20 Nov Beyond The Metrics: Matt Sutor, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy, Carolina Hurricanes
At Zoomph, we champion the power of partnerships, marketing, business intelligence, and social media. Our Q&A series puts the spotlight on industry leaders, giving you an inside look at their expertise, strategies, and perspectives – beyond the numbers. Join us as we uncover valuable insights straight from the minds shaping the industry.
Tell us a bit more about your background
I grew up in New Jersey and loved sports from the time I could walk. I played baseball. soccer, and basketball growing up, and even spent a fall as the kicker for the high school football team (not great!) I attended Marist College (now Marist University) specifically for its Sport Communication program. The goal was to eventually be the radio voice of the New York Yankees. I did the “lower levels of baseball broadcasting thing” for a year or two, and it wasn’t for me. I latched on with the Triple-A Durham Bulls in a media relations role, and over the years, that morphed into leading the team’s marketing and communications efforts. That set me on the path to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tell us about your current role! We love to hear about your goals, focuses, and responsibilities:
As the Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy at the Carolina Hurricanes, our team is responsible for all content, creative, advertising, and brand marketing. Each day, we’re tasked with being the in-house agency for our entertainment, ticketing, partnership, community relations, merchandise, and communications teams. Then, of course, we’re also focused on creating dynamic content across all our platforms and fan touchpoints. The overarching goal is to be the most engaging sports brand. That’s a broad goal that can be achieved in various ways. So we’re constantly evaluating social strategy, email personalization, SMS tone, organic content, digital ads, OOH opportunities, etc., to see where we can get the largest lift while staying true to who we are as a brand.
Share a professional accomplishment that you are extremely proud of, or share a campaign, organizational success, or win that you are proud of:
Since I joined the Canes in the fall of 2019, we have led the NHL in engagement rate on Twitter (it will never be X to me), Instagram, and Facebook. And we’ve led the league on all three platforms almost every season, too. Creating that loyalty, creating that trust with followers, it’s hard to do. It takes a lot of work from a lot of people. So the fact we’ve been able to maintain league-leading engagement over six years is something I’m immensely proud of, both as someone who used to be on the keys and now as someone who leads the department responsible for all content and distribution.
What is your favorite part about working in the sports industry?
It sounds cliché, but I love working at a place where people come to forget about work. For a few hours, people can come to a game or watch a game, and forget about the project at work, forget about their crappy boss, whatever. I take working in the entertainment industry really seriously because I understand how important this outlet can be for people.
What is a trend you are keeping an eye on in the sports industry?
It’s not a novel answer, but it’s how marketing teams are using AI. Because I think that at the heart of good marketing is art, authenticity, and human interaction. And AI can fake all those things, but AI can’t do those things. So I’m interested to see how teams will leverage it as it pertains to efficiency, mostly, but I’m just as interested to see the teams that steer away from it to continue creating authentic, personal graphics, copy, etc.
What advice would you share with young professionals who want to work in the sports industry?
Grind. This is not an industry for the faint of heart. To grow, to succeed, you have to be willing to go outside the job description and prove you want to be here. As a manager, it’s very easy to see the difference between an employee who wants to be there and an employee who’s checking a box.
What is one skill you wish you had learned earlier in your career, and why?
I wish I had been more empathetic early in my career. In my 20s, I didn’t do a good enough job of understanding that everyone has struggles and everyone brings them to work. This isn’t “Severance.” And in this industry, where you and your coworkers are typically working more than 40 hours a week, having empathy for the people around you makes you a better coworker. It’s hard for a 22-year-old to understand the challenges of a 45-year-old with children, and it’s easy for the 45-year-old to forget what it’s like to be 22 and move to a new city for a job that doesn’t pay well. I think that mindset would’ve helped me understand that, at the end of the day, jobs are all about relationships.
What is your favorite product feature or specific use case of Zoomph that you’ve used at previous stops in your career?
Zoomph is dope. I love the social benchmark report that allows us to compare and contrast where we stand against our peers. But I also love the ability to have a post go viral, or have a big weekend on social, and be able to show brand value immediately. Celebrating successes with corporate partners immediately is such a win for relationship building, and Zoomph makes it so easy to tell the success stories.
What are your favorite sports teams? Why are you a fan? How long have you been a fan? Are there any special memories or traditions you want to share?
I’ve been a fan of the New York Yankees since before I could talk. Growing up, my dad would take me and my two older brothers to one game every year. I still remember my first trip to the old Yankee Stadium when I was six. We walked out of the tunnel in the upper deck, and I saw the grass – I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it. To this day, Yankees games are the driving force behind the group chat with my dad and brothers.
What is your favorite breakfast meal?
Nothing beats a bacon, egg, and cheese on a kaiser roll.
Is there a brand (in sports or outside of sports) that deserves a shout-out? Let us know who they are and what they are doing well!
I think the Premier League and Bundesliga have specifically done a great job with their North American marketing efforts.
