Transcript

The transcript below has been lightly edited for readability and clarity. Click any starting timestamp to jump to that exact point in the YouTube video.

Podcast Introduction

[00:00] Don Costante:

Welcome to the Rundown Podcast hosted by Don Costante, a sports and event management expert with over 25 years experience. This unique podcast provides an opportunity to hear from some of the best professionals in the industry. You’ll get valuable insight and perspective on what it takes to deliver authentic experiences, activate brands, and most importantly, connect with audiences. All on the Rundown Podcast. Let’s get started.

Entertainment Resources and the Fan Experience

[00:27] Don Costante:

When I attend sporting events, besides the game itself, all of my attention is on event presentation, specifically how an organization utilizes their entertainment resources to enhance the fan experience. Of course, the range of entertainment resources will vary from organization, but it’s how the resources available are incorporated that can have a significant impact on the fans likability of your event. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to get some insights into the world of entertainment resources from someone who has established a reputation for being a leader in this area. Today’s guest is Michelle McComas, Senior Director of Entertainment and Events for the Chicago Bulls. Michelle is an Emmy Award winner and NBA All-Star Executive Producer with over 20 years experience in live events, entertainment, and content. In her current role with the Bulls, Michelle oversees the production, creative and quality of games, and team events, as well as Bulls Entertainment, which involves over 150 performers and staff, including Benny the Bull and the Chicago Lovable Bulls. In this episode, Michelle shares her career path, event presentation philosophy, and reveals entertainment best practices that have helped position the Chicago Bulls as a leader in the NBA. Listen as Michelle speaks passionately about her strategy.

Meet Michelle McComas

[01:52] Don Costante:

Strategy for utilizing and incorporating entertainment resources, development and recruitment of talent, the creative process for performances, importance of branding, how she measures success, and much more. I’m ready to get started. Let’s meet Michelle McComas. Hi, Michelle. Thanks for joining me on the rundown.

[02:13] Michelle McComas:

Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here.

[02:15] Don Costante:

I have to say, I am very excited to have a conversation with you today on entertainment resources. I consider you one of the best in the industry in this specific area, and I can’t wait

[02:26] Michelle McComas:

to have you share your expertise with our listeners. I’m flattered. Thank you so much

[02:30] Don Costante:

for having me. Now, many people may not be aware you’re an Emmy award winner and MBA all-star executive producer with over 20 years of experience in live events, entertainment, and content. Please take a moment and share your path to becoming senior director of entertainment

Michelle McComas’s Career Path

[02:48] Michelle McComas:

and events for the Chicago Bulls. Okay. So over 20 years ago, many, many moons ago, I started out actually as a dancer, cheerleader for the New York Liberty and the WNBA. That was me freshman year of college. And I got into the dance world while I was attending NYU in business school, undergrad. And I was also just continuing to dance, you know, as a hobby and met a few Knicks City dancers along the way. And I auditioned for them. And actually, I didn’t make it my first time. It took three tries before I made the team in 2000. So I danced for the Knicks for five years. And it worked out timing-wise that the director of entertainment marketing at the time, the legendary Petra Pope, who started the Laker Girls and started the Knicks City dancers. She left to go to the net. And that was like just a huge opportunity. And I was very fortunate to be able to take on her role. So I was the manager of entertainment marketing, worked my way up to be director. I started just working with a dancer. My bosses were so cool to let me take the initiative. And I started to oversee the booking of all live performers from national anthems to halftime acts to DJs to celebrities, all of that stuff. So

[04:03] Michelle McComas:

everything live was under sort of my umbrella working alongside the game director. So that was 13 seasons all together at the Knicks. And then I was fortunate to be able to go home to Chicago. I was born and raised in Chicago, grew up a Bulls fan. And so it was a dream to be able to be asked to head up entertainment at the Chicago Bulls in 2013. And it has been a fantastic experience ever since just kind of your dream job coming home, working for this legendary franchise and being able to take on all the entertainment game presentation and non-game team events.

Event Presentation Philosophy

[04:39] Don Costante:

As the executive producer who oversees the production, creative, and the quality of games and team events, as well as the Bulls entertainment, I’d love to hear your event presentation philosophy.

[04:49] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, it’s really about connecting with your audience. Everything starts and ends with the audience and really understanding who they are and what moves them and what it’ll take for you to blow their minds or make them laugh or make them cry or make them boo on purpose. You know, really understanding that and strategizing around who’s in your audience. Yeah, I learned that really early on, you know, growing from being a dancer to a manager. You know, I learned that very early on. Steve Mills from the New York Knicks told me, he’s like, you’re talking to yourself. Don’t talk to yourself. Talk to your audience. And you know, that’s marketing 101, right? And so I really, that has always stuck with me through the years. And I’ve really grown. And especially with the Bulls, we do such wonderful analytics work on our season ticket holders and single game buyers and really understanding the differences of the different segments of our audience. How to program based on which game night it is, what day of the week it is, who’s in the audience, and really catering to them.

[05:46] Don Costante:

Oh, I love that. So before we jump into today’s discussion on entertainment resources, let’s agree to focus primarily on prior to the pandemic. At the end, we’ll touch on the impact COVID has had on your strategy for this season. Sound good?

