Super Bowl LVIII: Kansas City Chiefs' Video-Production Team Descends on Vegas

Super Bowl LVIII: Kansas City Chiefs' Video-Production Team Descends on Vegas Rob Alberino leads an onsite team of 20+ creating a wide variety of content By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Monday, February 5, 2024 - 10:34 am

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Kansas City Chiefs VP, Content and Production, Rob Alberino and a team of more than 20 video and podcast creators arrived in Las Vegas yesterday, ready to capture Opening Night tonight and everything else Super Bowl LVIII Week will offer.

It's overwhelming, says Alberino, who is working his fourth Super Bowl (he went to the Super Bowl with the Chiefs last year, the Eagles in 2005, and the 49ers in 2020). It's important for the team to not let it get too big. When someone hits that field for the first time, their eyes are wide open; it's that overwhelming. But you need to remember it's just another game. It just happens to be seen by a billion people.

The Kansas City Chiefs production team creates The Franchise, a long-form program every week that goes inside each game with behind-the-scenes footage and more.

The Chiefs are at the intersection of one of the most interesting entertainment/sports storylines in a while: the romantic relationship between future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce and arguably the most popular pop star on the planet, Taylor Swift. The media frenzy over Swift's attendance at Chiefs games has led to an uptick in followers for all of the team's social-media channels.

It has been an amazing transformation, says Alberino. I've never seen anything like it in my 30 years working with NFL teams. My daughters think this is the greatest thing, my wife is like this is the greatest thing, and we're getting viewership from people we would have never seen. It is bringing us to another level. It's also leveling the playing field as we have dads and daughters talking about it. I've never seen a social[-media] movement be this impactful.

Short-form video content is a big part of the Kansas City Chiefs' strategy for reaching fans everywhere.

The impact that Kelce-Swift has had on the Chiefs' social-media demographics exemplifies how a content strategy needs to serve up content the way a restaurant offers a buffet. Alberino notes that the Chiefs already had a large female fanbase, and that leads to more under-the-helmet content.

You've got your hard-core fans, and they want NFL Films-style long-form storytelling, he explains. That may be the meat-and-potatoes, but there are others who want the buffet and snackable items. I think that content tailors, no pun intended, toward snackable items like music videos and fun, pop-culture stuff. [Those others'] appetite for content has been significant, which is wonderful.

Key, he adds, is a content-production team primarily in the 25- to 30-year-old age group. They understand consumability and what type of content can move the needle. It's not vapid, empty content. It's fun stuff that gets the players involved and helps the fans understand who the players are.

Philosophically, Alberino says, breaking news is not the editorial focus for the Chiefs video-production team. We are a bit more NFL Films than quick hits. We want to take people where they can't go. They can get news all day, but what they can't get is behind the scenes with the players.

The responsibility to the team, he notes, is to capture the history of a franchise in the midst of one of the most impressive multi-year runs in NFL history. The stuff we love is being on the tarmac waiting for a new player to arrive. Anyone can tell you they agreed to a contract, but, when you see them hit Kansas City and drive over to meet [Coach] Andy [Reid] for the first time, it's a really cool thing. That is priceless for us.

The defending Super Bowl champions had some on-the-field ups and downs this year, but, for Alberino and the team, the goal was to always accentuate the positive.

The regular season is a marathon, he notes. You're gonna have injuries, you're gonna have the ups and downs, the dropped balls, the fumbles, but you just have to stay the course. We create a content schedule that doesn't have huge peaks and valleys.

My mindset, philosophically and physically, is to remain calm, he continues. It's very similar to Coach Reid, who I worked with during his rookie season as a coach when I was with the Eagles. I have worked with him for 10 years, and he is always super-steady. He's not gonna bark at people. He doesn't get too high; he doesn't get too low. I love that mindset.

Content for Multiple Platforms: Traditional, Digital, Social, OTT Alberino leads all content efforts, including creation and distribution across the club's traditional, digital, social, and over-the-top platforms. He also oversees all aspects of game production and presentation and entertainment elements at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

At the core of the Chiefs' team are Primary Play-By-Play Announcer Mitch Holthus, Senior Reporter Matt McMullen, and Director, Production, Glenn Connelly, who supervises about eight producers.

Glenn is in charge of the domestic projects, says Alberino. We also have a bubble called Special Projects, which is international content, and that is overseen by Director, Production, Special Projects, Joe Helder, who also has a core of people.

And then there is the Game Day bubble, he continues, in charge of everything from getting the flyovers to putting all the big-board stuff together. We are also in charge of all the entertainment teams like cheerleaders, mascots, and flag runners. Stephanie Judah, director, business operations, is in charge of all that. And then there is the photography department and interns. [The video-production team] total

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/02/05/super-bowl-lviii-kansas-city-ch...
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