major – BaylorS3E

Baylor S3 Welcomes New Director | Kicks-off S3 Zoom Class Reunions

kirk_wakefield 2020, S3 June 12, 2020analytics, Baylor, business intelligence, Center, Department, director, major, partnerships, professional selling, program, S3, Sales, sponsorships, sports, strategy 0 Comment

Welcome to the new S3 Director

S3 Alumni + Business Professionals: Would you like to be involved in S3 this coming school year? Dr. Lane Wakefield invites you to let us know how! Click here.

With co-founder of the S3 program, Dr. Darryl Lehnus, retiring close of Fall 2020, Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business is bringing in Dr. Lane Wakefield (Baylor MS ’11) as the incoming Director of the Center for Sports Strategy and Sales (S3). Lane followed in his father, Dr. Kirk Wakefield’s footsteps to create a program patterned after S3 at Mercer University after completing his PhD at Texas A&M in 2016. After a national search, Lane was selected as the incoming S3 Director.

At Mercer University (Macon, GA), Lane helped build their Sports Marketing & Analytics program and launched the National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship. He has published research in prestigious marketing journals, including the Journal of Service Research and Journal of Interactive Marketing, as well as upcoming articles in the Journal of Advertising and Journal of Advertising Research. At Mercer, Lane worked closely with the professional sports teams in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast, as well as with companies and agencies, to educate, train and place students.

With two Dr. W’s in the Center for Sports Strategy & Sales in the Marketing Department, Kirk will continue as the Executive Director, while Lane is the Program Director. As Marketing Department faculty members, both report to the Department Chair, Dr. Chris Pullig, and together will continue the innovative efforts initiated by Dr. Lehnus and the senior Dr. Wakefield. As Lane noted,

“We have always worked well together. Not only through childhood, but even the last few years on research papers. The potential synergy is exciting. It usually takes years to get to know your colleagues, to develop trust and an understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses—we’ve got that in spades,” Lane said.

Lane added how it will be an honor to follow the leadership modeled by Dr. Lehnus,

“There should be another version of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary ‘Doc and Darryl’ to share what Baylor S3’s Dr.’s Kirk and Darryl accomplished. Most everyone in the sports business world knows and respects S3. A key reason is the Center’s mission to instill integrity. Darryl shared with me how central integrity is to his S3 courses and relationship-building with students. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to build on what he’s done through the Values-Based Leadership course and how the two together established integrity as a hallmark of the program.”

S3 Zoom Class Reunions with Dr. Lehnus

As Professor Lehnus enters his final semester at Baylor this fall, we schedule S3 Class Reunions on Zoom to chat with Dr. Lehnus, each other, and we’ll save a little time to meet the old and new Dr. W’s.

Each meeting will start at 5pm, Thursdays, as follows, with designated class captains helping us get everyone Zoomed in. Click here to register. You’ll need the Eventbrite (free) ticket to access.

September 10 | Classes 2006-2007 | Todd Pollock + Brian George
September 17 | Classes 2008-2009 | Mike Vogelaar + Lauren Ward
September 24 | Classes 2010-2011 | Chase Jolesch + Evin Martinez
October 1 | Classes 2012-2013 | Michael Hurley + Sarah Proctor
October 8 | Classes 2014-2015 | Austin Avery + Blake Pallansch
October 15 | Classes 2016-2017 | Julio Pineda + Erica Moulder
October 22 | Classes 2018-2019 | Ali Harman + Tanner Clark

Other previous or current advisors and friends in the professional ranks are invited to join any of the class meetings.

S3 News Fall 2019

kirk_wakefield 2019, About S3, S3, The S3 Program July 11, 2019July 14, 2019#s3freefridays, Baylor Athletics, Baylor University, leadership, major, partnerships, S3 Analytics, S3 Sales, Sports Strategy & Sales 0 Comment

New S3 Center Space

The new Center for Sports Strategy & Sales (S3) on the second floor of the business school offers great opportunities to engage with students on a daily basis. With three offices and visiting area, we can readily welcome students, guests, and families. Come by to visit us anytime!

S3 Free Fridays

To take advantage of our location we are launching #S3FreeFridays. We invite teams, corporations and agencies to promote themselves to Baylor students by providing branded items (caps, shirts, etc.) and/or a prize (signed jerseys, 2-4 tickets, a cruise to the Bahamas 😊) to distribute to office visitors on a Friday devoted to the organization. Click here to request a week!

