A new approach to brand marketing, focused on creating true engagement rather than broad recognition, was a key topic yesterday during panel at the '14 CSE Sports Marketing Symposium featuring Burger King North America CMO
Eric Hirschhorn and Horizon Media President & CEO
Bill Koenigsberg, whose company partners with the QSR. Hirschhorn said, "My team is made up of engineers, former bankers, former consultants. We have very, very few traditional marketers on our team because I think that the role demands a very, very different skill set than it once did." Hirschhorn emphasized that his approach to capitalizing on Burger King’s recent partnership with the NCAA is centered on creating engagement. He said, "For a brand like Burger King, we have 100 percent recognition. Slapping a logo on a property ultimately becomes meaningless." Hirschhorn said what matters is developing creative points of engagement. He used the example of sending a team of bloggers to the Final Four to create a live, unique experience for customers. Hirschhorn: "I need access. I don’t need assets." Koensigsberg said brands are becoming increasingly concerned with being liked. He said, "What marketers want is ... that brand affinity. They want those engagement metrics. They want to see that brand health improve." Both panelists spoke of their reliance on analytics to hyper-target their audience, with Hirshhorn focusing on finding the perfect properties for his brand and Koenigsberg using data to find the ideal way to engage with the specific demographics that his brand partners seek.
