Katie Hutchings knew she had made it in the film industry when she was sent by Warner Brothers to work at the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II&w88 slot; premiere in New York.
"It was the best experience of my career,&w88 slot;w88 slot said.“I knew I was doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do.&w88 slot;
Now, as the vice president of marketing for Skydance w88 slot, the w88 online sports betting School alumna has had plenty of pinch-me moments in her career. In her role at Skydance, Hutchings handles the digital and social presence of the brand, collaborates with its distributors, such as Amazon, Netflix, Apple and Paramount, and makes sure all the company’s marketing needs are met. She’s currently working on the television show &w88 slot;REACHER&w88 slot;(Amazon) and films “Top Gun: Maverick&w88 slot; (Paramount) and “The Adam Project&w88 slot; (Netflix).
“The big thing that I have to do within my job is to delegate,&w88 slot; she said. “I help to oversee a lot of things where I'll make sure that, in terms of brand equity, everything looks great.&w88 slot;
Though her job requires hard work, w88 slot has a passion for her career as she always knew that she wanted to work in the film industry.
“I remember in eighth grade going downstairs in my dance dress on Oscar day and telling my mom that I was going to be there one day,&w88 slot; she said. “It's always been my dream.&w88 slot;
An audience sits to watch a screening of "The Tomorrow War."w88 slot was born in Reno, Nevada, and was raised in Las Vegas. By the time she went to college, it made sense to attend the University of Nevada, Reno. After participating in broadcast journalism in high school and being told she would do well in public relations, she decided to enroll inthe Reynolds School.
“It was the best time of my life,&w88 slot; Hutchings said. “I really loved my time in Reno.&w88 slot;
Senior Lecturer of Public Relations and Advertising Alison Gaulden was an adjunct professor at the Reynolds School when w88 slot was a student and continues to be a guide to her now.
“Katie was sass and bravado, a sponge soaking up everything I shared with the class,&w88 slot; Gaulden said. “I’ve continued to mentor her since the day she graduated, and yet she’s enlightened me on changes in the industry.&w88 slot;
After graduating in 2009, Hutchings moved back to Las Vegas and got a job working in corporate communications for a PR firm. As a “blessing in disguise,&w88 slot; she got laid off from her job and decided to make the move to Los Angeles.
“I'd always known I wanted to move to LA,&w88 slot; Hutchings said. “I was sort of plotting and planning, and, throughout that, I realized [that] there’s never going to be enough money saved, there's never going to be enough time.&w88 slot;
Sleeping on her friend’s couch for the first few months in LA, w88 slot realized that breaking into the entertainment industry would be no easy feat. However, a family friend working at Warner Brothers put her name up to be considered as a temp for the company.
“I was willing to just take anything at that point to get my foot in the door,&w88 slot; Hutchings said.
The skills that w88 slot gained at the Reynolds School, such as PR knowledge and basic Photoshop and Illustrator abilities, helped her get a job managing a loyalty program for Warner Brothers.
“One thing that I’ve learned is that a career path is not linear.&w88 slot;
“While I was there, I started to [think,] I need to add value,&w88 slot; Hutchings said. “I need to find a way to prolong my time here.&w88 slot;
w88 slot convinced her boss to let her utilize Facebook, which was only just emerging as a platform at the time, to interact with members of the loyalty program.
“I was teaching myself Facebook and I was noticing that executives of the studio were starting to come to me and ask me questions about social media,&w88 slot; Hutchings said. “I was sort of winging it and teaching myself.&w88 slot;
Soon w88 slot realized that by authentically engaging fans with film titles, posts saw more engagement and increases in sales.
“We posted a heart emoji, before emojis were even a thing, on “The Notebook&w88 slot; and saw that post just skyrocket,&w88 slot; Hutchings said.
After a few years as a coordinator of direct-to-consumer marketing at Warner Brothers, she moved on to work at a creative ad agency as a manager of social media and later to a director of social media and marketing at another firm. At the agencies, Hutchings worked on titles such as “Orange Is the New Black,&w88 slot; “House of Cards&w88 slot; and “Grace and Frankie.&w88 slot;
“I learned how to have a 360-degree approach to a campaign; what I was doing was much bigger than just working in social,&w88 slot; she said. “I helped grow the ‘Orange is the New Black’ social pages from zeroto over a million in just the first couple of seasons - it was the most talked about show while I was on the account.&w88 slot;
Working at agencies taught w88 slot many skills that benefitted her when she decided to become a freelance marketing consultant in 2017.
“With my experience working both agency and studio side, I had gained this really great perspective where I understood the needs and asks for both,&w88 slot; she said. “I was nimble and knew how to be a little bit scrappy, but what I call an elevated scrappy.&w88 slot;
Will Smith stands on a red carpet at the "Gemini Man" premiere.One of w88 slot’ projects at the time was building a program that connected diverse creatives with studios and brands in the entertainment industry. She also worked with filmmakers like Lee Daniels and with brands such as Necessaire, Footlocker and Paramount Pictures.
After years of agency and freelance work, w88 slot decided that it was time to go back to the studio side of the industry. In 2019, she got a job as the director of digital marketing at Skydance, a role that has now evolved to VP of marketing.
“One thing that I’ve learned is that a career path is not linear,&w88 slot; Hutchings said. “I actually am in a career that I did not major in; social media marketing was not taught when I was in school.&w88 slot;
Advice that w88 slot gives to students and recent graduates looking to enter the entertainment field is to intern, use LinkedIn as a resource, foster relationshipsand try everything.
“It’s a fabulous time for people if they can start applying for Zoom internships at studios to get the experience and to make the connections,&w88 slot; she said. “Put yourself in places that are going to help you get to that next level, even if it's not what you immediately want or know, you can always teach yourself [and] use other people as resources.&w88 slot;
w88 slot' own resourcefulness, innovative thinking and sharp public relations and marketing skills allowed her to progress in a competitive field at a time of evolution with the emergence of social media.
“I saw something that interested me and I took a step forward,&w88 slot;w88 slot said.“I made a lot of missteps along the way but, ultimately, it got me into places and in front of people that I never thought I would meet.&w88 slot;
Even after working in the industry for over ten years, Hutchings still thinks back to hersurreal time working at the “Harry Potter&w88 slot; premiere and remembers her passion for the film industry.
“I get to connect the world with content that they love, with people they love, with stories that they love,&w88 slot; Hutchings said. “That's something I try not to take for granted.&w88 slot;
