Why Marketing Leaders Must Focus On Connectivity And Innovation In 2023

For sports fans the world over, the post-holiday season is where the action really begins to heat up and appetite for more achievements for a New Year kicks in. The same can be said for most CMOs who are also looking for areas they can improve their own companies offering for 2023 and ensure they stay fresh – and, crucially, relevant - in an ever-changing market.

In advance of the College Football National Championship today, who better than Mark Wright, AT&T’s VP of Media & Sponsorships, to help inspire marketers with some key insights on how to navigate what is coming next.

Before joining AT&T, Mark was Vice President of Media, Sports and Entertainment Marketing for Anheuser-Busch, Inc., and today leads media strategy, planning and execution for AT&T. He and his team, are also responsible for managing their sponsorship strategy for various sports, entertainment, and lifestyle partnerships – a marketing strategy that allow both AT&T and Mark as a marketing leader to personally connect with diverse and passionate audiences:

Wright: “My years of experience in marketing has taught me it is key to get deeply involved in the negotiation of all aspects of your brand presence, and to do it in arenas that inspire you the most personally as well. This will help propel you in directions you’ll never regret.”

Mark believes that building powerful relationships are the most direct way to hone execution of the vision as a marketer: “Good relationships internally help you build and retain a better team, which generates bigger wins that in turn give you more freedom and trust to execute creative ideas. Good relationships externally provide a better understanding of the marketplace as a whole, where things are heading, and where we can innovate.”

AT&Ts brand’s legacy in introducing this type of innovation to sports saw them to partner with college football to launch the first-ever College Football Playoff nine years ago and since then the increased role of connectivity has greatly impacted the at-home and in-game fan experience: “Fans get all kinds of different angles and cuts when watching from home, so why wouldn’t you want access to these when you’re at the game too? For us, mobile should be at the forefront of every situation as it lets us help fans to access additive companion content that will bring fans deeper into the live experience whether they are live at the game, viewing from their phone, or their 75” TV at-home!

It is not just the fan-experience in the game itself being impacted by technology; Mark’s vision is for technology to support fans way beyond the game – “we have interactive livestreams where you can watch concerts, choosing from a number of vantage points streamed directly to their smart phones. Fans can even see their heroes doing other activities they love around the sport – for example we’ve got Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams joining a live streaming of Call Of Duty before the game in front of thousands of college football fans, for the final stop of TimTheTatman’s AT&T Roadshow.”

It’s no secret that college students capture, share, and post a ton of content themselves. With student sections prolific in their data use, college football games are even further amplified. For Mark, this is a win-win, creating a flywheel that supports all of his teams joint marketing efforts: “We’ve seen data exceed the equivalent of 20+ million selfies in recent championship games.” Interestingly, Mark has also seen increasing recognition that College Football fandom has outgrown most other interests: “College Football fans are lifelong and another crop gets added every year, so even as we’ve seen many more interests and genres grab a share of audiences in the digital age, college football keeps and builds on its huge share. Too much college football is never too much!”

With the introduction of new Playoff format in 2014, Mark believes fans wanted to see a clearly decided champion. Mark has personally heard from a lot of people after BOTH semifinal games (Georgia v. Ohio State and Michigan v. TCU), where technology gave fans the best view of several close call – some even better than the original call on the field. “Being associated with this type of innovation from the very beginning has created a deeply positive effect for us. You can help steer the direction rather than reacting to it, and when it’s a no-brainer innovation, the consumer knows that you’re advocating for the best interests of something they’re passionate about. They see you as a partner.”

In giving advice to CMOs looking to introduce similar innovations in 2023, Mark feels they should carefully consider developing a much deeper understanding of their target audience: “Look for affinities that have really passionate fan-bases within your community, because enthusiasts are more predisposed to engage with you on a meaningful level. In the example of College football fans, they are one of sports’ most authentic ‘all-in’ fan-bases, and they are equally passionate in other areas like music, gaming and supporting causes, which allows you to establish a relationship with more range.”

Mark is also a big believer that innovation ultimately comes from people, and the more marketing minds you have bringing different perspectives, the better a chance you have of bringing completely fresh ideas to the table: “As a marketing leader I believer in empowering your team to build what this – and next - year’s trends will look like.”