LAURA HOAG ’10

Laura Hoag has found the intersection between a passion for sports and digital entertainment. Working in Orlando, Florida as Commercial Retail Marketing Manager, the former WFU Student-Athlete shares her experiences from undergrad entrepreneur up to present-day EA leader.

COMMERCIAL RETAIL MARKETING MANAGER
ELECTRONIC ARTS

Orlando, Florida
WFU Class of 2010
Major: Communication
Minor: Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise

DeacLink: Tell us about what you’re doing at the moment, your current role and any additional projects/ventures outside of work.
Laura Hoag: For the last five years, I have been working for the video game company, Electronic Arts. My background and passion for sports has positioned me well for a variety of different roles on the EA SPORTS side of the business, working on titles like Madden NFL, NBA LIVE, UFC and Rory McIlroy PGA Tour. I’m currently part of our Global Publishing Organization on the Commercial Strategy & Planning team. I develop and execute the global go-to-market commercial plans for EA SPORTS titles built out of the Orlando studio, where I am based. Much of my focus is on growing the player base in key markets in conjunction with major retailers and platform partners such as Target, Walmart, GameStop, Amazon, Sony and Microsoft. Identifying growth markets and developing unique programs within each of those is a big part of my responsibilities.
My role is uniquely positioned such that I get to work closely with some brilliant Publishing partners on the Forecasting, Finance, Sales and Operations teams, and with some super creative people on the Global Brand, Marketing and Development teams. I enjoy my role because it’s rooted in executing against financial performance targets and understanding the economics of the business, while also allowing for creativity in developing each years’ edition plans and how the products go to market.

DL: Please take us through your journey to your current occupation since leaving Wake.

LH: My career path actually began as an undergrad at Wake Forest. Growing up playing competitive golf, I experienced how challenging it was to find youthful, stylish and comfortable girls’ golf clothing that also adhered to the dress codes of the golf courses. Most of the clothing options were long frumpy shorts and boxy polos – outfits you did not want to be “caught dead in” off the golf course! I knew something had to be done, so after my mother, Cindy, and I packed up my freshman dorm for the summer, I walked into the Wake Forest Entrepreneurship Department and shared my idea: create a website that drop-shipped fashionable clothing geared for young women that could be worn on the course. The real motivating factor behind this was to encourage more girls to play golf and be comfortable and proud doing so.

As it turned out, the department had some grant money available, so I pulled an all-nighter and created the first draft of a vision for the business, applied for the grant to kick-start market research and the development of a business plan the next day. I received the grant and spent that summer conducting market research to understand my target market. I dug into any information I could find on the golf and apparel industries and surveyed golfers at tournaments to understand their pain points and what kind of clothing they wished for.
Following graduation, I partnered with my mother with her background in design and marketing, and together we dove into building our golf apparel business, Wear to Win, LLC. It quickly became apparent that sourcing pre-existing clothing to drop-ship would not suffice, so we decided to design and produce our own line of clothing.
For the next four years, I was living the start-up life: living at home in Indiana, working tireless hours, and doing everything I could to make the company work. I learned so much being immersed in all aspects of business, as we were the design, marketing, sourcing, QA/production, shipping/receiving, customer service and accounting departments, and web development “departments”. We employed contracts where necessary, like an experienced pattern maker and clothing factory that agreed to slip our smaller runs into their work-flow. The bulk of the responsibilities were ours, along with a dedicated sales manager, Nancy, who helped us grow the business.

Wear to Win consumed our lives for seven years, and we loved it. We were scrappy, resourceful and had a grassroots approach to everything we did. Some of my favorite memories are from our photoshoots, which contracted out would have cost thousands of dollars, so instead we learned to do ourselves. Our friends were models; I was the photographer and editor, and Cindy and Nancy helped produce the look and fell of the shoot. One time in Palm Beach, walking down a dock with our arms full of clothing on hangers and golf accessories, we asked if we could hop on a couple of yachts to take photos to illustrate the versatility of the clothing – on and off the course. All we did was ask, and people we willing to help us. As a result, we had some incredible product shots in settings that would normally have cost thousands to use. We learned, that the worst thing people can say is, “no.” You just have to ask.

