Sports Opps: Houston Rockets hires first team-specific CMO (Score 67)

Julian Duncan, the former CMO and social responsibility SVP for the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the Houston Rockets as chief marketing and strategy officer, effective July 2021. Duncan seems to be the Rockets's first CMO. He will direct marketing, promotional and branding efforts while also overseeing fan experience, digital content, retail and community engagement.

Right now, neither iSpot nor Pathmatics reports brand-specific spend for this team. However, the CMO shows how parent company National Basketball Association (NBA) is obviously focused on advertising efforts for the Rockets. This will likely lead to the company investing more in the Rockets. The NBA tends to target male Gen-Z and millennial men (especially sports enthusiasts) via TV, digital, paid social, OOH, print and local broadcast.

Agency & martech readers - You may be able to secure brand-specific and/or project-based work under the Rockets's new CMO. Right now, the NBA's roster includes creative agency partners Translation, Ready Set Rocket, The Marketing Arm and Cartwright. Mediahub picked up media buying last year.

Read more specific details regarding the NBA's recent spend and other shifts in our most recent NBA update.