Meet Chris Martin, Our Community Member of the Week

Name: Chris Martin

Job: Senior Creative Strategist

Company: The Players’ Tribune

LinkedIn: Chris Martin

In 140 characters or less, tell us who you are and how you got to where you are today.

Storyteller and Creative Strategist who got here by hard work, persistence, and faith.

What’s one trend in media or marketing that you’re buying or selling?

I’ve become a fan of the subscription model. It puts the consumer in the driver seat by providing them the ability to curate what, who and how they want to consume content. It also puts the onus on the media property to create content consumers want to digest.

How do you define creativity?

Creativity is freedom without fear. Freedom to challenge convention, freedom to think without limits.

What’s the project or campaign that you’re proudest of? Why?

The project that I’m proudest of is helping bring the NBA’s ‘This Is Why We Play’ campaign to market. As an avid basketball fan, I remember their ‘I Love This Game’ campaign. What we wanted to do was really drive home the emotional connection that basketball fosters and get into the deeper stories that athletes have. To be a part of something that will forever be etched in NBA history is an experience that is second to none.

What are you working on right now? Any exciting future plans that you’re able to share?

Currently, I’m working on developing creative for our branded content offering at TPT along the basketball vertical which consists of constructing and executing strategic ideas across multiple brands.

In addition to that, I’m also working on creative for key basketball tent poles (All-Star, Playoffs, etc.) and what that looks like from our lens as a platform and how brands can be integrated in an authentic way.

As a connected fan, what’s the best piece of sports content that you have recently consumed?

The best sports content that I have recently consumed is our piece with Darius Miles. Coming up in that era and remembering how culturally important that team was at that time, and for it to come full circle with a first-person editorial was pretty special. It was a story that I felt had been forgotten, but we did it justice.

What’s been the biggest high and low of working in sports?

The biggest high of working in sports is being able to do something you’re passionate about every day. It’s times where I have to really sit back and reflect that I work in basketball, a sport I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. I don’t take that for granted.

The biggest low of working in sports would have to be the lack of diversity at the C-suite level, but I’m confident that will change in the near future.

What’s one element of the sports industry that you’d like to see change?

The one thing I would like to see change in the sports industry is closing the dramatic wage gap between male and female athletes.

What’s an example of one way in which MiS has positively impacted your career?

MiS has been a huge asset to my career. The network that I’ve accumulated and interacted with on a daily basis has spawned friendships, colleagues and partnership opportunities that I wouldn’t have had access to without.

Get to know more members of the Hashtag Sports and MiS communities here.

Hear more from leaders and creators across the sports industry this June at Hashtag Sports, an annual conference designed for media and marketing professionals.