[Knight Talks opening music] Welcome to Knight Talks, the Universit of Florida College of Journalism and Communications talk show produced by students for you.

I'm Danny Fuentes, a first-year student studying Media Production, Management and Technology.

Our guest here today is Sur Melendez, a Gator who worked for multiple big-time brands such as Adidas North America, the Miami Dolphins and the Tennessee Titans.

Now he's the Vice President of content, creative and brand for th Arizona Cardinals Football club.

Hi, sir.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

What inspired you to study fine arts at UF, and how did that establish a foundation for all the work you've done now in your career?

Well, thanks for having me.

This is exciting.

I didn't actually come to study fine arts.

I thought I wanted to be an architect, and the program here is amazing.

So I came up, originally as aspirations of being an architect.

And so I was in the program for a while, and, did well, but I just didn't, it just wasn't my thing.

And so I shifted gears again.

I wa I was a creative kid growing up.

So I thought, okay, what's a really cool respectable job for my parents and still be artistic architecture.

And so, when I did the program, I started seeing all the fine arts kids doing stuff that I really kind of gravitated towards.

And so then I, you know, with a lot of stress and anxiety, I switched, which when I look back it was like, why am I stressing?

And I would say I didn't really know that my studies I didn't know what it was going to bring to me.

I had no idea, yo know, what the world had for me.

I didn't even know graphic design was a thing.

And it just kind of laid the groundwork and let me just do my thing.

I mean, I rely on it no because I really kind of found my space in my career, so I'm super grateful that I had the opportunity to do it.

So thoug your studies were in fine arts, you went on to open a chain of restaurants in South Florida and then you worked in finance.

So even though you weren't working in the design field, how did that time affect your career and how did those still prove as valuable experiences?

So, that's a great question.

So, I was still figuring it out.

When I left school to start a restaurant chain with a close friend of mine in South Florida, it was because hospitality was something that came natural.

So we opened up a chain of restaurants in South Florida.

We were successful, but it really wasn't what I wanted to do.

I mean, I learned a lot of great things, and I worked with on of my best friends in the world.

But it wasn't where my heart was.

So when I went into finance, it was, kind of to find myself, like, figure it out.

And so, I started working at a bank because my whole family worked there finance.

So, like, I was the one that was not the finance guy.

But I ended up jumping in ther and kind of figuring things out so I could kind of see what I want to do.

I came to a crossroads.

I was actually doing pretty, pretty good.

And I was lined u for a promotion that would have, like doubled my salary at the time.

And so I felt like starting my life with my wife, career choice, like this this might have to be the path.

And it kind of freaked me out a little bit because I just knew in my heart of hearts it wasn't really where, like, I was good at it, but I just that's not what made me excited.

And my very wise wife told me, like, you need to be happy.

Like, do the thing that makes you happy because you're going to really, you know, you'll excel.

And it just so happened at the bank, the partners of a small ad agency in Miami, were clients friend of a friend type of thing.

And they had some job openings, and I was able to apply for a job.

But the only job that I was qualified to do, which was like the crazy this is like how messed up life is.

So, like, the only job I was qualified to do was a finance job at an ad agency, because that professionally, that's only experience I really had.

So I was working on contract and kind of all the financials for these big brand like TV spots and things at this really small, hot creative shop in Miami, and yeah, that kind of just wiggled my way in, you know, opened the door a little bit.

So you had to build your way up to Yeah.

Yeah.

So like, one thing led to another.

So I guess, you know, that was good.

Yeah.

No, it ended up working out.

So that's awesome.

Yeah.

And then later on in 2005, you began working for Crispin Porter + Bogusky, like you mentioned.

What roles did you hold there, and what types of projects did you get to work on?

So, I was really lucky.

The agency was small, it was growing, and they were going from small boutique shop in Miami to a global agency.

And it was because they had lot of really smart people there really talented, really smart.

And I say I'm lucky because I got, I mean, I got in with a finance job, and I was seeing the work, and I remember asking one of my friends who's a studio manager there and said, “Hey, you know I kind of do this on the side.

Would you like to see my portfolio?” And he looked at me like, you're an accountant.

Like, you dont, what?