[06:01] Michelle McComas:

Sounds good.

Chicago Bulls Entertainment Resources

[06:02] Don Costante:

Well, today I have broken the topics down into some categories, beginning with a general overview of entertainment resources. First, it’s important to provide listeners with the landscape of entertainment resources that you manage for the Chicago Bulls. So can you please identify the entertainment groups that you manage?

[06:21] Michelle McComas:

Yes. First, it starts with our ringleader, Benny the Bull. We think he is the best mascot in sports. He has a crew. He has the elevators as well, the dunk team. So Benny and the elevators. We have the Chicago Bulls flippers. We have our dance team, the Lovable. And 312 crew is the male hip hop dance crew. We have the swing and seniors. We have the swing and seniors, the Bulls kids, the incredible, our fan engagement pipe team. And our percussion side, we have the stampede, drumline, and the bucket boys. So we’ve got a whole circus going on.

[06:57] Don Costante:

Wow.

[06:58] Michelle McComas:

I love it and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Entertainment Groups With the Greatest Fan Impact

[07:01] Don Costante:

No, that’s fantastic. I think more than any other team I’ve ever seen, you guys have a great group of entertainment elements to incorporate into all of your activations, which is amazing. What entertainment resource have you found to have the greatest impact with your fans?

[07:16] Michelle McComas:

Our lovables, our lovables, our incredibles, and Benny are our staples every single game. They are part of the every game experience. But then you have your secondary performance teams, the dance teams, the acro teams, and percussion teams. Because they’re not there every single game, they make a huge impact when they do perform. Like the bucket boys, you know, three to five guys crush it. Every single performance, the 312 crew has been a huge success. They’re just so talented. And then our dunkers are amazing and high flying. So they all play different roles and cater to different audiences. So it’s nice to have that variety.

Staffing and Managing Entertainment Teams

[07:54] Don Costante:

You have such a variety. The question I have now comes down to staff. What staff, if any, assist you in management and facilitation of all the logistical operational details for your entertainment groups?

[08:05] Michelle McComas:

Yeah.

[08:05] Don Costante:

And if you do have staff that’s helping you, what are the roles that they’re playing for you?

[08:10] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, absolutely. Our department has three main functions. So it’s the game production and then events and activations that are non-game elements. And then the performers, just overall operations of the performers. So just for the performers, we have five staffers.

[08:28] Don Costante:

Wow.

[08:28] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. So there’s the lovable coach and the coordinator of entertainment and events. So they oversee the dance team. Then Joseph, who’s the coordinator of entertainment, he oversees like the percussion teams, the acro team, the interactive squad, and the Windy City Bulls entertainment. And then there’s team Benny, two of the guys on my staff that oversee everything having to do with Benny. Not just, you know, Benny’s main game day operations, but all of his appearances, the inflatables, et cetera.

Utilizing Entertainment Resources on Game Day

[08:59] Don Costante:

Now you mentioned that every performance group performs every night. So I want to dive a little bit deeper into that. What’s your methodology or strategy for utilizing and incorporating your entertainment resources into your game days? By that, I mean, how are your resources allocated pre-game, in-game and post-game?

[09:16] Michelle McComas:

Sure. I mean, I think programming, first of all, we take three out of the 12 breaks in a game that are dedicated to performances, future performances. So obviously the lovables do one every game. And then you’ve got a percussion team and then another dance team typically scheduled. And those secondary teams rotate from anywhere between six to 10 games a season. And again, like our entertainers, they all have full-time day jobs.

[09:42] Don Costante:

Yeah.

[09:42] Michelle McComas:

So it’s hard. It’s a really huge time commitment, particularly for the lovables and the incredibles that are at every single game. So in terms of how they’re allocated pre-game, in-game and post-game, our incredibles are very active pre-game. We have a strong program in terms of our concourse and atrium pre-game activations, DJs, music, sign stations, pumper stations on the concourse, things like that. The incredibles pretty much run that because they’re the most engaging and fun and they’re literally at the front line with the fans. And then in-game, so I mentioned we have three breaks dedicated to in-game performances, feature performances. And on top of that are your intros moments, hype moments, t-shirt tosses, things like that throughout the game. And then lovables, Benny and the incredibles help activate sponsor promotions, contests, things like that. Their coaches all have their own rundowns and they’re all over the building. So the United Center is, in terms of square footage, the largest buildings in the NBA.

[10:45] Don Costante:

I didn’t know that.

[10:46] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. Yeah, we are proud to say that. So we need a huge staff to be everywhere in the building. You know, we’ve learned to bring like our t-shirt tosses, the huge Gatling guns. We call them the team machine. We bring those up to the 300 level.

[11:02] Don Costante:

Yeah, that’s great.

[11:02] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. You know, engage fans everywhere as much as we can, particularly the upper bowl. Posts games. Yeah. Our stampede, those games when they perform, they love doing their post game kind of like a drum session, jam session on the concourse if fans leave. So that’s pretty much what we do post games.

Impact Versus Quantity

[11:19] Don Costante:

Now, when you have your entertainment there, I’m interested to get your viewpoint on impact versus quantity when dealing with your entertainment groups. Meaning, how much continuous visibility and or interaction should your entertainment groups have with fans over the course of the game?

