A Fresh Look for the Way You Work

We started Earmark because we believed continuing education for accounting and finance professionals could be a lot better than it was. Not a box to check at the end of the year, but something genuinely useful that fits into a real working life.

Today, I’m proud to introduce a new look for Earmark.

You’ll notice a refreshed brand, a cleaner visual identity, and a clearer voice. But a rebrand isn’t really about a logo. It’s about getting honest with yourself about who you are and where you’re going, and then making sure everything you put into the world reflects that. This new look is us doing exactly that.

Why now

For too long, CPE has been more complicated than it needs to be. Rigid formats, clunky systems, last-minute scrambles to track credits. It’s enough to make continuing education feel like a chore instead of what it should be: a way to do better work and grow with confidence.

Our mission has always been to change that, to transform an outdated model and deliver education that’s engaging, flexible, and actually worth your time. As we’ve grown into that mission, the brand needed to catch up. The new identity reflects the experience we’re building: modern CPE that’s clear, practical, and made for the way professionals work today.

Make your mark, on the go

Here’s what hasn’t changed: we still believe your education should respect your time. It should fit into a commute, a lunch break, or a quiet moment between meetings, not demand that you carve out a free afternoon you don’t have.

That belief is the heart of everything we do, and it’s why we want CPE to help you make your mark with education that travels with you. Because we think every professional has a real mark to make in this field, and better education is how the whole profession rises. That’s the future we’re working toward.

What to expect

Your account, your progress, and your certificates are all right where you left them. You’ll still find practical, mobile-first CPE and tools that make continuing education easier to manage for individuals, firms, and teams.

What’s new is the look, and it’ll roll out gradually across the app and the rest of the experience over the coming weeks. Behind the scenes, we’re doing what we always do: building, refining, and shipping updates to make Earmark better every time you open it. The fresh look is simply the part you’ll see first.

Welcome to what’s next

A rebrand is a milestone, but more than that, it’s a signal. For us, it signals a renewed commitment to building a better way to earn and manage CPE, and to elevating this profession through better education for everyone in it.

To the professionals, firms, partners, and educators who’ve shaped Earmark into what it is: thank you. We couldn’t have gotten here without you.

The new Earmark is here. Same mission, fresh energy, better CPE.

Welcome to what’s next.

Blake Oliver CEO, Earmark

In a recent Earmark podcast episode, Dr. Tim Naddy, CFO of the Savannah Bananas, shared the team’s unconventional approach to sports entertainment and finance. With a background in accounting and education, Tim brings a unique perspective to sports finance, blending traditional accounting principles with innovative tactics prioritizing fan experience.

By analyzing the financial strategies behind the Savannah Bananas’ success, accounting professionals can learn how to implement and measure the effectiveness of all-inclusive pricing models, non-traditional revenue streams, and customer-centric KPIs in other industries to drive customer satisfaction and business growth.

The Savannah Bananas’ Revolutionary Business Model

The Savannah Bananas have revolutionized sports entertainment by blending circus-like excitement with baseball tradition. Tim explains that they’ve found a “secret sauce” that makes the game less stressful and more enjoyable for fans.

The team creates a fun, family-friendly environment with unconventional elements like choreographed player dances and unique cheerleading squads. This approach yielded impressive results: over 3 million social media followers, 200 consecutive sold-out games, and a million-fan waitlist.

Their model emphasizes creating a total fan experience that drives long-term loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing. By prioritizing customer experience, the Bananas demonstrate how businesses can create a “flywheel” effect, where positive experiences drive demand and sustainable growth. Their results are a case study for incorporating customer satisfaction metrics into financial strategies.

All-Inclusive Pricing: A Game-Changing Strategy

One of the most revolutionary aspects of the Savannah Bananas’ business model is their all-inclusive pricing strategy. As Tim explains, “What we found very, very interesting is, when you give away the food for free, and people aren’t worried about whether or not their six-year-old is fed, they are happily taking that money and saying, well, shoot, I had such a great time. I think I want to buy a hat or a T-shirt. Because I know at the end of the game there will be 40 players out there all signing that ball.”