What are you talking about?

And so I put a really bad portfolio together and showed it to them.

My saving grace was that they were very unconventional and open-minded.

So they were looking for talent from anywhere.

It didn't matter if you had, like, a thirst or a passion for it, like, they give you a shot.

And so I got a shot as a junior production artist in their studio, and my first jo was to work on a Volkswagen ad, which was crazy, like a print ad back when we made print ads, it was nuts.

And yeah so it was I was super excited because I was doing something that was really amazing.

And so I just did that and we just were, we were hot.

So we were hittin and winning a lot of business.

And the job that I had as a production artist was, you had these art directors and these creatives, they would make these really killer ideas and campaigns, and after they would make it and then it would get sold to a client like they want to make it, then they would give it to a production artist to actually execute, to like make the print ad, make the billboard, make, you know, all those kind of the smaller things.

And like many, many of them.

Right.

So I got a lot of reps, technical reps.

So I just kept doing that and growing and learning the business.

And then one day, they asked me if I wanted to be an Art Director, and they made me really nervous because they were like, hey, we're going to show the big boss your portfolio, get it ready for tomorrow.

And it was like the end of the day.

So I didn't sleep.

I put a portfolio togethe and they didn't show it to them because they were just like, “No we just wanted you to, you know, kind of put your stuff together, but we were going to give you a job to work on this other stuff anyway.” And, yeah.

And so then I ended up working as an art director.

Someone had left for vacation for a month, and so I filled in for her, and I got to concept on some Nike ads, which was crazy, like, what?

You know?

and then, yeah, just kept going, like, we had a lot of great I just kept growing in that role.

And we had a lot of grea clients: Volkswagen Mini, Miller Lite, Nike was in there, Best Buy, American Express like just all these Coke Zero.

We launched Coke Zero in the US.

Like all these crazy brands that I was in the right place at the right time.

Once you were the Art Director, what were your what did your responsibilities entail, and how did you get to, like, impact the end product of a project?

So, when I first started as a production artist, my job was like very technical, like making the ads.

So, making the files and all the different shapes and sizes of whatever, right.

When you become an Art Director, it's much more conceptual, right?

So the production artist beginnings actually helped me understand, like, the next step in the process, okay.

So as an Art Director, I would get teamed up with a creative writer, okay.

So the copywriter and I would be a team, and then you have multiple teams on an account.

And so Burger King.

Right.

We use a client.

A brief would come in, like hey, they're going to celebrate the anniversary of the Whopper, blah, blah, blah, and come up with some ideas.

So you and the writer would g and start coming up with ideas, and the ideas were literally like headlines.

It's like, okay, this and this and this and this and this and just come up with a ton, maybe some sketches to it's just idea, just overload.

And then we would present to our Creative Director.

Creative Director would sift through the ideas and kill the ones that just weren't going to stick or don't answer the brief, you know, don't answe what the client is trying to do.

And then the whole goal was like, if you could get your ide and then build out the concept and put it in front of a client, like our goal was just to get an idea to a meeting.

It wasn't to make it, like, it was so hard to just get it to a meeting because they were so strict and particular about what these ideas, like, what we should present in front of our clients.

Because once you're in the room with the client, and the client picks a thing, like, you're gonna make it, right?

So its our job as an agency to make sure that we're only putting the best ideas in front of them.

So, yeah.

So my job was to work with the writer, bring these ideas s we can get them into a meeting.

Once, if were lucky and a client would like the idea, then the fun part, we go production, like, we go make things.

That's when we go to Germany into a castle and all that kind of stuff, right?

So yeah.

That's awesome.

And then afterwards, you became the Senior Art Director for Sterling Rice Group, followed by Associate Creativ Director for Victors & Spoils.

How are these agencies and your roles different from the one you had at Crispin Porter + Bogusky?

So Crispin was special.

There are a lot of if you look at some of the alumni at Crispin right now, they're either running like global agency networks or they'r in really influential positions.

It was a special time, a special place.

So, a lot of these other agencies that I worked for, they wanted a little piece of Crispin.

It was like, “Hey, can you help us do what they did?” Right?

And so when I went to Sterling, it was local.

I was also shifting gears, with my life.

