Skip to content
MarketScale
‹ Back to IndustriesSports & Entertainment

Digital Fan Engagement Strategies: Insights from Stephi Blank

Stephi Blank discusses her journey from a passionate advocate for women in sports to a leader in digital fan engagement strategies. Her work focuses on connecting fans with their favorite teams through innovative marketing approaches. Blank's experience is rooted in her education at Washington University and her role at WIT Sports.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Sports & Entertainment teams put it to work with Events & Onsite Capture.

By Stephi Blank · Digital FanSports MarketingStephi BlankWashington University
Share

Key takeaways

01

Stephi Blank leverages digital platforms to enhance fan engagement with sports teams.

02

Her career was motivated by a lack of female representation in sports business education.

03

Blank's innovative marketing strategies are a product of her experience at WIT Sports.

Get featured

Want to get featured in MarketScale Sports & Entertainment?

Create a free MarketScale workspace and get your company's expertise featured across our Sports & Entertainment coverage. No credit card, no demo required.

Start free

In the dynamic world of sports marketing, the journey from a passionate advocate for women in sports to a leading figure in digital fan engagement strategies is both inspiring and instructive. Stephi Blank, the VP of Marketing & Service at WIT Sports, exemplifies this trajectory. Her story begins at Washington University, where she took the only sports business class available, a pass-fail course with no female speakers. This lack of representation spurred her to become a vocal proponent for women in sports, a commitment that would shape her career. After a stint in teaching, Blank ventured into sports marketing, where she honed her skills in digital landscapes and fan engagement strategies. Her innovative approach at organizations like the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Nets emphasized the importance of digital channels in enhancing fan experiences, especially in the post-COVID era.

Her innovative approach at organizations like the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Nets emphasized the importance of digital channels in enhancing fan experiences, especially in the post-COVID era.

Blank’s expertise in creating immersive, digital fan experiences led her to WIT Sports, where she now leads a team dedicated to revolutionizing fan engagement. Her work focuses on personalizing fan interactions and leveraging digital platforms to reach a global audience, a crucial aspect in today’s sports industry. As we delve deeper into the insights and strategies of Stephi Blank, her story serves as a testament to the evolving landscape of sports marketing and the power of digital innovation in connecting fans worldwide.

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Sports & Entertainment starts with a company putting its venue operators, production crews, and partnership teams on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Rights holders and partners back the operators they know, and coverage is how they get to know yours.

Get your team featuredSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

Stephi Blank
Stephi BlankVice President, Marketing & Service

Stephi is sports business and marketing professional with a passion for education and progress for women in all aspects of sports.

Follow Sports & Entertainment Insights

Get new expert content in your inbox.

Sports & Entertainment: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Sports & Entertainment buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free plan

You just read one Sports & Entertainment expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your venue operators, production crews, and partnership teams into the articles, video, and social content Sports & Entertainment buyers are searching for. Create a free workspace and see it with your own people. No credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What you get, free

Your own MarketScale workspace, up to 10 people
One professional video edit a month for qualifying companies
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
$0, no credit card, nothing that expires

More Sports & Entertainment Insights

The Mariners dropped their ad agency, and most MLB clubs now produce the bulk of their video in-house

The Seattle Mariners produced all four of their 2026-season video shorts in-house after decades with agency Copacino Fujikado, Sports Business Journal reports. Most MLB clubs now handle the bulk of video production internally. Zoomph values the Dodgers' 2025 team social output at $101 million in paid-ad equivalent, a benchmark for avoided spend, not revenue collected.

  • 01Zoomph's $101 million figure for the Dodgers is the estimated cost of buying the same reach with paid ads, so the right comparison for an in-house studio is avoided media spend against staff and equipment, not agency fees alone.
  • 02The edge MLB creative teams describe is access to talent from the minor leagues up, which means the in-house model transfers well to organizations whose creative staff sit near the people they film and poorly to those that don't.
  • 03Clubs judge a short by what it turns into inside the ballpark: a giveaway, a theme night, a ticket special. A video that produces none of those is a one-off, however many views it collects.

Sep 18, 2026

MLS is shopping an eight-figure presenting sponsorship ahead of 'MLS 3.0'

MLS is shopping an eight-figure presenting sponsorship ahead of 'MLS 3.0'

Major League Soccer has retained London-based Altius8 to explore selling a league-wide presenting sponsorship, Sportico reported on September 18. Early talks are in the eight figures, behind only the Apple and Adidas deals, and the league is not renaming itself. It is timed to next summer's new calendar, playoffs and commissioner.

  • 01An eight-figure presenting deal would slot in as MLS's third-largest commercial contract, behind Apple's $2.5 billion media agreement and Adidas's $830 million extension through 2030, giving brand partnership teams a rare public price band for a U.S. league-level asset.
  • 02MLS is deliberately splitting the European model: it wants the presenting-sponsor revenue LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A collect, without putting a brand name in front of the league the way the Premier League did with Barclays until 2016.
  • 03The asset list is not fixed. Chief revenue officer Carter Ladd says there is no predefined package, so what a bidder gets, and whether the league-wide jersey patch is on the table, is being decided now.

Sep 18, 2026

Versant's US$530m Full Swing buy in a busy summer of sports tech deals

Versant's US$530m Full Swing buy in a busy summer of sports tech deals

SportsPro reported on July 7 that Versant bought golf simulator company Full Swing for US$530m to build out a digital golf business. SI acquired Magnifi and GSE Worldwide partnered with Extraordinary AI in August. For clubs, venues and rights holders, the summer shows where sports organizations are spending on AI, event measurement and pricing tools, and where the vendors they buy from are changing hands, which changes how contracts and roadmaps should be evaluated.

  • 01Venue network upgrades at the Chicago Bears and Miami HEAT, reported by BizTech Magazine, are the infrastructure layer every fan-facing AI tool depends on; the two budgets belong in the same conversation.

Sep 17, 2026

Explore More Sports & Entertainment Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Sports & Entertainment.

Browse Sports & Entertainment Hub

About the Expert

Stephi Blank
Stephi Blank

VP of Marketing & Service at WIT Sports

Stephi Blank is a marketer with a strong passion for women in sports. She started her journey at Washington University and has since become a leading figure in digital fan engagement strategies. Her career includes experience in teaching and honing skills in the digital landscapes of sports marketing.

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Sports & Entertainment and beyond.

Book a 15-minute demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512