Scott Stanchak’s Post

Last September, I received this email from a former New York University graduate student who took my E-Commerce Marketing class. These words mean so much, even one year later. As I began preparing for my fall class over the weekend, this email serves as a reminder that everyone has the power to influence someone else's life. My class is more than just standing in front of students teaching them about e-commerce business models, revenue generation, and creating the best consumer experiences. It's also about teaching them the importance of giving back and positively impacting others. Stay tuned for your chance to give back with my open call for guest speakers in August. I have some specific niches I hope to fill!

Fantastic read from my former colleagues at The New York Times about the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s growth and opportunity to increase the basketball business in Africa. We just wrapped up the Basketball Africa League's fourth season earlier this month and the interest from a digital perspective is higher than ever. https://lnkd.in/eP5gMetv

That's a wrap on the spring semester of Digital Marketing. The final class always has students presenting a digital marketing plan for a fictitious business, applying all of their learnings to showcase this knowledge -- boy did they deliver. Thanks to my fantastic guest speakers this semester, Harish Sarma and Jesse Lakes. My E-Commerce Marketing class for the fall is already closed due to max enrollment -- stay tuned for a call for guest speakers later this summer! This was my eighth year at NYU; I'm blessed to have the opportunity to give back in this forum.

Seven years ago today I stepped on the floor again at the NBA after an amazing stint at The New York Times. I always knew I’d eventually come back — in what role, I had no idea. I was fortunate to be asked to lead a team focused on building the league’s innovative digital consumer products (25+ in two years!), as well as transforming the digital telecast — many of these features (alternative broadcasts, interactive overlays, etc.) are now the norm in the NBA’s own and other streaming products. But that was just the start… we transformed the WNBA’s direct-to-consumer subscription business, built a way for fans to cheer virtually during COVID (and won a Sports Emmy!), launched a portfolio of free-to-play games played by millions, established the first product growth marketing team, re-imagined NBA All-Star voting, and so much more. Every success has been the work of amazing team members I am fortunate to collaborate with. I am thankful for their creativity, partnership, and willingness to share in the vision to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball. While I’m no longer eligible for another "40 Under 40" award (darn aging 😂), I look forward to continuing to solve problems, embrace new challenges, build better consumer experiences, and grow the business of the NBA and its affiliate leagues.

⬇️ Listen to James...the second phase of the BAL season tips off today. Tune in to live games on TheBAL.com, the NBA App, NBA.com, and YouTube. And if you're in Cairo, check out a game in-person.

We just wrapped up our fourth trip to Aruba. The experience is always fantastic - consistent weather, great food, relaxing. Aruba itself is a brand. The hotels, restaurants, and locals must uphold that brand. They always do. I believe many brands forget about the “experience” and focus on the products or service outputs only. Consumers want to feel connected to brands as people and not numbers. They desire to be associated and are willing to tout brands as part of their identity. From marketing to checkout to customer engagement, e-commerce retailers need to focus on the “experience” first. Sometimes that may eat into profits but only short-term profits are impacted. Disrupt. Innovate. Be different than the status quo. Always do better. Aruba is known as one happy island. You have an opportunity to have one happy customer by focusing on experience.

A great manager needs to be a great coach. They can't do the work for the players but are responsible for recognizing the talent's strengths, improving their skills, and putting them in a position to succeed. That's what happened earlier this month when the 6th grade basketball team I coach won its first tournament title -- my son, Evan, is on the roster. The game was a battle -- 50-50 with seven seconds remaining. I called timeout and drew up a play for the boys to screen the ballhandler to remove pressure and then pass to the center, who would drop from the top of the arch to the foul line for the shot. They ran the play perfectly, setting up our big man for a shot that spun around the rim until it fell through as the clock expired. I couldn't be more proud of how the team played -- whether a player was on the court or the bench, they had a role in that win. For a team that won just two games the previous season, this was the reward of working hard, getting better, and trusting their head coach. Leadership, like coaching, is not something to be taken lightly. It takes work. But the feeling is tremendous when you put in the effort and see your team or employees succeed. So are you putting in the work?

Apple's Vision Pro has the potential to be a tremendous leap forward for entertainment, e-commerce, and many other consumer segments. That's why the NBA continues to innovate and is there on day one. Seven years ago, we began establishing our presence in augmented and mixed reality (or "spatial computing" as Apple refers to it): the NBA AR App (iOS & Android), Magic Leap, Google Lens, and other partner executions with Facebook, Instagram, and Snap. The product form factor wasn't ideal in some of those executions but the experience showed a continued willingness to reach consumers through new technologies. Today's launch re-imagines the way fans can watch the game of basketball. It will change the way consumers discover and purchase products. It will perhaps even make me a better golfer. 😂 Congrats to the entire NBA team that worked on the NBA's Vision Pro experience.

Back at it last night... and the best part was one student told me I look younger than my course photo 😂 . Loved the engagement week one as I now spend the next 13 weeks teaching these graduate students how to drive actionable and profitable consumers to their products through digital marketing. New York University

One week until CES... working on my calendar for Wednesday and Thursday. Who's traveling to Vegas and wants to get together?