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In this episode of the Sports Marketing Machine podcast, Jeremy Neisser discusses the often-overlooked aspect of lead generation in sports marketing. He emphasizes the importance of allocating a portion of the marketing budget to grow the fan database, rather than solely focusing on immediate ticket sales. Neisser outlines effective strategies for lead generation, including involving sponsors, creating compelling offers, and implementing follow-up plans. He also provides insights on budgeting for lead generation and the long-term benefits of building a larger audience.


Takeaways

• Most teams allocate 80-90% of their budget to single game ticket sales.
• Lead generation should be a key focus for sports teams.
• Growing your database is essential for long-term success.
• Lead generation is about capturing fan information, not immediate sales.
• Involving sponsors can enhance lead generation campaigns.
• High perceived value offers attract more participants.
• Follow-up is crucial after lead generation campaigns.
• Budgeting for lead generation should be a priority.
• Teams should think strategically about audience building.
• Lead generation is an investment in future ticket sales.

This episode makes the case that lead generation isn’t optional—it’s a core revenue strategy. Teams that dedicate real budget to list growth lower future ad costs, stop burning out their database, and give sales teams warmer leads to work. Whether sponsor-powered or self-funded, the key is high perceived value, simple opt-ins, fast follow-up, and intentional segmentation. Teams that treat lead gen as an investment—not an expense—build momentum that pays off all season long.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Lead Generation in Sports Marketing
02:35 The Importance of Growing Your Database
05:52 Lead Generation Strategies and Sponsor Involvement
08:42 Creating Compelling Offers for Lead Generation
11:54 Follow-Up Strategies for Lead Generation
14:37 Budgeting for Lead Generation in Sports Marketing
17:51 Key Takeaways and Action Steps

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Meta ads didn’t “break” — they evolved. In this episode, Jeremy explains (in plain English) what actually changed inside Meta over the last few months and why the old playbook of tight targeting, lookalikes, and lots of small campaigns no longer works. If you’re trying to sell more tickets in 2026, this episode gives you a clearer, simpler framework built around creative, behavior, and momentum — not guesswork.

Key Topics Covered

• Why Meta Platforms knows less about fans — and why that’s not a bad thing
• How privacy changes permanently weakened interest targeting and lookalike audiences
• The shift from labels (sports fan, parent, local) to behavior-based learning
• Why creative now does the targeting — not audience checkboxes
• How too many small campaigns quietly kill performance
• Why fewer campaigns + more creative = better results
• The real minimum budgets Meta needs to learn and optimize
• How sports teams can let fans “self-identify” through engagement

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 – Why Meta ads feel broken right now
• 01:03 – What actually changed inside Meta
• 03:28 – Why interest targeting is fuzzy (and always will be)
• 05:49 – Why lookalike audiences are slower and less predictable
• 08:03 – The biggest shift: Meta learns from behavior, not labels
• 10:14 – Creative as targeting: showing moments, not audiences
• 12:14 – Campaign structure mistakes teams keep making
• 14:24 – The new Meta mindset: clear beats clever
• 15:39 – Homework, next steps, and final takeaways

Tactical Takeaways

• Stop asking “Who should we target?” — start asking “What moment are we showing?”
• Let Meta learn from scroll-stopping content, not assumptions
• Consolidate campaigns so Meta gets enough data to optimize
• Feed the algorithm with real fan experiences, not generic graphics
• Clarity sells tickets better than cleverness

Call to Action

If this episode helped clarify where Meta ads are actually heading, share it with someone on your team who’s frustrated with paid ads right now.
And if you want to pressure-test your current Meta setup, head to the website and book a quick call — even if it’s just to sanity-check what you’re running.

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Marketing predictions are everywhere—but most don’t help sell tickets. In Episode 146, Jeremy Neisser shares 13 practical marketing predictions for 2026, filtered through one question: does this sell more tickets, or is it busy work? This episode focuses on controlling the buying moment, personalization, signal-based marketing, and why the revenue loop replaces the funnel.

Key Topics Covered

• Personalization as a ticket-sales differentiator
• Creative as the new media buyer
• Signals over pixels (Buyer data)
• Saves, comments, & DMs as buying intent
• Zero-click checkout & social selling
• Data reclamation from marketplaces
• First-click ownership as a revenue KPI
• Warm audiences vs. cold acquisition

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:08 Personalization
04:31 Creative as Media Buyer
06:51 Signals Over Pixels
10:34 DMs as Soft Leads
12:56 Zero-Click Checkout
15:15 Social Selling
18:04 Data Reclamation
19:58 First-Click Ownership
21:26 Warm vs Cold
23:49 Per Persona Campaigns
25:10 Marketing as Inside Sales
26:35 Revenue Loop

Supporting Links

https://www.jonloomer.com/meta-advertising-changes-2025/
https://www.jonloomer.com/understand-meta-advertising-8-episodes/
https://www.jonloomer.com/interactions-post-engagement/
https://www.emarketer.com/content/social-commerce-2024
https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/social-commerce/
https://www.brightedge.com/resources/webinars/owning-the-first-click
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/search/brand-vs-non-brand-search/
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/secondary-ticket-market
https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
https://baymard.com/blog/checkout-usability
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/03/02/retargeting
https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
https://www.facebook.com/business/help/146787991656572?id=561906377587030
https://hbr.org/2016/07/ending-the-war-between-sales-and-marketing
https://www.forrester.com/blogs/b2c-marketing-and-sales-alignment/
https://www.meta.com/business/help/1438417719786914

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