Episode 35: Even though it’s 2020 - You Can Still Knock it Out of the Park: Failing It! with Lauren Fritts, VP of Marketing at The Chicago Cubs
“2020 was the year the world slowed down and looked in the mirror.” - Lauren Fritts
Are you a leader who has had to juggle the curve balls of the pandemic all while parenting at the same time? Perhaps you are a leader who had to throw in some “pinch hitters” when you realized that the world stopped and live events were no longer a “thing?”
If we’ve hit a homerun here, then put on your baseball caps - because we are taking you “out to the ball game” (ok the virtual ball game) with todays’ guest.
Failed it! Fam, please give a warm welcome to Lauren Fritts, the Vice President of Marketing for the Chicago Cubs to the show!
In today’s episode, Lauren tells us all about:
The leadership role she embodied and the pivots she led her team through when COVID-19 hit and live events were cancelled.
The journey of her fascinating career in sports marketing (through the lens of her failures, of course!)
How she navigated the uncertainty of the pandemic as a leader, parent, “teacher” and boss.
She teaches us that even though it’s 2020 - there ARE ways you can still knock it out of the park. Let’s play ball!
Links from show discussions:
About the guest: As Vice President of Marketing for the Cubs, Lauren oversees all fan engagement touchpoints for the Cubs & Wrigley Field inclusive of CRM, brand identity, activations/events, multi-platform advertising, promotions, broadcast relations, gameday entertainment, social media, and Cubs Productions.
Previously, Lauren was global Director of Consumer Engagement for Gatorade where she drove creative and media go-to-market strategies and had accountability for brand-owned experiential activations, influencer marketing and sports culture driving platforms. Under her leadership, Gatorade creative assets, events and media partnerships were consistently awarded top industry honors. Prior to joining Gatorade, Lauren spent time in lobbying and public affairs working with sports team owners, worked in the Kansas City Chiefs media relations department, and spent time in the Sprint corporate partnership group working on NASCAR.
About the Host: Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the failed it! Podcast. She’s a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
You can follow the failed it! Podcast on Instagram and facebook, and you can follow Erin here on Instagram. We can’t wait to connect with you online!