Business: Profile: Dan Miller

Profile: Dan Miller

By FRED W. WRIGHT Jr.

NEW POSITION: Director of corporate sales, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, St. Petersburg

PREVIOUS POSITION: Sports marketing representative, Clear Channel Communications, Pittsburgh

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Dan Miller took on a lot of change this summer.

He has moved from Pittsburgh to St. Petersburg, facing his first Florida summer.

He has changed positions, from acting as a marketing representative for Clear Channel Communications to the director of corporate sales for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

He's even changed sports. In Pittsburgh, Miller pitched professional football and ice hockey, while in St. Petersburg, baseball is Miller's game.

As director of corporate sales, Miller is responsible for developing "partnerships" between local businesses and corporations and the Devil Rays.

"It's creating brand awareness, program opportunities -- packaging," Miller said.

Packages can include advertising, special pre- and post-game promotions, even signage at Tropicana Field. "It can be as simple as placing an ad in the game day program to what we call a fully integrated marketing program," Miller said.

The latter might include special arrangements for people to get some time in the batting cage or meet a player before or after the game or throw out the game's first pitch, even a chance to sit in the press box with the media.

"If the price is right, anything is available," Miller said. Miller is also responsible for retail promotions or working with local corporate partners for a promotional event, anything that might bring fans to the Devil Rays and revenue to the corporate partner, he said.

"The corporate community wins with brand recognition. It drives traffic and increases revenue and promotes their products," Miller said. "The fan wins because he gets to do these things."

Before joining the Devil Rays, Miller was with Clear Channel Communications, doing sports marketing with the Pittsburgh Steelers football team and the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. From 1999 to 2000, Miller was with the ABC Radio Network as director of marketing for the network's affiliate in Pittsburgh.

Altogether, Miller has more than a decade of experience in sports and entertainment marketing. "I've climbed every rung of the ladder," he said.

Miller graduated from Point Park College in Pittsburgh in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in communications. His first job after graduation was with a small radio station in Delaware. He moved back to Pittsburgh in 1989.

"With a degree in communications, sports was always the avenue I wanted to head down," he said. "All those things play very well in the sports industry. I've done sales, done marketing, done promotions, done public relations and all that encompasses communications."

Miller said he sees his role with the Devil Rays as "an idea guy. Good ideas generate good business relationships. If I can help somebody with their business and help their business grow, then I think I've done my job."

The shift from promoting professional football to promoting professional baseball is mostly a matter of perspective, he said. "It's the same industry, just different scenery. Instead of an oblong-shaped football, I now have a sphere to work with."

Miller, 39, is married and has three children. He said he is in the process of relocating his family to Tampa.

Now, much of his job orientation involves meeting new people in the Tampa Bay market, making new contacts. "Because I've not been in this market, it's all about the networking for me," he said. "I need to get out and learn not only the community but also learn the people who are involved in the community. Shaking hands, kissing babies.

"There's a lot of people who don't realize that sports marketing is a very powerful tool to help their business grow," he said. "It's a lot like dating -- establishing the trust."