I was in NY this week to film five more interviews for the launch of Down to Business next week. You’re going to love the guests – all entrepreneurs, stone-cold winners, and extremely candid. They come from a variety of backgrounds and provided very useful information in response to my in-depth questioning. (By the way, the site has a BS Meter to gauge your opinions relative to guests’ answers.)
Later that afternoon, I visited the corporate offices of Anheuser-Busch for a meeting with Tony Ponturo. If you haven’t heard of Tony, then you’re probably not involved in the sports marketing world. He’s the king!
Tony is the main man in charge of almost a billion dollars that Anheuser-Busch spends on marketing and promoting their products in the sports space – Olympics, NFL, NASCAR, to name just a few. The Sporting News calls him “the most influential person in sports marketing.” It was great to reconnect since I hadn’t seen him since my Sixers days when I recollect kissing his royal ring.
But I didn’t want his money. I didn’t want his sponsorship. I did want an introduction.
I visited with Tony on behalf of Skinny Water. As the company’s distribution network is slowly garnering coverage city by city, state by state, they’ve accumulated about a dozen Anheuser-Busch distributors. I wanted to reveal this information to Tony – as well as expose him to the Skinny Water product – and ask for an introduction to his peer who runs AB’s non-alcoholic division called 9th Street Beverage. The connection would strongly accelerate Skinny Water’s growth within the AB distribution network.
Remember, relationships determine results.
Tony was great. And during the meeting I went off topic and started interviewing him. (I still had the interviewer mojo flowing from a day of digging deep into stars’ successes.) I asked him what he looks for when he is being pitched for his signature on a sponsorship check. He said something so simple but true: I expect them to do their homework. They should know about Anheuser-Busch and our products and what has worked and what hasn’t worked in previous campaigns. I want them to tell me how they can fulfill our ultimate need – selling beers!
I thought to myself how Tony’s keen insight was so similar to that of several of my guests earlier in the day. It’s funny how success leaves clues. They might have said it differently – be prepared, have a game plan, research your subject – but it all came down to what your mom used to say: Do your homework!
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 9:59 am by Pat Croce
Leave a Reply
October 15th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Great post, Pat. Can’t wait to watch the show.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Skinny Water is a steal at .16 a share…go after that shelf space Pat…going to be great to remember when!!
October 16th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
We’re getting after it Tom! Great to hear from you bro!
October 17th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Pat, it was great talking with you Monday and we’re looking forward to watching Down To Business. Continued success to you!
October 17th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Thank Kevin. It was a pleasure talking to you as well! You’ll love the show!