How a new cable network dedicated to the Chicago Cubs is trying to gain fan loyalty

A new cable network dedicated to the Chicago Cubs is tapping into homegrown talent for an ad campaign aimed at all levels of fans of the baseball team. The Marquee Sports Network, entering its second year of hosting Chicago Cubs baseball after the team's long run with WGN, is starting the season with creative from homegrown Chicago agency Quality Meats that addresses all the layers of fandom that go into following a team like the Cubs. “There are the people who go because it’s the world’s biggest bar, Wrigleyville,” says Gordy Sang, co-founder and co-chief creative officer at Quality Meats, referring to the famous neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field. “There are the blind optimists. And there are deep cores of Cubs fans who live with the heartache and have a deeper understanding with the team.” The campaign, which touts the tagline “We Get All Of It,” includes several nods to the team’s rollercoaster performance over the decades, from superstitions like The Curse of the Billy Goat to a blink-and-you-miss-it reference to the 2016 World Series. The network said it was aiming for things only fans at every level would get, as well as things non-Chicagoans would understand, says Brian Siedband, co-founder and co-chief creative officer of Quality Meats. “I’m a Cubs fan, lifelong, so to me this was a dream to work on,” said Siedband. “We wanted to put something out there that made sense and proved [Marquee] understood how the fans and the city feel about it.” Marquee is the first “big” client for Quality Meats, a young agency co-founded by Siedband and Sang after years of doing work together. The campaign comes as Marquee Sports Network tries to build loyalty with fans as the team’s exclusive home for games. Cubs fans had been conditioned for decades to watch games on WGN, and the launch of Marquee Sports Network was met with some derision, according to a report from Forbes last year. The network—a joint venture between the Cubs and Sinclair Broadcast Group— launched just as the pandemic began, and wound up becoming the only way fans could watch the Cubs as sports stadiums shuttered last year. “This campaign is just a launching point to show Cubs fans that we're not just here for them, we are them, and we’re listening,” said Tabitha Green, director of marketing at Marquee Sports Network, in a statement. The campaign includes a teaser, launch film and 15-second television spots, as well as out-of-home and digital.

How a new cable network dedicated to the Chicago Cubs is trying to gain fan loyalty

Featured Stories