Marketing, Leadership, AI & Career Growth

Sportradar Executive Vice President of Global Marketing Adam Azor joined Mariya for a walking interview to discuss his journey from agency life to one of the gaming industry's biggest technology companies, along with the evolving role of marketing, leadership, AI and what it takes to build a truly global brand.

Marketing is undergoing one of its biggest transformations in decades. New technologies, changing customer expectations and the rise of artificial intelligence are forcing businesses to rethink how they communicate, measure success and engage with increasingly sophisticated buyers. Drawing on years of PR and marketing experience, Azor shared his perspective on leading through that change while helping shape Sportradar's growth following its rapid expansion and 2021 public listing.

From agency life to global marketing leadership

Azor began by reflecting on his career before joining Sportradar. After almost two decades working in PR & marketin agencies on campaigns for global brands including Coca-Cola and Stella Artois, he made the move to the client side in 2018, stepping into a business operating at the intersection of sports, technology and betting.

While the transition brought new challenges, he believes one principle remained constant: marketing leaders must become deeply embedded in the business they represent.

Rather than operating as a standalone department, Azor explained that he and his counterpart at Sportradar's communications team made a conscious decision to "embed into the actual business properly", investing time in understanding the company's products, building relationships across teams and learning what customers truly value.

He also stressed the importance of establishing a measurement framework from day one. Demonstrating marketing's contribution through clear metrics, he argued, is essential for earning trust and securing continued investment.

Marketing when your company does everything

With one of the broadest product portfolios in sports technology, Sportradar presents a unique marketing challenge.

"You can't communicate, market, everything. It's not possible."

Instead, Azor described what he calls a "hot housing" approach, focusing marketing efforts where products have the greatest momentum or where regional opportunities align with specific customer needs.

Despite serving sports organisations, media companies and betting operators, he believes every audience shares something in common: they are businesses looking to solve problems or unlock new opportunities. Successful marketing, therefore, starts by understanding those business challenges rather than simply promoting products.

He also shared advice for professionals entering the gaming industry from outside, explaining that while it may appear straightforward on the surface, it contains layers of complexity that only become apparent with experience, joking that sometimes it feels like in the gaming industry  "two plus two equals five."

Leadership, creativity and bringing products to life

Leading a global marketing organisation comes with both opportunities and challenges. Azor spoke about the importance of building strong regional leaders, trusting teams to make decisions and carefully prioritising limited time and resources.

One of the conversation's standout moments centred on Sportradar's memorable activation at ICE, where the company built a basketball court on the exhibition floor to demonstrate its computer vision technology in real time.

For Azor, the activation wasn't simply about creating something eye-catching. It solved a genuine product demonstration challenge while making complex technology immediately understandable for customers.

Throughout the discussion, he returned to one consistent principle: "Ultimately, you have to do good work."

He also explored how B2B marketing differs from consumer marketing. Longer buying cycles, smaller audiences and more complex purchasing decisions require marketers to balance creativity with discipline, combining memorable experiences with robust measurement and a deep understanding of customer journeys.

Why AI should excite marketers, not scare them

Artificial intelligence was one of the conversation's biggest talking points. Rather than viewing AI as a threat, Azor believes marketers should see it as one of the greatest opportunities of their careers.

"AI is not going to come for your job. But if you're unable to use AI, someone who can will take your job."

Looking further ahead, he suggested the marketing industry may soon face an even bigger shift, where AI agents begin purchasing products from other AI agents: "You may be using AI to sell to AI."

That future, he argued, will fundamentally change how businesses approach discovery, creativity and customer engagement. The marketers who succeed will be those willing to experiment, embrace new tools and continuously adapt as technology evolves.

The conversation concluded with a lighter look beyond the office, with Azor sharing his love of food and the Instagram page he runs with his wife, offering a reminder that even behind global marketing roles, personal passions remain an important part of the story.

Episode highlights

• Adam Azor's journey from agency marketing to EVP of Global Marketing at Sportradar
• Why marketing leaders should embed themselves within the business
• The importance of measuring marketing performance from day one
• The "hot housing" approach to prioritising products and markets
• Leadership lessons from managing a global marketing team
• Why B2B marketing requires a different mindset from B2C
• How AI is reshaping the future of marketing, and why it shouldn't be feared
• Why creativity still matters, even in the most technical industries
• Adam's passion for food and the Instagram page he runs with his wife

Series One of Mariya Meets is sponsored by Soft2Bet.