Turning Cold Calls into Corporate Deals: LaTonya Story shares the Sports Power Brunch Playbook

Ever wondered how the most iconic events in sports come to life? In this episode of Making the Moment, host Aja Bradley-Kemp sits down with LaTonya Story, PR powerhouse and founder of the iconic Sports Power Brunch—one of the most sought-after events during Super Bowl week, celebrating the achievements of women in sports.

LaTonya shares how she built her career from the ground up, starting with a cold call that landed her a role with Allen Iverson’s celebrity event and later evolved into her founding LPS Consulting PR. From working with NFL legends to creating unforgettable sponsor activations with Porsche, Lululemon, ESPN Films, and Cantu, LaTonya reveals the strategy behind creating moments that move people and brands.

Here's just a glimpse of what you'll learn from LaTonya's incredible story:

• What are the exciting new opportunities and the current landscape for women professionals and athletes in the sports industry
• How to build a successful career, even from unconventional beginnings
• What strategies are key for attracting and collaborating with major brand sponsors (such as Porsche, Lululemon, ESPN Films, and Cantu) on event activations
• Why powerful networking and strategic relationship-building are essential for success in the sports and entertainment world.
• How to create emotionally resonant event programming that empowers and genuinely connects attendees.
• How to transform personal passion into a purpose-driven business or impactful event.

LaTonya also opens up about founding the Sterling Legacy Fund in honor of her late son, and how she's using the Sports Power Brunch platform to drive health equity and create legacy through impact.

If you're passionate about women in sports or purpose-driven events, this episode is a must-listen.

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Transcript

Introduction  

We've all seen them, those experiences that stop us in our tracks, the moments that flood our feeds, shift culture, and bring people together. I'm Aja Bradley-Kemp, and I've helped generate millions in revenue and billions of impressions by creating scroll-stopping moments for some of your favorite brands and celebrities. 

This is Making the Moment, the podcast that brings you the untold stories, unfiltered insights, and big ideas from the architects behind the moments that matter. In each episode, I'll show you how to design experiences that not only captivate audiences, but also drive tangible value for your organization. 

Whether you're looking to build buzz, boost loyalty, or drive revenue, I want to help you design customer experiences that truly make an impact. This is for the moment makers and the culture creators. 

Welcome to Making the Moment.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     0:49

Welcome back to Making the Moment, the podcast where we explore the bold ideas, breakthrough strategies, and unforgettable experiences that shape culture and spotlight the visionaries behind them. Today's guest is one of those rare architects of moments that resonate far beyond the event.

I'm honored to welcome LaTonya Story, a nationally recognized innovator in sports marketing and the creator of the Sports Power Brunch, one of the most powerful moments during Super Bowl week that honors the extraordinary contributions of women in sports, both on the field and behind the scenes.

She's been named one of the most 100 influential black women in sports by Sports Illustrated, recognized as a CNN difference maker, and most recently received the Trailblazer Award at the Glitz and Girl Power Awards.

But perhaps her most lasting legacy is the Sterling Legacy Fund, created in honor of her son to provide access to educational resources, mentorship, recreational facilities, and early detection healthcare screenings. I've experienced firsthand how she can curate a room, so I'm really looking forward to today's conversation. LaTanya, welcome to Making the Moment. 

LaTonya                      2:04

Thank you, Aja. That was a beautiful intro. We can actually end the interview right now. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     2:10

I told your whole story, done.

LaTonya                      2:13

Perfect, perfect, perfect. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     2:15

I'm so glad you're here. I've known you professionally for a couple of years but since you're a PR girl I really want to know what young LaTonya was like and how did you end up in pr because I don't know that story.

LaTonya                      2:32

Yes, young LaTonya was, they used to call me the energizer bunny. I was super energetic, very, happy-go-lucky person, I'm still that to a certain extent. But I started 25 years ago and I'm from Norfolk, Virginia so I got started in my backyard, I like to say. I went to Old Dominion University, and I love to tell the story. 

I was driving down the road, heard a commercial on our local radio station. Actually, they have university radio station would play gospel in the morning. And so one of the commercials was for the Allen Iverson Celebrity Summer Classic and at that time in 2000, Allen Iverson was the man-man; The 76ers, amazing AI crossover. 

And so the commercial left a phone number. I called the phone number, I left a message. I get a phone call back and it was from Gary Moore, who was his longtime manager at the time. He invited me out to a volunteer meeting and I remember him going around the table, asking people what they did. I said, well, I'm studying public relations at Old Dominion University and he said, great, you'll be in charge of PR. 

I was like, no, no, I don't know it yet, I'm in class. He said, no, no, no, you'll figure it out. And I did. I did and I'm just so grateful for that opportunity and so I volunteered for two years for that. And from there, of course, having the opportunity to work with Allen Iverson and then in those couple of years, Magic Johnson was one of the celebrity guests, Kadeem Hardison, Kevin Garnett, and so many other people.