The Savannah Bananas include all food in the ticket price, allowing fans to enjoy hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and soft drinks without additional cost. A family of four can attend a game for about $140, enjoying four to five hours of entertainment with all food included. Alcohol and specialty items are not included in the ticket price, maintaining an additional revenue stream.

Initially met with skepticism from industry consultants who viewed food sales as a crucial revenue stream, the Bananas persisted with their vision. The results have been remarkable. By removing the stress of additional food costs, fans are more likely to spend money on merchandise, turning attendees into “walking billboards” for the team.

For accounting professionals, this case study demonstrates the importance of looking beyond traditional revenue streams and considering how pricing strategies impact customer behavior and long-term brand loyalty.

The all-inclusive model also presents exciting challenges for financial reporting and analysis. Accountants must consider how to accurately allocate revenue between ticket sales, food costs, and merchandise and how to measure the true impact of this strategy on the bottom line. This requires a shift in thinking from traditional cost-center approaches to viewing food as part of the overall entertainment experience.

Fan-Centric KPIs: Redefining Financial Success

The Savannah Bananas focus on fan-centric Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), particularly the “per cap” metric. This metric, calculated by dividing total sales by attendees, helps identify trends and issues in various business aspects.

As Tim explains: “The per cap is almost a universal KPI. It’s something that you absolutely need to watch. Because once you start seeing a flip in the per cap, whether that be in merchandise or food and beverage, that’s a lead indicator for you. Now, let’s say merchandise falls. We might look at that and say, was it because it rained this evening? Were we not offering the right products? Is there a certain product that isn’t selling? We investigate why we had that slippage because we know where we should be based on the per cap average.”

On the other hand, if they see an increase in their per cap, they can determine whether the bump came from a particularly popular piece of merchandise.

“It’s a great bellwether for us to look at because, ultimately, what it comes down to is if we don’t know our fans, then we’re going to miss out and it will show in the cap. It will absolutely show,” Tim says.

By adopting similar customer-centric KPIs, businesses in other industries can gain deeper insights into their financial drivers and make informed decisions about resource allocation and strategic planning.

Adapting Financial Systems for Innovative Business Models

To support their unconventional business model, the Savannah Bananas have had to adapt their financial systems and technology stack. As Tim explains, “We actually just made the move to NetSuite. We were originally using QuickBooks and we knew at some point we were starting to get a little too big. QuickBooks is a wonderful platform, but it’s not built for the volume of transactions we were running through it.”

The move to NetSuite ultimately improved processes like credit card allocations and cash allocations, streamlining daily financial operations.

The Bananas’ financial ecosystem combines specialized tools: Shopify for merchandise sales and inventory management, Toast for food and beverage operations, and proprietary software for their ticketing platform. This best-of-breed approach allows them to track and analyze fan behavior across different touchpoints, supporting their fan-centric business model.

They’re also building a data warehouse to integrate data from these different systems, aiming to provide more comprehensive insights into their operations and fan engagement. The goal is to be able to support a more sophisticated analysis of how different aspects of the fan experience contribute to overall financial performance.

Reimagining Financial Strategies for Customer-Centric Businesses

The Savannah Bananas’ success story offers a playbook for accounting professionals across industries to reimagine financial strategies in the context of customer-centric business models. The team has achieved remarkable success and customer loyalty by implementing innovative pricing strategies, focusing on fan-centric KPIs, and adapting financial systems to support these approaches.

To gain more in-depth insights into the Savannah Bananas’ innovative financial strategies and how you can apply them in your practice, listen to the full Earmark Podcast episode featuring CFO Tim Naddy. His story offers a valuable perspective that can help you drive innovation in your financial practices and deliver greater value to your clients and organization.

The New Earmark Is Here