When I had my first child, I stepped away from Crispin and went to Sterling to slow it down.

And so my role there was as an Art Director or Senior Art Director, and it was to come up with ideas, help them sell.

It was just different set of clients.

They had they were in a different type of category, like, they're more in a culinary category.

When I shifted over to Victor's, Victors was a bunch of Crispin alumni.

And it was a smalle and it was a different type of it was a different type of model for an agency.

But it was small, and we captured a little bit of that magic from Crispin.

And I got to work with some of those really great peopl that I was working with before.

By that time, we had our second child, and that's when my wife left Crispin because she worked there as well.

And then I shifted gears, yo know, and left the agency world.

And then afterwards in 2012, yo became the Senior Brand Manager and Creative Director for Adidas in North America.

How did that opportunity come about, and what were some of the campaigns you helped shape there?

So, that opportunity, it's always like, right place, right time type of thing.

When my life started to change, I thought, you know, I want to line up with something I'm a little more closely passionate about: sports and health.

So when I looked at the brand like Nike and Adidas and stuff, I just put up, you know, applications to see if there were opportunities.

And I was lucky enoug to get a callback in Portland.

They were in Portland, Oregon.

Adidas, they wanted to create an in-house team for their North American sport performance group, and I had great experience doing that at Crispin and the other agencies because I would just go in and build.

And so my job there was to build.

That's so cool.

And you mentioned earlier how, like, when you transitioned to Adidas, it was, like, more in-house rather than, like, working through an agency.

What was that transition like?

That's a good question.

When you're in an agency, like, in-house or client side, it's like the opposite side of the coin because you're in an agency, you're working o all of these different clients, and there's a different, there's like a different muscle, like a different creative muscle when you're doing that.

Because you could be and this happened to me like we would have like Harley Davidson, you know, and you're thinking a certain way for Harley.

And then it's like breastfeeding pillows at the end.

So it's like you're shifting gears and you're like thinking differently and, like, different consumer.

So you go wide.

When you go in-house, you go deep.

So it's like now you take a brand, and now you really grow the brand.

You evolve the brand year after year.

You see where it can go and how to grow the business.

If you're in an agency, you're fortunate to be able to have a client yea after year, especially nowadays.

it's really more short term.

But when you're in-house, like, you just get to grow it, it's really cool to watch it grow, you know?

That's so cool.

So I want to, like, get to know more about, like, your creative process.

So when you're confronted with a new project, where do you even start with that?

You start with the brief.

So, usuall that's how projects would begin.

Like, what are you trying to accomplish?

And that' usually the very first question I ask my team when they show me work to evaluate.

I ask, “What are we doing with what are you trying to accomplish?” Right.

So it's what are you trying to accomplish?

Who are you talking to?

You know, what do you want the consumer to what do you want their outcome to be?

You know, is it like a purchase?

Is it an engagement?

Whatever.

So like when we get a brief, a good brief, start there, we try to answer it.

I usually start straightforward in the beginning, try to answer the brief and then we try to answer brief from another direction.

So an example would be like if at Adidas, if they wanted to sell the lightest shoe, like that was one of the product benefits, the lightest running shoe or something.

We could start with that and talk about, like, light shoes, but then we can like take it further in, like, what does that mean?

Weight?

Maybe, you know, like the opposite of heaviest shoes.

Do the heaviest shoes do something different than lighter?

You know, things like that.

Try different ways in and see what, see what sticks.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

And then later in 2014, you became Managing Director over content and creative for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium.

What were your goals in that role?

So, that was interesting.

The CMO at the Dolphins used to work at Burger King, and she knew that agency that I worked for, and she was familiar with the work.

She wanted to do and create something different at the Dolphins.

And so did the CEO.

And they were going throug a bit of a brand transformation.

And so I got in there maybe 5 or 6 months after the new CE who wanted to elevate the brand.

And so I came in to build a team, to build process, to grow the brand, to help them elevate their presence in the marketplace.

So, I love it because I grew up a Dolphins fan.

Me too.

Oh, there we go.

Yeah.

So yeah, I loved it.

It was very special for me.

It was personal.

