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Julian Duncan
CMO | Jacksonville Jaguars
For Duncan, who did stints at Under Armour and Nike before joining the
Jacksonville Jaguars, marketing technology isn’t about an arms race.
“It’s not about having something just for the sake of having it,” he tells
Adweek. “We want to make sure it’s meaningful to our fans.”
In light of this approach, last season the Jaguars amplified the organic
buzz surrounding backup rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew, a
sixth-round draft pick known for his mustache, jorts, headband and
aviator sunglasses. The franchise created AR filters to turn fans into
Minshew, sent Minshew merchandise to influencers and teamed up
with ESPN to producee a video starring the young athlete alongside elder
doppelganger Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite. What became known
as Minshew Mania boosted apparel sales and social engagement across
all platforms. An October home game against the New Orleans Saints
saw $100,000 in incremental ticket sales, placing it within the top five
revenue-generating games in the team’s 25-year history. —P.H.Lara Hood Balazs
CMO | Intuit
Since joining Intuit in 2018, Balazs has taken
the financial software company’s “Power
prosperity around the world” mission
statement to beyond just product offerings.
In fall 2019, Balazs and her team launched
“Together We Prosper,” the brand’s first
purpose-driven marketing campaign, focused
on creating economic success in communities.
The campaign is anchored by Prosperity
Hub, an ongoing program that brings full-
time job opportunities, vocational training
and education resources to regional,
underserved communities. Intuit works
with customer partner-employers, including
Alorica and Concentrix, to hire full-time
employees, who are trained to provide
domain expertise for the company’s products,
like Mint, QuickBooks and TurboTax. The
firm has created 1,500 jobs in five towns in
the U.S., including Wise, Va., and Johnstown,
Pa., as part of the pilot program. Intuit hopes
to fund around 1,500 more jobs by 2021.
Balazs, who’s based in San Francisco,
previously led marketing efforts at Amazon
and Visa. She also spearheads Intuit’s
incorporation of technology to drive growth.
Efforts include an AI-driven expert platform
as part of Prosperity Hub, which could foster
higher retention rates and faster response
times for Intuit’s 50 million customers globally.
“More than ever, your marketing efforts
need to be a reflection of a purpose-driven
mission,” Balazs says. “And if that mission is
not authentic or based on customer needs, your
marketing will not drive growth.” —I.Z.