John D. Miller, chief marketing officer, NBC Olympics, former CMO of NBC Sports Group and chair of NBCUniversal’s Marketing Council, did not get to where he is today alone.

“You don’t get one of these by doing it all yourself,” he said, holding up the PromaxBDA Lifetime Achievement Award Tuesday at PromaxBDA: The Conference 2016 in New York City. “You get it by having a team of extraordinary professionals along the way.”

It’s a statement that’s particularly telling from a man like Miller, known for his sense of collaboration in the marketing world.

Miller has seen a lot of change throughout his time in the industry, but remains on the cutting edge.

“It only still comes down to creative, and what interests people,” he said. “It’s the that the medium is different … Quite honestly, it’s still the same thing. You have to find something that will grab someone, entertain them, and force them to take some action.”

Whether that means getting the masses to watch something or head to a theme park, it ultimately comes down to having a sense of clarity about what the mission is, and coming up with a creative way to achieve it.

For instance, when marketing the Olympics, a rare sporting event where 53 percent of the viewers are female, “women are more interested in the stories and less interested in the results.”

“The Olympics is one of those things where not many people know who the athletes are, but you have to make a few of them household names before, or we have to tell unique themes and stories about the games.

Rio will be the 12th game he’s marketed, and this year the election cycle is having an influence. NBC put together a marketing spot where athletes are brought to tears by the national anthem, with the message of “for 17 days, we are all united,” Miller said.

Based on past experience, it’s a message of peace that he believes will resonate with millennials during a time where many have seen the country at war their entire lives.

The Olympics campaign is also tapping into social, doing “eight to 10 times more than what we did before, with a team Miller says is “half my age and twice as smart.”

When it comes to moving up the ranks in the television marketing world, Miller stresses the power of reinvention.

“Don’t be shy about making your mark, and take smart risks,” he said.

As he nears retirement, although he’s been told “I have a job until I die,” Miller plans to stick around until at least the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang to impart whatever knowledge he can onto others in the organization, and then “ride off into some kind of sunset.”

RELATED: How John D. Miller Built an Award-Worthy Career

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