Deontre Gray is currently a Creative Ad Solutions Manager at Roku Inc. At the time of this recording, he was working with the NBA on ESPN live sports marketing team, where he’d worked in digital + brand marketing at ESPN for nearly 4 years. Deontre is a former student-athlete from The Ohio State University where he studied business and ran track & field. He also interned with the athletic department there through multiple roles and previously worked with IMG College in marketing. Deontre Gray is an entertainment and sports marketing savant and friend of the show. But above all, he’s someone who’s dedicated to giving back to the community and achieving his definition of success by helping others and carving out his own legacy as such. “Success is measured by how many people you bless.” - Tre Connect with Tre: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deontre-gray/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:55 Running Track & Field at Ohio State, other now-famous athletes he interacted with during that era 4:01 What took Deontre from collegiate student-athlete to working in sports marketing at ESPN 9:55 What Deontre did to make sure he landed an ESPN internship - 12:10 How authenticity differentiates you when networking; don’t just be transactional 15:24 What Tre did in first ESPN internship role in Consumer Insights & Corporate Citizenship 23:05 How Deontre secured a full-time ESPN role after his internship; How to ensure you get a full-time return offer from your internship 31:46 Biggest factors when weighing whether working at ESPN vs other companies Tre had offers at 33:53 How NYC was for Tre when he first moved there 37:52 Deontre’s work as a marketer for the NBA on ESPN 45:02 Tre’s proudest project from his time on the NBA on ESPN Marketing team: - “More Than Just A Game” campaign amidst the turbulence of summer 2020 49:25 What’s it like working at such a large company (ESPN within the greater Walt Disney Company) in terms of getting things done quickly? 52:19 Tre’s thoughts and perspective on things like imposter syndrome, being the only person of color in a meeting etc. within corporate America, and how to overcome it - 56:15 How to leverage being one of the only minorities in a corporate meeting to bring new ideas and your culture’s unique perspectives to what your company is doing 57:46 As a minority, is it an added responsibility to make sure your culture is represented when you’re working within corp. America? - Some people view it as a con: - i.e. con was he was only black person there - You can flip this into a pro: - He’s the only black person there so his voice is most important when it comes to certain topics/ fields/ etc. - 59:45 Articulate your perspective for those who can’t see from that lens 1:00:16 How NBA will evolve over the next decade — international growth, the future of “One and Done” 1:04:04 Three skills someone needs to wield to succeed in sports marketing 1:05:58 Top 3 NBA players of all time - 1:08:44 LeBron Inc book, how GOAT debates are hard due to evolution of modern sports medicine and increased player longevity 1:10:15 Will Luka or Zion have a better career 1:12:29 Who the best rapper in sports is 1:14:02 The Three Biggest Motivators in Tre’s Life - 1:15:32 “Success is measured by how many people you bless.” - 1:16:09 Overlooked forms of currency that are paramount to life 1:16:39 conclusion Podcast info: - Podcast website: https://smartalecshow.com - RSS feed: feed:https://feeds.simplecast.com/ngBH2BfM - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/634MOIW582k2STgC06Rvl9?si=Zr4Fmx2nR6mqaeWNpFCfQQ&dl_branch=1 - Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-smart-alec-show/id1577614268 - Amazon Music & Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/96993c84-1664-4a67-921d-9b731fbdca99 Connect with Alec on Social: - Linktree to all platforms: https://linktr.ee/smartalec Recorded in February 2021
Deontre Gray is currently a Creative Ad Solutions Manager at Roku Inc. At the time of this recording, he was working with the NBA on ESPN live sports marketing team, where he’d worked in digital + brand marketing at ESPN for nearly 4 years. Deontre is a former student-athlete from The Ohio State University where he studied business and ran track & field. He also interned with the athletic department there through multiple roles and previously worked with IMG College in marketing. Deontre Gray is an entertainment and sports marketing savant and friend of the show. But above all, he’s someone who’s dedicated to giving back to the community and achieving his definition of success by helping others and carving out his own legacy as such.
“Success is measured by how many people you bless.” - Tre
Connect with Tre:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deontre-gray/
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:55 Running Track & Field at Ohio State, other now-famous athletes he interacted with during that era
4:01 What took Deontre from collegiate student-athlete to working in sports marketing at ESPN
9:55 What Deontre did to make sure he landed an ESPN internship
15:24 What Tre did in first ESPN internship role in Consumer Insights & Corporate Citizenship
23:05 How Deontre secured a full-time ESPN role after his internship; How to ensure you get a full-time return offer from your internship
31:46 Biggest factors when weighing whether working at ESPN vs other companies Tre had offers at
33:53 How NYC was for Tre when he first moved there
37:52 Deontre’s work as a marketer for the NBA on ESPN
45:02 Tre’s proudest project from his time on the NBA on ESPN Marketing team:
49:25 What’s it like working at such a large company (ESPN within the greater Walt Disney Company) in terms of getting things done quickly?
52:19 Tre’s thoughts and perspective on things like imposter syndrome, being the only person of color in a meeting etc. within corporate America, and how to overcome it
57:46 As a minority, is it an added responsibility to make sure your culture is represented when you’re working within corp. America?
1:00:16 How NBA will evolve over the next decade — international growth, the future of “One and Done”
1:04:04 Three skills someone needs to wield to succeed in sports marketing
1:05:58 Top 3 NBA players of all time
1:10:15 Will Luka or Zion have a better career
1:12:29 Who the best rapper in sports is
1:14:02 The Three Biggest Motivators in Tre’s Life
1:16:39 conclusion
Podcast info:
Connect with Alec on Social:
- Linktree to all platforms: https://linktr.ee/smartalec
Recorded in February 2021