Marketing giant getting taller

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, October 22, 2014

PLANO, Texas — Greg Brown wants to cash in on America’s love affair with college sports.

The 52-year-old president and CEO of Learfield Communications Inc. is moving swiftly and boldly to increase the company’s already significant footprint in the world of college athletics.

“Our business involves sports, but it’s really about helping companies understand the kind of audience that major college sports delivers,” Brown says, sitting in his headquarters office. “People have a tremendously deep relationship with college brands. It goes beyond just marketing.”

Learfield Sports Inc., its Plano-based operating unit, sets up multimedia deals, sponsorships and promotions for 97 colleges, conferences and arenas around the country, including powerhouses Texas A&M, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Alabama.

Commercial ties with major corporations involve everything from TV broadcasting rights to Jell-O Jigglers in the shape of mascots.

Think a bank’s name on the jumbo scoreboard at Southern Methodist University’s Moody Coliseum. “Anything that carries a commercial message is something that we’ve constructed, sold and developed on behalf of that school,” Brown says.

Since February, Brown has spearheaded deals that have nearly doubled the number of colleges Learfield represents, ramped up its national sales efforts and added licensing and trademark consulting, stadium concessions and hospitality services, ticket sales, digital platform expertise and online streaming capabilities.

“Athletic departments are doing other things than multimedia,” Brown says. “They’re selling hot dogs and soda pop and in some cases beer. So we’ve also become the concessionaire at six colleges in partnership with Levy Restaurants Group.”

When talking about Learfield, the parent and the sports division are pretty much one and the same. Learfield Sports accounts for all but a smidgen of the revenues and has no president or CEO.

Brown is clearly the guy leading the charge.

Learfield’s main competition is IMG College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Together, the companies represent just about every competitive name in college sports.

Industry sources expect Learfield Sports to post 2014 revenue of $300 million. Yet unless you’re into sports marketing, you’ve probably never heard of it.