Having worked at ESPN for over 30 years, Tina Thornton has witnessed the brand’s evolution over decades.
“In those 30 years, the brand has really evolved and gotten stronger and been a big part of who we are and our identity,” the executive vice president of creative studio and marketing said.
Thornton and Nidhi Bhagat, who works in brand marketing, discussed how ESPN has leveraged innovation to expand its brand identity in the Variety Studio, presented by Canva, at Advertising Week.
Thornton mentioned alternate broadcasts as an example of innovation, such as the “Toy Story Funday Football” telecast, an animated presentation of an NFL game that streamed on ESPN+ and Disney+ for kids.
“It has been just an amazing experience to look at the innovation and how far we’re bringing that, Thornton said. “The challenge is bringing that innovation to the forefront and bringing new audiences based upon that.”
Bhagat said they saw several people posting videos on social media of parents and kids watching the “Toy Story” broadcast together: “It really goes to show the power of sports and how it brings people together.”
“‘Toy Story’ just being fully animated and bringing a football field into Andy’s room and seeing all those small details that we’re proud of … like Slinky dog doing the 10 yard marker and stretching out when it was more. It’s just so cool to see,” she added.
As a result of these innovations, Thornton said ESPN’s ratings have been up. “People just want to watch live, and they want to feel like they’re a part of a community that is watching together,” she said.
Other examples of ESPN’s new initiatives include “NHL Big City Greens Classic,” which featured live volumetric animations of players and teams modeled after characters from the show “Big City Greens.”
“The NHL volumetric broadcasts have been really important to us, where we’re actually playing the game in an animated world,” Thornton said. “The other thing that I would say that we’re doing is a lot of access at this point. Access is really important to our fans. If you think about miking players in Major League Baseball or in the WNBA … we just want to give access to all of our fans in a unique and different way. And I think they’re demanding that at this point.”
While ESPN has seen success in their past and current innovations, Bhagat said she hopes to see more of a focus on the influencer space and inclusivity for 2024.
“Everyone has a different way where they fell in love with their sport. For me, I was watching NFL Sundays with my family — we’re huge Patriots fans — but instead of your typical wings and barbecue and tailgate, I had a menu of Indian street food ready,” she said. “I would love to see diverse influencers really affecting the game of sports, and we’re seeing more of these stories across the globe since sports brings people together.”
