Layla Nielsen
Welcome. Welcome to content is queen. And for all my sports fans out there, we have somebody who is behind the scenes making all the magic happen. My friend, my cousin, my Ethiopian sister, Ms. Alex Meaza, the founder and CEO of Desta Marketing. Welcome to Content is Queen.

Alexandra Meaza
Thank you, Layla. Happy to be here. Thank you for having me.

Layla Nielsen
You know, I was so excited when we talked about you thinking about launching your firm. You have worked with some of the biggest names in sports across all of the different sports types. And when you launched, I was like, yes, we need to see more faces that look like us. But I know it’s challenging, right, being a black woman in this space. However, you’re doing it with such grace. Talk to me a little bit about why you decided to start Desta Marketing.

Alexandra Meaza
Well, thank you. Thank you for that. Yeah. It comes with these challenges just like any industry and women, and in particular for black women. I started this agency. I always had this vision for myself, and I operated in a lot of autonomy in my roles and held leadership positions. And I’m not the typical millennial in the sense that I did a lot of hopping. Like I’m a Loyalist. So my third company on my resume is my own right. And the spans of time that I had at my two prior companies one was a sports agency, and the one prior was a law firm. Because I have a pretty unconventional journey that led up to this world of sports. It really chose me. I didn’t choose it, and I believe in destiny and God, so I know I’m operating in my purpose. Yeah.

I spent a lot of time at these roles, and I was promoted, and I really nurtured and honed my skills, and I had some amazing mentors, and in doing so, it just led me to, I want to try this on my own. I really want to drive the trajectory of my career. And my father is an entrepreneur, so I think that it’s in me, and I’ve seen the impact of it, the good and the bad, because entrepreneurship is I’m coming up, I told you, on my one year anniversary next week, and entrepreneurship is very empowering, and it’s scary at the same time. But I just think you do things scared pretty much.

Layla Nielsen
Absolutely. If you’re not scared, then you’re in the wrong business. Right. If you’re floating through, it’s not where you need to be.

Alexandra Meaza
Yeah.

Layla Nielsen
Let’s talk about desta marketing. One, break down the name because that was on my list of favorite names, and so when you named, I was like, this sounds amazing. It’s a homage to our culture of being Ethiopian American, but it also has so many different ways that you can approach it with the work and the services that you’re doing. So break that down for our listeners.

Alexandra Meaza
So, I’ve always liked the name, you know, so I was, you know, I’ll name my future daughter Desta or make her middle name, but this company is essentially my first child. That’s how I thought about it. And desta. And amharic means joy. And that’s what I was seeking. I was seeking joy and happiness. Not that I didn’t experience joy or happiness in my prior roles, or I wasn’t fulfilled in what I was doing. Obviously I was, but I just felt naming this company Desta was perfect. It’s exactly what I wanted it to represent and to parlay Desta’s meaning into my just it’s the joy and happiness that you feel and that you find in cultivating and strategically driving your brand.
Right.
There’s a lot of power in that I think brings joy that I hope brings joy to my clients as I work with them and collaborate with them.

Layla Nielsen
So let’s break down these services and the work that you do for your clients, because people really don’t understand, know you have this NFL player or this Olympian who both are under your management and leadership. What exactly do you offer to clients, and who is your perfect client?

Alexandra Meaza
That’s a great question. Well, I offer strategic brand consultation, and as it relates to my niche, area of marketing is within the world of sports. That’s my industry.
Right.
And I’ll talk about it a little bit later, but I’ve made some segues into transitioning my services in other ways and facets within this industry. But the origin of this and at the core of our services, it’s individual representation of celebrated figures, celebrated public figures, sports figures, and the strategic approach in creating their brand separate from their sport.
Right.
We operate in a new media age where there are endorsement opportunities and media opportunities. And what people I don’t think traditionally understand or appreciate about the sports industry is that our business is really media. This is a media business. And I know you look at it as entertainment, but really there’s two verticals that generate revenue in this business. It’s media and real estate, right? Real estate being stadiums and those, like, on location point of sales. If I had to add a third, it’s probably ecommerce. So that’s my role. It’s strategically creating my clients brand and embodying who they are outside of their sport.
Right.
And then leveraging that brand to monetize it by way of national 360 campaigns and endorsement deals, media features, philanthropic efforts, and that whole entire cohesive approach to create one’s brand outside of the sport, but predicated, obviously, on their sport.
Right.
And the elite status that they’ve reached in competing at the highest level within their individual sport.