But I actually gained my first paid client the second year. I came up with a business name, which is my name, LPS Consultant PR. I got a business license, got business cards, I got brochures and I just started handing them out to people. 

One of the gentlemen who I handed my card to was Aaron Brooks who was the starting quarterback of the New Orleans Saints at the time and he was also from Hampton Roads where we're from and long story short, he became my first paid client and then that's how I got into the business.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     4:52

And the rest is history. That's wild. I never knew that story. You've been in sports from the very beginning so what you've built now, it all makes sense, I'm putting all the pieces together. And it's so interesting that you worked with Allen Iverson. Were you still working with him when he had his Reebok deal?

LaTonya                      5:16

No, so I only did for the Celebrity Summer Classic. I just did his summer celebrity softball game event. So I didn't work with him in capacity of his publicist for his MBA career. I did it for his foundation.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     5:34

The reason why I asked is because I had the opportunity to work with him once as well and it was while I was working with Reebok, and I worked on his speaker launch. I remember he was a bit of a germaphobe. There was no shaking hands, it was fist bumps only before COVID and I was like, AI was onto something back in the early 2000s, no shaking hands. 

LaTonya                      5:58

Literally.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     6:01

Oh, cool. So that really is like a sliding doors moment for you and that's one of those opportunities that I often reflect on in my own career. And I always love to hear other people's stories because it's like if that moment didn't happen, who knows what you would have been doing now? Like, do you think you would have ended up going into sports if that particular moment didn't happen?

LaTonya                      6:26

I always knew I wanted to work in sports and entertainment. I just didn't know how or the process to do it. Growing up in North Virginia, we had so many celebrities from my area; Missy Elliott, Timberland, Pharrell, the late great Magoo, Bruce Smith, Allen Iverson, Michael Vick, and the list goes on and on and on and on. I knew I wanted to be a part of this. I just didn't know how and we didn't have a pro sports team.

But to your point, so many different chain of events happen because of that one encounter, because being the publicist for Aaron Brooks that particular year or maybe the following year, New Orleans had the Super Bowl. Back then they used to mail you literature of all the events that was happening around Super Bowl. 

And I remember receiving in the mail, there was a little blurb in the corner of the newsletter and it said the Marshall Fogg Celebrity Golf Tournament. Again, my philosophy is a closed mouth don't get fed. What did I do? I saw a phone number, I called it and then I spoke to Jennifer weber who was the executive director of Marshall Fogg’s Foundation.

I told her I represented um Aaron Brooks I was familiar with the New Orleans media and so she said we need a media coordinator. She said I can only pay you $500 but we will cover your hotel and then you can come with us to some events. Being in that opportunity and being in that space, that's where I met Emma Smith, Wani Lott, Eric Dickerson, and some of the people who I know now was from working that event. 

And then I went to another event again that I was invited to through Jennifer. I think it was the NFL PA event and I remember walking in and then this lady said, excuse me, who are you? Because again, I'm in my early 20s. She said, who are you? What do you do? I said, my name is LaTonya Story, and I'm a publicist. 

She said, my husband and Mr. McNabb need help. They started the National Football Players' Fathers Association. I was like, that's wonderful and it turned out it was Achilles Smith's dad who was the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals and of course, Donald McNabb's dad who was the quarterback of the Eagles. 

Again, I didn't know either one of these people. This was just the mom seeing me in the hallway. So I see Mama McNabb in VIP and again closed mouths don’t get fed. I marched myself right over there, I see Mr. McNabb, I extend my hand, introduce myself; I said my name is LaTonya story I'm a publicist and I heard you need help he said okay and I gave him my card so. 

Three months later, he gave me a call. I think he sent me an email, I gave him a call and they were my clients for 11 years and from working with them, that's how I became familiar with the NFL, the NFL League office and then that's where I met other players. And then players start to refer their teammates to me and that's how I built my roster.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     9:38

Wow, that's amazing. So relationships, well first, even before that, hustle—

LaTonya                      9:46

Hustle.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     9:47

Relationships, and doing good work and that word of mouth, that's how things happen. So you're working with all of these sports icons, was there a moment or an incident or what was the light bulb then helped you start to shape your belief around women and the power of women led narratives in sports?

LaTonya                      10:15

I actually was a cheerleader in school growing up and so I’ve always been around sports. I'm a Dallas cowboys fan so I’ve always been immersed in sports and I’ve always had an affinity for women in sports. Here in Atlanta a few years ago I actually did an event called Ladies Pigskin Sundays for women who love sports. 

