Heating up!

I interviewed Lori-Anne Diaz who is the director of marketing communications for Miami Heat of the NBA.

What part of your college experience best prepared you for your career?

Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with what I learned in the classroom. I went away to college in a small town in North Carolina. Miami is my hometown so the entire exercise of moving away to attend college was a culture shock and a lesson in how to become an independent and balanced human being. Being away from home meant I had the freedom to make my own decisions and the elbow room to make my own mistakes. I had to learn to balance my studies, extra-curricular activities and a social life—essentially a crash course in the art of multi-tasking. It has served me well in my career, which demands never-ending multi-tasking.

What did you major in?

English (under grad); Liberal Arts (graduate)

I am majoring in Public relations and advertising, not Sports Management like some of my peers; do you think this will give me a disadvantage in a future in sports?

You can’t go wrong with a degree in public relations, advertising or the other majors usually tied into these areas, marketing and communications. And the reason you can’t go wrong is that public relations and advertising give you a broader perspective and skill set, in my opinion, and are very useful, transferable and highly marketable majors in case you decide sports isn’t your cup of tea.

How did you first get your job?

My first job in professional sports was as a marketing assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers back in 1998, the year of the lockout. I had no previous experience in sports, only in marketing, but those marketing skills made the transition a smooth one because marketing principles are generally the same for every business. Believe it or not, I answered a classified ad that the Clippers had placed in the Los Angeles Times. They interviewed candidates as a group—which was unusual, I thought, and intimidating because your competition was literally seated next to you vying for the same position. I almost walked away when I realized it was a group interview. Thank goodness I didn’t because the course of my professional history would have likely been altered!

Please give me a brief description of what exactly your job entails presently and possible skills a public relations profession entails.

On the PR side: Preparing press releases, pitching business related stories (about the business of basketball, not basketball, the sport) to media outlets, scheduling HEAT executives and talent for media interviews, maintaining a season-long promotional calendar, manage all business related communications/messages for the Miami HEAT, feed promotional information to all communications channels within the Miami HEAT (broadcast television & radio broadcast, HEAT.com, social media, game day program, in-arena messaging, database marketing, season ticket services communications). On the advertising side: manage trade relationships with various advertising outlets, manage relationship with our advertising agency, manage advertising campaigns and messages, purchase media placements, cross promote with local radio and TV stations. This is just a sampling. There are too many duties to list!

What skills does your company look for in entry-level positions?

Professionalism, hunger, curiosity, humility, and ambition.

What actions should I take now to prepare myself for a career in the sport industry?

Intern with a sports team if possible to determine if it’s truly the career path for you. People tend to romanticize the industry and the truth is there are years of paying your dues before you have the opportunity to climb the ladder. You work tirelessly often having to sacrifice evenings, weekends and even holidays because of your job. The pay is notoriously low. Know and understand these realities so there are no surprises. Talk to people in the industry. Network with your peers and colleagues.

What publications would you suggest for reading to learn more about the profession?

For the broader PR industry, PR Week, Advertising Age. For sports business, the Sports Business Journal. But every PR professional should be dialed into what’s happening in their community/city, state, country and even what’s happening around the world.

Could you recommend anyone else that you believe I should contact?

I would also suggest you reach out to my counterparts in other leagues (the NFL, MLB, NHL, NCAA, etc.).

I hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Lorrie-Ann

This interview helped change my perspective entirely. I was so stressed about major and kept wondering if I should switch back to sports management even though my main passion is getting into public relations and advertising and hopefully be able to land a job in sports. She majored in English and Liberal Arts, which made me believe that the harder you work and the more perseverance you have towards your hopeful career, its possible. One of my absolute favorite answers she responded with was when I asked her what skills were required and she answered; “professionalism, hunger, curiosity, humility, and ambition. “ I though those were the most creative and thoughtful answers, unless she was asked that question before and had it rehearsed. Usually people would answer with “hard work” or “experience” but she answered with all skills that I currently have or can easily work on in the future. I am also relieved that she actually named specific materials I can read, I am passionate about my possible career choice but not so much experienced. I am more than willing to read up on these publications to get a better idea of what I am getting myself into and stuff I will need to know in the future, also the fact that she listed Sports Business Journal made me believe that the Sports Management department at Cortland is in the right direction. She has one of the hardest jobs with a very well publicized team, and to hear such great insight for her really opened my mind to new opportunities and boosted my confidence to not quit and continue to work hard for what I want.