My name is Sean Lynn, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati Cyclones and Nederlander Entertainment When it comes to financial literacy and, you know, making sure that the consumer is well informed, you know we really see ourselves as a value proposition. Especially on the side of the hockey team, the Cincinnati Cyclones, we feel that there is no better value in town. We provide action not just on the ice, but off the ice as well whether you are young or old, male, female, we've got something for you and you'll find absolutely no better deal. If there's one idea that really sticks out when it comes to financial literacy or value proposition without a doubt it's kids eat free night. We were brainstorming for a promotional schedule a couple of years ago. Kids eat free was all the rage within local restaurants and I just kind of blindly took it to my general manager and said this is how I think it can work. When it comes to the value proposition now you're not only giving mom a very affordable ticket, but she knows when she comes down her children are going to eat for free. It makes us a very easy choice when mom's trying to decide what her discretionary income is going to go to. With any team, especially a minor league team, the promotions really play a major role in the value proposition. It's not just the game of hockey, it's super hero night or a bobble head give away, it's a kids Jersey T shirt night. We're trying to entertain people with more than just hockey. It's a full night of entertainment, something for everybody, and you know when you walk away you feel good about the dollars that you've spent. One of our more exciting promotions are our threshold promotions at every Cyclones game. For instance if we score five goals and the Cyclones win you can get a free burrito from Hot Head Burritos. Or if we score the first goal in the first period it’s a free appetizer at crave. It just goes back to build in more value, you know, to the consumer when at the come down and see a game. We've had games in the past where there's been so many thresholds reached that they're actually making money on the ticket. We've now given you close to $25 worth of value on a $13 ticket. It almost seems backwards but you know this is what separates us from our competition. Every year we host a Teddy Bear Toss where after the first Cyclones goal patrons are invited to throw a teddy bear onto the ice. Those teddy bears are collected and given to the local police force. They then use them as ride along bears so that way if there is a situation where a child needs some comforting the bear is then given to the child. It's these community initiatives, these initiatives that really touch people on that personal level that, you know, we really see something rewarding in the stands and then just on that personal level. When it comes to my day no day is really average, every day is kind of something different. It can be anything from media buys to promotions to community experiences, community relations, appearances, what have you. That's the great part about my job; every day is different. It's not just swinging a hammer in the factory, it's coming to work every single day knowing it's going to be a completely new and different experience. There's something certainly exciting about that. My career path was a little bit different than most. I didn't really know a hundred percent what I wanted to be when I was in college. I took a marketing class my senior year, absolutely loved it. Ended up taking on an internship down here in Cincinnati with Clear Channel Entertainment out at Riverbend. I did that unpaid, making the drive every single day for 18 months. At the end of that, through the network , I had kind of created, find out about the job opportunity here, interviewed and I've had ten years strong now. When I was in college at Wright State I had two great experiences that is kind of shaped my future career. Number one was a marketing class that the teacher gave us a project. You know we were selling widgets and we had to come up with a marketing plan and how to sell these items. What my group did is we chose a music festival as kind of our basis, came up with a great experience. And just kind of through that selling you know a simple fictional product I really came to love the idea of informing the consumer and helping them, you know, spend that discretionary income. If I was to give any advice to a student up and coming who wanted to follow this career path it would be twofold. Number one, don't be scared of the work. Do an internship, do as many internships as you possibly can because you're going to be experiencing different things through, you know, every single turn of that internship. And everything kind of culminates to kind of make you a well-rounded candidate. The other thing is very simple: Don't be scared to pick up the phone. In this digital age everybody wants to e-mail nonstop, they want to go through social media. There's still something to be said about that personal connection of a phone call. Schedules can be tough, schedules can be tight, but don't be scared to pick up your phone or to return a phone call. Number one thing I enjoy about my job is, number one, everything is different from day to day. Not a single day is the same. Number two is it’s very rewarding and you kind of get to see that reward. You host an event, you host a hockey game, you walk out and, you know, the lights drop for warm ups and when those lights come up you can just see the smiles on people's faces, especially kids. It's a great, great feeling when you know you had something to do with making memories for that family or that individual.