The following interview is part of our ongoing Expert Series that asks C-level professionals, team presidents, league executives, athletic directors and other sports influencers about their latest thoughts and insights on new technologies impacting the sports industry.
Name: Melissa McGhie Proctor
Company: Atlanta Hawks
Position: Chief Marketing Officer
Since March 2016, Melissa McGhie Proctor has been the Chief Marketing Officer of the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena. As CMO, Proctor oversees the day-to-day operations of the club’s marketing teams, including marketing integrations and operations, digital and content marketing, and advertising, promotions and direct response.
Proctor joined the organization in June 2014 when she was named vice president of brand strategy. In her former role, she was responsible for brand development and building marketing and business plans that propelled the organization’s long-term strategy. Beginning her career with the Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., Proctor served in brand development and strategy positions for Turner Entertainment Networks (including TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), truTV and Peachtree TV), Cartoon Network and Turner Media Group. Additionally, she helped to create the first Corporate Social Responsibility division in Turner’s UK office. Among her accomplishments, she was responsible for managing the naming and identity for the rebranding of Court TV as truTV, and leading corporate culture initiatives to foster employee engagement, collaboration and innovation.
Proctor holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree in design studies/branding from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design at The London Institute.
1) What utilization of technology in sports has recently blown you away and why?
With my background in entertainment and sports, content is always king. Technology has helped to grow content accessibility. The unique views of the game and behind-the-scenes access that are being made available are very exciting for fans. GoPro’s work with the NFL, PGA and Wimbledon, plus the growth of VR and 360 content make it possible to see and appreciate the game from unique perspectives. At the Hawks, we have had tremendous success with live streaming on Facebook Live, which makes it possible to promote one-off news events, sharing unique content from the team directly to the fans.
2) If you had to invest in one technology that would change the marketing or social/digital world in sports, what would it be and why?
It would have to be technology that creates second-screen experiences that enhance game attendance or TV viewing experiences by giving fans control over replays, stats, new angles, exclusive content, retail opportunities, etc. Customized content and on-demand platforms are how audiences are now consuming video content, so any technology that helps to reinforce those behaviors would be worthy of investment.
3) If money were no object, what technology would you build or buy to help you do your job better?
If money were no object, it would be great to have a digital content production farm and a platform for distribution of live, on-demand and VR content. Also, a fully-integrated technology stack of tools that allows us to develop comprehensive fan profiles and generate optimized messaging flows for each type of fan across all digital, social and physical touchpoints.
4) As a sports fan, what sports-related service, app, product, etc., could you not live without and why?
From my time at Turner Broadcasting, I became a huge fan of Bleacher Report and Team Stream. I love being able to get great content about my favorite teams all aggregated in one place.
5) If you had to project 20 years into the future, how will most fans watch their favorite sports teams?
VR will get to a point where it’s very realistic, immersive and unobtrusive so that you can watch longer form content comfortably. Things like allowing people to connect together in a VR space and share a virtual experience, like a game, could become the new norm. While nothing can ever fully replicate the experience of being in an arena live, with entertainment and cheering fans, VR would allow fans outside the arena to have the next best thing.
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6) Give us your bold prediction about a form of technology that will be integral to sports marketing over the next 12 months and why?
From my standpoint, many of the things that are and will be integral to sports marketing over the next 12 months will be things that help with marketing process, planning and implementation. Data analysis and fan segmentation, workflow management and tools that streamline rapid content production are all vital to our work. For sports teams to keep up with the demands of audience growth, sponsorship revenue and media proliferation, the right technology is imperative.