[11:34] Michelle McComas:

Continuous visibility and interaction. You know, again, our fans are here to watch basketball. So that’s the main priority and helping facilitate home court advantage. So like the Incredibles will be there. If they’re not performing a timeout, they’ll be in the crowd with their cheer sticks for free to distractions or getting fans to cheer in the upper bowl and to chant, things like that. But, you know, it’s a fine balance of like not being distracting. And again, with the audience segmentation study that we do, it’s like, you know, if it’s a big game, in some ways, entertainment can be distracting and we don’t want that. You know, so it’s really, again, knowing who the audience is on any given night.

[12:16] Don Costante:

I’m always curious because I kind of take that Disney mentality where the characters are on for 20 minutes, they’re off for 45 minutes. So I was just curious if your groups are out there 100% of the time or they’re kind of getting breaks as well.

[12:29] Michelle McComas:

No, they definitely get breaks for sure. Some games are just busier than others. It really just depends.

What Makes an Entertainment Group Great?

[12:34] Don Costante:

So I’m interested. What’s the criteria for success when it comes to entertainment groups? What are the determining factors that really separates an average entertainment group from one that’s great?

[12:43] Michelle McComas:

In terms of the skill sets of the entertainment groups themselves, I think he was really thinking about how to make an impact and be different and connect with the audience. I started in New York, so I just have really high standards. You just know when that looks sloppy or, you know, when they’re really tight and they look clean and they’re sharp and it looks easy. You know what I mean?

[13:03] Don Costante:

Yeah.

[13:03] Michelle McComas:

Some entertainment groups make it look hard because they just either didn’t fine tune it enough or didn’t practice it enough. And so, yeah, the ones that are great, like make it look amazing and easy. Make it look flawless. Yeah. Yeah. It’s flawless and easy. You’re like amazed at how they do that.

[13:18] Don Costante:

Effortless, I guess, is a better word, right?

[13:20] Michelle McComas:

Effortless is a great word. Sure. And then I think, too, like, you know, there is such a thing as the law of diminishing returns. You know what I mean? Like, that’s why your secondary groups really just perform so well and get great ratings from our fan surveys just because they’re not there every single day, you know?

[13:37] Don Costante:

Yeah. No, I totally understand that. How has technology impacted your entertainment resources?

Technology and Entertainment Production

[13:42] Michelle McComas:

Sure. That’s sort of the role I play. Like, I’m choreographer routines because I’m choreographing the lights and the projection and the graphics and everything’s time-coded. And so it’s really been awesome to have resources and a really awesome team at the United Center to help with that. I think prior to my arrival, each of those departments were kind of always siloed or separate. And now I’m like, you know, we need production meetings and we need to make sure we’re hitting our cues or else that dance moment loses its impact. So yeah, it’s been really technology and team and everybody coming together. And those are my favorite, you know, like big halftime productions that we do. Those are my favorite because it takes the whole team and it takes all of us being on the same page. We’ll do those maybe three of them a year. They take so much in terms of rehearsal and tech time. We only do three of those, but then they’re also very impactful because there’s only three of them.

[14:33] Don Costante:

Oh, they’re incredible.

[14:34] Michelle McComas:

Thank you.

[14:35] Don Costante:

Not just impactful. They’re incredible. I mean, I love the one that you did one continuous shot. It was phenomenal.

[14:39] Michelle McComas:

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I mean, again, I can’t take credit for that concept. It was both TV, but yes, be able to choreograph for that vision was so fun and such a cool challenge.

[14:51] Don Costante:

Yeah. I didn’t realize it. So you do three a year. I was curious how many of those special performances that you do.

[14:57] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. And it’s, you know, it takes a lot of time to rehearse and text.

[15:00] Don Costante:

Oh yeah. No doubt. Yeah.

[15:02] Michelle McComas:

And again, because I don’t have access to them full time, you know what I mean? So it’s really being strategic about, you know, if it’s a holiday routine or women’s history month and it’s a lovable halftime. Last season we did Chicago, the musical, which was awesome. We’re proud of those.

[15:18] Don Costante:

Oh, they’re phenomenal. Like I said, let’s talk about development and recruitment of entertainment teams. How much time is allocated during the off season to develop entertainment resources, both current groups as well as new?

Developing Entertainment Teams

[15:31] Michelle McComas:

I think we’re always working on development. I mean, we have auditions every summer, so no one spot is ever guaranteed.

[15:38] Don Costante:

Sure.

[15:39] Michelle McComas:

The recruiting and the audition process itself, you know, for the lovables, for example, they have to audition every year. And we have sort of this series of clinics to prepare for the audition to recruit and see who’s out there. And, you know, in terms of development, we have our athletic trainers, fitness trainers, conditioning them all summer. So they stay in shape. And as soon as we get our schedule in August, we’re full blown into rehearsal. They’re treated as athletes from preparation and training to injury prevention, injury, rehabilitation. Like we have, we have an athletic training and fitness training program for all our performers. So in terms of development, we have that to make sure that they’re at peak performance.

[16:21] Don Costante:

That’s great.