For the team, corporation or agency, we will (a) run your PPT or videos on our office and classroom video board (located in main hallway on the first floor of the business school) all week, (b) collect the names of students interested in interviewing for internships or careers, and (c) facilitate recruitment via phone, video conference and in-person on our S3 recruitment days in January & February (see below).

S3 Save the Dates

Are you interested in recruiting S3 Sales or S3 Analytics students? Mark your calendars for:

1. S3 Analytics Careers Conference on Thursday/Friday on January 31 and February 1, 2020.

2. S3 Sales Careers Conference on Thursday/Friday on February 13-14, 2020.

We will host S3 alumni and guests for meals, conference sessions, and recruitment spaces to interview juniors for internships and seniors for careers. Premier Sales partners are welcome to schedule days in the fall to coincide with S3 Free Fridays to conduct virtual or in-person interviews.

Corporations and agencies associated with S3 can select which conference best suits their interests and attend one or both. As Kelly Roddy shared, demand for talent in analytics continues to rapidly grow for brands and agencies. At the same time, S3 has always produced graduates that excel in sponsorship activation, selling and measurement. Those with that interest may choose to attend the S3 Sales Careers Conference where others in partnership sales & activation will attend.

S3 & BU Athletics Official Partnership

The brainchild of Ryan Eklund, in a one-of-a-kind groundbreaking agreement, the Baylor Athletic Department is partnering with the Center for Sports Strategy & Sales (S3) to place S3 sales and S3 analytics students into paid positions working on the business side of the Athletics Department. Thanks to the vision of Jeramiah Dickey, Jovan Overshown and Cody Gougler, the top students in S3 Sales and S3 Analytics will have the opportunity to gain two years of work experience in Baylor Athletics in one or more of the following roles:

Analytics: CRM Campaign Management, CRM Campaign Analytics, Direct Marketing, Website/Google Analytics, Digital Applications/Yinzcam, and Data Engineer.
Sales: Season memberships, ticket plans, group sales (Fan Engagement), and sponsorship sales (Baylor Bear Sports Properties)

The net result will be highly seasoned, experienced graduates ready to assume greater responsibilities and higher compensation than other recent graduates competing for jobs in the business of sports. Read more here from Baylor University about the announcement.

S3 Leadership Partners

Are you a leader? Does your organization develop strong leaders?

S3 Leadership Partners are committed to improving the industry through education and talent development. Financial support goes directly to place S3 students into paid sales & analytics positions in the Baylor University Athletic Department. Leadership Partners receive preferential treatment with prominent displays in the S3 classroom, S3 office suite, S3 materials, S3 website, and first crack at recruiting and event registration.

Let us know if your organization would like to join the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Texas Rangers, Baylor Athletics, Phillips 66 and Eventellect in this prestigious circle of S3 Leadership Partners.

In addition, our S3 Premier Sales Partners offer qualified S3 Sales graduates entry level positions as account executives with compensation and benefits competitive with other corporate professional sales positions. Read more about these partners here.

S3 Director Search

As we chart the future for the S3 program, we seek an innovative faculty member to come alongside and shepherd the students in the S3 program to continue the legacy Dr. Darryl Lehnus has set for us. Dr. Lehnus is officially retiring in December of 2020, but will always remain connected through our S3 Alumni Network and Friends. We look for someone similarly like minded dedicated to following Christ in service to others, with experience and motivation to continue the growth of the S3 program. Please help us spread the word! A Masters is required and a PhD is preferred. The full job announcement and application is located here. Initial interviews begin in August 2019 at the AMA National Meetings in Chicago and can also be arranged via video conference.

The Sports Strategy & Sales (S3) Program Expands!

kirk_wakefield 2019, About S3, Careers February 27, 2019July 21, 2022analytics, Baylor, business, careers, college, CRM, jobs, major, majors, marketing, program, S3, Sales, sports, strategy, university 0 Comment

When the S3 program launched in 2004 we were—and are—the only academic program in a business school devoted to developing talent aimed specifically at generating revenue in the business of sports. After placing more than 270 professionals in sales and analytics positions we see even greater demand for Baylor S3 graduates. Notable S3 alumni in management and executive positions at scores of professional teams, corporations, and agencies now mentor, train, hire, and advise students right alongside us, as do many outstanding professionals from coast-to-coast.

As we look forward to the next 15 years we must set the stage for success for those who follow. Much has changed in the past 15 years. Think about it. After the first graduating class of S3 majors in 2006, the iPhone was introduced in 2007. This mobile revolution transformed how fans search, buy and go to the game. Augmented and virtual reality are changing how fans engage with our experiences and sponsors. Venues are beginning to use facial recognition as admission.