What I would do was host these events for Falcons away games and I did it at Dahlia's restaurant, Shula's, that used to be at the Marriott Hotel on Lenox Road. I would have a DJ. The NFL used to give me prizes for giveaways and then I had this pink football with this pink helmet and I had all this different signage around. 

That was me doing events and I truly loved it. Women would come out, we would have a really good time. So that was the impetus of me doing events curated around women in sports.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     11:20

And then how did Sports Power Brunch then come about? Was that like a natural progression from that event?

LaTonya                      11:28

Yes, actually, Atlanta, we had the Super Bowl in 2019. And so when it came, I was like, I need to do something, what can I do? I want to do an event that honored and celebrated women in sports who I admired. So I really did it selfishly and so my first honorees were Amy Trask, who was the first General Manager of the Oakland Raiders at the time under Al Davis. She was amazing and I really looked up to her. 

And then Lisa Salters, the longtime broadcaster with ABC and ESPN. And then Natara Holloway, she used to be the Vice President in Football Operations at the league office and Melanie Few, the creator of the Super Bowl Soulful Celebration. Then I was recommended and referred to Sharice Williams-G, who was with Pepsi at the time. And so I reached out to all of these amazing women, a few of them I didn't know.

They accepted and they came and I did it at Dahlia's Restaurant and Phipps Plaza. That was the first event, the late great Jovita Moore, the anchor for WSB, a local ABC TV was our event host and LaChina Robinson from ESPN was our moderator. That's how the sports power branch began. It was like a little bit over a hundred people at our first event. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     12:58

And what is it now? 

LaTonya                      13:00

We had 405 attendees in New Orleans and we did it at the Four Seasons Hotel. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     13:09

Yeah, it just it keeps growing and growing. So let's get into the details of this one. What do you think is the secret sauce or the key element in making an event like yours or any event, because I'm sure you've done, especially being in PR, you've done tons of events, what do you feel is that element that really creates an impact and creates that emotional connection when you're designing an event? 

LaTonya                      13:47

There's so many components and I'm doing many things simultaneously but it always starts in the whole city. I’ve been lucky to have a partnership with the National Football League who was my very first sponsor in 2019 and they've grown with me as the event has grown and believed in me and supported me. 

And so it really starts there, having that collaboration with the National Football League open up their arms to allow me to do this event in each super bowl host city so it really starts there. And then from there, wherever the Super Bowl is, I then start to identify on a Reese. I try to make sure that I have someone from the area first and then we kind of build around it. So, let's say, for example for New Orleans then we could always go backwards. 

But for New Orleans, we had to start with Swing Cash, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, WNBA Legend, UConn Legend Champion and then we did Dr Kiki Barnes, who was Commissioner of HBCU Athletic Conference and then around there we then built the other honorees that we had there.

Then also to the venue, over the past few years, I've been able to transition and pivot to have the Sports Power Brunch at one of the Four Seasons properties, except for Miami and for Arizona. But the last few years we've been doing it at Four Seasons, which is beautiful, elegance, upscale, and that really sets the mood.

And then bringing in those partners and sponsors that really help elevate it and then who bring in those amazing activations that people have come to love and look forward to, for the event. And then just creating a program through the honorees again who give amazing acceptance speeches to our event host who has been the amazing Taylor Rooks for the past few years. 

She's with Amazon Thursday Night Football, she's with TNT Sports, and she's just a powerhouse. She really sets the mood as the event goes throughout the evening and throughout the day so I'm just really grateful for that. Then we have our panels that really sets the tone and for the event. And then we have our host networking mixer that everyone gets excited about. Can't wait to sit down, get a chance to meet one another, talk, network, hopefully broker business deals. That's the sports power branch.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     16:47

Those are all elements that definitely stand out from my time in participating and bringing our clients to the event. That it's the location you said, it's the programming, it's the honorees that you have and the sponsors definitely help to set that vibe. And then the people come and it's always the right people. 

The right people come, but then you've also curated the experience for the audience. I think as an event designer here at Conversate Collective, always thinking about the audience, who this is for and having them in mind really helps you then build everything else around them because you know that you're going to give them some value. You're going to create those moments that make it memorable that they can get a lot out of.

LaTonya                      17:50

I'm glad that you said that because I'm very intentional when we're designing the event. I work with Ashanti Brand, who are our event designers, I work with Berk Communications, who is our PR agency and I'm also working for the women in baseball event that we're going to talk about, LeToya Bacon with LAB Public Relations. 

I'm just really intentional with the people who I surround myself with, who have like-minded vision, who also keep in mind that the guests, the honorees, the participants are really a number one priority and I want everyone to have an amazing experience. I can't really tell you how many sleepless nights I have because I really put my all into this and it's so very important to me that everyone has a really great experience. 