Layla Nielsen
So that was a mouthful. Right. Like, when I think about the ads that I’m seeing, the types of campaigns that are generating multimillion dollar deals and things like that. When you’re looking at the potential client or the potential brand, who would you say or what are the characteristics that you look for on the brand side and client side?

Alexandra Meaza
On the brand side, I don’t subscribe to the rent to athlete business model where it’s transactional and that you pay me X amount of dollars to sell. And that’s, again, marketing is a fancy word for sales. You’re selling something and a professional athlete that is a celebrated figure that is attached to a multi billion dollar industry, that is the NFL or that is the Olympics, that is the undergirth of their ability to lead and generate to a sales conversion.
Right.
That’s that’s why these transactions happen. Endorsement deals are intellectual property deals.
Right.
So to take that a step-down and further, as it relates to the individual client or professional athlete, you have to really drive their partnerships, I believe, to align with who they are.
Right.
The most effective and the most authentic marketing campaigns are ones that where you have two brands that are married, right. The ethos of two brands, and you collaboratively come together to form a partnership that meets the objectives of both sides, meaning that XYZ brand wants to sell or promote their services within a certain market or nationally or a specific demographic market. And then, my individual client wants to utilize that partnership to fortify their brand and to showcase who they are. Right.

So really marrying those two things. So, on the brand side, I look for partners that approach these relationships collaboratively. That’s the ideal brand. Someone that isn’t looking for like a cut and paste, or drop a name in a hat or drop a name within a puzzle piece. We’ve crafted this entire campaign, and we just want you to say X, Y, and Z. That’s not the ideal brand that I see as a strong brand builder for my client. Right.

And so that’s the ideal brand. I think the ideal client is one that applies the same work ethic that they have with their sport to their off-the-field endeavors, that takes this very seriously, that understands the business opportunity.  Because I tell my clients all the time, these endorsement deals, you shouldn’t look at them as transactional, and you should look at them as your clients. Right.

And it’s the opportunity for you to interface with the C suite. The goal should always be to develop a long-term relationship with a partner right. That goes beyond just that endorsement deal. You’re directly interfacing with the CMO or the CEO of a brand or the executives that they’ve elected to drive the marketing and business development of that brand. So take advantage of expanding your network right. Beyond just that one-off relationship that hopefully isn’t a one-off.

Layla Nielsen
Right. What I love about what you’re saying is, if you’re an athlete and you hate chocolate, you cannot endorse a chocolate brand and do it authentically. It’s not going to represent you, who you are, et cetera. It needs to be that perfect marriage so that it comes across to the customer in a way that will resonate. So I completely agree because you can tell when something is not right. It just seems so robotic and forced. It just doesn’t. Right? Yeah.

Alexandra Meaza
And that speaks to why the partnership or the campaign should be crafted to include both parties, right? So that there’s buy-in on both sides, so that you can effectively render this campaign content, so that you can effectively quote, unquote, and sell something. And I mean, listen, don’t get it twisted. You can sell things technically that you are not a lover of, right? But all money isn’t good money, especially as you ascend in your career and your status and your brand profile, you should be saying no just as much as you’re saying yes. You should be selective. Right.

So not to be oversaturated. And that’s where your agent or representative comes into play, too, because another thing to keep in mind the competition in the world of sports doesn’t only exist on the court or on the field or on the track. It’s also very competitive outside of the sport when it comes to securing these national brand ambassadorship roles, there’s several people that they’re gunning for, right? Or that are gunning for those roles or those relationships on the endorsement side. So you have to differentiate yourself. What’s your value-added proposition? Outside of being the best wide receiver in the NFL or the best 100-meter track runner, what else do you have to offer? Who are you? And when people ask me this, what is your real role?

It sounds kind of deep and cliched, but it’s helping you devise your legacy and what you want to be known for beyond just the God-given elite talent and commitment that you’ve made to your sport.

Layla Nielsen
No, that is deep because you got to think about it. Everything is captured now, right? So 30 years, 50 years from now, do you want that ad in your history? Right. So that makes a lot of sense.

Alexandra Meaza
Yeah, exactly.

