Tell us about Tandem and your role there.

As Vice President of Business Development at Tandem Partnerships, I lead Tandem’s sponsorship strategy, business development efforts, and day-to-day agency operations, with a primary focus on delivering meaningful top line revenue for our represented properties as well as meeting net operating income goals for our ownership.

I stepped into this leadership and revenue-focused role in 2009 after a career spent working directly with rights holders, including professional sports teams across three leagues and global tourist destination properties. That background has shaped the way I approach our work today: with a clear understanding of both the brand partner’s objectives and the operational realities of the properties we represent.

Tandem is a full-service sponsorship agency with a highly talented team spanning sales, client service, creative development, contract management and fulfillment, financial administration, permitting, and on-site activation logistics. Because of that breadth, we are able to manage the full sponsorship lifecycle from initial prospecting and ideation through execution, reporting, and long-term partner retention.

At our core, Tandem serves as the strategic and operational bridge between our brand partners and our property partners’ marketing, PR, operations, facilities, security, and executive teams. Our role is not simply to sell sponsorships, but to build programs that are financially meaningful, operationally sound, brand-aligned, and sustainable over time.

Tandem managed a high volume of activations at PIER 39 during Super Bowl LX week.

How did Tandem and PIER 39 position the property as a destination for brands and fans looking to tap into the excitement happening across the Bay Area?

PIER 39 is one of the Bay Area’s most recognizable waterfront destinations, and because it is a non-ticketed, non-gated property, Super Bowl LX created a unique opportunity to position The PIER as a high-traffic destination for both fans and major consumer brands.

Our strategy was to treat the property not as a single activation site, but as a connected consumer journey. We looked at the full physical footprint of PIER 39 and identified how each area could support a different part of the brand experience while still feeling cohesive to visitors moving through the property.

Because PIER 39 had recently become a Pepsi venue, the property was a natural fit for PepsiCo’s Super Bowl presence in San Francisco. What began as a Super Bowl-specific opportunity ultimately expanded into a broader partnership platform, including a three-year Frito-Lay relationship. The Pepsi experience anchored the Entrance Plaza, while Tostitos, Doritos, and Frito-Lay activations were layered across the east and west sides of The PIER to create a continuous and highly visible brand presence.

The scale of the program required deep coordination across Tandem, Pepsi’s agency partners, and PIER 39’s facilities, engineering, marketing, PR, and security teams. Over several months, we worked through detailed site planning, operations, permitting, crowd flow, talent logistics, brand separation, and protection of official sponsor rights. That coordination was especially important with celebrity appearances from Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Brock Purdy, which generated significant consumer demand and required careful line management and security planning.

In addition to PepsiCo, we also supported concurrent activations with U.S. Bank, Stella Artois and Kalshi, each designed to reach a distinct audience segment and complement the broader energy taking place across the Bay Area. The result was a layered, property-wide activation strategy that allowed PIER 39 to participate meaningfully in the Super Bowl moment while creating measurable value for multiple brand partners.

What advice would you give to other properties, agencies, and sponsorship professionals looking to capitalize on the momentum of large-scale events like the World Cup, Olympics, or Super Bowl, especially when they are not officially hosting the event but still want to create impactful activations and brand experiences nearby?

The most important advice is to start with the property itself. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to peripheral event marketing. The right strategy depends on the property’s physical layout, operating model, access points, tenant mix, existing sponsorship commitments, and proximity to official event activity.

For non-gated, non-ticketed environments like PIER 39, the advantage is the ability to reach a large built-in audience without requiring a ticketed entry point. That creates a natural opportunity to build high-volume, multi-brand consumer experiences that capture the broader energy of a major event while still remaining authentic to the destination.

For larger, more expansive properties such as West Harbor, along the Los Angeles waterfront in San Pedro, the strategy may be different. A mile-long waterfront footprint offers geographic flexibility, which can be used to thoughtfully separate brand experiences, manage category conflicts, and create distinct zones for partners with different objectives or rights considerations.

By contrast, more compact or historically unique properties, such as The Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles, require a much more controlled approach. In those settings, the physical and operational constraints may mean that activations need to remain limited to official event partners or brands with a direct and appropriate connection to the event.

Ultimately, successful event strategy requires discipline. Properties and agencies need to understand what rights they do and do not have, protect official sponsor relationships where required, and be thoughtful about how brand experiences are positioned on-site. The opportunity is not simply to “be near” the event. The opportunity is to create a brand experience that feels intentional, well-managed, and additive to the consumer experience.

What separates a good partnership from a truly great long-term partnership?

A good partnership delivers on the contracted benefits. A great long-term partnership goes so much further. It becomes a relationship where both organizations understand each other’s broader goals and continue to evolve together over time.

The best partnerships are not static. They require trust, communication, flexibility, and a willingness to keep refreshing the program so it remains relevant to the brand, the property, and the consumer. That is what drives retention.

A strong example is Toyota’s long-standing partnership with the OC Fair. Over the years, Toyota has continued to adapt its presence based on changing corporate priorities, consumer trends, and the annual theme of the OC Fair. During the rise in outdoor recreation and overlanding, the activation was designed to feature trucks equipped with rooftop camping tents. As electric vehicles became a greater focus, EVs were incorporated into the footprint. Toyota has also extended the value of the partnership by bringing in elements from its professional sports relationships, including appearances tied to the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

That type of partnership works because it is not built around repeating the same activation year after year. It works because both sides continue to look for ways to make the program more relevant, more valuable, and more connected to the audience.

What partnership trend are you most excited about heading into the future?

I am especially excited by the shift toward immersive, video-forward consumer experiences. For many years, brands relied heavily on static photo moments and step-and-repeat style installations. Those still have a place, but consumers are increasingly looking for experiences that help them create dynamic, high-quality content in real time.

The strongest activations now are not just visually appealing; they are participatory. They give consumers something to do, capture, share, and remember. That creates a deeper level of engagement and often produces more authentic organic reach than a traditional static display.

For properties, this trend is also exciting because it encourages brands to think more creatively about how they use physical space. The most effective activations are becoming more experiential, more social-media fluent, and more integrated into the guest experience.

What’s your favorite part about being connected to the SMA community?

My favorite part of being connected to the SMA community is the opportunity to participate in meaningful industry dialogue. The Sponsorship industry continues to evolve quickly, and SMA creates a valuable forum for professionals to exchange ideas, stay ahead of emerging trends, and contribute to the conversations shaping the future of our industry.

For Tandem, being part of SMA provides both visibility and connection. It gives us a consistent seat at the table with peers, brands, agencies, and rightsholders who are thinking seriously about where the industry is headed.

Ultimately, the value of any professional network reflects what you invest into it. For me, SMA represents an opportunity to learn, contribute, build relationships, and remain actively engaged in the broader sponsorship marketing community.