int'l from '12-14. She spoke to SBD Global about how HEED stands out from other social media platforms and tech firms, other leagues the company is eyeing and her favorite sports.
On how HEED compares to its competitors ...
Danna Rabin: It's a new category. There are a lot of elements of what we do that are being done by other companies. For example, when you watch the MLB or any sport, you can definitely see a lot of data and statistics. ... But there is no one who is providing the end-to-end experience, as we see it, in terms of the storytelling on one platform that hosts everything for one single live sports event experience.
On the type of leagues HEED is looking to partner with in the future ...
Rabin: We are targeting soccer as another sports category that we are really keen on launching this year. We are currently in discussions with a few clubs and leagues for soccer. We are also targeting other leagues which are targeting the younger audience and providing a variety of live sports events. We are in discussions with those leagues as well.
On how HEED will measure its success ...
Rabin: Our success factors for the upcoming year are to launch disruptive and innovative live sport offerings for multiple sports categories, and start engaging fans around the world. Long-term success includes seeing millions and millions of users engaging with sports and other live events (e.g. concerts), while we continue to evolve and innovate HEED’s technology and experience, and open the platform for users and developers to reinvent new ways to experience live events with the HEED platform.
On the next big trend she is monitoring in sports media/technology ...
Rabin: Of course, it's Illuminated Reality by HEED. We define Illuminated Reality as a next-generation evolution of Virtual Reality. Instead of using technology to escape reality, HEED reveals the invisible truths contained within a live event moment and draws the fans deeper into reality.
On her favorite sports to watch and play ...
Rabin: I have been very athletic and was part of multiple national competitions when I was in my teens, mainly in gymnastics and running. So naturally, my favorite sports to follow through the years are the Olympic Games, including gymnastics, swimming and track and field events. I am also casually following the World Cup. However, since I started to get more closely familiar with additional sports as part of HEED, I have developed enormous curiosity and engagement about multiple sports including: basketball, hockey, soccer, surfing. Even sports that I had almost no knowledge of prior, I find them fascinating and entertaining, like MMA, bull riding and cricket.
On her favorite teams and athletes to pull for ...
Rabin: It's a challenging question for me, but since I moved to N.Y. nine years ago I have been following the [NBA] NY Knicks more closely, but more than teams, I follow individual athletes like the inspiring Serena Williams, Lionel Messi and others who have unique stories and passion.
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