NY Liberty - Vice President, Advertising & Design


		Graphic ID
		Print Advertisement
		Ticket Sales Brochure
		Off Season Brochure
		Literacy Campaign

Have you ever thought of hanging the banner of your favorite team on your bedroom wall? Perhaps a team poster? Banners, pennants, posters, signs and anything else with the team name or logo on it must be designed to have the look of that particular team. The lettering, photos, drawings and wording need to be just right to create the image the team is looking for. The Creative Director is in charge of creating, designing and writing all of the materials, from the commercial you see on TV for the Liberty to the design on the ticket you hold as you enter the arena. The job requires a lot of meetings and brainstorming to come up with good ideas for the team. It means meeting with the marketing people who are trying to sell the product (in this case the team) to sponsors and working with creative people who come up with exciting visuals and write copy that grabs the viewers attention.

Jeremy Kaplan heads the Advertising and Design Group at Madison Square Garden and is responsible for all the teams that call the Garden home, including the Liberty. "I manage a group of designers and writers who service the creative/marketing needs of the groups and properties of Madison Square Garden" says Kaplan. "This includes the Liberty, Knicks, Rangers and more. If the groups need it, we design it."

Kaplan, who originally wanted to go into film, took his creative abilities to an ad agency after graduating from college, where he studied both film and advertising. Working for an agency that handled the entertainment business, Kaplan worked on ads for Broadway shows, TV specials, museum exhibitions and a sports publication. He then took his advertising background to a company that handled Madison Square Garden. After that, Kaplan left to open his own small graphic design firm and got the chance to learn how to run a small business, doing budgets and marketing and having a hand in all areas. Finally, he began working as a consultant, where he was hired back into the Garden. He is now the Creative Director. Kaplan used his creative abilities to get started in the advertising business, gained hands-on business experience at a small level, then returned with all of his collected knowledge to the big time at MSG.

"My education was important to my career because it focused on creativity. My further education came on the job. Wherever I worked, I always sought out the smartest people in the company and tried to work with them directly. I learned from them," says Kaplan who was hired back to the Garden by a woman he had worked with at MSG some ten years earlier.

Kaplan feels that speaking and listening are two key components of being successful at this job. You need to hear the needs of your clients (in sports this would be the teams) and articulate them clearly to the creative people. "The marketing and creative people don't always speak the same language, so I help bridge the gap" he adds.

While it's very rewarding to see a television commercial or a banner design that is your creation, a lot of work goes into the final product. Often there are many versions of a commercial before the final one that you see on TV. Someone with a creative mind, who understands what other people want and can work as a team player can thrive in this business. However, it also it takes great flexibility since you may create something that you like, but the clients may want it done differently.