Golden Knights’ New Chief Marketing Officer On Foley Entertainment Group: ‘We’re In Growth Mode’
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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
When you work for Golden Knights owner Bill “Serial Dealmaker” Foley, you might want to be prepared to handle job responsibilities that could have you interacting across several of Foley’s diverse properties from hockey teams to wineries to hotels and even cross-promoting the brands in Foley’s very diverse portfolio.
Welcome to the world of Eric Tosi, who officially assumed the role of chief marketing officer at the Vegas Golden Knights last month, succeeding former Golden Knights CMO Brian Killingsworth, a sports industry marketing pro who moved on after four years with the Knights after also working for the MLB Rays and NFL Rams and Buccaneers.
Tosi worked as the NHL team’s communications and content chief from the team’s start in 2017, but also began last year quietly working as the chief operating officer of Foley’s Henderson Silver Knights, the American Hockey League team that is the feeder farm club for the VGK.
It meant not only did Tosi watch over the Golden Knights’ social media, broadcast and communications operations, he had to also work on tasks like retail operations and COVID-19 protocol issues facing the Silver Knights. the AHL club.
Under the Foley Entertainment Group business banner, Tosi said it’s all about “connectivity” between the various Foley properties that include the Golden Knights, the Silver Knights, the new Indoor Football League Knight Hawks, the 6,000-seat Dollar Loan Center arena in Henderson, the just-acquired 121-room Hotel Californian in Santa Barbara, the Foley wineries, Foley’s restaurant chain and the Foley golf course ranch in Montana. Oh, by the way, Foley is vice chairman of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE: FIS), number 301 on the Fortune 500 roster.
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Tosi brought LVSportsBiz.com up to date on several marketing aspects of the Golden Knights, and the Foley Entertainment Group:
- It’s no secret that Foley is looking into creating a Major League Soccer team for the Las Vegas market. Allegiant Stadium has been mentioned as a potential home for an MLS franchise. Typically, MLS team owners own and operate their own soccer stadiums, but it’s conceivable that Foley’s group has talked with Raiders owner Mark Davis and the team, which controls Allegiant Stadium. “All options are under consideration,” said Tosi, who worked for Red Bull New York of MLS and knows the soccer scene. If Foley gets an MLS team, it would be under the Foley Group corporate umbrella.
- Foley now owns 100 percent of the Indoor Football League Vegas Knight Hawks after Dollar Loan Center founder/CEO Chuck Brennan was originally introduced as Foley’s partner in creating the IFL team.
- The Dollar Loan Center arena in Henderson, which is being built on the site of the former Henderson Pavilion, will have a new arena manager announced soon.
- Tosi did not reveal any VGK giveaways or marketing products, but did acknowledged that there is “a lot we can do that is Panda-related,” referring to the nickname of the team’s goaltender, Robin Lehner.
- With Hotel Californian in the Foley Group, expect VGK watch parties and wine-tasting sessions with Foley’s local wines from that area at the hotel, with possible VGK fan opportunities at the iconic hotel down the road like Foley did with Knights fans visiting his wineries when the Golden Knights played games in San Jose. Speaking of Hotel Californian, its Blackbird restaurant will be reopening with a new concept in the fall.
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The Golden Knights’ fifth season this year – or V in Roman numerals — aligns with the “V” of the Vegas Golden Knights, so expect some visible Season V presence for Golden Knights fans, Tosi said.
The Golden Knights game posters game posters are back — and so are the open team practices. Most teams do not allow the public to watch the players practice in person, but Tosi said everyone in the organization from Foley on down liked the idea from the start of the franchise.
He mentioned that jerseys of William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo are the team’s top-selling jerseys and acknowledged the loss of fan favorite Marc-Andre Fleury. “We lost some popular players, but we still have a lot of likable players,” Tosi said.
Tosi pointed out that the communications, broadcast, content and PR work was part of the team’s overall marketing efforts, so it’s “not unnatural” to transition from communications head to chief marketing officer.
As for working on cross-promoting Foley’s varied sports and entertainment properties, Tosi said, “We want to bring visibility to connecting the dots. But it has to be authentic and organic and they can’t be forced.”
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