DraftKings’ Stephanie Sherman on using data to zero in on states with legalized sports betting

Once taboo, sports betting is now thriving. The ever-growing list of states legalizing sports betting is a big reason for that shift in perception, with companies like DraftKings gaining popularity over the past decade. As one of DraftKings’ first 15 employees, Chief Marketing Officer Stephanie Sherman has seen that transformation happen firsthand. “It has been quite the journey over the last nearly 10 years,” Sherman says on The Current Podcast. “I have been doing a lot of reflecting in general on our journey as an organization — where we’ve been and where we aspire to go over the coming years. From those early days certainly a lot of things have remained the same, but as we’ve scaled over the years there’s new, fun marketing challenges to solve.” Sherman breaks down DraftKings’ marketing strategy, as betting legislation is being drafted on both a state and federal level; why its core business is tech, analytics, and data; as well as the main messaging it wants to send its potential players. “What we think about in our marketing campaigns and what we really want to show up with and bring to life for our players is that fun,” Sherman says, “and that excitement [of] putting something on the line, of having skin in the game.”