About Paul

Suitable for framing. I hope I'm not on a Post Office wall.

It seems we never get there the way we thought we would.

When I started working in professional baseball, I quickly learned about cultivating and establishing relationships with customers, and building brand loyalty.

In 1998 I joined the San Diego Padres — not as the smart infielder that could turn a double play or the batter that hit for average and moved the runners (darn). I was responsible for creating highlight reels of games going on in other cities during the Padres’ game. I would record the games, cut a highlight reel at top speed, and have it in the director’s hands around the 6th inning for playback on the stadium Jumbotrons. When the highlights featured the arch-rival Dodgers, they were a big hit.

At the highest level of all professional sports, the fans come to see the games, not the video boards. The key to game entertainment is to complement the on-field action, not overpower it. The best part was the instant feedback. Fans let you know whether they liked what you did or not. There was no waiting for Nielsen research.

In 2002, I headed north to Sacramento to manage the entertainment department for the Sacramento River Cats, the AAA affiliate of the Oakland A’s, directing the entire customer experience. At the minor league level, fans come to the ballpark to gather and spend time with friends and family, and to be entertained. Baseball is a part of the experience, not necessarily the reason to attend. I grew to understand the value of entertainment in terms of sponsorship, advertising, and revenue potential. The collaboration between the sponsors and the ballpark was unique. They wanted to reach out to 13,000 fans a night, and I wanted to make sure they said the right thing in the right environment. During my tenure in Sacramento, we led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance, and even beat out some of the big kids around the region, such as the 49ers and Raiders (NFL), and the L.A. Lakers and Sacramento Kings (NBA).

In 2005, I jumped at the opportunity to join Best Buy and direct the in-store network. At the time, Best Buy had already garnered a technical Emmy award because they had the very first coast-to-coast fully HD broadcast network. When I arrived, the network was only an obscure budgetary line item in the retail void. Within months, I proved the network’s value to the enterprise not just in selling the HDTVs it played on, but as a brand engagement mechanism for the entire enterprise.

Over the course of the next four years, I ran the entire in-store network business, cultivating it into an industry leader, helping internal Best Buy businesses like Geek Squad as well as major brands like Sony, LG, Toshiba, Pioneer, Panasonic, Warner Brothers, Universal, ABC, and CBS. I helped these providers understand the value of telling a compelling story that engages and enables the viewer.

In 2009, I left Best Buy and formed The Preset Group with Dave Haynes and Pat Hellberg. Our goal is simple: To provide collaboration and insight to clients that are looking to enter the industry or are here and need help navigating through it. Because the three of us have “been there and done that,” and by maintaining a neutral position, we believe we can offer a very unique and unequaled perspective to clients that want to get it right, from the start.

Thank you very much for coming to my blog. My hope is that you take away some insight that will help you tell a great story to your customer, wherever the customer is and you want to be.

And if you want to hit the cages, give me a call.