Brand campaigns and the role of digital, Kevin Kinghorn

@seancallanan

9 months ago

In this Sports Geek Throwback episode, Sean Callanan interviews Kevin Kinghorn from episode 140, who was at the Vancouver Canucks when the episode was recorded, and now EVP & Chief Marketing Officer at the Portland Trail Blazers

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Key Takeaways

In this Sports Geek Throwback, Kevin and Sean delve into the evolving landscape of brand campaigns and the increasingly significant role digital plays in these strategies:

The importance of understanding what a sponsor truly wants and tailoring strategies accordingly.
The value of developing a catalogue of case studies, both successful and unsuccessful, to inform future campaigns.
The emphasis on fan engagement and experience, rather than chasing vanity metrics.
The power of Facebook as a tool for identifying and interacting with fans.
The need to keep things simple and efficient for fans, avoiding unnecessary complications in campaigns.

Throwback Transcript

This transcript has been lightly edited by AI

Sean: So, your role now is that you've got the content team that is keeping the fan engagement, ensuring Canucks fans are getting the information they're not getting from traditional media. Your team is really focused on the business outcomes from digital, whether it be ticket sales and brand partnerships and partnerships with your sponsors. Is that right?

Kevin: Yes, it is. A little bit bigger than that in the sense that any engagement with the fan through a digital channel is what we focus on. How are we building that relationship with the fan? How are we moving them down the funnel? We're creating a better experience for them with our organization, whether it's through the website, social media, a mobile app or even in person.

Sean: It's a unique transition to come from a journalistic background into the pure digital marketing space. So, how has your brand marketing and brand campaigns changed over the past five years and where does digital now fit?

Kevin: Yes, that's a great question. So, traditionally, we've gone out in August, our season starts in September, but we've gone for more of a traditional campaign. We were trying to get people with outdoor or TV or radio and that ran a little bit in a vacuum. Then we launched our sales campaign and again, we used some traditional channels but just to give you an idea, I think four or five years ago we spent five figures on digital advertising and now 90% of our budget's put against digital.