MUMBAI: Charleston, SC - Robert B. (Rob) Temple, a longtime senior executive at ESPN, is joining FishBait Marketing as their new Chief Executive Officer and equity partner. As part of this deal, FishBait Marketing and affiliated agency R&R Bait & Tackle, based in Nashville, TN, will roll up under newly organized entity, FishBait Solutions, LLC.

Temple’s 18-year career at ESPN is primarily associated with the extraordinary growth in college sports, however he most recently served as SVP Programming & Acquisitions, reporting to EVP Burke Magnus. In this role since 2018, he managed a portfolio that included rights and renewal negotiations with Major League Baseball, the Little League World Series, the X Games, the Korean Baseball Organization, Poker, and oversight of ESPN’s commercial formatting group and its 19 global and domestic linear networks. He also provided a ‘commercial lens’ across the broader portfolio.

Prior to joining the Programming side of ESPN, Temple was primarily known for building and leading the ESPN Sports Marketing team. He is known in the industry as the commercial rights, media and sponsorship architect of ESPN’s franchise partnerships and properties including: College Gameday (Built by The Home Depot), the College Football Playoff, ESPN25, the SEC Network’s Corporate Sponsorship Program and many notable client partnerships with Dr Pepper (CFP National Championship Trophy), Capital One (Orange Bowl and Directors Cup), Goodyear (Cotton Bowl), Chick-fil-A (Peach Bowl), Nissan (Heisman House) and many others. Additionally, from 2014-19, Rob co-developed the successful original content films series College Football 150 (CFB150), with John Dahl from ESPN Films, and pioneered ESPN’s branded content capabilities with the development of ‘The Next Round, Served up by Jim Beam’ and many others.

His interest in music and lifestyle marketing has deep roots with College Gameday and college football, having been involved in the successful launch of Gameday’s iconic theme song, ‘Comin’ to your City’, Honda’s ‘Amp’d Up’ music initiative as well as the CFP’s first-ever live halftime performance with Kendrick Lamar during the 2018 CFP National Championship Game.

FishBait founder Rick Jones will move to the position of Chief Creative Officer, while R&R partner Ron Cook will become Chairman of the combined agencies.

“I am thrilled to welcome Rob, his wife Betty and children Sophie, Sarah Beth and Hudson to the FishBait family. Rob and I have been both professional colleagues and friends for decades and he is the perfect leader to take our agency to the next level”, said Jones.

Temple commented, “At a time of accelerating changes and challenges in the sports, music and entertainment industries, and for businesses and consumers everywhere, being able to ‘see around the corner’ and create new value while reducing risks is more important than ever. And that’s the hallmark of my career - seeing forward and designing solutions for partners that truly deliver value and that stand the test of time. I’ve never been more excited than to join Rick and Ron, two of most genuine and creative minds I’ve ever come across, to help design our vision for FishBait Solutions to tackle the opportunities and challenges ahead for us and our clients.”

“Rob’s extensive experience with integrated sponsorships for television properties will bring great expertise to our country music clients like CMA, Ryman Entertainment Properties and Circle TV. We can’t wait to turn him loose in Music City USA,” said Cook.
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Pictured (L-R): FishBait Solutions Chief Creative Officer Rick Jones,
Chief Executive Officer Rob Temple, Chairman Ron Cook
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About FishBait Solutions, LLC.
FishBait Solutions will operate with three divisions:

• FishBait Marketing will continue representing various lifestyle, event and media property clients, including ESPN Events, the Country Music Association, Opry Entertainment Group, BMI, the World Food Championships, various Outdoor Channel personalities and television shows, and the American Battlefield Trust’s Liberty Trail.
• FishBait Consulting will work with various properties and corporate sponsors, including current clients Anheuser Busch, Capital One, TicketSmarter and Werner Ladder.
• FishBait Ventures will develop assets with third parties. Currently FishBait is an equity partner with EngageMint.