DraftKings Promotes Stephanie Sherman to CMO Ahead of Super Bowl

As it revs up for Super Bowl 56, DraftKings is promoting Stephanie Sherman to the role of chief marketing officer. The online betting service will have a 30-second ad in Super Bowl 2022, produced by creative agency VaynerMedia, running during the first quarter. Over the past two years as svp of marketing, Sherman has led DraftKings' marketing team through pivotal campaigns such as its first-ever Super Bowl ad—two 15-second spots—during Super Bowl 55 that drove extremely high in-app engagement. Each ad promoted an in-game challenge worth $55 million, which fans could enter for free. She also spearheaded DraftKings' $100 million Golden Ticket Giveaway that garnered over 540,000 entries. Sherman has twice been named among Adweek's Most Powerful Women in Sports. As a part of her elevated role, Sherman will continue to drive and scale future marketing as she oversees brand and agency campaigns, media buying and influencer strategy, among other functions. She was one of the company's first 15 employees in 2013. Sherman has held the role of marketing svp for the last nine years. During that time she focused primarily on customer acquisition and direct response marketing. Sherman's work for the company has expanded to include daily fantasy, sports betting, online gambling and digital collectibles. The ‘Explosive’ Growth Expected for Sports Betting Ads in America Tom Goedde was DraftKings' most recent CMO until 2020. He left to pursue other ventures after the company went public. Co-founder and president of DraftKings North America, Matt Kalish, absorbed CMO responsibilities up until this news. “When I started at DraftKings nine years ago, there was a genuine and collective sense that we were building something special, and zooming out to today, that has been validated more than I could have ever imagined,” Sherman said. “For all the accomplishments we’ve celebrated and adversity we’ve overcome, I take on this new position knowing there is still so much opportunity ahead along with brilliant people ready to deliver.” Since its inception in 2012, DraftKings has been a powerful player in the daily fantasy sports market. The company went public during the early days of the pandemic in April 2020. Exactly one year later, DraftKings signed a deal to become an official sports betting partner of the NFL along with Caesars and FanDuel. “Since our early days as an insurgent daily fantasy business, Stephanie has been a driving force of our growth and contributed hugely to DraftKings becoming a household name and a global, multi-product digital entertainment company enjoyed by millions of consumers,” Kalish said. Over the past year, gambling ad spend has surged dramatically. If you're watching a sporting event on television, chances are you are seeing multiple betting ads. Between the months of November 2020 and November 2021, gambling services put $488 million into media coffers. Television made up 69% of that ad spend, an increase in investment of 63% YoY, according to advertising intelligence firm MediaRadar. Before DraftKings, Sherman spent nearly six years in various marketing positions with Vistaprint. For all the latest Super Bowl advertising news—who’s in, who’s out, teasers, full ads and more—check out Adweek’s Super Bowl 2022 Ad Tracker and the rest of our stories about the Big Game. And join us on the evening of Feb. 13 for the best in-game coverage of the commercials anywhere. The Future of eSports: Bridging Fashion, Gaming, Entertainment—and Legacy Pro Sports