Hidden Gems: Meet Will Posthumus of BIG Creative

Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Posthumus.

Hi Will, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My love for sports entertainment started when I was just 5 years old, going to watch my older brother play basketball at Portage Central High School in Portage, MI. At that time they would turn off the lights in the gym, put a spotlight on a student who was dressed in a tuxedo, and announce the starters under spotlights and loud music. They were obviously inspired by the great Chicago Bulls team intros during that same era. I would watch that in awe as a little kid, then when the game started I would go back to playing with the other little brothers and sisters underneath the bleachers.

Fast-forward to when I was a high school student roughly 10 years later, at the same high school in Portage, and noticed that “show” had gone away. I went to the Athletic Director and asked if I could be the one to bring it back. My wish was granted and I was even given a little bit of budget to invest in another student to help me play music while I handled the PA announcing and entertainment planning. I then spent the next 3 years managing all of the entertainment for all of the arena sports at Portage Central and created new traditions for my fellow students to enjoy during these games. Even then I still didn’t fully realize what I was doing could become my profession, but it inspired me to continue following in the footsteps of that student who would dress up in the tuxedo while my brother played. He went to Arizona State University to pursue a career in sports broadcasting, so I decided I would do the same.

I was also a pretty good baseball player during that time in High School and I was offered an opportunity to play baseball at Western Michigan University, so decided to put my ASU schooling on hold and try college baseball. After a shoulder injury and surgery following during my freshman year at WMU, I decided to hang it up and move on after my sophomore year, and finally packed my things and continued my schooling at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU.

After only a semester at ASU I got an internship with the Arizona Diamondbacks, working as a part of the entertainment and production team responsible for all of the in-game experience at Chase Field during MLB games held there. This was when I fully realized what I was doing in high school was actually a career path. You could put on sporting events and entertain fans at a professional level. This was what started a winding journey through working in professional sports and entertainment and has led me to where I am now, running my own company called BIG Creative where we work with professional sports and entertainment teams and leagues at the highest level all over the country.

There is a long and winding road from that first D-backs season in 2008 until I started BIG Creative in 2021, but I had stops with teams in MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, and NCAA Athletics including time with the Pistons, Red Wings, and Tigers, and then back to Western Michigan University to help them build and launch their ESPN broadcast program and unveil their new video boards at Waldo Stadium that still continues today.

Now, my company BIG Creative, has 16 active clients including 7 NFL teams which we’re hands on with at the moment during the NFL season, and we’re expanding our reach and capabilities every single year with the mission of bringing the most impactful and most valuable fan experiences to live sporting events and entertainment venues.

After launching BIG Creative in the Phoenix metro area in 2021, I’ve recently relocated back to West Michigan in the Grand Rapids metro area to be closer to family, and also closer to the majority of professional and collegiate sports organizations in North America to increase our reach and our impact.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Lots of struggles, steps forward, steps backward, panic attacks, crash outs, and triumphs along the way. I have a story about passing out in the middle of producing a Sunday Night Football game in Miami that is worth telling…its a tale of burning the candle at both ends and taking on more than one can handle in the pursuit of growth. Then starting BIG Creative and bringing on full-time team members and having to constantly grow the business to provide for them and their families carries its own weight and challenges.

We’ve been impressed with BIG Creative, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
BIG Creative is a collection of sports and entertainment professionals who are committed to improving the business of sport from the outside, in. This industry is forever growing, evolving, and expanding because it drives a tremendous amount of revenue through live event experiences, content, and investing in the fanbase. There are only so many people who specialize in this world, and we are committed to helping make sure those people are supported along the way.

We have over 65 years of front office experience, collectively. That mean’s we’ve been a part of 1000+ MLB, 400+ NFL, 200+ NHL, 250+ NCAA, 100+ NBA, International Soccer, PGA Tour, Formula 1, International Tennis, Concerts, and more Premium Events.

We’ve been tasked with pushing creative event experiences, and building revenue-generating content that turns guests into repeat customers. Our winding road has allowed us to fail forward, earn victories, and gain the experience to help make sure you and your team can deliver on all of your promises. BIG Creative is a small but mighty team, and we have a network of experience to tap into if need be meaning we can cover a large variety of creative and live entertainment solutions.

Our service offerings range from brand and content development, creative content production, game and event presentation and production, team support, and ongoing strategic consulting. We make stuff, we strategize, we execute, and we develop the people who need to continue to execute at that level before moving on.

What sets us apart is our collective institutional knowledge. We can immediately become a part of your any front office’s internal teams because for the majority of our careers that’s where we were. We have no ego…just ideas, energy, and a willingness to get things done and that really sets us apart. We often leave things better than we found them and that turns into lasting professional relationships and trust that brings our partners back year over year.

I’m most proud of some of the amazing content productions we’ve been a part of with the Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Carolina Panthers, and more. We’ve written a children’s book, produced the first ever NFL halftime drone show, created multi-year storytelling and marketing campaigns, produced award winning halftime shows, worked with multi-platinum selling and grammy award winning musicians, and helped teams exceed their revenue goals along the way. We’ve also been able to fill gaps and steady rough waters for teams in transition. I’m so proud of us going for it and doing it the right way.

I want your readers to know that when they go to a sports event…there is a small army of people who work tirelessly and care so much about your experience at that event. We give so much of ourselves to be able to make sure the music is great, the PA announcers are informed and entertaining, the video content is engaging, and we work so hard to create a home field advantage for the team you’re there to support. We can’t run the plays or win the games, but we spend so much time, effort, and energy to give you, the fans, the inspiration to support your team whether they win, lose, or draw…and at the same time we work to give them, the players, the best possible chance to succeed. It’s a thankless job quite often. When you do everything right…nobody says a word. When you make a mistake (like play music in the middle of a pitch or the lights go out in the middle of a play) then the entire world points a finger at you. It’s 100+ hour weeks and time away from your friends and family because you’re expected to be in the office during normal business hours….and then you REALLY go to work when its game time and that happens during nights, weekends, and holidays. It’s a tremendous amount of work and pressure…but when you press play and share your creative efforts with the fans in the stands and it hits…there is nothing else like it. The business of sport is relentless, but can be so rewarding when it all comes together.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Don’t step on anyone else or burn bridges as you scratch and claw your way to where you want to be. Leadership positions are few and far between, but your efforts and attitude will eventually shine through. I didn’t always follow this advice as much as I wish I would have, especially early on in my career, but can help those we work with now feel safe and protected while they continue on their career trajectory.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bigcreative.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsgo_big/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/letsgo-big
• Twitter: https://x.com/LetsGo_BIG
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BIGCreative1