NY Liberty - Vice President of Marketing, MSG Networks


		Radio Ad Schedule

Whenever a game is being televised, it's up to the marketing department at the network to spread the word. For example, if there were a Liberty game on TV Tuesday night at 7:30, you and other fans would want to know about it.

The marketing department develops print ads, posters, radio spots, TV commercials and all types of advertising to let people know about upcoming games. This requires marketing to make sure all ads and promotional materials are ready and in the hands of the newspaper, TV or radio station in advance of the game. Games are also promoted by announcers who read copy during one game reminding fans of the game or games coming up that week. This too has to be prepared in advance and given to the announcers.

Steve Mars handles this important job for MSG Networks, overseeing the scripts for commercials, promotional announcements and making sure posters and other forms of advertisements are correct and in place. Mars studied film and television production in high school and in college, then graduated with a B.A. degree in Communications. "In school I made short films on various subjects" explains Mars "I took a variety of classes on the subject."

Mars started early pursuing his interests, sports and filming. His dad coached high school athletics, so at 14 he began filming the games his dad coached and watched them with his dad to help improve the success of the team. He began his career in the early 80's doing on-air promotional spots for ABC-TV and then for American Movie Classics and the Bravo cable channel. Eventually he began writing on-air promotions and became the On-Air Promotion Producer for SportsChannel New York, then was promoted to Manager. From there he moved over to MSG Networks.

Dedication, passion for the company, industry knowledge and experience plus accuracy and accountability are among the characteristics that Mars feels have made him successful in his current position.

To excel in a promotional position in sports, it's important to work toward your career goals in school. Internships in the promotion, advertising or marketing department of a network that handles sports is a good starting point. There are high school and college teams that also need promotion to get people to attend games. It's important to meet people and learn about advertising and promotion. It's also important to be organized and develop your writing skills so that you have a knack for writing short and to the point material, which is the essence of good promotional writing.