Adam Kellner is the Director of Suite Sales & Services at the Chicago Bears where he oversees Premier Suites, Executive Suites and Skyline Suite sales, services and activation initiatives. Adam lives in Chicago with his wife and two daughters.

InviteManager: What did you do before joining the Bears?

Adam:  After getting my MBA from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, I took a job with the Houston Rockets in ticket sales. In 1998 I moved to Chicago where I spent three years as the Executive Director of Ticket Sales & Operations for the Chicago Wolves, a minor league hockey team. I left in 2001 to work for the Chicago Bears, and have been the Director of Suite Sales & Services for the last seven years.

IM: Why are live events a great way for companies to connect with their clients?

Adam: Live events are opportunities to create shared memories with your clients. The spontaneity of sports is really the only reality experience where you don’t know the outcome before you start watching. Shared memories from sporting events can serve as the foundation of authentic relationships with customers and prospects. These memories can be talked about the next day, the next month, and even the next year. We live in an events-driven society, and sports are the true event experience.

IM: What about the Chicago Bears brings people together? 

Adam: Since the Bears only have eight regular season home games, every single game is hugely important. The infrequency of games, and the consistency on the day in which they are played, allow the city of Chicago to unite in their passion. While the city of Chicago is divided by baseball, everyone rallies around the Bears. It comes down to the live experience of being in Soldier Field at a Bears game. There are really no bad opponents, and every game is exciting.

IM: How Does InviteManager help you drive suite sales?

Adam: InviteManager helps us keep our customers happy. We don’t just give our suite partners their tickets and tell them to call us if they need anything on game day. We use InviteManager to help them throughout the entire process: to make sure they are using tickets correctly, and to make sure they are getting the right people to attend so that they can ultimately maximize the ROI on their tickets. We want our suite holders to grow their relationships so they can continue their partnership with us.

InviteManager is a great way to track ticket use and results on game day. 

Before our partnership with InviteManager in 2010, administrative contacts were using Excel spreadsheets and other manual processes to organize client entertainment. Now, InviteManager gives our partners a way to automate the process to get them the best return on their investments. Since the great recession in 2008, companies have been under more pressure to make sure their hospitality investment is bearing fruit. InviteManager has helped many of our partners do this. 

IM: Do you have a favorite Bears moment?

Adam: My favorite Bears moment was the 2006 NFC Championship game versus the New Orleans Saints. Early in the 3rd quarter the Bears had a sizeable lead, and everyone could feel that we were going to advance to the Super Bowl. It started to snow in the 4th quarter and the crowd was going crazy. It was incredible to be able to go on the field for the trophy presentation with my co-workers, and to see all of our hard work at the organization come to fruition. I will never forget that day and that game.