ÓÀÐǶij¡

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• Transcript

  James Kotecki (00:06): 

  This is ÓÀÐǶij¡ Tech Talk. I am James Kotecki with another conversation that I recorded live at ÓÀÐǶij¡ 2025 in the C Space Studio. You can watch every interview from that series on the ÓÀÐǶij¡ YouTube channel, but this one is a favorite and we wanted to share it right here in your podcast feed. Enjoy. 

  (00:26): 

  Welcome back to the C Space Studio. We're here at ÓÀÐǶij¡ 2025. My name is James Kotecki, and I am happy to welcome back a repeat guest, Kristen Banks, Senior Vice President, Marketing at the Las Vegas Raiders. And I don't know if people can see you have a little Raiders pin on there, so- 

  Kristen Banks (00:42): 

  I do. 

  James Kotecki (00:43): 

  ... welcome back to the C Space Studio. Thanks for coming back. 

  Kristen Banks (00:45): 

  Thank you. Thanks for having me. 

  James Kotecki (00:47): 

  Okay. Since we last talked, you didn't do much, you did host the Super Bowl in your stadium. 

  Kristen Banks (00:51): 

  Just that, yeah. 

  James Kotecki (00:52): 

  So broad question, how was it to host the Super Bowl? 

  Kristen Banks (00:57): 

  Oh my gosh. Well, it's wild to think of even having a Super Bowl in Las Vegas, because years ago that would've been taboo, right? To now see sports and the city with gambling and casinos and all of the fanfare that happens in Las Vegas to host the Super Bowl here was monumental for the city. So that was incredible to be a part of. 

  (01:22): 

  And then just the spectacle that comes with it. After the dust settles, after the event, all the confetti's cleared, it's like it ended up generating 1 billion in economic impact to the city. And to think that you had a small hand in producing that is just incredible. 

  James Kotecki (01:43): 

  Was there any particular moment that, I'm sure that it's maybe in some ways a blur, right? But are there any particular moments or a moment that stands out? 

  Kristen Banks (01:50): 

  So the week of is crazy. I mean, there's so many events that happen. The NFL comes in. We also host a ton of community events. We gave over 500,000 in local grants to non-profits here in the city. And to just see how all of that shows up even leading into the game is really wild. 

  (02:13): 

  And so there was a moment where there was this family of four who were gifted tickets to the Super Bowl, and they had done incredible work in the community, and there were tears. And so to be part of that is just incredible. 

  James Kotecki (02:29): 

  So tell me about the brand and how you're defining the brand of the Raiders heading into 2025 here. 

  Kristen Banks (02:34): 

  Yeah. Well, I would say never a dull moment for sure. We just ended our season last weekend, and this week we've certainly announced a new head coach. 

  (02:46): 

  But as we think about what 2025 is going to be, it's a build-off of some of what we did in 2024, going back to our roots, really identifying the things that make Raiders and Raider Nation so special. 

  (03:00): 

  So if you're a fan, if you're a multi-generational fan, I mean, there's grandparents taking their little kids to games, what does that mean? And to show that fandom and to bring back some of that grit, some of that kind of attitude, some of that specialty Raiders-esque feel to the brand this year, I think we're going to continue that and build upon it, so I'm excited. 

  James Kotecki (03:26): 

  Is it a unique marketing challenge that you have when you want to build a brand and maybe have your strategy, but you certainly are, I don't want to say restricted, but you're certainly tied to what's going on on the football field with the team, with the coaching staff, with all these things that aren't necessarily in your purview? 

  (03:43): 

  So how do you think about, you have this product, but you don't maybe fully have the same input into the product as maybe other marketers might have and other companies, or maybe you do, maybe I'm getting that wrong, but just I think you're in a unique situation as a marketer and people might be interested in how you think about that. 

  Kristen Banks (03:58): 

  Yeah, I think it's a catch-22 for sure. I would say the first part is, is that I do feel fortunate because if you work for any sort of sports team, and I think why we have such great sponsors, such great brands that integrate with the Raiders is because you have built-in stories, right? There's such incredible drama that unfolds. Whatever happens from one week to the next is so memorable, right? And it means so much to this very passionate fan base. 

  (04:30): 

  But the flip side of that also is that you have to be really careful and mindful that this means something that's so passionate to people and that it's generations of fans that may have become engaged in the Raiders, and so they're living- 

  James Kotecki (04:49): 

  Like a shepherd of it, a steward of it. 

  Kristen Banks (04:50): 

  Yeah. They're living and dying with what happens, and you're along for the ride. And so you're trying to maximize that lightning in a bottle and take it from week to week. 

  (05:00): 

  And when we have the wins, we're going to celebrate them, and when we have the losses, we're going to pivot to talking about all the other great stuff that we're doing, whether it's in the community, whether it's also showcasing our incredible fans who show up no matter wins or losses. I think that's the important piece. 

  James Kotecki (05:16): 

  So we're here at ÓÀÐǶij¡. It's obviously in your backyard here in Las Vegas, but what are some of the tech trends that you're looking at as a marketer going into 2025 when you think about ways to reach these audiences? 

  Kristen Banks (05:26): 

  Oh, for sure. Well, I think the first part, and what seems to be the general theme here at ÓÀÐǶij¡ this year is AI. For our internal groups, we're developing an AI task force and thinking about not only how we look at using artificial intelligence across every department in the organization, but also how we future-proof the business and how we should be looking at technologies moving forward. 

