Own Your Own Money Story, with Kraig Kann

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Kraig Kann. As a child, Kraig dreamt of becoming a professional sportscaster. That’s all he wanted to do, and sure enough, that’s what he did. Kraig became a huge success. He enjoyed a 25-year television career, including 17 years at Golf Channel/NBC. Kraig was one of the first to interview Tiger Woods as Tiger turned professional, he was hanging with Arnold Palmer, and he was living his dream. But life is hard, and things outside of our control happen all the time. The real estate market imploded just as Kraig’s contract came up for renewal, forcing him to draw on his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit to make some purposeful shifts.

Kraig founded Kann Advisory Group in 2016 and serves as Managing Director of the organization providing strategic media, marketing and communications consulting plus media training, branding and presentation skills coaching. His vast experience on all sides of the media including years as both a network television personality and C-Suite sports executive make him an industry influencer, respected spokesperson and requested speaker.

After a 25-year television career that included 17 at Golf Channel/NBC where he was an original on-air member and ultimately the lead studio host, Kraig made a career pivot and elevated the Ladies Professional Golf Association as its Chief Communications Officer from 2011-2016.  His time in front of the camera and comfort interviewing athletes, politicians and corporate executives positioned him as a unique voice on the LPGA’s board and helped him strategically lead the organization’s branding and marketing efforts across all media platforms during five years of unprecedented growth that included recognition in 2015 as finalist for “Sports League of the Year” by Sports Business Journal.

During his tenure, Kraig led media and marketing communication partnerships between the LPGA and its list of global corporate sponsors that included KPMG, KIA, Manulife Financial, UL, All Nippon Airways, LOTTE, Rolex and CME Group, building strategic outreach and activation plans while delivering new levels of international media attention.  He involved media in major news events, coached players to build their own brands and positioned social media as a vital organizational marketing resource resulting in a combined growth of more than 900% over four years.

Kraig has been featured twice by SBJ as an industry communications leader and his platform of contributions includes design and delivery of a collaborative “grow the game” message as a member of Golf 20/20 and also a lead spot on the International Golf Federation Communications Committee for the 2016 Rio Olympics where he raised awareness for golf’s return to the Olympic Games and hosted golf’s press conferences on a worldwide stage.

Kann’s platform has widened significantly with roles as the weekly show host of Connected with Kraig Kann on SiriusXM, his growing podcast Tracks To Success, and the January 2021 release of his book Can You Get Our Attention? which quickly reached Top 20 status on the Amazon Best Seller List and was recognized as a finalist at the 2021 International Book Awards while winning top honors at the 2021 San Francisco Book Festival and New York Book Festival and earning the silver medal from Reader’s’ Favorite as “Best New Book 2021 – Marketing”

A sought-after motivational speaker, his keynotes and popular “Elevate Workshop” have drawn rave reviews from the likes of Accenture, Transamerica, Titleist, SAP, KPMG, Zurich, Gallagher, Diamond Resorts, PGA of America, CoSIDA and others. His thought leadership led to a feature story in Soar to Success magazine and also grabbed the attention of PR News, Sports PR Summit, and Forbes, who have identified him as an influential speaker, featured industry panelist, council member and content contributor in the areas of media and public relations, public speaking and strategic communications.  In addition, his company’s Kann Collegiate brand has offered media coaching and brand building for teams and athletic organizations including Florida, Oklahoma State, Arizona and the University of Missouri, which happens to be his alma mater.

Kraig lives in Orlando and has three children: Hailey, Trent and Kendall.

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