Reel Lives: PR Man Adam Rosenberg On Sports Betting, Social Media, And The Freelance Hustle
‘Berg’ also shares thoughts on audience development and the ‘signal to noise’ ratio
4 min
Every gambler has a story to tell. And so does every person who chooses to make a living in this unique industry.
In our “Reel Lives” series, Casino Reports shines a spotlight on people working in the gaming business, from executives, to analysts, to media members, and all points in between.
The subject in this interview: Adam Rosenberg, known to many as “Berg,” a freelance public relations assassin and media personality focusing on the sports betting industry.
Casino Reports (CR): You and I and many of our peers are people who enjoy sports betting as entertainment. For both of us, I think, it’s a real hobby. Meanwhile, if I were to recount the negative press about sports betting in the past 12 months, I’m not sure where to begin. Maybe with the John Oliver piece this past week. Public sentiment seems to be that it’s a scourge on par with opioids. Whether or not widespread sports gambling is a public health disaster or adult entertainment, as a PR man, how would you advise the pro-sports betting stakeholders to address the tidal wave of negativity?
Adam Rosenberg (Berg): The thing about all the negative press on sports betting is they forget the main thing in all “vice” industries — sunlight (transparency) kills. The more that markets are regulated, the more you are able to gather data, make cases for more money in addiction programs, help consumers, etc. What you don’t want is this sort of stuff being done on the black market or illegally.
Sports betting is legal now. That’s what we’re working with. It’s not going to be for everyone — so I guess, don’t spend time trying to convince those people to bet if they’re not going to care.
CR: How has the role of social media for PR purposes evolved over the past 10 years? And when might Berg appear on Bluesky?
Berg: Ha — I am on Bluesky, on account that I’m not a huge fan of Nazis (they don’t seem to be around as much as they are on that other platform). Social for PR has become an engine for hyper-networking and media monitoring. I can meet journalists and influencers and find out what people are talking about that is relevant to trends and news much faster than years ago. Without social, the only way I’d be able to meet or forge relationships with people would’ve been in-person events. Also — it’s great for memes.
CR: Your website says you’re adept in audience development. Using Outlier as an example, tell us about that process and what it looks like to build and maintain an audience.
Berg: The first thing I do is put myself in the mindset of the audience. What is the problem I am trying to solve as the product — what are the pain points? Too often, brands don’t think about what their customers or audience cares about. They’d rather push, versus pull. For Outlier, I go through all of their social and Discord posts and see what subscribers ask about — and I turn this into content on the shows I do for them and in whatever outbound thought leadership Evan Kirkham (CEO of Outlier) talks about.
Maintaining an audience is more important than that initial gain of followers because maintaining is community building — what do these people want, what makes them consume and engage? This is forgotten. The signal-to-noise ratio is out of whack when all you’re thinking about every day is what you want to say versus “how can we take what our audience is looking for and provide an answer?”
CR: How have you liked freelancing or self-employment as compared with some of your previous full-time experiences with larger companies like Edelman, Vindex, Better Collective?
Berg: I love freelancing, but it’s different from being in-house or at an agency, which I also loved. I have built really solid client relationships doing this both ways. Whether you are in-house or on your own, your drive is what’s going to help you make it or not. Freelancing fits me well because I love hunting for clients and building relationships. It’s just allowed me to work with all sorts of different people. I’m grateful for my experiences at Better Collective, Clorox, and Edelman. I got to work with some incredible brands — I wouldn’t even be here without that because a lot of my clients now are people I met through a friend of a friend at those places. Being on my own is a different beast only because I really can’t rest because if there are no clients, there’s no business! Being able to work in sports across brands is something I have only been able to do as a freelancer so I cherish it.
CR: If you didn’t work in PR/comms … where else in the world or in what other profession could you see yourself fitting in, or at least pursuing?
Berg: I would be a game show host. Probably Hollywood Squares. If not that, I was a political science major — I love game theory and worked in politics as a strategist and fundraiser out of college. I would probably work in fundraising or development if not in PR.
Reel Fast
Rank in order the quality of your social media takes on sports betting, Philly sports, and parenting.
Philly sports takes — 1
Parenting takes — 2
Sports betting takes — 3
You used to go by “Phillyberg” and “DJ Berg.” If you had to give yourself an entirely new DJ moniker, what would you go with?
DJ Nora’s Dad because I think it would be hilariously embarrassing to my daughter when I was a big and famous DJ to have such a boomer name.
How many Phish concerts have you attended and in what year was the first?
Hit my 74th in December. First was 12/15/95 for my 15th birthday. Parents took me and wouldn’t let me go alone. Found the only other adults in the audience to hang with and it was the drummer’s parents.
Best futures bet you’ve made the past calendar year (can still be an open/ungraded ticket)?
Leon Draisaitl goals leader parlayed with Houston to win the Big 12 — something like 80-1.
What’s the top one or two T-shirts in your current rotation?
Despite being a diehard Eagles fan I have a vintage 1999 St Louis Rams T-shirt that I love and a very, very faded VSiN tee that I usually wear a lot during the week because I am okay getting toddler prints all over it.
Suppose you had an extra hour every day during which time the rest of the world simply froze in place, unaware. But you cannot interact with any other persons during this time. What would you do with this 25th hour every day?
Re-watch two episodes of Scrubs, uninterrupted by kids or anyone.
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You can keep up with Adam, a.k.a. Berg, on X and LinkedIn, or at the next Phish show near you.
Previous installments of Reel Lives:
Jesse Learmonth On Startups, Awards Shows For Startups, And Fatherhood
Kelly Kehn On Entrepreneurship, The Value Of Diversity, Paying It Forward, And Broadway
