Ari Mark: How the DRL is Captivating the Attention of an Entirely New Audience

Today’s episode, I’m joined by Ari Mark, the Senior VP, Head of
Partnership Development at The Drone Racing League. 


Mark joined the DRL from the NFL, where he led corporate
partnership sales for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium.
Before that, Ari spent eight years in global business development
for the NBA, securing sponsorships across the NBA, WNBA, G
League, USA Basketball, and NBA 2K League.


Over the last several years, Ari built a legacy for developing
new, groundbreaking programs, including the creation of the DRL’s
largest ever partnership with Algorand, the leading
high-performance blockchain platform as well as launching DRL
Labs, an innovation hub to research and develop next
generation drone technology with Dragan Fly. 


The league is flying high *pun intended* as the world’s premier,
professional drone racing property and in the process is creating
a new era of sports that brings high-speed competition in real
life and digitally.


Time Stamps:


3:00 - Taking Lessons from the NBA and NFL


5:00 - The DRL as an Innovation Hub and Accelerator of
Technology 


10:00 - Tapping into Alternative Budgets 


11:00 - Solving Problems for Partners and Tapping Partners to
Solve Problems 


13:00 - Engaging with Fans Away from Broadcast TV


16:00 - Connecting with Fans of the Non-Traditional Sports 


19:00 - Embracing Meta’s Launch of WhatsApp Channels


24:00 - Evolving the DRL from Season to Season 


27:00 - Deciding on where to Race 


29:00 - Tapping into Athlete Appeal of the DRL Pilots 


32:00 - Esports as a talent funnel and engagement tool


37:00 - An opportunity for DRL events to tap into culturally
relevant IP.


38:00 - Vision for the future of the DRL


Additional Links


Serving Fans: Why FC Barcelona Are Embracing An Overlooked Social
Platform


Overtime's Playbook: Focus on 'Winning' the Group Chat


The Great Divide: The Future of Social Media


How F1 Technology has Supercharged the World


How High-Speed Drone Racing could Aid Struggling Air Force
Recruitment


Connect with Ari on LinkedIn - ⁠⁠here⁠⁠


Connect with Andy on LinkedIn - ⁠⁠here