JESS ISNER

Head of Social + Digital

New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden Sports
2019 — Present

Leads strategy, implementation and execution for the club’s social and digital channels with a primary focus on campaign development, brand strategy and brand voice.

• Social Media Management + Audience Growth: Curates the club’s public-facing social presence across Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, serving an audience of more than 5 million. I’ve developed and nurtured a content strategy rooted in real- time coverage and behind-the-scenes access that:

  • Has resulted in a YOY increase in engagement rate of 61.8 percent; 

  • Has increased Instagram following by 491 percent to 1.3 million; 

  • Has increased X/Twitter following by 40 percent to 1.5 million; 

  • I’ve led the implementation of a TikTok presence that has amassed more than 500K followers in four years and has doubled in size over the last two years. 

• Campaign Development: Concepts, strategizes and executes on short- and long-term social campaigns grounded in driving engagement, brand awareness and follower growth through a combination of organic, paid and sponsored content. Concepts, creates and shares content across all social channels and travels with the club to provide real-time, in-depth and exclusive coverage.  

• Team Management: Leads a team of four on the social side and three on the influencer side. Coaches and evaluates team on channel programming/management, campaign fulfillment, professional development and goal setting + achievement.

• Brand Partnerships: Concepts and executes on season-long and tentpole-based digital activations for  more than 20 premium brands, including Delta Air Lines, Chase, Anheuser-Busch, to generate brand recognition for partners and more than $3 million annually for the Rangers.

• Influencer/Creator Marketing: Oversees a team of three that identifies influencers and creators across the digital space who can help us evangelize our brand messaging and attract prospective audiences; directs team in pitching + capturing cobranded content as well as posting strategy. 

• Player Marketing: Works one-on-one with athletes to assist them in developing and bolstering their personal social media presences. Collaborates with PR and marketing to create bespoke marketing campaigns for individual players spanning social media, influencer work and community relations efforts. 

• Content Creation: Concepts long- and short-form video + written content for all social/digital channels with a keen focus on audience growth, achieved by a) taking calculated risks, testing and learning, and b) establishing and nurturing a brand presence on emerging platforms (TikTok, Giphy, etc.). 

• Digital Analysis: Studies and applies analytics, key insights and industry trends in order to enhance and evolve content performance and strategy. Creates monthly digital reports detailing growth, engagement and opportunities for improvement, all intended to consistently expand digital audiences. 

Digital Marketing Manager

Arizona Coyotes
2017 — 2019

Managed digital marketing programs and internal and external creative partners, ensuring that all digital marketing efforts were on strategy, on time and creatively compelling. Worked closely with Marketing Analytics and Social Media Strategy counterparts to use research, analysis and reporting to enhance brand presence across digital platforms.

• Social Media and Brand Management: Working under Director of Social Media Strategy, provided team coverage and created content for club’s social media channels, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Built, managed and analyzed social media advertising campaigns internally.

• Player Relations: Worked directly with the club’s athletes to enhance and grow their personal social media presences. Using OpenDorse, provided compelling video and photographic content to players along with captions, which athletes then approved and posted directly to their personal Twitter and Instagram accounts.

• Digital Advertising: Created and managed quarterly advertising schedules intended to support games, events and athletes. Determined creative direction for each individual advertising campaign. Built, managed and analyzed Facebook and Google AdWords campaigns. Worked directly with the club’s Agency of Record to create and execute paid media strategies for print, TV, radio and supplementary digital campaigns.

• Copywriting and Email Marketing: Served as copywriter, copy editor and final set of eyes on each piece of public-facing marketing collateral the club produced, including but not limited to email marketing campaigns, flyers, digital and print advertisements, website copy, game programs and more. Created all copy and graphical elements for email marketing campaigns and conducted A/B tests to determine efficacy with regards to subject lines and messaging.

Communications Manager

PGA TOUR
2016

Served as one of two principal public relations contacts for the PGA’s Champions Tour, focusing on expanding the Tour’s media relations outreach and its digital media presence.

• Digital Media Development: Conceptualized and developed unique storylines for the Champions Tour’s digital properties, including PGATour.com, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

• Social Media Outreach: Implemented weekly social media activations with players in order to create an ongoing dialogue between our players and the fans. Grew the Champions Tour’s social presence by assisting players in establishing and maintaining their own social media presences.

• Media Relations: Served as the primary liaison between the Champions Tour and the media on-site at tournaments. Provided press releases, advisories, pre- and post-tournament notes and additional collateral to media. Implemented a weekly PR plan for the previous week's winner. Oversaw fulfillment of informational statistics and interview requests from media during, leading up to and after tournament weeks.

Digital Content Specialist

Boston Bruins
2014 — 2016

Provided day-to-day coverage of the Boston Bruins during practices, game days and community appearances through written, video, photo and social media content.

• Digital Content Development: Provided written and on-camera coverage of the Bruins on a daily basis. Coverage included pre- and post-game news blasts, long-form features and coverage of the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Edited and published video interviews, features and game recaps for use on social media and on BostonBruins.com.

• Social Media Strategy: Managed the team’s official social media channels, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Worked closely with marketing to identify existing reach on social media and develop strategies for exceeding that reach.

• Media Relations: Wrote and distributed all press releases and advisories pertaining to hockey operations (trades, recalls, signings). Worked with Bruins’ front office and general manager to ensure quality and accuracy of information.