Batter Up! Sitecore Symposium 2025 Brings Jesse Cole of Savannah Bananas to the Plate

If you think it was hard getting tickets to Hamilton, try scoring seats for the Savannah Bananas. 

Oh, you’ve never heard of them? Let me enlighten you.

You see, there’s baseball. And then there’s Banana Ball. They grow on the same tree, but the latter is a completely different kind of fruit. One might say it’s more, well… “a-peeling.” 

Once called “The Greatest Show in Sports” by ESPN, the Savannah Bananas is easily the most fun you’ll ever have watching America’s favorite pastime. Banana Ball follows its own zany rules, injecting dancing players, acrobatics, and trick plays that challenge the status quo – often bringing fans and spectators into the experience.

What made this quirky sport a viral sensation and a big-time brand success? Find out from Jesse Cole, the owner of Savannah Bananas, at Sitecore Symposium 2025, November 3–5 at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida. 

In his exclusive keynote, you’ll get the whole “brand banana” and then some. This year’s Symposium also promises a backdrop for upleveling your marketing using AI, data, and content to build experiences that are bona fide home runs.   

Before you go bananas over this news, Sitecore has a few more things planned for this year’s Symposium. By the way, early bird ticket pricing ends this week (September 12), so register now at symposium.sitecore.com  

Loading the bases with brand power

For Jesse, Banana Ball is the realization of his dream to make baseball livelier and more fun. The Savannah Bananas are often on the road, playing in front of sold-out stadiums to raucous fans who come for the sport, but stay for the batters on stilts and the shortstop’s cartwheels. Or even the musical interludes from the All-American Rejects.

As Jesse said during an interview on a recent edition of 60 Minutes, it started as baseball. 

“But now,” he said wryly, “let’s just turn it up a little bit.” 

Jesse’s story is a remarkable one. When his dream of playing professional baseball was sidetracked by injury, he steered into coaching. Along the way, he realized just how bored he was sitting in the dugout – and that’s where the showman bug bit him. 

He started incorporating choreographed dances and baseline hijinks into the games. He even donned a whacky yellow hat as an homage to PT Barnum. As the famous circus proprietor once said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens: Nothing!” 

Jesse embodies that belief – and proudly wears his brand out loud every day.

“If your owner is dressed up in a yellow tuxedo,” he said, “I think that gives permission to everyone else to not take themselves too seriously. To have fun.”

This is a big part of what makes Banana Ball different. It’s not just the dancing umpires or golden capes. It’s the philosophy that drives it all. You'll get a better sense of it from that 60 Minutes package:

As you can see, Jesse screams authenticity. It’s a rare quality these days, but he’s the real deal – and cares deeply about the fans and community he’s cultivated. 

Despite the slim odds of actually nailing tickets for a game (there are thousands on the waitlist), the Savannah Bananas are committed to making their family-friendly fun affordable and accessible. And Jesse, a visible brand himself on social media, is always looking for ways to make fans feel like they’re the number one priority.

Banana Ball has become a viral sensation, and attendees of this year’s Symposium 2025 will get a taste of it as Jesse Cole delivers the main stage keynote. His disruptive thinking has turned spectators into participants – and in many ways, that reflects Sitecore’s focus on helping brands move beyond transactions to create moments that matter. 

At Sitecore Symposium 2025, attendees will explore how to apply this ethos to their marketing strategy using AI, data, and content. Like the Savannah Bananas, the right combination of tools and thinking can help build experiences that feel personal, participatory, and even unforgettable. 

According to Sitecore CEO Eric Stine, Jesse has transformed the fan experience by proving that joy and connection can create lasting loyalty. 

“That same principle applies to every brand represented at Symposium,” he said. “With the scale and speed of AI-driven personalization, companies have the power to translate complex products, large end-markets, or immense amounts of content into meaningful experiences that are both personal and enduring.”

Explore the future of AI, data, and content in paradise

Symposium 2025 is the second event that Sitecore has held in Orlando this year, starting with its Sales Kick Off back in July. Orlando is a true “experience economy,” one of many reasons why it’s an ideal backdrop for an event that will attract 1,500 marketers, technologists, and digital leaders from around the globe.

It’s also in Florida during the thick of autumn – exactly when the word “paradise” gets tossed into the descriptions. The air will be warm, the palm trees swaying, and the amenities are bountiful at the luxurious Dolphin Hotel. It’s also a stone’s throw away from Disney’s Boardwalk and a short hike to the Epcot theme park. 

While Jesse Cole is a big draw, Sitecore will also showcase its latest innovations at the event, including its newly launched App Marketplace, which provides marketers, developers, and agency partners the freedom to build and deploy custom apps on demand using Sitecore’s SDK. 

When coupled with XM Cloud, Sitecore’s AI-ready, SaaS-native CMS, the App Marketplace provides dynamic solutions for brands to scale personalization with speed, flexibility, and precision – turning digital spectators into active participants. And XM Cloud continues to establish itself as a game-changer for organizations, delivering a 371% return on investment. 

At Symposium, attendees will be treated to real-world stories from customers like the American Heart Association, DP World, GoTo Technologies, and WellSpan Health, illustrating how Sitecore is helping organizations transform their digital strategies – not just with tools, but with a mindset shift toward experience-led growth. 

“Partnering with Sitecore allowed us to move fast and deliver results,” said Peter Mahoney, Chief Commercial Officer at GoTo Technologies. “In a matter of weeks, we consolidated fragmented digital experiences, launched scalable personalization, and introduced innovations like a simplified product selector. As a result, we saw a 78% surge in organic trial conversions, a 200% improvement in lead quality and a projected 60–70% reduction in infrastructure costs. This wasn’t just a redesign – it was a transformation of how we engage, convert, and grow.”

Masha Rubashkina, Managing Director, Global Head of Marketing and Branding at Kroll, also underscored the transformative impacts of XM Cloud on its Kroll.com website. As she said, it was more than just a platform upgrade – it set a new standard for digital excellence. 

“We have transformed how we present and deliver the firm to our clients, bringing clarity to our capabilities and strengthening our brand through a unified, global digital experience,” she said. “This new platform enables both our teams and our clients to move with greater speed, precision, and relevance – supporting marketing-led growth and reinforcing our position as a trusted advisor worldwide.”

See you at Sitecore Symposium 2025

Or Bananaland. Bottom line: we'll be having fun as we explore the future of digital experiences.

Symposium is easily one of my favorite events of the year. It’s a chance to learn, connect, and be inspired by the people and projects being built on Sitecore. I'm also eager to hear about the real-world challenges affecting the content management and digital experience industry inside one of the leading ecosystems.

Just like last year, I’ll be on the ground at Symposium 2025, connecting with partners, customers, and builders like you from across the Sitecore community. If you read my analysis from 2024 in Nashville, XM Cloud was already on a roll – and since then, it has continued to be a home run product for Sitecore. 

We’ll be tracking more of your stories as you share project outcomes and discuss the impacts of AI with Sitecore Stream and other advancements. If you want to join me, early bird pricing ends September 12, so register today at symposium.sitecore.com

Looking for guidance on Sitecore? Talk to an expert.

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