  (05:52): 

  I'm also really excited about CrowdIQ. That ultimately is this mapping of the interior stadium bowl that allows us to measure crowd sentiment, measure what types of fans are showing up, like what clothing they're wearing, are they fans? Are they fans of an opposing team? How are they engaging? Do they look happy? Do they look sad? Do they look bored? Can we surprise and delight those fans? 

  James Kotecki (06:16): 

  Wow. 

  Kristen Banks (06:17): 

  So really acting in real time, which I'm excited about. 

  James Kotecki (06:20): 

  So it's pretty good at measuring that kind of emotional temperature of the crowd? 

  Kristen Banks (06:23): 

  Yeah, it's unreal. It does facial recognition, which is a little bit different than... Well, it does facial analysis, excuse me, different than facial recognition where it's going to say, "Okay, you as a male wearing blue sitting there," versus saying, "Oh, I'm identifying exactly this person name... there." 

  James Kotecki (06:43): 

  I see. Okay. How do you think about, by the way, when you're thinking about the physical infrastructure that you're building out here to make these different technology ideas come to life, how do you balance out the need for kind of longevity, or obviously you're operating within a stadium, with the fact that technology is evolving and changing so rapidly? 

  Kristen Banks (07:01): 

  Yeah. Well, I think outside of the stadium, I think that's something that every marketer is challenged with, really everybody in business is, I mean, things are so rapidly evolving that you're trying to capture just what makes sense and also what's viable. 

  (07:20): 

  Because the other piece of it is as fast as technology moves, sometimes from a business standpoint it's tough to keep up with, right? Because you want to make sure privacy controls, right? That's a big one. Does it match with our legal policies? That infrastructure, making sure everything's lockstep, so I mean, that's the other piece, right? Everybody's staying connected in 2025 and keeping in close contact with our IT teams, our legal teams, our privacy group, because all of that's important in any new tech. 

  James Kotecki (07:55): 

  I want to ask about reaching younger generations. My son Max is 10 and he's a huge fan of the NFL. And when Taylor Swift shows up for a Super Bowl, my daughter Maya, who's seven, is loving that, right? So how do you think about reaching this young generation of fans? You're saying grandparents are bringing their kids, right? 

  Kristen Banks (08:11): 

  Sure. 

  James Kotecki (08:11): 

  Or I mean, sorry, the grandkids. But do younger fans, younger generations want something different from the experience and how are you delivering that? 

  Kristen Banks (08:18): 

  Oh, sure. Multiple ways. I mean, to your point with Maya that loves Taylor Swift or your son who's just a really big massive NFL fan, it's all the different ways of engagement. 

  (08:32): 

  The NFL's done an incredible job of partnering with Disney or Nickelodeon in creating these kind of enhanced gamified experiences where you see NFL players in Andy's toy room, like Toy Story, or you see Nickelodeon where we had last year our players interact and be slimed, which is crazy, that's still a thing. I remember that when I was a kid of celebrities and athletes being slimed. 

  James Kotecki (09:01): 

  Slime is still gross and it's still fun I guess. Yeah. 

  Kristen Banks (09:03): 

  Apparently so. But the way that we're engaging with Raiders is we're constantly thinking about that second-screen experience. I mean, gone are the days of thinking about just what happens in the stadium, but how are people engaging at home? And not only that, but that they may not be watching a full game the whole time, right? So how do you create short-form content? How do you create it in a fun and engaging way that's going to capture their attention where a two or four-hour game is probably not. 

  James Kotecki (09:34): 

  So it's like the game is like the nucleus, but it's just the nucleus, the core of this much broader kind of story generation machine that can include on the field, off the field, celebrities, charity stuff in the community, what the team's doing, drama, all these sorts of things, all these stories. 

  Kristen Banks (09:49): 

  Oh, for sure. I think one of the things that makes NFL still such a valuable property is because everything happens within a play. Yeah, you could have a long-form game, but you have one play that in a few seconds where you have just greatness that happens, and then that ends up becoming clip highlights and you see touchdown dances and you see fans such as Taylor Swift having a great time and their experience, and all of those become moments that are then shared weeks on end long after the game's over. 

  James Kotecki (10:25): 

  Well, I think you've given us a few potentially viral moments in this interview, and I really appreciate your clippable thoughts. Kristen Banks for the Las Vegas Raiders, really appreciate your time today. 

  Kristen Banks (10:33): 

  Oh, thank you so much. Thanks for having me. 

  James Kotecki (10:35): 

  And thank you so much for joining us here in the C Space Studio. We've got more to come, don't go anywhere. I'm James Kotecki. This is ÓÀÐǶij¡ 2025. 

  (10:45): 

  Well, I hope you enjoyed that conversation from ÓÀÐǶij¡ 2025. That is our show for now, but there's always more tech to talk about. So if you're on YouTube, please subscribe and leave a comment. If you're listening on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartMedia, or wherever you get your podcasts, hit that follow button and let's give the algorithms what they want. 

  (11:03): 

  You can get even more ÓÀÐǶij¡ at ces.tech. That's C-E-S dot T-E-C-H. Our show produced by Nicole Vidovich and Paige Morris. Our C Space Studio episodes are produced and edited by Cramer. I'm James Kotecki talking tech on ÓÀÐǶij¡ Tech Talk.