[16:22] Michelle McComas:

And really helping them in case they get injured and getting them back out there on the court.

Recruiting Talent

[16:26] Don Costante:

Now you talked about audition process, which I’m going to ask you about here in just a minute. But before I do, what’s your process for recruitment of talent for your entertainment teams? I mean, what methods and or platforms have proven most successful in reaching and getting people to audition?

[16:41] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. We’ve done this research in terms of our surveys at auditions. You know, how did you hear about us? And really social media has been the best method. And we also, for the lovable, we spend a lot of time and focus on the junior lovables program, kind of like breeding, you know, young local dancers to grow up to be lovable. So it’s a really cool program that we’ve developed and sort of supports the overall company initiative to grow bold fans, make them bold fans for life at a young age.

[17:12] Don Costante:

That’s how I knew I was getting older. When I was with the San Antonio Spurs, we had the junior silver dancers and listening to some of the ladies coming up and they were talking about how they used to be junior silver dancers and now they’re current silver dancers. I’m thinking, oh my God, I’m getting old.

[17:24] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. Isn’t that the worst? I see some of like my kids’ dancers now getting married. I’m like, gosh.

[17:30] Don Costante:

Yes, exactly. So let’s talk about the audition process. I realized that the specific criteria for an audition process will vary based on the type of entertainment group, drummers, dancers, I get all that. But is there a basic formula for your audition process that’s proven successful in identifying the right people? And if you could just talk a little bit about what your audition process is and who on your staff’s involved in evaluating and selecting the talent?

The Audition Process

[17:57] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. Yeah. The dance teams generally have the same process with your pre-audition clinics to kind of give aspiring dancers or performers a little leg up and learn the choreography ahead of time. But it also gives us a chance to see who’s there and who’s interested. And then you have your pre-audition clinics and your open calls and then just whittling it down across a week-long boot camp for the lovable. So that ranges from learning three routines, setting them in formation for a performance to happen at the end of the week. And then fitness boot camp to really identify how strong they are. And then again, with that week being as trying as it is, it’s really meant to also test their mental toughness. Because, you know, 41 games in a season, 75 rehearsals in between that plus appearances, and then managing your full-time job on top of that. You know, these women, I give so much credit to them because you have to be really mentally tough in order to do all of it. And, you know, we really push them and we interview them to see if they have the right attitude, the right personality. You know, and sometimes you find like the most beautiful talented dancers have the worst attitude and aren’t even afraid to hide it.

[19:06] Michelle McComas:

And I’m like, well, we can’t have that. That’s just not going to be good for the team. So I look for more for professional performers since the team work because you are on a team.

[19:18] Don Costante:

Yeah, high-end character.

[19:19] Michelle McComas:

Character, exactly.

[19:21] Don Costante:

What about the other teams? Obviously, the other groups aren’t dancing necessarily. Some of them are kids dance group or the break dance group. But when you talk about the cheer team or the drum line, is there a kind of formula that you go through? Is interview process part of everything? Are there other things that are similar?

[19:37] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, they go through a similar process, but with their specific skill set.

[19:41] Don Costante:

Right.

[19:41] Michelle McComas:

The dunkers and the flippers, there’s a recruitment process in that. Again, we have a great resource of the Jesse White tumblers in Chicago.

[19:50] Don Costante:

Right, yeah.

[19:51] Michelle McComas:

So, you know, the performers that kind of grow up in that process can easily be identified to be on our flippers or dunk team.

[19:58] Don Costante:

Gotcha. Now, we talked about the criteria for a successful entertainment group. But during the audition process, what criteria makes for a successful performer?

What Makes a Successful Performer?

[20:08] Michelle McComas:

Your dance skill, first and foremost, you’re here to perform a specific skill. So, dance skill, technical training, and then your performance, the performance aspect of it, your facial expressions, your energy, how you’re emoting. So, projection is a big part of it.

[20:25] Don Costante:

Yeah, absolutely.

[20:27] Michelle McComas:

You know when you can’t take your eyes off of somebody. Like, I can’t stop watching that performer. And then there’s other performers that your eye leaves.

[20:35] Don Costante:

Yeah. Do you take that same kind of guideline across all of your entertainment groups in terms of just somebody that attracts attention, somebody that you want to gravitate to? Is that kind of the criteria for all of your performers with different groups?

[20:48] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. You have those standout performers. And then there are others that have a lot of potential as well. Sure. Like, they may be really good performers that project, but maybe not the strongest technique-wise. And that’s something that you can develop.

[21:01] Don Costante:

Sure.

[21:01] Michelle McComas:

You know, if you spend time with them or help them taking classes, more dance classes or specific, like, acro classes, that will make them stronger. And then, again, with our fitness program and our athletic training program, that really helps make them a lot stronger over the years as well.

Preparing the Lovables for the Season

[21:17] Don Costante:

So, let’s just talk Lovables for a second with your dance team. What’s the overall timeline from when you begin audition process to the first game of the season? I mean, how far out do you begin to ensure you’re show ready?

[21:30] Michelle McComas:

So, our audition process for the Lovables typically happens end of June.

[21:34] Don Costante:

Okay.

