Maggie Zerbe / Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are often lauded for their “Process,” a multiyear worst-to-first experience that included a 10-win season in 2015-16. But the applause also goes to the person who not only marketed the team amid the losing, but monetized the franchise along the way: Katie O’Reilly.
“I think one day five years [into the Process], everybody woke up and said, ‘Oh, wow, overnight, the Sixers have just absolutely crushed it,’” said O’Reilly, the 76ers’ recent chief revenue officer who left the team in April to lead team business operations at LIV. “We were planning playoff campaigns in years that we had 10 wins. So I think we just really believed in the brand.”
Katie O'Reilly
Executive Vice President, Head of Team Business Operations, LIV Golf
Age: 39
Born: Philadelphia
Education: University of Michigan, B.A., history
Family: Spouse, Ed; children: Arnie (5.5), Otis (3.5)
What my friends/family think I do all day: Hang out with professional athletes.
How I deal with stress in the workplace: Peloton or yoga, and spending time with my boys.
Cause supported: The Bow Foundation.
Apps I use most: iMessage, AccuWeather, The New York Times.
First social media platform I signed up for: Facebook. It launched when I was in college!
Social media platform I use/follow the most today: Instagram.
Person in sports business I’d most like to meet: Phil Knight.
Sports business leaders should be more mindful of …: The end product for the fans. At the end of the day, it’s all for them; and a continued focus on developing people leaders and the next generation of diverse sports executives, especially in a post-pandemic era/world.
After working in sales at MSG and in team business operations at the NBA, O’Reilly joined the 76ers in 2013 at the behest of CEO Scott O’Neil and Chris Heck, president of business operations, also league (and Forty Under 40) alums. The Sixers had a season-ticket member base of about 4,000. Under O’Reilly’s guidance, the team signed the first jersey patch deal in the NBA with StubHub in 2017.
“Our brand strategy at the time was: ‘We just want to give this brand and team back to the city,’” O’Reilly said. One strategy was to use Instagram to attract the 18-35 demographic, while also launching 76 Crossover to create art exhibits at eclectic downtown spaces. In 2022, the team unveiled an in-house merchandise label, 76 Originals, and landed a new jersey patch deal with Crypto.com that included a substantial NFT program. Not only was the team a championship contender, but the season-ticket member base was up to about 15,000.
“One of our marketing campaigns like 10 years ago was literally, ‘Together We Build,’” O’Reilly said. “We didn’t use the word ‘Process,’ but we were very direct with our fans in saying, ‘We’re not ignoring the fact that we’re building. But we’re rebuilding this franchise together.’ We wanted to let it continue to naturally happen, and it did.” — Tom Friend
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