Joseph Laird

Aspiring Sports Marketing Professional

About Me

Hi! I am a current senior at UNC-Chapel Hill from Durham, NC double-majoring in Media and Journalism and Sport Administration with a minor in History. I am actively pursuing a job upon graduation this May.

This summer, I pursued my interest in sports marketing, working on a marketing project for the Atlanta Falcons through UNC Blue Sky Innovations. I was given the opportunity to brainstorm, prototype, and pitch several ideas to the Falcons in Atlanta, including a sports betting concept, as well as an AR App, which debuted in the Falcons Week 1 game this season against the New Orleans Saints. As a result, I am looking for work at a sports marketing agency, in pursuit of a role in brand strategy and activation.

Resume

Portfolio

Joseph Laird

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephlaird/

(919) 824-7703 | Joseph-Laird@unc.edu

Work Experience

Sports Marketing Innovation Fellow

UNC Blue Sky Innovations

May 2022 to present

Worked primarily with the Atlanta Falcons through a marketing project, executing ideas on how to improve the game day experience at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Rebranded Reese Innovation Lab to UNC Blue Sky Innovations across all socials and our website.
Prototyped a Falcons betting app through Adobe XD.

Marketing and Content Development Intern

PLAYERSNEXT

June 2021 to April 2022

Created marketing strategies for the development of the PLAYERSNEXT App.
Designed and developed graphic and video content for social media pages.

Visual Communications Manager

Hussman School of Journalism and Media

September 2019 to January 2020

Created video and graphic content for the Hussman School's various social media platforms.
Developed Dean Susan King's Start Here / Never Stop podcast's visual and audio content.

Photographer

The Daily Tar Heel

August 2019 to January 2020

Produced sports photo content on time for both print and online content.

Executive Producer

Production Assistant

Durham Bulls Explorer Post 50

March 2016 to September 2019

Supervised all broadcast operations for Durham Bulls TV broadcasts during the 2019 season.
Trained employees on how to operate broadcast equipment and perform expected tasks.

EDUCATION

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Bachelor of Arts, Major in Media and Journalism, Major in Sport Administration, Minor in History, Certificate in Sports Communication

2019 to 2023 • GPA - 3.65

About Me

I am a driven student with experience in marketing projects, social media, activation campaigns, and the Adobe Creative Suite. In seeking a new role, I am eager to find work in the sports marketing industry, influencing brand strategy and activations.

SKILLS & PROFICIENCIES

Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Audition
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe XD
Canva

Awards

National Sports Business Case Competition

Third Place Award Winner

WashU Business of Sport Society

October 2021

Three other sport administration students and I won third place in the National Sports Business Case Competition.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons tasked us with finding ways to keep their fans in the stadium, make them loud, and keep them the entire game. As an attempt to solve this, I created a proptotype for an in-stadium betting app, with a points-based rewards system. This is similar to something like Prize Picks, but because Georgia does not have legal sports betting, this is a way for fans to engage with the betting scene while inside the stadium. This was one of the ideas we pitched to the Falcons staff when in Atlanta.

Dirty Bird Bets

Falcons AR Experience

The Falcons AR experience was another idea we pitched when originally in Atlanta, and it allows each fan to watch this on their phone through a web AR app. After halftime, a QR code appears on the Halo Board, and fans can scan it to play the animation displayed on the right. In Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints, we debuted this project, and 8,000 fans participated in the activation on their personal device. Each home game the Falcons host throughout the season will feature this activation.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency

USADA x Horse Racing

During one of my sports marketing courses in UNC's journalism school, we had a near semester-llong project with USADA to brand their new partnership with professional horse racing, and then present our branding ideas to CEO Travis Tygart. Through this project, my group created logos, posters, slogans, a new color scheme, a video, and a press release for USADA. We centered the project around horse racing being "The Sport of Kings," and targeted the owners of the horses to promote anti-doping. This project was incredible in progressing my understanding of branding, teaching me how to approach color schemes and logos, as well as how to appropriately get our message across to a target audience. Our presentation went incredibly well, and my team won the competition against fellow student's projects. To the right is our full portfolio that we presented to CEO Travis Tygart and other USADA executives.

Click through the portfolio here

Orange Bowl

Innovating the Orange Bowl

During another one of my sports marketing courses in UNC's journalism school, we participated in a project with the Orange Bowl, aiming to reinvent the way they entertained their spectators from year to year. Some of the issues we considered were the change in teams each year, the culture of Miami, and the already existing halftime show at the Orange Bowl. My group took the route of pushing for family-focused innovation, which included ideas centered around the Orange Bowl's mascot Obie. This included a rebrand of the mascot, an increased push of the Orange Bowl on social media platforms, an Obie "Egg Hunt" and other ideas we felt would help to innovate the game. Orange Bowl COO Ana Hernandez-Ochoa came to UNC, and we presented our ideas to her, and received third place of the groups presenting.

Click through the portfolio here

UNC Reese Innovation Lab Rebrand

When I began my summer internship in May of 2022, the company I worked for was UNC Reese Innovation Lab. The Lab was previously funded through the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, however the Kenan-Flagler Business School has recently become involved in our operations. As a result, we rebranded to include our projects with the Business School. Fellow employees and I discussed a rebrand, in which we decided on the name UNC Blue Sky Innovations, which kept our focus on innovation present in the name, but included blue sky to signify the partnership with the Business School and thought that the "sky is the limit" with new technology. We also developed the logos pictured on the right, which includes the Old Well logo with a futuristic-looking square design trailing off into the distance. The use of green was also helpful in promoting our focus on innovation.

Publications

"At the Innovation Lab, we ideate ways to make current business models better through new technology. This summer, the Atlanta Falcons tasked us with forming an idea that would keep their fans in seats, loud, and at the stadium for the entire game, no matter if they are winning or losing. This is not an easy task, especially for a team who won just one home game last year and does not necessarily have an optimistic fanbase coming into this year..."

"Many people have trouble understanding the utility of NFT’s, or Non-Fungible Tokens, for everyday people. Their main utility is currently through the buying and selling of digital collectibles that come in the forms of art, sports trading cards, and music clips. Although collectibles are enjoyable for some, they do not have an enormous use in our society. Many see NFT’s as the future of our economy, though, which is hard for many, including myself, to believe..."