Layla Nielsen
So the industry has been making a lot of pivots lately. Now with student athletes being able to go after endorsement deals, what are your thoughts on that? I had mixed feelings about it because it can become very predatory when the kids don’t have people around them to protect them. They could be taken advantage of just as much as the adults can. But at this point, what are you seeing in the market? What’s the pros and cons, and what is your approach with the student-athlete endorsement deals?

Alexandra Meaza
I have mixed feelings about it too. So one side of it, I understand the reasoning in the sense that young are college athletes and collegiate programs, right? These young athletes should get a piece of that pie, that revenue pie. I mean, these are essentially privately and publicly held businesses, and I mean colleges that are generating millions of dollars a year utilizing and leveraging the intellectual property of the players on these teams. I mean, the football programs in the Big Ten and other conferences, again, they’re generating millions of dollars. And so if I was the one making the decisions, I would have said, let’s just take the revenue and maybe divide 5% among the student-athletes. Because I think Nil, there’s a lot of caution and there’s a lot of peril around it.

And to your point that they’re very young, and it can be very predatory, but if you really think about it, even professional athletes they’re entering their professional careers at the age of 2021. You’re a kid to me, still at 2021, right? And so I think that Nil is here, right? We knew, we saw this coming. There was a line of sight that we knew that this was going to happen. And you have to be very tactical about it. Personally, individually, Alex and Desta, I’m not playing in the Nil space, I’m staying in the veteran space. And that’s nothing against anyone who is. Nil should really be a training ground for you to learn how to be a brand ambassador.

But at the college level, the most effective thing that you can do for your brand, and that is if your goal is to play and to operate on the professional level, the most effective thing you can do for your brand is what you do during your sport during your season, that’s the most effective brand driver. And so there’s nuances to this, just like there’s nuances in the professional sector. You have to be mindful of these partnerships. And because this is a wild west, there’s not a lot of guardrails, there’s not a lot of regulation. And so you’re seeing young athletes potentially getting into relationships with brands or with companies that have never even operated within the sponsorship sector of sports. Right?

But then there’s also positives. I’ve seen up-and-coming young Hyphen Trophy winners that are generating millions of dollars on the collegiate level, and they’re utilizing this as an opportunity to really get a jump start, and they’ll have a head start in understanding what this dynamic is like. So I agree, I have mixed feelings about it. I think that I would have loved to see more protective measures be in place for these really young athletes and their families. Think about even the tax implications if your parents are still claiming you as a dependent, but you’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars during Nil, there’s a tax implication there. There’s so many layers to this, right? And I’ve seen a lot of professionals in my business and in my industry step in to help create that infrastructure and sees it as an opportunity.

I think from just a competitive standpoint, agents and agencies are stepping into the Nil world. As a means to generate those relationships earlier as they segue into the professional sector. But I think there’s good. I see good and bad. If I’m being honest. I see good and bad. But hopefully, the world of NIL and name, image, and likeness will develop, and it will evolve and be regulated because there’s also individual state parameters that are put on that too. Right?

So we’re watching something like a burgeoning portion of our industry develop in real-time. And that’s just kind of how life works, right?

Layla Nielsen
No, it’s a little scary because I’m a mom. I don’t have any student-athletes. But I know that protective, not wanting your kid to be taken advantage of. And so I understand why you wouldn’t want to get into that space. It might shift. Right. But I see more and more that it’s opening up. Right. And that’s one of the gray areas. But one of the areas that I’m super excited about and that you’re in this space is that there’s more and more black women who are making waves on the, you know, Nicole Lynn with that crazy deal that she negotiated for Jalen Hurts and now you launching your own firm. So I’m seeing that you’re in good company, and it’s more and more embraced, but it is a long way to go.

How do you stay grounded and focused on your craft when you are one of a small pool of women that are in this space? So what is it like for you to prepare yourself to show up authentically? Alex, even though you might be the only female in the room sometimes?

Alexandra Meaza
It’s never bothered me to be the only female in the room. I guess me, individually, I mean, it’s akin to being the only black person in the room. It’s just something that I’ve operated in. But for me, my business is creating and cultivating brands. So if I’m doing that for other people, I’m also mindfully doing that for myself. Right. And that’s how I operate as a professional. And the level of integrity and the substantive expertise that I bring and the value add that I bring to my client relationships to, again, like I said, differentiate and delineate them from other people and other colleagues in their respective sports and industries. Especially this mindset that I’m a new entrepreneur, you’re always continually analyzing yourself and doing a SWOT analysis of the smallest transaction to an entire quarter of your business.

