The 1995 publication of the first edition of The Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management and Marketing was kicked off with nothing less than an industry event: a huge gala for the book that was widely covered by the media. Oprah Winfrey delivered the keynote address to a roomful of industry hcavyweights, the media and friends of the authors. This event helped to launch the book, and also overcome it's weak package (awful cover that was juvenile in presentation, verbose title, clunky size at almost 400 pages, and $32.50 price tag). Despite all of those issues, the book will exceed the $200,000 mark this year, and is still selling even in its fifth year. The second edition affords us the opportunity to repackage and streamline the book so that it is more appropriate for the trade channel. The plan calls for a serious revamping of the entire package, including: A new, shortened title. Original was a mouthful: The Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management and Marketing; A more compact package, going from 380 pages to 292 pages; Coverage of how to use the Web as a sports marketing tool will be integrated throughout (with several new sections on Internet marketing); Reduction of the coverage given to historical aspects of sports marketing, SWOT analysis and other less exciting aspects of the field; More industry information, such as how to enter the field and how to succeed in the industry; Beefing up the action plan boxes that were sprinkled throughout the first edition; Utilizing event management software to plan sports events; More detailed information on the specifics of licensing deals; By eliminating 100 pages and much of the less exciting, academic sections, and by adding fresh material outlined above, we will be creating a much better trade package and a stronger book. Given Stedman Graham's media presence, we have a chance to create a market leading title that is likely to receive a great deal of media attention. Sports marketers, industry insiders, and would-be sports marketers will all be potential buyers of this book. Since sports marketing is often heralded as one of the most glamorous of marketing professions, the new packaging should help us to produce a book with far wider appeal than the first one. In addition, since we had no publicity department when the first edition was published, we should be able to get broad mass media exposure for the new book. Graham is well known both in and out of the sports world, which will help us to secure numerous broadcast appearances. For his last book (with another publisher), he appeared on several national television shows, including Good Morning America. In summary, the new edition represents a unique opportunity, and gives us one more chance to get this book right.

Author Biography

Stedman Graham is President of Graham and Associates, a leading sports marketing firm. He is also a successful author, having written You Can Make It Happen, a self help book published by Simon & Schuster. His firm has played a key role in dozens of key events, including the NBA Legends Pride Classic, the Volvo Tennis Tournament and the Walter Payton Celebrity Golf Tournament. Graham has 25 years of experience in amateur and professional sports, and writes a column for Inside Sports Magazine. He is also founder of the very well regarded Athletes Against Drugs, a not for profit organization of athletes and community leaders committed to eliminating drug abuse among the nation's youth. He has served on the Executive Committee for the LPGA Chicago Sun Times Challenge and the Advisory Board for the Crosby Golf Tournament. He is also the Director of the George Washington University Forum for Sport and Event Management and Marketing. Lisa Delpy is Assistant Professor of sport and event management and marketing at The George Washington University and the faculty advisor for the University's Forum for Sport Event Management and Marketing. Dr. Delpy's international research on the Olympic movement has taken her to 56 countries where she has interviewed and videotaped over 500 sport event managers and participants. Dr. Delpy has attended 7 Olympic Games, raised funds for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and consulted with corporate sponsors and sports commissions worldwide. Joe Jeff Goldblatt is the Director of the Event Management Program at the George Washington University. He has produced corporate events for Marriott Corporation, Xerox and dozens of other Fortune 500 companies. He is the author of the first textbook in the field of special even design and production entitled Special Events: The Art and Science of Celebration (VNR 1988). Goldblatt serves on the board for the Journal of Festivals and Special Events, and was the founding President of the International Special Events Society.