Tom and I worked together at Saints and aside from the fact he's been pestering me to come on for a few years, he has a really interesting career that we walk through on the podcast.
From journalism, to Surrey Scorchers, to Saints and now City Football Leadership Institute, he's crammed a lot in to a short space of time, and all of that without going to university.
Check out CFLI on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/city-football-leadership/
Michael Bochel and I previously co-hosted the Scottish FA's Football Marketing Podcast, and we come back together to take a look at how much has changed over the past few years within the marketing industry in Scottish football. Is it anything at all?
We also talk about his excellent sports marketing newsletter which you should subscribe to at www.michaelbochel.co.uk/newsletter
The Sports Marketing Podcast is powered by Fanbase, one of the fastest growing sports technologies in the UK and Europe. See how they can help you at www.fanbaseclub.com
Scott McClymont is Kilmarnock's Head of Media, a role which as you'd expect in Scottish football encompasses everything and anything across the football club.
The club have had a tough time on the pitch in recent times, suffering relegation in the 2020/21 season, but that hasn't stopped their media output from being up there with the best in the country. He walks through his role, from setting the strategy and putting it into action.
The running joke on the podcast is it's difficult to record one without mentioning Motherwell, so it's time to dig a bit deeper into the club by speaking to Senior Producer, Laura Brannan.
Laura walks us through the video production process, including the recording and editing equipment the club uses, and the pillars they keep in mind whenever they come to create new content.
Neil Coleman is NIFL's Head of Marketing and Communications and he spoke all about how the league body serves and supports its member clubs.
The league has achieved great growth over the past few seasons, both commercially and attendance/interest-wise, and Neil walks through what's been done to get to that point in time, and what's coming next from the league's perspective.
Sean Skelly is the General Manager of Scotland's only BBL side, Glasgow Rocks.
He took me through their approach to attracting and engaging with fans, especially post-pandemic, and what they do to stand out in the busiest sporting city in the country.
Sam Porter is St Johnstone's Digital Media Officer and he takes me through their incredible 2020/21 season in which they won the domestic cup double in Scotland.
We chat giving fans a brilliant experience despite them not being able to attend and he gives us an insight into what covering European ties are like.
Andy Meikle and JC Oliver are on the co-founding team of Recast, a sports video platform that is setting out to revolutionise the sports rights landscape for clubs, brands, rights holders and fans. Andy is the CEO while JC is the CMO, and both are vastly experienced in the sports and tech space.
They've got deals with Hibs, Man City and QPR, and I wanted to find out much more about the platform and their plans going forward.
You can sign up at recast.app
Omar Pacha is the General Manager and Head Coach of Elite Ice Hockey League side, Dundee Stars.
We chat about the growth of the game in Scotland, how he looks to attract fans to the arena over other leisure pursuits and, as a lecturer at the University of Dundee, he gave some advice on what to do if you want to work in sport.
Alasdair and Michael Crawley are the founders of Fanbase, a platform that enables clubs to easily sell tickets and memberships to fans.
They've had a busy summer so far, signing up a huge number of clubs and securing investment to continue growing the business. I wanted to hear all about the platform and their plans going forward.
Scott Goodacre runs the Online Rule, a website showcasing best practice and giving clubs advice on how to improve their online offerings.
We chat about how clubs use social media, how they could improve their websites and of course touch on Scottish football as well.
Robert Mackenzie is the Marketing Manager at speedway team, Glasgow Tigers.
He joined me to discuss their approach to attracting and engaging fans, and how they compete in the sports mad city of Glasgow.
Martin Ross is the Global News Editor at Sport Business, and a huge Scottish football fan.
He joined me on the podcast to discuss all things broadcasting and sponsorship in Scottish football and beyond.
Findlay Marks is an award-winning video editor and creative writer, and he also appears on the Totally Scottish Football Show.
We talk through his experiences of working with some big brands and clubs and discuss how Scottish football could get better at telling its stories.
Ross Dunbar is Union Berlin's Digital Media Manager and hugely passionate about Scottish football.
We caught up about his role at the club, his journey to working in Germany and his thoughts on the marketing of Scottish football.
Claire Nelson is the CEO of Netball Scotland and the Strathclyde Sirens.
She joined Chris to discuss the power of sport, netball in particular, in empowering women and girls to feel good and positive about themselves. TikTok has been a small but huge part of that too.
The strength of the Sirens brand, in both look and feel and across digital, along with the matchday experience have been huge factors in them being one of the most talked about sports teams across the country right now.
The first episode of the Sports Marketing Scotland Podcast kicks off with the Terrace's Duncan McKay joining Chris for a look at the current state of play in sports marketing in Scotland.
What's good, what's working and what could be much better than it currently is?
If you've got any thoughts or opinions then get in touch.
Welcome to the Sports Marketing Scotland Podcast.
Hosted by Chris Samson, this podcast will provide ideas and practical advice on how to improve the marketing of your club, organisation or business, one podcast at a time.
You can get in touch by emailing chris@sportsmarketingscotland.co.uk or sending a DM to @sportsmarketsco