With the onslaught of data and digital selling, properties and brands recruit and pay for the talent to manage and analyze data to more effectively and efficiently reach fans where they are—which is mostly (online) on their phones, tablets or desktops. The most productive organizations invest heavily in technology capabilities (in-house and/or outsourced) to enable the salesforce to connect and engage with fans in ways we couldn’t even imagine even 10 years ago.

Our position has always been at the forefront leading the way into the future. In keeping with our WINS values, we need more hard-working, integrated, relationship-driven, spirited people to join us.

Missing Talent

The advantage and disadvantage of the S3 major in the Hankamer School of Business has been its exclusivity. The most successful students consciously committed to a career in the business of sports no matter what the costs. That is still the case. As a side note—conscientious commitment to excelling in your craft, to your career, is still the price to be paid for success no matter the business. Companies still buy from people who know where they are going.

At the same time, S3 missed potential sales superstars. Great salespeople love to keep options open. Not wanting to be constrained to sports, they didn’t take the chance to be sold themselves. The Vice President of Sales at the San Antonio Spurs, along with many executives at other teams, often say, “Hey, just let me have a chance to talk to them!”

S3 missed out on problem-solvers keen to manage and analyze data to answer big questions businesses have in a digital-first marketing world. Marketing majors with a double-major with MIS, Accounting or Finance took their talents elsewhere. The Wide World of Sports has been slow to get up to speed. But, like every company today, they now demand more highly skilled analytically-minded graduates to close the gap.

Opening the Doors

S3 majors have always been well-rounded. Salespeople understand analytics and analysts understand sales. All understand the importance of living lives of integrity. Having integrity means having the courage to face the demands of reality. The reality is sales-oriented students thrive in the sales courses. Analytic types want the freedom to build out technical and quantitative skills.

Recognizing these realities, and the realities of marketplace demands and opportunities, the S3 program has moved to open courses to all Marketing majors. Students may choose an emphasis in S3 Sales (MKT 3310 and 4341) or S3 Analytics (MKT 4342 and 4360), plus an internship, for a total of 9 hours. They can still take all S3 courses (15 hours) if they use additional upper-level business electives. All S3 students selecting one of the two areas of emphasis will complete an internship in sales or analytics in the summer after the junior year. Read more here.

Internships

Our stock & trade has always been internships at the highest levels of professional sports, as well as associated brands and agencies. As Colin Faulkner, Senior Vice President of the Chicago Cubs, famously said in our first S3 promotional video, “In sports, to get a job you need experience. But to get experience you need a job.” Internships provide the job that provides the experience that gets you started in your career in sports.

We will continue placing students in internships for those that declare an S3 emphasis and take the sales or the analytics courses in succession during the junior year. Others may take the courses and interview for internships and positions as available, with priority going to declared S3 program students.

Graduates in the 2021 class and beyond may submit their declarations as S3 program members by completing this form.

The S3 Club

Further priority for internships and positions is given to those active in the S3 Club. The S3 Club will continue under S3 faculty advisement but will be wholly and completely run by students, supported by an S3 Alumni Advisory Group. The objectives of the club will continue to be to network with sports business executives and to learn more about relevant careers.

The End Goal

With the end in mind, our vision continues to be to instill integrity in the business of sports & entertainment. What’s changed? Nothing, except we want more students to catch the vision, to consider the opportunities, and to join us! We’ve removed every obstacle to keep superstars from exploring business careers in sports. Want to talk some more?

Interested in sports sales? Contact Darryl_Lehnus@Baylor.edu

Interested in sports marketing analytics? Contact Kirk_Wakefield@baylor.edu

Baylor S3 Shifts Gears

kirk_wakefield 2018, Lead, S3 July 19, 2018November 2, 2018Baylor, big friday, data, esports, major, partnerships, premier partners, S3, sell, strategy

by Kirk Wakefield – July 2018

Change is good. We can say, “One day….” or “Day one….” Around here, everyday is Day One.

What’s changing with Baylor S3?

New S3 brand

In 2018 we re-positioned as the Center for Sports Strategy & Sales (S3). Why? Because sponsorships is so 2006, when we graduated our first class in Sports Sponsorship & Sales (see below for a fun blast from the past). Brands engage with fans of properties (and S3) as a partnership not a donation. Thanks to Jose Lozano and The Company, we have a cool new logo.

