December 12, 2007

The MSO Marketers

Name: Marvin Davis
Title: SVP, marketing, Comcast Cable

Name: Sam Howe      
Title: Chief Marketing Officer, Time Warner Cable
Age: 52
Years in Industry: “20 years with a dot.com detour.”

Name: Joe Rooney
Title: Chief Marketing Officer, Cox Communications
Age: “Old enough to know better!”
Years in Industry: 26
Years left in Industry: “Why would anyone leave, just when it’s getting interesting?”

Why Them? Say hello to 3 of cable’s marketing superstars. Davis continues to raise the bar on marketing creativity, particularly when it comes to the bundle and, his more recent challenges, HDTV and the quad play. Howe and his marketing team excel at integrating the TWC message across multiple formats, including the recent guerilla “Sir Charge” campaign in New York. Rooney, upped this year to CMO, is a razor-sharp researcher who continually analyzes the competition and finds new ways to deliver Cox’s message.  CAO

Marvin Davis
Favorite restaurant: “Del Frisco, NY”
Favorite city: “Atlanta, GA”
Favorite TV show: “Boston Legal”
The three most played songs on my iPod are: “Hail Mary,” Tupac; “Kiss Me Deadly,” Lita Ford; “Emotional Rescue,” Rolling Stones”

Sam Howe
The cable industry’s biggest challenge in 2008 is: “Figuring out how to transition (fast) from acquisition to retention lead.”
Defining career moment: “Either when the dot.com blew up or Digital Phone hit 1 million subs (or both).”
Person I most admire in the cable industry and why: “Jim Robbins for ‘livin’ it’.”
My perfect vacation goes like this: “Ski, sail, sleep, repeat.”
The world would be a better place if: “We all drove hybrids.”

Joe Rooney
The cable industry’s biggest challenge in 2008 is: “Differentiating the Bundle.”
Person I most admire in the cable industry and why: “Jim Robbins had a huge impact on my career and my life. He had the intellect of a Harvard man and the swagger (and colorful vocabulary) of a Navy man all rolled into one. And he was so family-oriented, as you might expect from a Cox leader. I miss Jim.”
In my free time, I like to: “My son Collin and I ride motorcycles together. He’s 22 now, so having something fun that you can do with and adult son is a pretty good hobby.”
Favorite restaurant: “Season’s 52”
Favorite city: “Laguna Beach, CA”
Favorite song: “Going Mobile” – The Who
Favorite TV show: “Heroes”
Favorite sports team: “Green Bay Packers… who  doesn’t like Brett Favre?”
My perfect vacation goes like this: “Sun, SCUBA, followed by adult beverage… or snow, skiing, followed by adult beverage… or sun, motorcycling, followed by….”


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