FLOWERY BRANCH, GA -- The Atlanta Falcons today promoted Jim Smith to Chief Marketing Officer.
Smith has served as the Vice President of Marketing with the Falcons for the past six seasons. He came to Atlanta following five successful years as General Manager and then President/General Manager of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew based in Columbus, Ohio.
Smith, 44, will continue to lead all the Falcons business and market development strategies, marketing planning, advertising and overall marketing sales efforts.
Some of the Smith's responsibilities entail maximizing local and national revenue opportunities by managing all brand affinity, inventory, including stadium assets, broadcast rights, team marketing rights, new media and event marketing. Smith and his partnership sales teams have increased the club's local sponsorship and broadcast revenues by more than 300% since 2003. Smith's impressive work in the Atlanta marketplace has witnessed new partnerships formed with companies like Ford Motor Company, Verizon, AirTran Airways, Russell, Quikrete and SunTrust.
Smith's clever advertising campaign in 2008 accounted for the largest new season ticket sales increase in NFL history. His new media team has received considerable acclaim for its use of emerging technology and social media to provide fans unprecedented access to the Falcons organization, while the club's website is widely regarded as one of the sports media industry's most innovative and engaging.
A product of Milford, Connecticut, Smith earned a Bachelor of Science degree in radio, TV and film at Northwestern University and a Masters of Arts in Sports Management at Ohio State. Before joining The Crew, Smith served as the Associate Athletic Director for Marketing and Communications at Ohio State. He was responsible for the direction and coordination of eight department heads in marketing, athletic communications, publications, external relations, merchandise sales, premium seat services, video services and concessions.
