John Zeigler, Chief Marketing Officer of Sinclair Broadcast Group, sat down with Deloitte Digital’s Allan Cook at Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit, presented by Deloitte, to discuss the pivots marketing has had to make inside a new age of technology.
According to Zeigler, consumers are beginning to tip the scales in the marketing game, “We live in a world where the consumer wants what they want, when they want it. It used to be enough to go to a game at Yankee Stadium. Now fans expect a bespoke experience that’s tailored to their needs.”
As companies rethink their business and advertising models, Zeigler doesn’t feel they should view other platforms as competition. “We’re all collectively in competition with time for the attention of the consumer. What experience can I offer you to stop your thumb scroll?” he asked.
That being said, the consumer experience is a fragile one. “A bad experience can undo months, years of good experience,” Zeigler said. This requires companies to get to know their customers on a very personal level to make them feel valued.
“We want to lean into the moment when you walk into the lobby and someone at the front desk goes, ‘Welcome back, high floor king bed, water view?’”
Zeigler also elaborated on how the metaverse can add to this layering fandom on top of shared experiences. “When Aaron Judge hits a walk off, you’re hugging random strangers” he said. “The metaverse can bring this kind feeling to consumers right in their own homes. Younger generations are especially keen on remote connection, and often value real-life and virtual experiences as equal.”
At Sinclair, Zeigler said they begin with an end goal of giving fans exactly what they want, and then work backwards from that. Part of that process includes getting access to consented first-party data like zip codes and email addresses so they can better tailor fan experiences, which in turn promotes consumption.
Watch the full conversation above.
