Digital marketing gurus – Sean Callanan and Marcos Castro

Interview for Overtime —> 

I am pretty sure most of you have tuned in and listened to either a hangout with Marcos Castro or podcast with Sean Callanan as host. Me and the rest of Overtime team have been listening to as many interviews as our schedule allows us because both Sean and Marcos have very interesting guests and insightful conversations.

Sean Callanan is an Australian digital marketing and technology enthusiast with extensive experience in both fields. Before getting into sports marketing, Sean was working in IT. Due to the fact that he loves technology, and he loves sports, he realized he could combine the two to help bring sports closer to its audience – fans. That is why 5 years ago he started Sports Geek, a Digital and Social Media Marketing agency. As he said himself, he “likes to talk…a lot”, and because of that he started Sports Geek Podcasts, where he has been a host to many sports executives for over 2 years now. It has been a delight to listen to some conversations Sean had with sports execs, and now we are anxious to listen to the future podcasts.

Marcos Castro is a Portuguese digital media manager and marketing expert who started hosting Google Hangouts 2 years ago. His YouTube channel today has over 590,000 views. Marcos is also a Digital marketing and Sports brand management teacher at a few Portuguese universities. Believe it or not, he started off as a Marketing and Digitial Media Manager for the Portuguese Hockey Federation, from which he moved on to European Hockey Federation where he is still working as a Digital Media Project Manager. He is very proactive, and very easy to talk to. We look forward to his next Hangout.

We asked them both a few questions about their work. Enjoy!

1. How, when and why did you begin to host podcasts/hangouts? 

Sean: I started podcasting in 2013 as I was doing regular radio spots and figured a more cohesive audio offering via a podcast was the way to go. I am more skilled as a talker than a writer, so podcasting is a natural fit for my talents. I started Sports Geek Podcast as a means to continue to educate people about best practices and chat with interesting people in sports business I was talking to anyway.

Marcos: I believe that one of the best ways to grow in both our professional and personal lives is when weshare our life experiences and knowledge with others. That was the main reason I started to host hangouts. I am a believer in what regards to the power of video in marketing and communications (we are starting to watch more videos instead of reading) so the hangouts were the natural option for me.

2. What is your favorite topic that was discussed during any podcast/hangout? Why?

Sean: That is a bit like asking which child is my favourite… I really enjoy when the conversation leads to a comfortable place and we can deep dive on topics or campaigns and it stops feeling like an interview. I love great digital campaigns so I love it when we dig into specific examples like Oakland A’s using garden gnomes (http://sportsgeekhq.com/7) or how 49ers use Vine (http://sportsgeekhq.com/85) or Real Madrid using YouTube for video (http://sportsgeekhq.com/40).

Marcos: I have no favourite topics. My focus is on delivering an integrated marketing approach to the ones watching the hangout. That’s how you succeed in life, meaning you have to be able to see the whole forest and then know what tree you need to change to make your forest breathe better, have more energy and life inside it.

3. Which guest do you remember the most and why?

Sean: I really appreciated interviewing Richard Clarke from Arsenal (http://sportsgeekhq.com/47) as he emailed me first as a listener of the podcast with some notes to improve the podcast, and then to discuss with him how he developed plans for Instagram and Soundcloud for Arsenal.

Marcos: Every guest in unique. Every guest brings with him/her experiences that add value to the content we are producing. Let me take this opportunity to thank each one of them for believing in the power of sharing.

4. What are the most memorable quotes from your guests?

Sean: That would be from Mark Cuban on episode 62 (http://sportsgeekhq.com/62). To my question, “How to get into sports”, he answered: “Don’t. Pick another business, because it’s so competitive.” He did elaborate on what industries and how you need to position yourself but breaking into sports is a hard thing to do and nothing beats hard work in getting there.

Marcos: Again, each guest is unique and has a different vision of the world according to his/her experiences. Funny enough is that the quotes that I do remember the most are the ones related to the way you must behave in society. For example, Adam Bader from Real Madrid at a certain moment of our hangout said “that people are not stupid”, meaning that people understand when you make a mistake on social. So, don’t try to elaborate on that, just apologize, make fun of it and move on. The human factor is what makes us unique. We can all read the same books but in the end it’s your common sense (your life experience) that will dictate if you are successful or not.

5. Are there any big names you would like to host, and you haven’t yet?

Sean: After finally nabbing Mark Cuban on episode 62, I am now going for bigger names. I keep a list of my goals here – http://seancallanan.com/goalsI’d love to interview Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan being a big NBA fan.  I think Steve Ballmer would be a good podcast subject as would Vince McMahon.

Marcos: I don’t believe in “big names”. I believe in hard work and focus. We are all made of the same material.

6. Are you satisfied with the number of people tuning in to your podcasts/hangouts? What is the profile of your visitors/participants? Are they mainly sport professionals, sport fans?

Sean:  Yes. I would like for every digital professional working in sports to listen to podcast, but the downloads at the moment suggest a few more people outside sports may be listening as well. From personal feedback I know there is a strong listener base in the sports business world. When I meet people at SEAT conference (http://sportsgeekhq.com/2015), or when guests like San Francisco Giants’ Bryan Srabian (http://sportsgeekhq.com/72) say thanks, it means a lot.  I get e-mails and I am blown away when I see where my listeners both live and work. Listeners from over 75 countries have tuned into the podcast which blows my mind, I know some might be sports fans or digital marketers wanting to break into sports, but I love that they can hear about the awesome work my guests are doing out there.

Marcos: I think that we need to have the ambition to be better. I am focusing on long tail content so I am not worried about the numbers. Of course they are important but my focus is on delivering great content to the sports industry professionals and fans. That’s really my main concern. And the feedback that I am receiving so far is great.

7. What do you think is “the next big thing” in podcasts/hangouts?

Sean: Cars will help podcasts explode.  As more care become connected more people will see podcasts as on demand radio.  I do recommend Nick Qwah’s Hot Pod newsletter to stay in touch with all things podcasting. BUT stay tuned to my Twitter account @seancallanan, I am planning the next big thing in podcasts right now, sorry can’t say anymore just yet…

Marcos: I don’t believe in “the next big thing”. I believe in “context”. This will tell you what are the best tools to use in a defined situation.

Conclusion

As we can see, they both agree on one major thing – sharing knowledge is important. This is why what Sean and Marcos are doing is very important for all of us. They bring in sports industry leaders and openly discuss their business with them, share thoughts and ideas, and there is a lot for us to take in and learn.They are doing all the hard work for us (sports executives are very busy and not always that easy to reach), we are just reaping the benefits of their interviews.

Another important thing they mentioned, and is also very true, is that we should connect with people, people that are in the same business area we are, social and digital marketing. Everyone wants to talk and share ideas, we just need to be proactive and look for connections. So, connect with Sean and Marcos, tune in to their podcasts/hangouts, and share your thoughts.

PHOTO: YouTube Screenshot