And we got to see a lot of good success, like, we did a lot of we did a lot of things because I was using a lot of the lessons I learned at the agency.

And I wasn't from inside the NFL or inside sports.

It was just a little different for everyone.

So we got noticed and we kind of rattled the cage a little bit, you know, got to I was fortunate enough to speak i front of some of my colleagues in the NFL, like at conferences and stuff like that, because the Dolphin were doing something different.

Yeah.

And I want you to speak a bit more on that because I know, like, the Miami Dolphins basically changed the way sports teams approach creating content.

So how was working at Miami a unique experience?

And, you know, how did you guys, like, create together?

So the difference, we did a lot of different things, but one of the main things was we didn't look at other NFL teams, like the league, any of these sports, like there's like an echo chamber, like they all kind of copy each other.

And, when I got there, I didn't think the work wa very good, like across sports.

And it was because I came from a different industry that did things a little differently.

Now, what I didn't know was that when you're in sports, you have limited resources, so they're doing the best they can with what they got.

You know?

So what I was able to do there with the team was just teach them how to think differently.

So instead of doing it the same way over and over and over again like, let's try it differently.

Let's ask what if, right?

And if the league doesn't have a rule for it, great.

Let's go for it.

Right?

Like we love to live in the gray area, and then the league would make a rule that says we couldn't do the thing that we did, and that would be cool.

That's like a victory.

And we would, we would do that dance for a while.

But it was always to try to grow the brand, like, it's one thing just t create ads and create concepts just because they're cool and fun and whatever.

But that doesn't pay the bills, right?

Like we have to drive the business.

And so we always wanted to elevate the brand so we could grow the brand, sell more tickets, create more sponsorship, creat more brand affinity like that.

That was always the goal.

We just had fun doing it.

And what did you guys do to sort of elevate the brand and get, you know, people to connect more with Miami?

Well, we created consistency first.

It was a hot mess.

It was all over the place.

So we created consistency and created rules.

This is the font we use.

This is how you use a logo.

This is how you don't use a logo.

These are the colors.

This is the color you don't use.

And that was just on the brand side.

When it came to content, instead of creating ads, we were creating content.

So instead of covering the team, because ESPN covers a team, all the networks cover the team they d a really good job of coverage, and they have a lot of good resources.

Like I said, we didn't have those crazy resources.

What we had was access.

So instead of creating, doing coverage, we shifted over to emotional connections.

How do we create an emotional connection between the viewer and the club?

With the content, instead of, like, having an ad, it's like, hey buy tickets, blah, blah, blah, blah, like when I see an ad, it's like, no, I'm out or unsubscrib or, right, unfollow, whatever.

But if you're creating good content, what you're really doing is, like, you're creating trust, right?

So like if you stop and you consume a piece of content, and I'm just thinking social right now, basically what you're saying is I trust you with my time right now.

Right?

And so you're going to like it.

You're going to engage with it.

So later, if we have trust, it's easier for me to say, hey, would you want to come to a game, buy a ticket, or whatever?

Because you trust us.

If you create good content, you're just creating trust with your viewer.

And you're not exploiting them.

So anyway, that was it was things like that.

Like we developed the content plan.

We thought, we talked about, like, if we have like avid fans all the way to casual fans and everything in between, right?

How do we talk to them?

Avid fans?

They're going to pick up anything you put down.

Casual fans?

They're a little bit tougher because like other things get them excited, like lifestyle and things.

Music, right?

Avid fans, you could say anything.

You can go about stats.

They're like your core.

And then you got this middle part, like this middle group of fans who like the ones that watch on TV type of thing an so you got to try to bring them into the funnel, ultimately into the marketing funnel, because then they go from casual fans to avid.

And that's how your purchase funnel works, too.

You know, I go to, I watch you on TV, I go to a game, I buy season tickets.

Right?

So it's all connected.

In 2020, after working for the Miami Dolphins, you headed to Rocky Top, and you worked for the Tennessee Titans.

What were the challenges to taking on a different team and its brand?

It was an interesting transition.

From a fan perspective, because I was a fan, but, from a professional perspective, it's actually a really exciting opportunity.