[21:34] Michelle McComas:

And it’s like a two-week process. And once we select the team, you know, then we have, like, media day for them. And then once that’s typically, like, end of August sometimes. Once we get the schedule in August, then that’s when we start going. They start rehearsals in August. And it takes all of that between learning material. They learn about 20 routines in a season. They’ll maybe repeat 10 from the year before or years past and then 10 new routines. So, they’re learning. They’re just banking all of that in the beginning as much as they can. And then, yeah, a lot of fitness boot camps and just getting show ready. And then once we start looking at those routines and we start planning out their production, when we can grab some court time and tech time so that they’re show ready by October.

[22:18] Don Costante:

Perfect. So, I think one of the things that really separates you from others is your creativity and your innovative approach to the performances. So, let’s talk creative process for performances. What is your overall creative process? Who’s involved from your staff or your organization with that process?

The Creative Process for Performances

[22:35] Michelle McComas:

When it comes to performances with souls entertainers, it’s their coaches, it’s their captains, it is our DJs who, one in particular DJ flip side, who produces all their music. And then edit is our LED graphics designers, it’s our lighting designer, it’s the costume designer. Yeah, I mean, you know, we’re very strategic in terms of when we look at the schedule, we typically know what two nights we’re going to do each year, which are determined by NBA initiatives and company priorities. We know we’re going to have a pride night every year. We know we’re going to have a holiday routine. We’re going to have a Latino night. So, those are easy to start planning out way, way out in the summer. And also sort of even year over year. It’s like, why recreate the wheel when you can just build a huge Latino night extravaganza and just keep perfecting it year over year? Because we only do it once. And again, we don’t have the luxury of just having performers available to us at the ready. You know, when it comes to production, we take the approach maybe more of like a theatrical repertoire, like a dance company repertoire, that these are your signature pieces, that this is our signature holiday routine, that this is our signature Halloween routine or halftime, so that we can just spend the limited time we do have on execution.

[23:52] Don Costante:

Well, I love what you said in the beginning. You have so many people that are part of your ideation process.

[23:57] Michelle McComas:

And also, too, we have video producers from both TV and Sergio’s team with United Center. Again, I like to pick everybody’s brain to check myself, you know, and also let everybody be a part of a collaborative process. It’s definitely part of the Bulls culture is that talk to the experts at what they’re doing, give them the vision of what is it that they think they can execute on their end to make this the best performance it could possibly be.

Generating Creative Ideas

[24:22] Don Costante:

Now, how do you personally generate ideas? Where do they come from? And what resources do you utilize to help you spark ideas?

[24:31] Michelle McComas:

You know, I take inspiration from everywhere. What’s hot in entertainment right now? Who’s the hot musical artist? What’s happening? What’s really huge right now on Broadway? Or Jerm de Soleil or even like Dancing with the Stars. Honestly, like our Disney halftime was inspired by Disney night on Dancing with the Stars. And I was like, we can do that.

[24:52] Don Costante:

That’s awesome. I’m the same way. I’m watching all these award shows from the Emmys and Grammys, you know, trying to not steal, but just like recreate or do it our way, customize it specific to our fan base.

[25:03] Michelle McComas:

Exactly that. Over the years, I’ve learned to just not create just to create. It’s, again, being also strategic about it. And I’m really understanding the larger parameters of like your theme night, what the company initiatives are. And sometimes that changes year over year. So I want to make sure that we’re really hitting the company initiative and goal and then executing it through entertainment.

The Ingredients of a Successful Idea

[25:27] Don Costante:

Well, that kind of leads to my next question. When you’re going through the ideation session and ideas are being discussed, what are the key ingredients of a successful idea?

[25:37] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, I love that question. Again, I mean, it’s a lot of the context, right? It’s like really understanding the context in which it’s going to be presented and when you’re going to perform it. So it’s your theme night schedule. It’s understanding your resources of budget, staff, and performer time. You know, I love brainstorming. We spend a lot of time in the summer just brainstorming and going to see things for inspiration. But really, like, how does it build out into a full execution plan and considering everybody on the team, like, the role they play in order to make that a full, well-rounded production?

[26:12] Don Costante:

So it sounds like you have a checklist of key criteria as you’re going through your ideation session. If you check off all the boxes from budget, entertainment, value added, and stays within the guidelines of your brand, that’s what really creates a successful idea.

[26:26] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. I don’t love to create just to create, just to do something different. You know what I mean?

[26:30] Don Costante:

Sure.

[26:31] Michelle McComas:

You’ve got to have the right impact. Otherwise, you can just not do it. You know what I mean? I’d rather not do something than throw something together quick and just throw it out there.

[26:40] Don Costante:

Yeah. No question. Now, coming up with the big idea is one thing, but getting it approved can be another. What is your strategy for pitching conceptual ideas to leadership that has proven successful?

Getting Creative Ideas Approved

[26:52] Michelle McComas:

I guess, you know, again, it’s the resources of, let’s see, how they frame this.

[26:57] Don Costante:

So many people struggle. I mean, I’ll come up with ideas here, but I can’t get them approved. I’m curious how you get some of those really creative ideas past your leadership.