Most of the time, even though people come out to the Super Bowl for the other festivities and for the game, we do have a lot of women and men who attend the event who would literally fly in just for the Sports Power Branch and leave. And so to be able to build up that base of people who follow the Sports Power Branch because they know they're going to experience what you just laid out really means a lot to me. 

I'm very intentional how we design the program so everyone feels seen, especially honorees and that's really the most important part to me, is our honorees. Just making sure they feel seen, they feel loved, they're elevated, they're celebrated, many of which they just keep their head down and do their work. And so oftentimes when I reach out to extend the invite to honor them, they're like, me, are you sure? 

I'm like, absolutely. And so it gives me great pleasure and honor to be able to elevate them. And also how we treat them. Again, someone who's a publicist, I know how to deal with talent so I make sure that we fly them in first class, ground transportation, covering their hotel stay, making sure we have right glove service, all of those touch points really make the experience not only for the attendees, but for the honorees.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     19:59

Yeah and it definitely shows you do an amazing job. To your point about people flying in for it, the event traditionally happens on Wednesday of the Super Bowl week so it's early in the festivities. It's not like it's happening on Friday and everybody's going to be there anyway and it's a great time.

It happens on a Wednesday so really before a lot of the big festivities happen, but people purposely book their tickets, get in town ahead of time. Some don't stay for the game but to be able to create this experience that doesn't happen in the mix of everything else. It's not an afterthought for people or it's not oh yeah I'll go because I'm going to be around. It's like you have to be purposeful in wanting to get to the Sports Power Brunch and it sells out every single year. 

LaTonya                      20:58

You took the words out of my mouth, and it sells out. And I tell everyone, I try to give them a Save The Date, I kind of give everyone a heads up notice, it will sell out and it sells out fairly quickly. And to your point, it took us a couple of tries to really hone down, to figure out what day made the most sense that was economical for people to come in.

It's actually less expensive earlier in the week, as far as the hotel rooms, the flights and maneuvering around the city so we kind of found our sweet spot. It's also too less competition that we have too so that way people can experience the other events that kick off Thursday through Sunday. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     21:46

Yeah, love it. There's so many things that you mentioned that I wanted to touch on. Let's start with, I really like what you said about making the honorees feel seen because that's also another value that we have in our business, in our agency and the point of view that we take when we're creating experiences for clients.

We want the consumer, the attendee to feel seen and also be filled with joy when they leave the experience. That is something that I also notice happens at your event, like we said earlier, the vibes are great. But the event itself can touch on some sensitive topics at times. While it's a celebration, the audience and your panelists do confront challenges that women in sports may have and different topics of the day. 

How do you strike that balance of creating programming, and nothing controversial but that's going to touch on the sensitive things, but still it leaves people in a great mood, everybody always leaves on a high and throughout they're on a high throughout, like the vibes are always great, everybody's smiling, everybody's friendly, everybody's engaging, so how do you strike that balance when it comes to the content and the programming that you're creating during the event? 

LaTonya                      23:32

I really think it's about authenticity and so we want to make sure that we're speaking from personal experiences. And also keeping in mind that what you go through more times than not, other people are going through the same thing. And being women in sports, we are a minority in a majority sports, which is fairly men.

And there's even more minority when you take women of color in that as well and it's more minority as the women, whether they're black, white or whatever persuasion they are, the higher you get up to Executive Vice President and Senior Director, those levels are even smaller than that. And so being able to share that experience in a real way, without throwing your company or brand under the bus, of course.

But sharing experiences that a lot of other people may be going through as well. We're talking about salary negotiations, asking for a raise, being able to speak up for yourself. Again, as I always say, closed mouths don’t get fed, one of our honorees, Stacey Allaster, who was the Chief Executive of USTA, who we honored in Las Vegas, got up to speak about how difficult it was when she was being interviewed and then subsequently being named to that role and some of the pushback that she was receiving. 

But she also talked about this book that really helped her about, negotiation and asking for what you want and how that resonated with the women in the room, because oftentimes we don't counter back. We take the first offer that's presented to us where men always counter. And so just being able to hear other women share that experience.

Then we had a panel about women storytellers and women in media, being able to talk about the stories that they're covered, being a woman in front of the camera, some of those challenges, some of those highs and lows as it relates in the industry. So I think one, inviting women who have a story to tell, who are not afraid to tell that story and again, when we have this beautiful array of women in the audience who are normally senior directors and higher, so we have a higher tier of professionals in the room. 

Oftentimes they have gone through things and some of those things they've gone through, they've had to go through alone. So being able to hear other women say this and then for them to kind of reflect internally in their own lives and their own career journeys can really see that outburst of people like, yes, girl, that's oh, my God, finally someone said it and so that's what you're living through and experiencing at the event.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     26:43

And it's also a multicultural experience as well. 

