Green in Hawaii with husband Ron Green Jr. of the Charlotte Observer and daughter Molly. Photo: COURTESY OF TAMERA GREEN
Published on February 20th, 2012 in Sports Business Journal
TAMERA GREEN
Vice president,
group account director,
GMR Marketing■
Where I’m from: Charlotte.
Grew up in Greensboro, N.C.
■ Where I Went to School: UNC Chapel Hill undergraduate, McColl School of Business/Queens University MBA.
PROFESSIONAL
What I Like …
■ An influential person in my career: Max Muhleman has meant so much to me personally and professionally. He believed in me early on and gave me so many wonderful opportunities to learn and grow. He was always available for guidance and collaboration. He provided an amazing combination of wings and safety net to a young girl who was so eager to learn.
■ An out-of-the-box idea: Integrating sponsor product into the experience with relevant activation vs. slapping a logo on a wall, i.e., airline offering first-class seats in an arena. This requires real creative thinking by people who understand the sport and the fan perspective for it to truly be authentic and relevant.
■ A business deal: Integrating green initiatives into stadium designs and renovations.
■ A sports facility: Carmichael Auditorium was really special, but I do love the fact that we have a building that pays tribute to the all-time great Dean Smith! Of course, Augusta National is unparalleled.
■ An innovation: Twitter and how it works so well with the live aspects of sports.
■ A story that bears watching: Where college football ends up. There’s been so much change and shake-up over the last 5-10 years and it’s far from over. When it does settle, what will college football look like?
■ A sports event: UNC vs. Duke basketball game — though it causes me more anxiety than I care to experience and certainly I prefer the matchup more when the Heels come out on top.
■ A brand: HBO — because of how they’ve evolved their brand and remained an innovative leader in the entertainment world. Home Box Office was such anovel idea when it began, and the idea of watching current movies in your home was terrific back then. Now, they set the bar for original programming, and their sports features are award winning. Their current documentary on Joe Namath is outstanding.
■ A pro league or team business initiative: The First Tee Program. The PGA Tour and others have found a way to use golf to teach both the game and life skills toyoung people who can use both for years to come.
■ An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: Figuring out that you could sell $5 cups of coffee in a country used to paying 50 cents for a cup.
■ A fantasy job: Teacher.
What I Like About …
■ My job: The collaboration with clients and our internal teams. We have such deep resources and experience, and when we galvanize those minds with engaged clients, the work is so rich and so rewarding. Clients who treat agencies as partners and allow for a “safe environment” of exploration on concepts truly get more for their investment.
■ Sports business: The variety. Working on a college sport or Olympics or something with the NFL … they all bring unique opportunities and challenges.
■ Competing: Preparation. Having the time and resources to be uniquely prepared.
■ Sports fans: Sports fans are so amazing to me. What they are willing to put up with underscores the passion more than anything else. Whether it’s game-time changes days before an event in college sports or traffic into a NASCAR race, fans stay committed. And the smack talk is hysterical — especially around our office.
What I Would Like To …
■ See: The danger of pricing the average fan out of the experience of attending a live sporting event, if that hasn’t happened already.
■ Change in what I do: Our programs are better when we are seated at the table with the client. It’s hard to build strategies without having a voice.
■ Eliminate: ACC Sunday night basketball games..
What I Don’t Like …
■ In general: I don’t like “no.” I believe there are solutions and methods of getting to “yes” for every challenge.
■ In business: When people say it’s not personal, it’s business. Of course it’s personal. People invest a lot of time and energy into work and it often defines individuals. You ever notice that the phrase is really used when it’s convenient for someone as an out clause? What they are really saying is that it’s not personal to them.
PERSONAL
What I Like …
■ That would surprise those who know me: That I cry easily at movies and shows, whether it’s Disney or horror or an episode of “Little House on the Prairie.”
■ About myself: I’d like to think that I’m always true to my word.
■ Heroes: Abraham Lincoln, Dean Smith and Stephen Colbert.
■ Players: Currently, Cam Newton and Kendall Marshall.
■ Memento: Tiffany’s crystal football to celebrate the Carolinas winning an NFL franchise.
■ Music: Let’s just say that my 12-year-old daughter is contemporizing my taste. I’m waiting for her to load some new songs from Flo Rida on my iPod, and I’m hoping I can change her mind about James Taylor!
■ Book: “Water for Elephants.”
■ Authors: Pat Conroy and anything my husband writes.
■ IPad app: Nike GPS.
■ Chores: Really? Is this in the “like” category?
■ Movie: “Love Actually.”
■ TV: “Boardwalk Empire,” “Modern Family,” “The Good Wife.”
■ Artist: My daughter. She’s really talented, and I love her work!
■ Food: Cheeseburgers and homemade fries.
■ Dessert: My mother-in-law’s pecan pie and red velvet cupcakes.
■ Drink: A nice Cabernet Sauvignon and anything by Robert Foley.
■ Scent: Gardenia.
■ Singer: Darius Rucker.
■ Quote: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” — Albert Einstein