[27:05] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. I mean, the more I can frame it that we need this resource or this entertainment act that’s expensive, whatever it is, the more I can show how it is helping us achieve our strategic initiatives of the organization. And really the key is if there is a potential sponsor that I can think of that would partner with us to make the purchase or the rental, you know, those fees much more palatable to spend. When we introduced our court projection system, when that was first hot, and kudos to the Cavaliers. That was the video that we showed all of our executives. And really, it was what sponsor is going to pay for this? You know what I mean? And unless you are thinking about it that way, at least for us, it’s not happening.

[27:49] Don Costante:

Yeah. Now, is there something that you’ve never done before or maybe new technology that you want to try that you’re planning to incorporate into a future performance? And if so, what is it?

Future Technology: Augmented and Extended Reality

[27:58] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. You know, I’m really interested in augmented reality and extended reality. And again, because there’s 20,000 fans in the building and then we have another 20 million fans on our digital channels.

[28:12] Don Costante:

Exactly.

[28:13] Michelle McComas:

You know what I mean? So I’m not just thinking about an arena. I’m thinking about like the music licensing for, you know, to be able to post this on social, you know, things like that. But like really leveraging cool technology that’ll make an impact that way. We’ve had the running of the bowls forever. And that’s a staple and a tradition. But how cool would it be if you had augmented reality bowls running right past you? You can see it on the scoreboard or see it on your phone. So that would be super cool.

[28:42] Don Costante:

That would be cool.

[28:43] Michelle McComas:

Yeah.

Communicating With Entertainment Teams

[28:43] Don Costante:

So shifting to another category here, I want to talk about communication, which is so important, both for non-game days as well as game day. Can you take a moment and discuss the way in which you communicate with your entertainment resources on non-game days? What sort of information are you communicating with them?

[29:00] Michelle McComas:

So their managers or their coaches are really their primary source of communication. But, you know, we try to map out their rehearsal schedules or game schedules, all of that stuff month by month. They’ll know their schedule. They’ll know who’s rotated onto each game. They’ll know what routine, what costume, what halftime show we’re doing. So at the beginning of every month, they know it so that they can prepare and they know what the agenda is for their rehearsals. So that’s, I would say, from my perspective, that’s the kind of communication I have with the entertainment.

[29:30] Don Costante:

Oh, perfect. So when it comes to game day communication with your entertainment groups, what type of meetings are you holding?

Game Day Communication and Production Meetings

[29:37] Michelle McComas:

Well, I even back up before that. Tuesdays are weekly production meetings and just planning for upcoming games that week. We talk production updates and scheduling and one-pagers of upcoming games just to get everybody’s mind and what theme is coming up or, hey, Red Panda’s coming. Maybe you want to incorporate her into the dunk routine. So everybody’s on the same page. We’re also in charge of Windy City Bold. We do over 150 appearances a year in terms of appearances and events. So everybody’s everywhere. So I need them on Tuesdays to just focus. Let’s just talk to each other so we’re over-communicating and nothing falls through the cracks. And then on game day, you know, it’s a production meeting at 11 and that’s where we go through our show flow scripts. We use show flow for our rundowns and then they create their sort of like simpler one-pagers for their team. So they know where they need to be, what costume they need to change into, at what time, things like that, which they go through with their teams when we start rehearsal at 3.30, 4 o’clock.

[30:38] Don Costante:

And you already talked about each of these groups have their managers. I’m assuming that they’re on clear calm with you or in some sort of communication on game days with you so that you can give them direction. Are the entertainers themselves, are they wearing like, obviously not the dancers when they’re going out, but like, are some of the performers wearing earpieces so that they can be communicated with while they’re in performance or no?

[31:03] Michelle McComas:

No, not the performers. Their coaches or their managers will be on the headset.

[31:07] Don Costante:

Okay. Mascot, does he have like an IFB where your director is able to communicate with him on court?

[31:12] Michelle McComas:

He does have an IFB. Our hosts have IFBs and the DJs as well.

[31:17] Don Costante:

Okay, perfect.

[31:17] Michelle McComas:

We like communicating.

[31:20] Don Costante:

Oh, I always tell everybody, over-communicate. You want to get to a point where everyone’s like, okay, okay, I know. Communication is the secret ingredient to successful results.

[31:28] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. Well, and also rehearsal too. So like we communicate what’s going to happen, what the cues are going to be.

[31:34] Don Costante:

Exactly.

[31:35] Michelle McComas:

Like we’ll even do a table read with the host or PA during that 11 o’clock meeting. So everybody really understands how a promotion is supposed to be executed and understand, okay, I need a light cue there and I need blackout over here. And so we can really just talk that through like a table read for everybody at 11 and then a full rehearsal top to bottom of the rundown at four o’clock.

Branding Entertainment Groups

[31:57] Don Costante:

That’s great. Let’s talk about branding and awareness for the entertainment groups. Talk about branding and the importance of creating an individual identity for each of your entertainment groups while aligning with your organization’s overall brand.

[32:11] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, absolutely. Branding is huge. When I first got to the Bulls, my first project was rebranding the Lovable. We very much believe that our performers, they’re featured entertainers. They’re here to entertain the fans. They’re athletes. They’re role models. They’re not cheerleaders for the players. You know what I mean?

