How the CMO role is changing
Chad Biagini, president of Nolan Partners, an executive recruiter owned by Excel Sports, said demand for chief marketers in sports has “absolutely” increased as the role has evolved, with many organizations now seeking marketers with expertise in consumer goods, media or entertainment, or in industries that have experienced rapid growth and/or rapid change.
Nolan in recent years has placed top marketing executives with the Chicago Cubs, Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans, as well as Karin Timpone, MLB’s CMO.
“Marketing has become one of the hottest teams to discuss within sports organizations,” Biagini said. Part of this relates to the increasing globalization of sports, he said, with the NFL and NBA now allowing teams to market in overseas markets as though they were local.
Also read: How leagues are growing international fandom
Sports organizations have gradually changed what they’re looking for in CMOs, evolving from targeting “classicly trained” marketers good at price and promotion to those who could oversee the shift to teams as content creators, according to Biagini. Today, teams are seeking “left brain” individuals who can help them identify and eventually monetize their digital audiences.
“A lot of organizations have said, ‘we’re communicating well on these channels but we have no ideas who’s watching that content,’” he said.
Grahl said sports CMOs need to be “creative problem solvers” today, using creative skills and technologies to analyze business challenges and find solutions.
Lara Krug is now in her fourth season as CMO of the Kansas City Chiefs, coming to the club after a long career at Anheuser-Busch InBev, where she served as VP of marketing for Stella Artois, among other roles. Speaking at an Advertising Week session earlier this month, Krug noted the Chiefs had never had a CMO before she arrived.
“We had no brand strategists, we had no programming, we had no project management,” said Krug, describing building the group so as to mimic a large marketing organization.
More: 5 sports marketing lessons from Advertising Week
Krug discussed evolving partnerships, noting that while the Chiefs’ local partners seek local awareness, national partners such as Hallmark are more interested in creative engagement.
Another area of focus for the Chiefs has been the global market, which presents a far bigger opportunity than the three-state local marketing area it’s allowed by the NFL. The ambition is to be the “world’s team” in the same manner as the Dallas Cowboys are known as “America’s Team.”
“Not every club can be the world’s team, just like not every club can be America’s Team,” Krug said. “I think there’s plenty of room for everyone, just with a different strategy.”