LaTonya                      26:47

Yes, yes. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     26:48

Everybody's represented, which I love. 

LaTonya                      26:50

It's like 50-50 down the middle and that's one thing I love too. I'm intentional about it because, I want to celebrate all women in sports because we have to fight enough as it is being a woman. So we want to make sure there's enough room at the table, a seat at the table, and enough for everyone to eat.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     27:13

Collaboration over competition is what I say. 

LaTonya                      27:17

Yes!

Aja Bradley-Kemp     27:20

Let's talk about sponsors. You've had some amazing sponsors and I don't want to put you in a position where you got to feel like one is favorite or better than the other. But from the activations that your sponsors like Porsche and ESPN and Prime Video, Lululemon, CANTU, they sponsored one year, what have you seen or what advice would you give potential sponsors or just brand marketers in general, when it comes to creating an activation at an event during a Super Bowl week where it's such a crowded space? What advice would you give on creating something that really connects with attendees, really helps them stand out, helps to then elevate the entire experience and make it memorable?

LaTonya                      28:15

Well I have some examples to show. Porsche has been our luxury automotive partner for the past couple of years and it's been such a great experience. Dealing with them on the brand side as we execute what that sponsorship is then they have their agency who they bring in who kind of curates and ideates what that activation is. 

One of the activations they did this past year in New Orleans was based around auric and then they had these beautiful auric colors. And so not only they had their electric SUV on display on the Mont Con outside in front of the venue, which they had decorated. There was like a two tone beautiful colors with the auric colors they had that out front which is their product.

The ROI what they're trying to sell is their new cars but then that was on the outside experience and then inside where the attendees were they had a photo booth. Everyone has a photo booth so how can you make your photo booth stand out and how can you make it different so they had the aura photo booth which was this so you take a photo and it comes out with your aura. On the back of it, it tells you whatever color comes up is what your aura is. 

So red means bold and driven, embodying timeless strength and visionary leadership, you inspire action with your unwavering passion. And so each color represents who you are but it gives you a definition of who you are. But it not only does that, it also empowers you. And you're looking at it and saying, yes, I am trusted. I am steadfast, yes. You look at all of these things and it just really validates you and it inspires you. 

And then they give you an aura notebook. So then you have your journal notebook that kind of all ties in together. And so just being able to have brands who really think about what they're doing, the feels, the emotion of it, so that's one. The partnership with Lululemon. Let me also talk, and I think this is one of the things that a lot of people are interested in knowing is how do you get sponsors, right? 

With Lululemon, this is another example of closed mouth don't get fed and LinkedIn does work. I looked up to try to find who the CMO or who's over at sponsorships or just someone who was a decision maker with Lululemon. I sent a DM, someone responded with her email. She then copied the collective team from North America because they're based in Canada. 

She brought in the North America team, we set up a meeting and then that's how I got Lululemon. This was a cold pitch. I did not know them, didn't know anyone there. And when I tell you they are an amazing partner, have been amazing and again, they're very intentional as well, they were really great. 

Their activation consists of a few things. One, they had the monetary sponsorship, but as it relates to the activation, they had so many goodies because their athleisure wear was amazing. So they had a claw so it was like an amusement park, where you have a claw machine and you can dive, you can pick for prizes. They had the prize in little plastic balls and you would grab, there was a line for that, people were trying to win these prizes.

They had a beautiful photo booth a 360 booth that had their theme that was on the back of it but then we stepped up a little further the following day they did a private in-store shop for honorees and panelists and gave them a spending budget, incredible. And so that was so great and not only they had the beautiful mugs and the little lemon, all of the product that they had was just fantastic. 

ESPN Films, that's a relationship that I've been able to cultivate over the years. One, having my clients being interviewed on ESPN, also representing talent on ESPN. This goes back to what you said earlier, how relationships play a really big part. And so I remember seeing one of the people with ESPN Films, Brian Lockhart, who was a dear friend of mine and just a great supporter. 

We were at another event here in Atlanta and he said, come on, take a walk with me. He was like, I know my team has been going to your events and they rave away about it and I want to support you this year. And so he did in Vegas. They were a great partner for us and that was his first time experiencing.

Like you said, the Sports Power Brunch is one of the events that you don't get it until you're there and when you when you get there you're like ah, I see what everyone is saying. So soon as the event was over, he bee-lined to me and said we're in next year and we're going to do more and he did and they were the presenting sponsor the following year. That just lets you know just the power of relationships, connections, and just putting on a top-notch first-class event because if you build it, they will come. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     34:18

Do you have any fond memories of the CANTU activation? 