And so it’s being self-aware. It’s being self-aware, it’s setting intentional goals, it’s devising and having a network of people like yourself like iron sharpens iron type of thing. But this is just kind of who I am as a person. So that’s like a difficult way to difficult thing. I don’t compare myself to other people, and I respect other people. I respect what they’ve done in their careers. I take note of it. But I am obviously progressing as a person professionally and personally. So all of those things combined lend to how I operate within my business.

Layla Nielsen
I love it. So there are so many more women, even as sports anchors. And in your space, advice do you give to an up-and-coming female who wants to enter in this space of becoming an agent in this brand space that you’re in? Because it can be difficult, right? For sure. And what advice would you give to.

Alexandra Meaza
Become a substantive expert at what you do. You need to focus on being a substantive expert and adding value within whatever structure or whatever company or outlet, and just to be the CEO of your own brand. We lean on business teams and agents to help us. And really, when you’re hiring an agent like myself, and to be clear, I’m a marketing and PR agent, right? That’s my sector of this business. I don’t negotiate NFL contracts, but I will say so you understand the dynamic of this, the work that I’m doing with clients, exposure begets exposure. And this being a media business, it helps drive, I would say, some of the negotiations that happen on the other side. I mean, ultimately, your contracts with the team or whatever are driven by how you produce. Right?

But it’s the total package. So I’m a part of my client’s business team. I’m one part, I’m one role within their business team. But for women entering this space, for black people entering this space, you need to focus on being a substantive expert and doing whatever it is you need to do to become that expert and seek whatever knowledge, being deferential, having humility, right. And just doing your homework and being committed to your work.

Layla Nielsen
I love that. So tell me, what’s next for Desta? What is Q4 looking like? Q1 looking like for you? What are your clients up to? Let’s talk about it. Let’s celebrate what you guys have in the pipeline.

Alexandra Meaza
So what’s happening right now? I mean, we’re obviously entering NFL season, right? We just had our opener yesterday on the 7th. But what’s new for Desta? Q4 is a big business development sector for me. Obviously, again, the NFL season has started, so that is busy for me. But it’s a lot of business development and a lot of business planning. And what’s new on the horizon for me? Another hat that I’ve put on is being a consultant and a consultant on the brand side, which was one of my goals for this company. I’ve been on the individual side, and I’ve been on the talent side and represent and I represent some of the best in this business, and I’ve been a key factor and variable in the development of their brand.

But taking that skill set and all of the knowledge that I’ve gained, meaning that I interface with a variety of ad agencies and other creative marketers that are behind these national campaigns that you see, like having that exposure has offered me and created this skill set right where I have this vantage point. So I’ve taken that, and I am applying it to this consultant role, and I’ve been involved in some RFPs on the brand side, and that’s been a really great experience for me, and that’s not something that I had in my prior role. I held a VP role of marketing and comms at a sports agency. That’s where I generated the relationships with some of my current clients. And that role because I was operating under someone else’s umbrella. My trajectory and what I wanted to do was dictated by the objectives of that company. Right?

So now, being my own boss and owning my own company, I get to diversify. I get to diversify my revenue, and I get to diversify my experience and evolve. So I’m really excited about that, and I’m really excited about acting as a strategic partner and a consultant to PR and ad agencies and in-house with brands going into 2024.

Layla Nielsen
Well, I already predict that you’re going to be closing some major deals. I know that’s down the pipeline for you. Well, listen, Alec, this has been an amazing conversation. I know it is difficult, and I wouldn’t even say difficult. It is challenging in some areas to be in this know, we talk about it all the time, but it’s encouraging when it’s more of us there. I want the listeners to look at these two faces like we’re both entrepreneurs, started off with an idea, working for somebody else, and now here we are interviewing one another, talking to each other about our next step. So thank you so much, Alex, for sharing your wisdom. And that’s it, y’all. Any last words?

Alexandra Meaza
Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me, and thank you for even creating a platform like this. The theme is to keep it in the community, and I have a lot of young people, especially a lot of young women, reach out to me. I had an Abisha woman send me a DM, and she was like, I love seeing an Ethiopian woman because my logo includes an Amharic character in it for Desta. And so I didn’t even think about it. I didn’t even think about that visibility. I’m just kind of moving on my own path. But lean in and help somebody where you can, and I think that’s important too.

Layla Nielsen
Love it. And here we go. Content is queen. Thank you so much, Alex.