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Justin Leonard is the co-founder and CEO of Game Seven, the creative, social and experiential marketing division of management and marketing agency Excel Sports Management. Game Seven counts companies like Amazon, Meta, Nike, and Spotify among its clients.
Do you have a favorite project that you have worked on? Nike NY vs NY. It's a Nike Basketball campaign that takes place every summer, and features the city's top basketball players competing for bragging rights at New York City's most iconic playgrounds. It's the perfect blend of grassroots, community, and big brand storytelling. It is difficult to understand how unique this environment is. It's a truly intuitive experience. It is held for eight weeks every summer. The program is also a platform that supports the launch and marketing of Nike and Jordan Brand's signature athletes and products. Over the years, the program has featured Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Sabrina Ionescu, and more.
What is your favorite ad campaign? The inspiration behind Game Seven was the golden age of Nike advertising. There are two things about him that particularly impressed me. The first one is Jordan and Mars Blackmon, the second one is Nike Freestyle. If I had to choose one, it would be Mars. Those spots were very different and very unique compared to other spots on the market. For me, it helped define an entire industry and genre that we still see growing today.
Which marketing trend are you most optimistic about? At least a little bit? I'm so happy to see brands starting to get serious about building community and connections. These two things will continue to be important for all brands. This often requires brands to be very thoughtful and intentional about who and how they collaborate. Building these relationships also requires brands to engage with authenticators and creators in unique and interesting ways.
I love stunt marketing, and it certainly has its place, but I don't like it as a tactic that's always practiced, especially when it leans into the realm of shock and awe. I feel like more and more brands are trying to make their marketing into Liquid Deathify. Just to be clear, while this works very well for Liquid Death and they're great at it, it's not for everyone.
What is one marketing-related podcast/social account/series that you would recommend? I'm a big fan of podcasts Fearless creative leadership Written by Charles Day. This podcast focuses on the art of creative leadership, and Charles speaks with some of his top leaders across agencies and brands.I'm a fan too talk to yourself Written by Omid Farhan. It's been quiet lately, but I hope it'll come back soon. I can imagine how difficult it is to run an agency and a podcast at the same time.
