CORRECTION: Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera has not ended the casino’s existing sponsorships of Boston’s and New York’s sports teams and properties. An earlier version mischaracterized his handling of them.
Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket on Monday filled its chief marketing officer position that has been vacant for the past nine months with a former telecomm industry veteran.
Rebecca Carr, the former vice president of global marketing at Verizon Business, takes over the CMO job from Robert Victoria, who left the position in February shortly after Scott Butera took over as the casino’s president and chief executive officer.
When Butera took the CEO’s chair in November 2010, he called for a change in the casino’s marketing policy, focusing more on residents living within 90 minutes of the property.
Butera has scaled back new sponsorships of Boston and New York sports teams and properties — a hallmark of Victoria’s time as CMO, when the casino tried to be more wide-reaching.
In picking Carr to fill the vacancy, Foxwoods hired an executive experienced in promoting worldwide brands, although none of them gaming properties. Before joining Verizon, Carr worked as the vice president of marketing for MCI Communications from 2003 to 2006. Prior to taking on the MCI vice president role, Carr held several positions within that company, including sales.
At Foxwoods, Carr’s responsibilities will include strategy, competitive intelligence, advertising, brand, segmentation, direct marketing, Web and social media, events, promotions, loyalty programs, sponsorships and public relations.
When Foxwoods opened in 1992, it was the only resort casino in New England, with its only competition coming from Atlantic City. The competition steadily increased over the last two decades, first with the opening of Mohegan Sun in Uncasville and then several other states approving gaming establishments, including New York, Rhode Island, Maine and – most recently – Massachusetts.
