Fandom as a Career Playbook | with Farren Benjamin
Brand to Fan Show EP03
It’s the (first) sports episode! Lauren invites the multi-talented sports industry veteran Farren Benjamin to the Brand to Fan Show.
EPISODE 03
It’s the (first) sports episode! Lauren invites the multi-talented sports industry veteran Farren Benjamin to the Brand to Fan Show for an in-depth conversation on how fandom literally shapes one’s most important decisions. Hear from Farren how her love for USC Football inspired her college applications (or lack thereof) and her career path. Less than 5% of all NFLPA contract agents are women, something that Farren accomplished in 2022!
Lauren and Farren discuss how to get fans to tell and share their stories online, and what to do with those stories when they’re shared. Farren talks about building partnerships and activations that are right for athletes or teams and their brand partners, and the ladies debate recent NIL changes and opportunities granted to collegiate athletes.
“I was sitting in these rooms, and i’m like, okay, I can do this. I can do that, too but I legally cannot sit in that room over there with those guys. I deserved to sit over there; There’s a seat for me over there. So I ended up studying for 6 months for that exam. I’m just really excited to kind of be able to have a seat at that at that table that’s usually full of grown men.”
The Guest: FARREN BENJAMIN
Farren Benjamin is the Head of Sports at Tagboard. Her side hustle, if you can call it such, is as one of the less than 5% of all NFLPA contract agents who are females. She handles athlete marketing and client services for professional NFL athletes, while also influencing how fans engage in stadiums while watching the world’s largest sporting events.
As you’ll learn in this episode, Farren loves Haribo gummy bears, tequila, and all things football – and her favorite fan item isn’t in her closet – it’s actually THE CLOSET.
In this Episode
2:15 Women in Sports connection!
6:30 How fandom influences us throughout our lives
10:25 The secret recipe to build your fan base
16:30 The delicate balance of branded partnerships
18:58 Playing the name, image, and likeness (NIL) game
What are you a fan of?
Oh, man, gummy bears! Haribo!
Always a fan of a nice tequila for a nice nice bottle.
I love Delta Airlines, they have been so good to me. I'm on the road all the time, I like an airline that just has it all. They're usually on time, and they take care of me and my family!
I'm a huge fan of 2 new properties outside of this podcast. Huge fan of what they're doing over at Omaha Productions with the Payton & Eli simulcast. I didn't watch a regular NFL Monday night football game if they had Eli and Payton on, I was 100% there.
I'm also a huge, a huge fan of the Pivot Podcast. I I've been really tuning in. I've been a huge huge fan since they started their own thing. I've learned more about NFL coaches and players too.
Tequila, Haribo gummy bears, Payton & Eli, Delta, obviously. Those are the things that are constantly on my mind.
What is your favorite piece of Fanwear you own?
It’s from “the greatest show on turf,” you know the Kurt Warner era of the Rams. I actually have Kurt Warner's locker from Saint Louis. I have the whole piece. the whole square box of it.
When they were tearing stuff out, my dad got a phone call saying, “I think Farren might like this.”
I am trying to figure out a way to get it into my Queen's quarters here–it's not a man cave, it's Queen's quarters! I gotta figure out the Feng Shui of my room. To be determined if I get it in here…
SHOW CREDITS
Brand to Fan Show is produced by Teague FC and supported by FanWagn
Audio production by Bryan Griggs / Griggs Production
Producers: Kimberly Voorhis, Ashley Ruiz and Carrie Hellbusch
Video Editing by Garrett Teague
And I’m your host, Lauren Teague.
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