Wear your nametag, go to every evening event, and introduce yourself to others. That’s just the start of what Gordy Rush recommends to any newcomer at the BSM Summit that wants to make new contacts.
That’s expert advice from Rush. And seeing as he’s attended the BSM Summit before, the Vice President and General Manager of Guaranty Media in Baton Rouge is very familiar with how to work the room at the event. And that’s not just other GMs or hosts in other markets. Rush found that everyone at the BSM Summit in New York back in 2020, regardless of title, was willing to talk shop and share ideas.
“I met Pat McAfee at his meet and greet,” said Rush. “Of course, ESPN threw a party. But I’d say go to the parties, put your name tag on, and go introduce yourself to people. Take advantage of the networking time. I’ve also found that the speakers are more than willing to talk to you.”
Rush will be at the BSM Summit in Los Angeles this year. He’s even going to emcee a panel titled From Podcast to Podca$h which includes Matt Berger of Barstool Sports, John Goforth of Magellan AI, Maggie Clifton of Blue Wire, and Matt Mallon from Locked On. Seeing as 104.5 ESPN in Baton Rouge has done an incredible job of creating unique podcast content, which has generated other revenue streams for the company, he’s an ideal choice to lead the panel.
But why did Rush initially want to attend the BSM Summit again? Sure, he’s a speaker at the event, but what’s the draw for someone so established in Louisiana to make the trip all the way to the west coast?
“I thought the content was fantastic,” Rush said of the 2020 BSM Summit. “The level of speakers that you get is of tremendous quality. I remember Erika Nardini from Barstool Sports was there. We had Mike Francesca. And then second is the networking. The fact that every one I need to see in that space is at that event is fantastic.”
It will be interesting to hear how Rush and his staff have generated such a boom in the podcast space. As well as others who will join him on the panel. The great thing is that he’ll be an open book about their success in Baton Rouge, both on and off stage.
It’s also something that might surprise the first-time attendee at the BSM Summit. There’s not an environment of cliques. You won’t see ESPN folks only talking to other ESPN employees, or only FOX hosts talking to each other, or even small market managers only talking to other small market employees. It’s truly a mixed bag all over the room.
That’s the mentality Rush takes to the BSM Summit. Sure, Baton Rouge isn’t one of the biggest markets in the country, but that doesn’t mean he can’t take an idea Mitch Rosen has in Chicago and implement it in his own market. And though he’s an ESPN affiliate and has been on the network’s radio advisory board for close to eight years, he’ll swap ideas from someone at any network.
“I don’t care what size market they are, or if they’re an ESPN affiliate or not,” said Rush. “I think getting that sort of network together is great. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people come through here for Baton Rouge/New Orleans for different events and they’ve reciprocated. Like one of my best friends in the business is Ryan Hatch over in Phoenix, so we’ve hosted a tailgate for his client trip before. That network is for that.”
And that’s a big reason why there’s such a willingness to share ideas at the BSM Summit. No matter your title, PD in a major market, or even an out-of-work host that’s looking for a break, you’re likely leaving the event with new ideas and relationships. Ideas are shared more freely when everyone knows they’re in the room to help.
Rush has seen, and expects to see, the benefit of that when he leaves Los Angeles this year after the BSM Summit. Even when he’s on the stage emceeing, he’ll be listening to what the others have to say about podcasts to gain new ideas. He recognizes the importance of this event.
“I think it’s huge,” Rush said. “Especially coming from a market like Baton Rouge where there are people that are ahead of the game in where the industry is going. We’ve even implemented some of the strategies here that we’ve seen in bigger markets.”
Rush has an incredible story of taking something back to Baton Rouge that didn’t even happen inside the walls of the BSM Summit. What he took back has turned out to be one of the most influential things the company has seen in several years.
There’s another advantage to the BSM Summit. Sometimes you can take a short train ride to learn something new that benefits your station.
“A great example is when we were really way ahead of our game plan and strategy when Louisiana legalized online gaming,” said Rush. “2021-2022 were two of the best years of our company, since 2006. It had been a while. But I went to the BSM Summit and it was when sports gambling was legal in New Jersey, but not New York. We got on the NJ Transit and shot over to Newark just to see how the geofence worked and how the app worked.
“We were really prepared for what to do and through that network, how people capitalize and then to know what the stages were so that you could budget ‘Hey, this is how much that we’re going to come out with and they’re going to maintenance buys’, so I wouldn’t have known all that without being able to be there and talk to people in that network that had already benefited in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and then see how it worked.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