[32:31] Don Costante:

Exactly. So it’s really fine tuning their purpose in order for us to then execute on a creative level of what their costumes look like, what music they’re dancing to, who we’re hiring. You know what I mean?

[32:44] Michelle McComas:

So it stems from strategy. It stems from really understanding what their purpose is. For example, like the Incredibles, they’re the upper bowl crew. They’re up close and personal with the fans. And so their costuming is designed to be more sort of family friendly and more sort of approachable compared to some of the other more glamorous costumes that maybe the Lovables has. And there’s a sense of exclusivity. Not everybody has access to Benny the Bull. Not everybody has access to the Lovables, but that’s what makes them so special.

Promoting Entertainment Teams

[33:17] Don Costante:

How do you go about promoting each of your entertainment teams? What resources do you utilize?

[33:22] Michelle McComas:

You want to start out by like in the off season, really trying to see if there are any corporate partners that align well with what your purpose is for those performance teams, because the partners are going to help you amplify what it is you want to do. You’re going to have additional resources. You’re going to have their audience as well. And if they’re on the same page, it’s just better execution. Like I love how Bright, who presents the 312 crew, it’s like perfectly aligned in terms of their target audience, the activations that they want the 312 crew to do from live appearances with local hip hop artists or social media content. It like lines up so perfectly and it’s wonderful when that happens. So we look at it from that standpoint. And of course, those teams that have a corporate partner attached to them receive a lot more sort of time and focus.

[34:12] Don Costante:

Are you putting a lot of attention to your website? Are you developing calendars maybe for your dance team or a lot of community appearances, things like that?

[34:20] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, definitely community appearances. It’s important for us. Our community relations department and grassroots marketing is huge for the Bulls and primarily the entertainers that go out and are the representatives because the players can’t always go. Website, they have their pages, but if we’re not investing so much just based on metrics we’ve received. Benny the Bull has developed this amazing TikTok channel and a young audience through that platform. So we’re focused on that. But in terms of like a calendar, we’re a progressive company. We feel like our women don’t do calendars. They have autographed cards, but it’s like, wouldn’t it be cooler to have an app? Like Benny the Bull has his page on the Bulls app on game night and he’s got his own game night story happening. So again, it’s more digital and more innovative. We’ve been really blessed with a really great digital team to support us and develop new ways for our performers to interact on the next level.

Social Media and Digital Engagement

[35:13] Don Costante:

Speaking of digital, how do you utilize social media to engage and interact with fans? What are the platforms that have proven most effective for each one?

[35:22] Michelle McComas:

Yeah. The evolution of TikTok and Instagram Reels has been really great for our performers, particularly Benny the Bulls, the Lovables, because that’s what they’re doing. Kids are dancing on those platforms, having a lot of fun. We’ve been focused on that. You know, a lot of awesome video content. Benny is the most followed mascot on social media of all sports. He has a well-developed strategy and is focused on his social media, even today, without any fans. That’s what’s engaging with fans. He even, on TikTok, he’s the first mascot to host a fundraiser benefiting one of our community partners.

[35:59] Don Costante:

Oh, that’s great.

[35:59] Michelle McComas:

Raising some money for their program on TikTok. It was like a live stream on TikTok. It was really, really cool. And he was the first one to do it. We’ve been very lucky to have the support from our digital team to develop that.

Measuring Success

[36:11] Don Costante:

Yeah, that’s awesome. Let’s talk a little bit about measuring success. What is your process that you go through in evaluating your entertainment resources? Who’s involved?

[36:20] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, I mean, you have your immediate response that you know when the crowd really likes what they did. That’s first. Second is the metrics on social media and their digital channels. Who’s clicking? Who’s visiting? Who’s interested? And then we also have, again, our strategy and analytics team is awesome in helping us with fan surveys. We ask them which halftime, like rank all the halftimes that we did, which Bulls Entertainment team is your favorite, which is your least favorite. And she’s really getting feedback from the fans in that way to help us decide how we allocate our resources.

The Lifespan of Entertainment Resources

[36:55] Don Costante:

Now, when it comes to your resources, what do you consider the lifespan of the entertainment? Take the Bucket Boys, for example. They’ve been around for a while. But when you look at the lifespan of some other groups, you know, I know other teams they used to have down in Dallas with those big fat guys that dance.

[37:12] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, we used to have them too, the Matadors.

[37:15] Don Costante:

Yeah, there you go. Yeah. So the question for you, is there a lifespan that you see with the entertainment resources that you have or not?

[37:22] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, I mean, I think, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s like a concrete answer to that. I think it’s, again, based on audience response and also just company strategy. We created the 312 crew four years ago, and they’re like one of our top entertainment teams. The Bucket Boys have been around forever, and their formula hasn’t really changed. But then what’s been fun with them is combining them with the other performers. They had a huge, successful performance with the 312 crew at All-Star Weekend, and it was like one of our favorites and most memorable. So it’s really like the collaborations between the teams.

[37:57] Don Costante:

The mixing and matching of the groups is so awesome.

[37:59] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, it’s really interesting, or having the 312 crew and the lovable do routines together. So it’s more like a hip-hop crew, which is more current right now.