For years we set up booths at tradeshows, including the PGA Show in Orlando. Our clothing was sold on our website and at numerous pro shops and resorts on the East Coast and in the Midwest. We had to adapt our lines as we learned which designs, colors, and patterns sold better than others. The reception was positive and our sales grew, but we reached a point where a sizable investment would be needed to take the business to the next level, to make it more sustainable. We ultimately made the decision to move forward with other ventures.
This led me to Florida, where my future husband and former student athlete at Wake, was working for EA Sports in Orlando (Michael Hoag ’11). I took a job with PGA Junior League Golf – which involved helping them grow their women’s golf division. I was involved in that program from its infancy and enjoy watching them thrive as part of the PGA and succeed in growing the game of golf.
EA Sports seemed like a good fit for me, so I kept my eye out for an opening in their marketing department. I walked into my first round of interviews, and there at the table was a woman I had met before. Never discount who you meet, as unbeknownst to me, my interviewer and new boss-to-be was someone I often partnered with in a class at the gym. That surprise reminded me of the importance of being yourself, and always treating others with respect, as you never know who you might be in the room with. EA took a chance on me, and I’ve been working there since.

DL: Did you consider a graduate degree after Wake? Why or why didn’t you pursue this route?

LH: Early in my career at EA, I decided I wanted to round out my business acumen with a post-launch graduate degree. I enrolled in the professional MBA program at the University of Florida which allowed me to continue working full-time while attending monthly classes in Gainesville.
Pursuing a graduate degree was an enriching experience, but I cannot understate the benefit that individuals receive from work experience. Having a almost 5 years of work experience under my belt allowed me to get more out of the program – I was better able to relate more to the application of the principles that were being taught. Additionally, I was able to learn from the diverse group of individuals in my program, while also contributing to their learning.
There were some challenging times balancing full-time work and graduate school, but I would not do it any differently. Getting a well-rounded education while continuing to grow in my career were important for me to continue to advance.

DL: How much did your studies or Wake in general inform or drive your career path?

LH: As a student-athlete at a highly ranked university affectionately known as “Work Forest”, the sports and school schedules were demanding. Balancing the many responsibilities taught me to be super-organized, efficient (yet effective), focused, to continually practice prioritization and the importance of teamwork while working at a faster pace than I may have otherwise. It was not always easy or perfect, but there could not have been a better experience to set me up for the rigors of being an entrepreneur and working at EA, and now, the performance expectations associated with working in Publishing.
In addition to developing key skills, majoring in Communication gave me a broad spectrum of knowledge, helping me to wear many hats as an entrepreneur and at EA. I’ve held different roles, and having a solid foundation with transferable skills allowed me to jump in and be impactful in a variety of diverse functions.

DL: What do you think Wake could have done to have better prepared students for life after graduation?

LH: Providing built-in career exploration with networking opportunities as part of the core curriculum would be helpful. It would set aside dedicated time for introspective thinking of their interests, passion and goals. Though in the end one might not have all the answers to one’s career, having dedicated time to think and develop goals around what they might want, or not want, to pursue.

DL: Prior to what you’re doing now, what other sorts of jobs have you had? How did you find and apply to them?

LH: Wake Forest connections and sports have been the two common threads throughout my career thus far. Wake’s Entrepreneurship department literally kicked-started my entrepreneurial journey to help launch and run Wear to Win, my first job out of college. Throughout those years, I received a ton of support and guidance from successful Wake entrepreneurs who generously shared time and expertise with me. After running the company a few years, a fellow Wake student-athlete (who happens to be my husband) helped make the connection with EA and where I have worked since then.

DL: What’s the hardest part about breaking into your field?

LH: went from owning a business to starting as a marketing assistant at EA, the only opportunity at the time to get my foot in the door at EA. It was humbling to start at the bottom, but it was the company that I wanted to work for. I worked hard tried to approach each day with a positive team-first mentality. The company has rewarded me and helped me rise the ranks quickly to get where I am today.

DL: How do you like working for EA Sports? What are some of the coolest experiences had, or fun perks to the job?

LH: I played the usual Mario Cart and Madden NFL on N64 growing up, but never did I imagine I would work at one of the top video game and entertainment companies in the world! EA is at the forefront of developing the greatest games in the console, PC and mobile gaming worlds. The industry is fast-paced and dynamic, and I have gotten to work closely with some pretty inspiring partners within the world of sports, gaming and technology.
As a sports enthusiast, the coolest experiences for me was early in my career working with NFL teams, helping manage those relationships, and at times, working with legendary athletes. I recently traveled to London for one of the NFL’s International Games Series and was on the field at Wembley – certainly a memorable experience.

DL: What’s the best kernel of advice you can think to pass on, or currently go by?

LH: A mentor of mine recently gave me the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Dr. Carol S. Dweck. It is about the power of having a growth mindset (something we can all control) and how that equates to success in work, school, sports, parenting and the arts. Best piece of advice is go read the book.

DL: What and where is next for you?

LH: I’m really motivated to continue to grow within Publishing at EA SPORTS. Someday I may return to the world of being an entrepreneur or working for a small start-up. I’m happy, though, with where I am right now.