Game Changers: Michelle Grech
Grech’s work with Melt covers Coke Zero’s Final Four activation, including concerts, TV shows and Bracket Town fan fest.
The agency’s recent deals include signing Coke Zero for ESPN “College GameDay” activation this fall and signing Reese’s as title sponsor for the Senior Bowl. The company also represents ESPN for the network’s owned college bowl games and holiday basketball tournaments.
For Grech, the next frontier to conquer is high school and youth sports. Melt signed deals to sell sponsorships for the all-digital NFHS Network, covering prep sports nationwide, and for the LakePoint complex in north Georgia, a multisport destination for youth travel teams. In the high school space, “it’s a really exciting time to take a fragmented marketplace and look at how it can be aggregated,” Grech said.
- Person who had the biggest influence on your career in sports: My father, Richard Dobkin, who exposed me to sports and competition at an early age and always encouraged me to pursue my dreams.
- Best advice you’ve received: Do something you love, pursue your goals with passion, and work hard at everything that comes your way. Success follows dedication, and no matter where you are in life, as my business partner always says, “It is only as important as you make it.”
- The biggest challenge I face working in the sports business is …: Facing off against much larger competition, and the speed in which technology is changing our business.
“Michelle is relentless in her work ethic. … She has a unique way of analyzing a business case for a sponsorship investment and the ability to articulate it. She is one of the best writers and presenters. … I would put her on par with anybody in sports marketing.”