I was able to while I was i Miami, part of what I was doing there was helping with the process of renovating that stadium, Hard Rock, because it used to be Sun Life, went to Hard Rock, put a roof on it, all that stuff, so part of that design work an that process and that journey.

So, the Titans wanted to do the same, so they wanted to grow their in-house team.

They wanted to elevate their brand, and they also wanted to renovate their stadium.

And I had done those things in Miami.

So I was able to jump in over there and help them accomplish those goals.

That was exciting.

So start working from home, right?

So I was working in Miami, then I moved and then boots on the ground, maybe 6 or 8 months into having this new job, it was to like, you know, get the people excited about the Titans.

And oh, by the way, the stadiums were empty because nobody was going to games.

So we had to find ways through content, to get people excited, and to engage with them was a really tricky time.

But we were able to grow what we were doing.

And then the stadium project was incredible.

They went from a stadium renovation project to, once we were like kind of did the numbers and thought, you know what, if we renovate this building, it'd be way too expensive.

Let's just do a new building to a new stadium design project, which is like, whoa.

And so we just, at the Titans, it was like a few months ago in groundbreaking, for that new stadium, because the design work is done and all that.

They're going to open up a new stadium in a few years, and it's super exciting.

I'm really proud of actually really proud of that work because it's just for that community.

It makes a difference.

And that's super cool.

To continue moving on, in 2024, you served as an Inclusive Content Committee Member for the National Football League.

What did this opportunity entail?

That just started, so it's a two-year involvement.

The league is always tryin to better themselves, better us.

As far as helping people, shine light in different communities, underrepresented communities, make sur that when we're making content, we don't have blind spots.

Or at least try not to.

And so this committee, the job is to review work and see how we can help either the league or other clubs with their content.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

And then recently, too, you became the Vice Presiden of content, creative and brand for yet another NFL team, the Arizona Cardinals.

Where do you plan to take this brand?

In the age of, you know, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and, you know, the eve evolving social media platforms?

I'm fortunate to I was fortunate just to be with the Dolphins and, like, just be in the NFL once.

To be able to get a gig in Nashville was crazy.

So now to be able to do it a third time is it's wild.

And so this opportunity, they're looking to do some similar things that we did in some of these other clubs, like grow the brand, create some excellence.

What's exciting is what you mentioned: AI and some of these other tools that we have because we didn't have those tools before I like to innovate.

I like to be able to find things and new tools and apply them if they make sense.

And we have new tools now.

So it's not like it's the same old job.

I get to think of it a little differently.

So that's going to be exciting.

It's a whole new market.

You know, Phoenix is a it's different.

It's not, you know, the markets that I was in.

So there's different sensibilities, different time zone, I mean, all that stuff.

it's just another it's a really cool problem to try to figure out.

That's awesome.

So with that in mind, what advice do you have for students tha want to get into advertising or, you know, in the world of media, and that also might have a love for sports?

I would say use your resources, right?

So here at the school, talk to your instructors, look for internships, like I'm basically I'm telling you all the things I didn't do.

Right?

And it's because I was afraid to ask.

I was intimidated by the idea of it, right?

But I didn't realize that the administrators here, the other alumni here, they're looking out for all of the student succes as well, like to grow us, right?

I didn't get to learn until after, when I got in the role to help students.

So ask.

Get out there.

And don't worry about, like, feeling stupid.

Like who cares, right?

Just go for it.

The other thing I would say i don't feel like you need to have it figured out.

Like you don't need to have it figured out.

Just go through it, right?

You'll learn the things that you don't want to do.

Youll learn the things that you do want to do, and if you're committed to it, whatever choice you make is the right choice.

Like we think we're going to make the wrong choice theres the right one and the wrong one.

It'll be the right choic if you commit to whatever it is, even if the commit is I'm going to try this and I'm going to pivot.

That's the right choice, right?

So take the pressure off.

That's awesome.

Well, thank you so much for all of your insight and for being here today.

Your story is so inspiring, especially, you know, starting off from something that, you know, at first didn't have to do with what you're doing now.

And now, like, look at you.

Like you're doing so many amazing things.

Truly amazing.

So thank you so much.

And thank you to our viewers for joining us tonight.

Until next time, good night.