Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Detroit Basketball
The Piston's portion of my apprenticeship was an amazing experience!
For the majority of the evening I shadowed Craig Peiser, a manager within sponsorship marketing for the Palace Sports and Entertainment. After getting to the Palace and meeting Craig, I took a tour of the facilities including many of the sales suites that they offer their clients. It was unbelievable to see how important the smallest of details could affect client satisfaction. It was also quite impressive how they could sell every aspect of an entertainment venue. After the tour, Craig took me to the office to meet Ron Melnyk, a former swimmer at Michigan who is now the Senior V.P of sponsorship marketing for the Palace Sports. Ron explained the intricacies of sales and related the industry to aspects that I could understand and appreciate. Ron was a great guy with a good sense of humor. After meeting Ron, Craig and I supervised a private function where I was able to meet several of the other sales associates. They were all great guys even though I received a bit of harassment (in good taste) from one who was a Buckeye fan.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we went to the court where the game was about to start. Craig then introduced me to Tom Wilson, the President of the Pistons. As a Pistons fan, I've always admired Mr. Wilson and genuinely appreciated the opportunity to meet with him individually. We then watched the first few minutes of the game before we had to go meet the clients. I enjoyed meeting the business partners, especially considering that Craig always introduced me and made me feel like a part of the business. Shortly after halftime we had met with all of the clients and finished all of the work for the evening so it was time to enjoy the game. We anchored down about 5 rows up behind the Wizards bench and watched one of the most exciting games of the season. Although the Pistons lost, it was still an extraordinary experience that I will surely remember.
I want to thank Ron and Craig for taking time to show me around and for making sure that I had such a memorable experience!
For the majority of the evening I shadowed Craig Peiser, a manager within sponsorship marketing for the Palace Sports and Entertainment. After getting to the Palace and meeting Craig, I took a tour of the facilities including many of the sales suites that they offer their clients. It was unbelievable to see how important the smallest of details could affect client satisfaction. It was also quite impressive how they could sell every aspect of an entertainment venue. After the tour, Craig took me to the office to meet Ron Melnyk, a former swimmer at Michigan who is now the Senior V.P of sponsorship marketing for the Palace Sports. Ron explained the intricacies of sales and related the industry to aspects that I could understand and appreciate. Ron was a great guy with a good sense of humor. After meeting Ron, Craig and I supervised a private function where I was able to meet several of the other sales associates. They were all great guys even though I received a bit of harassment (in good taste) from one who was a Buckeye fan.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we went to the court where the game was about to start. Craig then introduced me to Tom Wilson, the President of the Pistons. As a Pistons fan, I've always admired Mr. Wilson and genuinely appreciated the opportunity to meet with him individually. We then watched the first few minutes of the game before we had to go meet the clients. I enjoyed meeting the business partners, especially considering that Craig always introduced me and made me feel like a part of the business. Shortly after halftime we had met with all of the clients and finished all of the work for the evening so it was time to enjoy the game. We anchored down about 5 rows up behind the Wizards bench and watched one of the most exciting games of the season. Although the Pistons lost, it was still an extraordinary experience that I will surely remember.
I want to thank Ron and Craig for taking time to show me around and for making sure that I had such a memorable experience!
# posted by Michigan Apprentice Cody Cejda @ 9:30 PM 