[38:08] Don Costante:

So you’re kind of reinventing all the time.

[38:11] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, totally.

[38:12] Don Costante:

That’s great. I mentioned in the beginning that we would come to COVID and talk about what’s going on now. So first, set the stage, Michelle, for how the pandemic has impacted the use of your entertainment teams. Then talk about live entertainers in the context of this season, and how have you refocused your strategy?

Entertainment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

[38:30] Michelle McComas:

Yeah, absolutely. In Chicago, we’re not allowed to have fans in our building. We very much believe that our entertainers are featured performers and are here to add value to the fan experience. And so if the fans aren’t in the building, we made the decision to not have any entertainment teams in the building. I know other teams take a different approach, but that’s how we felt about it. And we kept Benny the Bull as a staple. And he also has his content on our game night activation on the Bulls app. So he’s got a steady stream of content that he’s producing now, which is primarily for the digital audience and for broadcast. So it’s been interesting and fun to kind of rethink about who your audience really is. And if it doesn’t make sense, if it doesn’t add to the players experience and home court advantage, we just don’t need to do it. Which was kind of a challenge in the beginning to rethink that. But once we started doing that, you could tell if it made sense or not. So in the context of this season, we’ve really refocused in terms of we still use our performers. They still have their consistent presence on their social media channels.

[39:34] Michelle McComas:

We have kept the Junior Lovables program going, but it’s virtual. So we can just continue to have that touch point through the season and developing our young audience. We’re going to be activating virtual fans for the second half of this season. So we’ll be leveraging the Incredibles to help us activate in the virtual space and get the crowd going on the scoreboard. We’re very concerned about safety and we’re not putting anyone at risk. So we’re not really rehearsing. There are no featured performances right now. We’ve really been focused on our activations on digital and our obligations and things that we want to add value for sponsors.

[40:08] Don Costante:

That makes sense. So, Michelle, we’ve come to the final question. For those listening to today’s discussion, what are your final thoughts?

Final Thoughts From Michelle McComas

[40:15] Michelle McComas:

You know, I think in the context of COVID, not having fans and thus not having, you know, all the entertainers that we’re used to has really made me appreciate them and really has made us really think about the value that they provide to our fans. And with now that we don’t have this like whirlwind of production every single game day, it’s really the absence of that. It’s given us a time to really recalibrate, restructure and make sure we’re adding value to the organization, to the fan experience whenever it is that fans do come back.

[40:50] Don Costante:

Awesome. Well, Michelle, I can’t thank you enough. Great information. I wish you the best with the remaining part of the season. And if I can ever assist you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. It’s been great catching up with you again.

[41:02] Michelle McComas:

Oh, likewise. It’s what an honor. When I saw who else was on your podcast, I was like, oh, wow. What an honor it is to be included with this roster. Thank you so much for having me. It was awesome.

Don Costante’s Key Takeaways

[41:16] Don Costante:

What a great conversation with Michelle. Michelle and her staff have done a fabulous job of establishing a variety of entertainment resources designed to reach different fan demographics. That strategy combined with their creativity and the quality of execution in their performances has added tremendous value to the Chicago Bulls. With so much information covered in our conversation today, here are a few items that stood out to me. When I asked her about her event presentation philosophy, I absolutely loved her response. She said, it’s all about connecting with your audience. Everything starts and ends with the audience. Understanding who they are and what moves them. I particularly like the quote that she provided. Don’t talk to yourself. Talk to your audience. When I asked Michelle about which entertainment team has the greatest impact with Bulls fans. Sure. She mentioned the staples, the mascot dance team and cheer team, which are all fan favorites. But I loved what she said, too. She said that the secondary entertainment teams crush it because they’re not there every game. Having that type of strategy, a strategy in which you utilize your entertainment teams for impact versus quantity can have a dramatically positive effect with fans.

[42:31] Don Costante:

Now, when I asked about what separates an average entertainment group from one that’s great, Michelle stressed the importance of being different and connecting with the audience. The great groups are the ones that make their performance look tight, clean, sharp. They make it look amazing and easy because they put the required work into rehearsal prior to going live. And how about when I asked her about what her creative process was? She’s all about picking everyone’s brain and allowing them to be part of the collaboration process. Also, I loved when Michelle said, talk to the experts who are doing the work, give them the vision and find out what they can execute on their end to make the performance its best. And finally, I enjoyed her final thought regarding the context of dealing with COVID and not having fans or the entertainment teams she’d normally have. It’s made her really appreciate entertainment resources and the value they provide to the fans. Also, not having to focus on entertainment production every game day has given her the time to recalibrate and restructure with the mindset of adding value to the organization and the fans when they do return.

[43:40] Don Costante:

Now, those are just a few highlights from our discussion that resonated with me. As always, I hope you found the information covered beneficial. I want to thank Michelle again for being on the podcast and for sharing her thoughts and best practices with all of us. Well, that wraps up this episode of The Rundown. As always, I encourage you to reach out to me and share your thoughts and or questions and send them to [email protected]Email The Rundown. That’s [email protected]Email The Rundown. Also, I would really appreciate it if you would subscribe and share this podcast and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. And until the next time, I’m Don Costante.