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
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- 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]