LaTonya                      34:22

I do. First of all, I have my pillowcase. I have my comb, my branded comb. I think that was really one of the first big onsite activations that we had a brand to do. I remember the semi-circle, CANTU booth. 

I still remember one of our honorees was in the booth dancing with the colors and the music, it was just beautiful. I just loved everything about it and it was so much fun. It was a great centerpiece as people walked in, they see the step and repeat and then they rounded the corner and saw this wonderful CANTU activation. It was really a highlight and joy for our L.A. event. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     36:02

Yeah, we had a fun time planning that and ideating around that and pulling that together. I still get calls about that. people saying, oh yeah, I remember the CANTU at Sports Power Brunch in L.A.

LaTonya                      36:14

Yes, yes. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     36:17

I'm glad that we were able to bring some value to your event and it's continued to grow so hopefully we'll be back again with a sponsor. 

LaTonya                      36:30

That would be great. That would be great.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     36:32

What challenges did you face or have you faced with getting buy-in from brands? I mean, you're a hustler so you always make it work. But were there challenges in the early days? Are you having any challenges at the moment and in these later years with getting sponsors?

LaTonya                      36:52

The beginning is always difficult when you're first going in because people are not familiar with the event, it's a new event. And so I think with longevity and with time, then we had that on our side as we were pitching different brands. I would say any challenge in sales, you probably have to pitch 100 people to get one answer, right?

And so you just can't give up and you can't be deterred if someone doesn't respond to an email, you don't hear back, you get ghosted, or you do hear back and you thought you had a wonderful pitch, only for them to say the unfortunately part. But it's about perseverance, it's about not giving up. I still get excited when I get that, we're so excited to be able to partner with you. 

I think some of the challenges that we're experiencing now is due to the economy. And so how do people spend, where do they spend, how do they show up? Because there's one side of the sponsorship, the dollar side, but then there's a separate fee for the activation cost and so they think about that.

Then you think about the product seating, that's an internal cost for the brand. And so all those things as the brands are looking around to see where we're going to put our dollars at and who are we going to put them with. So we're lucky to be able to have repeat sponsors over the years, which has really been a blessing and I don't take that lightly.

But I know that we're all fighting for a seat at the table and a piece of the pie and it's just really difficult. There are so many great events and I'm just very fortunate to be able to have the partners that we do have. But right now, the times that we're living in, due to rising inflation and the cost of goods and getting goods here, if the brands are based locally or the United States or if they're overseas and how that affects how they show up and if they can show up.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     39:05

Have you had any really great case studies or examples or feedback from sponsors on the positive impact that the event has had on their brand or their business or their campaign?

LaTonya                      39:20

Yeah, the ROI can show up in a number of ways. It could be in sales, so if they have a product, go to a service where as a result of being at the event, someone purchased that item or someone signed up for that service, is the audience and reach that we have at the event. 

But also, too, is the media is the media that we get from the event, not only do we do a national press release but like for this year, we were able to have a 10-part series with NBC On Her Turf called 10 Stories, One Brunch. In addition, we showed up in People Magazine as one of the best events to attend during Super Bowl week. I was featured in Fan Sighted. 

We’re at Hollywood reporter, we've been in CNN, so just those types of large national media also help the brand as well. But our social media reach, for example, this past year we had 8.7 million reach on social media, 3.8 million social media reach with the audience and then just the interactions, we have over 17,000 social media interactions and this web reach is 4.8 million. So being able to use programs like Coverage Book, brand mentions, to be able to show other brands’ ROI really helps us a lot.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     40:55

That's great. The whole women in sports movement that we're experiencing right now, women in sports is hot and it's bubbling. And really, I feel like in the last two, three years, it's absolutely exploded. As an expert in this space, where do you see are the opportunities either for brands or just in general around women in sports, either in events or products, where are you seeing opportunities for people to be involved in this whole women in sports movement or where do you think it's going?

LaTonya                      41:40

There are so many opportunities, especially now for women athletes and the professional women who are working in sports. For example, as we see the WNBA is definitely exploding, is having a renaissance moment and I love to see it, I'm so excited for that. And then with the emergence of Unrivaled, Unrivaled is a professional women's basketball league that was created by Nafisa Collier and Breonna Stewart to help women to stay in the United States and not have to travel abroad in the off season. 

They're getting paid a fair wage and I'm doing some amazing great things. I'm looking at Kirby Porter who is a Chief Marketing Officer of Unrivaled of all the brand partnerships and deals that she was able to bring for that lead. In addition, it was shown on television on I think TNT and so that in itself It's amazing. 

As far as events, there are so many women-led events. My dear friend Lauren Correnti, who has Deep Blue Entertainment, just did an amazing summit in New York recently. She's going to be doing something in Cannes that she posted. There's Playmakers, who is led by my great friends Asani Spahn, Lisa Joseph, Carmen Wilson, and Shannon. They do top tier events, also the media platform Together, a great way to find out more about women in sports and the business of sports and everything that's going on. 