New S3 Tracks

The strategy in S3 is shifting to build career paths in Brand Strategy, Data Strategy & Sales Leadership. Each track has seven senior-level S3 alumni who advise, create and participate in relevant activities. All S3 partners are invited to join us for any and all of these events.

Brand Strategy: Corporations design brand strategies as partners with leagues & teams to attract, engage and keep customers. Agencies help guide brand strategy to reach corporate objectives. Media partners execute brand strategies through event broadcasts and related media. We prepare students for careers negotiating, planning and executing strategic partnerships employing branded content and experiences. The best fit for this track are creative strategists. Partners include:
- Brands: Phillips 66, AT&T, BBVA Compass, SAP,Denny’s, RMC/Pizza Hut, NRG/Reliant, Topgolf, Daktronics
- Agencies & 3rd Parties: The Company, BAV Consulting, The Marketing Arm, Baylor IMG, Learfield, Peak Sports, Friedkin Group, 4Front
- Properties/Teams: Dallas Cowboys, Houston Rockets, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints/Pels, Texas Rangers, PGA Tour, Space Center Houston, On Location Experiences, Circuit of the Americas, Baylor Athletics
- Media: Fox Sports Southwest, Root Sports
Data Strategy: Sound data strategy enables brands, (eSports) teams, media and agencies to (a) plan, lead, organize and control marketing & sales strategies, and (b) execute digital marketing strategies. We prepare students to create, manage, analyze, report, and deliver actionable data insights & campaigns to drive revenue. The best fit for this track are analytical problem-solvers. Partners include:
- Companies: 4Front, KORE Software, Stone Timber River, E-15 Group, SSB Info, SEAT Consortium
- Properties/Teams: Madison Square Garden, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Astros, Houston Dynamo, LA FC, LA Kings/AEG, NBA, New York Yankees, Orlando Magic, Texas Rangers, Utah Jazz
Sales Leadership: Sales is the lifeblood of any organization. We prepare students to generate revenue through ticket & partnership sales representing professional & collegiate teams, eSports or third-party rights holders (for NCAA properties). As future servant leaders we value people, purpose and performance, in that order. The best fit for this track are competitive high-achievers.
- This track isn’t new, but our approach to developing sales leaders and professional selling is. We now have eight Premier Partners helping us change the face of sports sales: Las Vegas Golden Knights, Madison Square Garden, Houston Rockets, Houston Texans, Phoenix Suns, San Diego Padres, Spurs Sports & Entertainment and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Read more here under “Sales Leadership Partners.”

No Big Board Meeting, but Big Fridays

To enable equal opportunity for students to pursue and partners to recruit to S3 career paths, we have three separate days for partners, alumni and others wishing to join us. These events are on Fridays, typically before an on-campus sporting event.

Data Strategy Day
- October 5, 2018. StubHub, Stone Timber River, KORE, 4Front & SSB join us for a day of data drama and excitement. Read more & register here.
Premier Partner Preview Day
- November 9, 2018. Premier partners are invited to campus to meet students at the S3 Club Lunch (11:45-1:15) and interview juniors (internships) and seniors (careers) in the afternoon.
Brand Strategy Day
- January TBA (until NBA schedule is released) in Houston, TX at BBVA Compass Stadium for day sessions featuring partnership strategy sessions with BBVA Compass, Phillips 66, Toyota, and The Company, followed by activation in action the same evening at a Houston Rockets game. Stay tuned to www.baylor.edu/business/s3 for updates & registration.
Sales Leadership Day
- February 15, 2019. Hands-on training seminars with team sales managers and partnership sales professionals, followed by panel sessions and interviews for internships & careers. Read more & register here.
eSports Day
- March TBA (until match schedules are released) at the new 10,000 seat eSports Stadium Arlington. Students learn from our partners at Envy GG, NGage, Mavs GG, Ubisoft and more. Stay tuned to www.baylor.edu/business/s3 for updates & registration.

Want to join us?

Our S3 Leadership Partners and many industry friends built Baylor S3 into what it is today. With our highly selective major, we continue to place over 96% before graduation across every major league and among leading agencies and brands. Working with distinctly innovative minds like Tami Walker (Phillips 66), Patrick Ryan (Eventellect), Kelly Roddy (Schlotzsky’s), Derek Blake (LQ), Adam Budelli (StubHub), Mary Hyink (Fox Sports SW), Heidi Weingartner (Dallas Cowboys), Greg Grissom (Houston Texans), George Killebrew (Dallas Mavericks) and Marc Jackson (Madison Square Garden), S3 students intern, learn and work with the best in the business.

