Get to know R/GA Ventures’ New Strategy Director: Fielding Jamieson
R/GA Ventures is excited to welcome Fielding Jamieson as our new Strategy Director for the Global Sports Venture Studio, a platform shaping the future of the fan and athlete experience through collaborative innovation between the world’s leading sports organizations. Formerly the Director of Business Partnerships for LIFT Labs at Comcast NBCUniversal, Fielding will oversee corporate innovation strategy and business development opportunities by engaging with emerging technology, digital media, and startups around the world.
We sat down with her to get to know more about her background, her interests, and her take on corporate innovation, sports, media, and so much more.
On Corporate Innovation
How do you define corporate innovation? There are plenty of definitions of corporate innovation, many of which are something intellectual like “a corporate practicing innovation.” So instead of giving a vague definition like that, I can talk about what I think it means for a corporation to commit to innovation. To me, that commitment shows a corporation’s desire to never settle, their willingness to disrupt themselves before a competitor does and that they have guts.
Innovation is hard. Even to admit your company needs innovation is sometimes hard. But the reality is, every company needs to innovate. No one is safe settling. I mean look at the state of large corporations right now: we have eCommerce companies buying grocery stores, search engine sites launching driverless cars, and cable companies becoming healthcare companies. Driving straight ahead in your lane is a thing of the past, companies need to zig-zag all over the highway to find ways to stay relevant — and that is exactly what innovation is.
What advice would you give to early-stage startups wanting to work with larger organizations?
Top 2 things:
1. Do your homework but assume they haven’t done theirs. If you are meeting with a corporation, take 30 minutes to do a little homework on that company and the person you are talking to. What is the latest news for that company? What brands might they have that you would want to work with? Any press about their work with other startups? Etc. Try to then weave some of this knowledge into your presentation to make it relevant to your audience. It isn’t fair but assume that the corporation has done none of this prep. Never go into a first meeting without a prepared pitch deck and if you have sent it ahead, assume they haven’t opened it.
2. Understand your timeline is not their timeline. Things move MUCH slower at a corporation, even after you get a “yes” to piloting something. Plan and resource accordingly.
What advice would you give to large corporations looking to connect with emerging tech startups? Be a good actor. While the startup community continues to grow at a rapid pace (over 1k startups launched in 2019 alone), it is actually still a very small, very close-knit community. If you do not put in the effort to figure out how your company can best work with a startup (Partner? Invest? Offer services?), the word will get out quickly that you are not a good partner. One place to start, work directly with your procurement team to set up a streamlined process specifically for startups.
On Sports
How has the sports business changed since the beginning of your career? Though it is a more recent change, the change that has had the most impact on me is the new focus on how brands talk to female fans and how leagues and brands are now supporting female athletes. I have a lot of respect for what the US Women’s Soccer team and athletes like Serena Williams and Alysia Montaño are doing for women in sports and frankly, women everywhere. It is a really exciting shift to watch and I am excited to be coming back to the sports industry during this time.
Which areas of sports do you think will see the most growth and/or change by the end of 2020? eSports. I think 2020 will be a huge year for this rapidly growing industry as we see a growing number in youth participation as well as new teams, leagues, and even stadiums forming.
Favorite Sport? This is a very hard question — there are so many amazing sports that I love to watch or play. It’s easier for me to talk about a sport I don’t like. Right now, that sport is Golf. What a frustrating game to learn!
If I had to choose my favorite sport to watch I would have to say Football. Growing up in the South, the high school football games under the Friday night lights are a big deal for the entire community and I have carried that enjoyment of the game with me.
But as a former collegiate athlete, I have to say that my favorite sport to play (and now coach) is Lacrosse. I love the athleticism and skill needed to play and miss my days out on the field.
Favorite team? Right now I have to say the USA Women’s Soccer team. I greatly admire the work they are doing on and off the field.
On Media
What is one thing you always carry with you that came from your experience at Comcast NBCUniversal? I started my career at Comcast NBCUniversal as a young adult, eager to learn from everything and everybody around me. One thing I will always remember is how my amazing managers, mentors, and advocates fostered that willingness and curiosity to help me grow into the executive I am today. I think that some organizations forget how critical it is to truly help develop young talent so they can grow into a highly impactful employee.
Is there an innovation trend in media and entertainment that you are excited about? I am excited to see where the “streaming wars” net out. Right now, it is all a content play in my mind. Content remains king and whoever has the best will get the consumer.
But to be honest, in 7 years or less, I think we are going to end up with Cable 2.0. It’s not going to look like cable does today, time blocked programming on different channels, or be delivered like traditional cable, but eventually, all of these streaming platforms are going to become a nuisance to the consumer. I believe that the consumer is going to want to go to one place to find all of the content they are paying for without having to switch TV outputs, open multiple apps to browse content, remember multiple usernames/passwords, and pay 5+ different content providers. Whoever is able to deliver that to the consumer will “win” in my book.
For example, maybe the TV guide of the future is all your platform subscriptions in once place, displaying the next episode of whatever series you are watching on that platform. AppleTV is already starting to do something like this so I don’t think we are that far off…
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The Global Sports Venture Studio helps some of the biggest names in sports stay head by connecting them with emerging and cutting edge startups. We identify, develop, and operationalize new athlete and fan-focused innovations through pilots, investments, and the creation of new products and services.
Our partners are from the world’s leading sports organizations like adidas, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Fox Sports, Major League Soccer, UEFA, Levy Restaurants, Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers. GSVS programming includes private partner innovation sessions focused on key topics shaping the future of the sports industry, including commerce and retail, esports, sports betting, performance tech, stadium and arena experience, youth sports, data, fan experience, and future media and more.
For more information, please email us at globalsportsVS@rga.com or visit www.globalsportsventurestudio.com.
