
Partnering with The Most Successful Sports Franchise in The World
10/06/2017 I Tom Stokes 1 of 2
You would think partnering your company with the world's most valuable sports franchise* would be out of reach unless you're a fortune 500 company with an A+ Dun & Bradstreet rating.
Recently I had a CyberForce client contact me and wanted to produce a couple events with Dallas Cowboys Players. I have produced events with them in the past with Drew Pearson for their annual events at AT&T Stadium.
I told my client "Maybe you guys should just partner with the Dallas Cowboys direct" My client kind of laughed out loud over the phone stating "We're not a fortune 500 company Tom".
We further discussed this and I convinced them to allow me to contact the Cowboys on their behalf to see what, if anything, The Dallas Cowboys could do.
I found a lot of small business owners have the same fear when it comes to advertising with The Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys call it partnering and that's really how they see it and you feel it as you go. The name of the advertising department is Corporate Partnerships and titles are Jane Doe, Corporate Partnership Sales.
I'm not best friends with Jerry Jones but have had interaction with him through the years, be it business with Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Drew Pearson amongst others. I always respected and admired The Jones for what they built. I have witnessed first hand how Jerry loves The Cowboys from helping Legacy players to current players.
But above all, JMr. Jones is a businessman, a really great businessman. There are few I look up to in business, first and foremost would be Lee Iacocca, amazing how he brought Chrysler back, then Jerry Jones owner of Dallas Cowboys, and Gene Simmons of KISS. I have been fortunate to work around all three.
The Cowboys have always been more than fair with me when it came to business. From allowing Drew Pearson and I to produce segments of the Drew Pearson Show from AT&T Stadium to signing memorabilia for charity events. Actually, The Jones' have never told me flat out no. They have always figured out a way to make things work.
I reached out to Mrs. Charlotte Anderson Jones and asked a question I kind of already knew the answer to. Mrs. Jones said she would have someone reach out to me about partnering with local businesses in DFW market.
The next day I received a call, I explained my Client's position and immediately I was told "Yes" we can help. After a few more phone calls and email exchanges we confirmed a meeting with The Dallas Cowboys at the Star in Frisco, Texas.
WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT
Once you arrived at The Star you're met with first class security. It's more like a really nice doorman at a five-star hotel but you know it's security with his earpiece that looks like a radio headphone.
They scan your license when you get there which I thought was a little too much but you can never be too careful these days and it made me realize how safe it really is there. He looks up at me after scanning my ID and says; "Yes Mr. Stokes Mrs. _______ will be right down for you. Ahhh I said to myself , of course, that's attached to whomever I am here to see. State-of-the-art technology for the world's most valuable sports team.
I said "thank you" and he showed me to the waiting area...

One Cowboys Way at The Star in Frisco Texas. HQ for The 5 time world Champion Dallas Cowboys.

10/3/2017 Meeting with business owners for future partnership with The Dallas Cowboys at HQ at The Star.


* July 2017 According to an annual list compiled by Forbes Magazine. The Cowboys are worth $4.2 billion and lead the list for the second straight year. Photo Credit: Tom Stokes