Starting this year, Baylor S3 and Baylor Athletics, with Mitch Mann and Ryan Eklund, will work hand-in-hand on data strategy and student ticket sales projects. Thanks to support from Baylor Athletics, S3 graduate Ian Young is on-board as S3 Research Assistant while splitting time as Research Analyst for Team Sports Marketing LLC.

If you’re interested in learning more about our program and potential involvement, please feel free to inquire.

Who went where: S3 Graduate & Internship Placement 2015

kirk_wakefield 2015, About S3, S3 June 17, 2015October 31, 2018college, job placement, major, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, program, sport administration, sport management, sports business, sports sales, university 0 Comment

by Kirk Wakefield – June 2015

Careers in Sports

The Baylor Sports Sponsorship & Sales (S3) program graduated 30 students in the 2015 class. Two, Erin O’Neill and Travis Roeder, opted to pursue law degrees at Tulane and Alabama, respectively. We congratulate them and the others in the 2015 class with this slide show highlighting their placements. We offer a special thanks to Murray Cohn, Vice President of Team Ticket Sales (NBA), for his dedication and help, as well as to the many other great people and organizations who give back their time to help these newcomers into the sports industry.

https://youtu.be/NqmETZyOrBg

Internships

In addition to the 30 graduating seniors, the S3 program also placed 28 juniors for training in one of the three S3 tracks offered to students: Sales, CRM & Analytics, or Brand Activation & Service.

https://youtu.be/LGDEvE01TyE

If you are interested in learning more about Baylor University, the S3 program, and the S3 Advisory Board, please visit our webpages at www.baylor.edu/business/marketing/sports.

Special shout out to Daniel Phillips and Ashley Malik for helping compile the slides for the videos.

The 2014 S3 Board Meeting in Pictures

kirk_wakefield 2014, About S3, Learn, S3, The S3 Program December 2, 2014November 1, 2018AT&T, Dallas Cowboys, Dinn Mann, Faith in the workplace, LaQuinta Inns & Suites, major, MLBAM, NBA, NFL, Phillips 66, professional selling, Sales All-Stars, sport management, sports sponsorship sales, Texans, Texas Legends, The Company, university 0 Comment

by Kirk Wakefield – December 2014

The meeting for the Sports Sponsorship & Sales (S3) Board was held November 11th & 12th in Waco at the new McLane Stadium on the campus of Baylor University.

The only of its kind focused on selling sports, the S3 major is a selective program in the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University, a highly ranked Christian university. The S3 program continues to grow from its original admissions of 19 highly qualified students in 2004 to soon selecting up to 38 in each year’s incoming class. Students in the major are prepared for careers in (1) professional selling for sports (tickets, corporate partnerships & service) and (2) customer relationship management (CRM) & analytics. Read more here on the Baylor website.

Phillips 66 S3 Banquet

Dr. Darryl Lehnus, Director of the S3 program, hosted the Phillips 66 S3 Banquet attended by over 140 executives, managers, S3 alumni and current S3 students.

Dinn Mann (BU ’87), Executive Vice President and a founder of Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), provided the keynote speech, “The Changing Landscape of Digital Media & Ticket Sales.” Mr. Mann serves on the S3 Executive Council, along with other S3 Executive Council members recognized at the banquet, including:

Eric Fernandez (BU ’94), Co-founder & Managing Partner, Sports Desk Media, S3 Executive Council Chair
Greg Grissom (BU ’95), Vice President of Corporate Development, Houston Texans, S3 Executive Council Vice-Chair
Tami T. Walker (BU ’86), US Brand Management, Phillips 66
Jose Lozano (BU ’93), Chief Executive Officer, The Company
Derek Blake (BU ’86 )Vice President, Partnership Marketing & Military Programs, LaQuinta Inns & Suites
Drew Mitchell (BU S3 ’06), Chief Revenue Officer, Texas Legends
Chase Jolesch (BU S3 ’10), Manager of Ticket Sales Center, Baylor University
Heidi Weingartner, Chief Human Resources Officer, Dallas Cowboys

Chevrolet Outstanding Board Members

Over 60 executives and managers from over 25 teams, companies, and the NBA and MLBAM offices attended the 2014 board meeting, which included an afternoon of interviews for S3 juniors for summer internships and S3 seniors for career positions.

