How I Got There: Atlanta Hawks Revenue & Partnership Marketing Coordinator | Hailey Dougherty, SCS

Posted in Student & Alumni Stories

Hailey Dougherty completed her Masters in Sports Industry Management from the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies. During this interview, Hailey shares about her experiences that led her to her current position as a Revenue & Partnership Marketing Coordinator for the Atlanta Hawks. Learn how Georgetown shaped her path, what led her to her current position, and more insights about breaking into the sports industry.

What activities did you participate in while attending GU that you found the most valuable and why (clubs, research, internships, volunteer, etc.)?

When I started class at Georgetown in the Fall of 2020, I also started working as a Marketing Graduate Assistant with the Georgetown Athletic Department. This GA position taught me a lot about sports marketing, social media management, and what goes into running a college game day! I was able to get hands-on experience running multiple Georgetown sports team accounts, manage game day marketing needs, work on increasing student engagement with HoyaBlue, and help establish social initiative campaigns for the Athletic Department.

How did you find your current position?

Only answer – TeamworkOnline.com! This website has the best job and internship listings for the sports industry and is how I’ve received all of my jobs in sports.

What does a typical day or week look like and/or can you briefly explain tasks involved in your work?

The team’s busy season is from August through May; also known as the NBA season with some time for season planning in August and September. Something new comes up everyday for the marketing team to work on, but my main responsibility is to serve as a project manager all our partnership marketing campaigns from ideation and strategy to activation and recaps.

For example, I’ve managed marketing efforts for All-Star Voting, the City Edition uniform launch, Open Practice, State Farm Million Meal Pack, the Bar Network Watch Party campaigns, different sweepstakes and more for the last two years. To do this, I collaborate closely with our Global Partnerships department and our creative team to make sure campaigns are built out and executed correctly. Then, I work with our marketing channel owners (social, web, email, app, etc.) to properly execute marketing campaigns and ensure all accurate branding is used for both the Hawks and the partners.

What surprised you the most when you started working?

The most surprising thing I realized after entering the workforce was that your soft skills are more important than your education. Employers can teach you the things and processes they need you to know to do your job well but your personality traits and strengths are even more important. I was able to excel in my position because I was detail-oriented, organized, resourceful, proactive, a critical thinker, showed good communication skills and had great time management. I was qualified for my role because I had two degrees, good grades, and experience in the industry but I succeeded and was promoted because of my personal strengths and individual qualities. 

What are the best ways for students to learn more about your industry and/or stay abreast of trends in your industry?

The Sports Industry is so public. It’s hard NOT to be aware of what’s happening on or the trends going on. However to learn more about the industry, my answer is network, network, network! Research different positions you’d like to have, reach out to them on LinkedIn and ask them to briefly chat on the phone. People are eager to talk about themselves and will rarely say no to emailing or talking on the phone. More than likely they have been in that position themselves and just want to help!

If you could go back and change one thing, what would that be?

I wouldn’t change anything about my journey, but I would definitely try to get more involved in my Athletic Department during undergrad. I was a college-athlete for four years during undergrad so I was preoccupied with class, practice, and games. However, I wish I would’ve taken advantage of all the opportunities the Athletic Department had to offer. If it was helping out with game days, getting into broadcasting or taking stats for the website – any sports experience like that looks great on a resume! From what I’ve witnessed, experience and internships carry more weight and are looked at more often than education and where you went to school.