Mark Stroman, a marketing executive who was part of the team that launched Fox Broadcasting Co., died February 22 of complications associated with COVID. He was 58.
Most recently Stroman was chief marketing officer for Spin Magazine. He was also a senior VP for marketing and sales at McGhee Entertainment working for the band KISS, Darius Rucker and Richie Sambora.
One of the first 35 employees when News Corp. launched Fox, Stroman promoted shows including Family Guy, The Simpsons, Married… with Children, America’s Most Wanted, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place and The X-Files.
He was also senior VP, national promotions for News Corp. One, the integrated marketing group representing all of the company’s assets.
After News Corp., Stroman served as senior VP of Marketing for IWIN.com, a-games-for fun website, which sold for $140 million after just nine months in operation. After that sale, he and his twin brother, Erik, left IWIN.com and became the founding agents of the marketing division at Endeavor. Clients there included Maserati, The CW, Jet Blue, UPN, Hallmark Channel, Activision-Blizzard, 20th Century Fox and Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions.
Mark and Erik Stroman formed their own company, Entertainment Marketing Partners (EMP), where Mark executive produced multiple New Year’s Eve TV specials for Fox and executed multi-million campaign launches for video game franchises, including Tony Hawk, Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. They sold EMP to Omnicom in 2006.
“The first time I met Mark was during our KISS Halloween concert that aired live on Fox in 1998. It was easy to recognize his marketing genius. He was always the funniest and smartest person in the room, with the unique ability to bring everyone together,” said Doc McGhee, CEO of McGhee Entertainment. “Mark was the rock star of marketing. He was a great friend to me and my family. He will be missed more than words can express.”
Stroman is survived by Erik Stroman; his sister, Gwenn Stroman; and Erik’s sons, Gage and Chase. The family is planning a celebration of life ceremony. More information is located here. ■