Special thanks to Murray Cohn, Vice President of Ticket Sales (NBA), for leading a panel of Sales All-Stars including Jake Reynolds and Brian Norman, Philadelphia 76ers, Kris Katseanes, FC Dallas, Joe Schiavi, Detroit Pistons, and Lacey Congdon (BU S3 ’14), Texas Rangers. As always, we are grateful to Bill Guertin for mentoring S3 students and kicking of the week along with Jason Howard (Houston Astros) and Tom Parsons (Time Warner Cable Media) as part of the “Faith in the Workplace” panel discussion.

The meetings concluded with the Chevrolet Outstanding S3 Awards given this year to:

Outstanding Team Board Member: Greg Grissom, Vice President of Corporate Development, Houston Texans
Outstanding Corporate Board Member: Lynda Carrier Metz, Chief Marketing Officer, Restaurant Management Company (Pizza Hut)
Outstanding S3 Alum: Bryan Apgar (BU S3 ’07) Vice President of Sales & Business Development, Website Alive
Outstanding S3 Report Writer: Anne Rivers, Senior Vice President, Global Director of Brand Strategy at BAV Consulting

The 2014 S3 Board Meeting in Pictures

Bill Moseley congratulates the AT&T Challenge Winners

S3 Executive Council Chair, Eric Fernandez and Vice-Chair, Greg Grissom

S3 Alum Spotlight on Katy Gager

kirk_wakefield 2013, S3, S3 Spotlight, The S3 Program October 7, 2013November 2, 2018Baylor, college, degree, major, placement, Sales, sponsorship, sports, Success, university 0 Comment

by Justin Pipes – October 2013

Katy Gager (Baylor S3 ’08) is a Senior Account Executive at The Marketing Arm an agency based in Dallas, Texas. She represents and manages AT&T’s brand through corporate sponsorship of professional & collegiate sports properties in the Southeast Region.

Willing to move

Katy transferred to Baylor for the S3 program to begin her junior year. One of three transfers in the class, Katy was torn between UT and Baylor when deciding to transfer. Gager felt like Baylor was home and believed the S3 program gave her the best opportunity to start a successful career in sports. After moving halfway across the country from California, Gager experienced challenging projects through the curriculum from selling tickets for the Rangers (back in their losing days) to presenting sponsorship ideas for the AT&T Challenge.

Finding Her Niche

Gager quickly found she enjoyed the relationship focus in the field of sponsorship. All S3 majors are given a DISC assessment (DiSC Profile Website) to determine their own personal behavioral style and what types of careers are likely to fit them best. Katy has a high Steadiness trait, which “place[s] an emphasis on cooperating with others within existing circumstances to carry out the task <ref>DiSC Profile Steadiness Overview</ref>.” Being a high S and having a more conscientious, detail-oriented personality helped make Katy a great fit for contributing to an agency sponsorship team.

Gager started her career at The Marketing Arm (TMA) in Dallas working on the Insights and Analytics team. She had the opportunity to work with over 25 different accounts including AT&T, State Farm and Frito Lay conducting research for each brand related to their sponsorships with properties nationwide. After becoming an account executive for TMA, she was able to pull from her knowledge of the brands objectives and her research background to manage programs for AT&T that would yield results and drive sales.

S3 Model

Eric Fernandez, Senior Vice President of MEDIALINK LLC, says,

“Katy is a great example of an S3 student who seized the opportunities presented to her. While the S3 program prepared her for entering the sports marketing business, her work ethic, positive “can do” attitude and natural curiosity have contributed to her professional growth and advancement. She’s achieved quite a bit in a short time and continually is a model representative of the S3 program.”

High praise also comes from Travis Dillon, Vice President of Activation and Property Management at The Marketing Arm.

“Katy is one of our rising stars at TMA. She has been an integral part of our national college football program the past 2 years with AT&T and ESPN College GameDay and is quickly establishing herself as a leader on the team. In addition, her insights and analytics background make her a valuable strategic asset to the team since day one.”

This work ethic, “can do” attitude and natural curiosity led to a recent promotion to Senior Account Executive.

Three Tips from Katy

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”425px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]

Approach to Networking: Sports is a small industry. No matter where you are or have been, your name and personal brand will come up again with come up again. Continue to build your personal brand equity.
Be a Problem Solver: Look for different areas of your client’s business and your business to solve problems all across the board. Be known as someone who finds solutions.
Have a Great Attitude: Be a team player with a positive attitude when approaching all projects, including that those aren’t exactly your favorite.[/dropshadowbox]