AWARDS
COURTESYOF^ ACTIV
IS
ION^
BLIZ
ZARD,^ VERIZ
ON36 MARCH 16, 2020 |^ ADWEEK®
Daniel Cherry III
CMO | Activision Blizzard Esports
Since being appointed CMO in 2018, sports and entertainment
marketing pro Cherry has launched the video-game company’s global
esports leagues, and continues to evolve his innovations. For example,
games for the first two seasons of Overwatch League were held mostly in
Los Angeles. But this year, the league’s 20 teams are traveling city to city
as part of the brand’s effort to reach more fans across the U.S. and open
new revenue streams. In January, Activision Blizzard launched a second
franchised esports league for Call of Duty, which consists of 12 teams.
Together, the leagues have 32 teams representing 22 cities and
states across six countries and three continents. The teams compete in
weekly live, ticketed events in their home markets, but fans around the
world also stream the competitions on platforms like YouTube Gaming,
OverwatchLeague.com and CallofDutyLeague.com. According to Cherry,
Activision Blizzard Esports has sold out back-to-back Overwatch League
Grand Finals events at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2018 and
the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia in 2019.
Cherry has also led efforts to make esports more inclusive. The
brand has released videos in 2019 spotlighting women who work for
Overwatch League and members of the LGBTQ community who are
fans. In order to succeed in marketing today, he says brands need
to “move at the speed of culture” rather than on a strict planning
schedule, and be open to new people and ideas.
“In order to remain in touch with the masses, you must have a
radically inclusive organization that reflects global pop culture. You
must embrace the unknown and experiment with a consumer-first or
fan-first mindset,” he says. “You have to look outside yourself to ensure
you’re not hiring clones. I hate the old adage, ‘Well, they’re not a good
cultural fit.’ You should question your corporate culture if it doesn’t
reflect the culture.” —I.Z.Diego Scotti
CMO | Verizon
With the wireless industry at a critical
juncture as carriers unveil 5G networks,
Scotti has set Verizon apart by crafting
emotional stories around what might
otherwise be a dry, technical concept.
Whether it’s a Super Bowl ad about how
faster speeds help first responders or
an Oscars spot highlighting how families
rely on the service in tough situations,
Scotti’s marketing department always
looks for a moving human angle on the
next generation of connectivity.
That strategy is paired with on-the-ground
activations that let people experience the
technology firsthand, like sponsored gamingcompetitions featuring NFL players and
esports stars or interactive experiences in
Los Angeles and New York that virtually
transported people to the Academy Awards red
carpet. “You have to think about how 5G will
affect some of the biggest problems in society,”
says Scotti, “all the way from healthcare to
access to communication.” —Patrick Kulp