And then She Got Time, Swing Cash has this amazing sports summit that she's doing in Las Vegas that's coming up next month. Because She's Got Time and it's a multi-day event where women can learn about the business, those emerging careers in sports and hear from an array of different speakers. So there's so many events and opportunities for brands to be a part of it. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     44:02

That's great and there's so many there that I didn't even know about. So you'll have to send us all those links so we can put it in the show notes for people to follow up about. 

LaTonya                      44:13

Absolutely.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     44:15

I know that part of the Sports Power Brunch is, the money goes to honoring your son's legacy, Sterling.

LaTonya                      44:27

Yes.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     44:28

How did that come about in terms of using this event as a platform to keep his memory alive?

LaTonya          44:36

Thank you for asking. My son Sterling passed away in 2019, two days before Christmas from malignant lymphoma cancer. Unfortunately, he died without knowing he had cancer, he was misdiagnosed. They said he had one thing which wasn't fatal and it turned out his dad found him passed away in his room two days before Christmas and we didn't find out until his autopsy report that he had cancer. 

Obviously we were devastated, we were sad, we were angry and, and just all these different emotions, many of which I didn't even know what to do. But I do know one of the things that my pastor Bishop William Murphy told me was to not get stuck in grief. So many people who lose a loved one spiral. In our case, if we continue to dwell on how did this happen, how did they miss it, what could we have done, is it our fault?

Those things can drive people literally to the brink. But those words of encouragement really helped me. And so the first couple years after his death, we gave money to the American Cancer Society. And then a friend of mine was a part of Athletes Charitable, which is a fiscal sponsor to help people who want to start their foundation. 

It kind of help with the back end while you focus on programming and your mission. And so we started to still on legacy fund to help with health equity, health education, recreational, my son grew up playing basketball, we can bring it back to Allen Iverson, his favorite basketball player was AI. When he passed away, he still had an AI fathead on his wall and he was 30 years old. 

AI has always been a part of my family and meant so much. And so part of the proceeds, what we do, we renovate basketball courts called Sterling Courts in honor of Sterling. We partnered with Microsoft who comes in and renovates the computer lab, team center and makers’ lab. We did 1 in Las Vegas, we just did one in New Orleans. That's kind of wait for us to continue with this legacy, but as it relates to health education, health disparity, we partnered with Hampton University, proton cancers cancer Institute. 

We gave them a donation and Microsoft matched it for their student internship program for those who are going into the medical field. And then we also partnered with Thomas Jefferson University to give a substantial grant to them to be able to go towards their Step Up Medicine and Step Up Nursing Program, which helps black and brown kids get ready to study to go into medical school. Those are some of the ways that the funds that people contribute to the event goes to help others in need.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     47:56

Well, that's a beautiful way to give back and it really does keep his memory alive and makes it so that his passing wasn't in vain because it's now able to help other people and educate them. We can go on a whole rant in a different direction about the healthcare system, we won't do that today.

LaTonya                      48:25

Exactly. One of my friends told me something when we unveiled our first court and it just really made me burst out into tears. She said to me, one day a young lady and a young man are going to say, I grew up playing basketball on a Sterling Court and now I'm in the WNBA or the NBA because that's where I used to play it.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     48:52

That's true. That's true. I can't wait for that day to come. I hear there is something happening and you're cooking up for Atlanta in July. Can you give us some scoop?

LaTonya                      49:07

Yes. I'm super excited. This is the first year that we are doing Women In Baseball. We're doing the Sports Power Brunch, Women In Baseball presented by New Era Cap. My good friends in New Era Cap have been coming to this first power branch and just been great partners. They've also been great partners for the Sterling Legacy Fund, providing Sterling Court hats for all of the young kids. 

And so once the event was coming, MLB All-Star was coming to Atlanta and it's not affiliated with them, I couldn't not let another big event come to Atlanta and we not participate. And so I went to our good friends at New Era Cap and asked about her doing for this event and they said, yes, in an instant and came on as our presenting sponsor. 

We're super excited. We're going to honor Lonnie Murray. She's the first black woman to be a licensed MLB PA certified agent. She's also CEO of Sports Management Partners. Catie Griggs, she's the President of Operations for the Baltimore Orioles and Raquel Ferreira, she's the Executive Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the Boston Red Sox. I'm over the moon excited for these women, for people to get to know them, know their story and then we're going to do a Women of the Diamond panel.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     50:46

Oh, wow. 

LaTonya                      50:47

That's also going to be presented by New Era Cap. For that, we're going to have Jesse Liddell McMullen, who is the Director of Marketing for New Era Cap and my good friend, Asia Gholston, she's the Vice President of Brand Marketing for the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings. She used to be in the NFL at the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Coach Stephanie Groves, she is the Major League Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Houston Astros. We have an amazing lineup of iconic women in baseball and I'm just so excited for people to get to know them, experience it. I can't forget to say that our event host is going to be Jessica Mendoza. She is with ESPN. She is the MLB and software analyst. 

And AJ Andrews will be our corporate host, and she is the host of MLB Network and Reach TV. We just have some powerhouse women. I'm just so excited and fired up for people to come to Atlanta to experience it. Once again, we're joined at the Four Seasons in Atlanta in midtown. I'm just so excited for it. And I can't wait for people to experience it and a new experience for us, being able to celebrate women in baseball.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     52:12

Right, yeah, so you're going into a whole new lane now. Are there still tickets left for this event?

LaTonya                      52:18

We have a few tickets left. They're going fast so if you haven't bought your tickets yet, go to www.sportspowerbrunch.com and we'll give you details on how to purchase a ticket.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     52:29

Yeah, get those tickets because they will go. So what does the future look like for you with the Sports Power Branch? Because before we got live, you mentioned that you've retired from PR. Congratulations. 

LaTonya                      52:46

Yes. So thank you thank you.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     52:48

Is Sports Power Brunch now your full-time baby?

LaTonya                      52:52

It is, yes. Sports Power Brunch is my full-time endeavor um so people say you really didn't retire and I’m like I retired from representing talent. And then, of course, the Sterling Legacy Fund, my attention is to that full-time now as well. But for the next three years, we know where the Super Bowl will be so we have San Francisco that's coming up in 2026 that we're working on right now. 

After San Francisco in 2027, the Super Bowl will be in Los Angeles and in 2028, the Super Bowl will be back here in Atlanta. So I'm already planning for the next three years of the Sports Power Brunch. But for us, the next evolution of the Sports Power Brunch is for it to be an actual award show for television or streaming and so that's what we're working towards now.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     53:47

That is super exciting. When you first came up with this idea, did you ever think you'd come this far? 

LaTonya                      52:57

Not at all. Not at all. And no, because again, if I go back to why I started it, I started it to honor women who I personally admired. And so to be able to see it grow from being at Dahlia’s Restaurant with a little over 100 people to being over 400 people with a wait list that we have to close because we can't accommodate it, that we now have to get bigger and bigger venues, it's just a blessing.

I did not anticipate it, it's one of those unicorn experiences and so I'm grateful that people support it they look forward to it each year and I'm grateful to the brands’ participation in the event.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     54:49

I love a common theme that I've heard in talking to different business owners, whether it's an event property or if it's a location, an immersive experience, the common thread that I always hear is it's rooted in some kind of purpose, personal passion, it has a strong foundation. And I think that is one of the recipes to creating something that is going to be enduring is that it is an authentic passion of the person that is producing it. 

LaTonya                      55:32

It is and I love it so much, I really do. It takes me a year to plan the event. I had a shorter runway for the Women in Baseball event but our signature event that we do during the Super Bowl, takes me a year to plan. It's a big undertaking.

Again, I definitely can't do it by myself so I have great partners with the Shante brand, Bird Communications, wonderful brand partners so that I'm not doing it alone. Again, I'm super excited for our event hosts. I'm excited about Jessica Mendoza for the Women in Baseball and Taylor Rooks, who's just been a doll and a blessing to work with and we look forward to the next few months making an announcement for our lineup of honorees for San Francisco. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     56:26

Oh, looking forward to it. So watch this space. Where can people follow you and keep up with all the things for Sports Power Brunch?

LaTonya                      56:35

Our website is www.sportspowerbrunch.com. We're on TikTok at Sports Power Brunch. We're on X at Sports PWR Brunch. We're on Instagram and Threads at Sports Power Brunch and I'm on all platforms at LaTonya Story.

Aja Bradley-Kemp     56:56

Wonderful. Well, thank you so much LaTonya, for being here with us and sharing the story of Sports Power Brunch. Wishing you continued success and I will see you at the baseball event. I will be there. 

LaTonya                      57:10

Yes. Yes. Looking forward to it. Thank you for the time. 

Aja Bradley-Kemp     57:14

Moment made. Moment Makers talk about a powerful story. Thank you so much, LaTanya, for showing us how to turn a vision into a legacy and how to build an experience that doesn't just inspire, but moves people. We'll be back soon with more conversations from the frontline of the culture. 

But before you go, do me a favor; take a moment to rate, subscribe, review, and share the show with your fellow marketers, creators, and culture shapers. It helps more people discover us. You can follow us on social at MakingTheMomentPod for bonus content and until next time, don't forget to make your mark and make your moment.