Atlanta Falcons
Morgan Shaw Parker
Vice President, AMBSE Brand Strategy, AMB Sports and Entertainment
Born: Mobile, Ala.
Education: B.S., business administration, University of Nebraska; M.S., education (emphasis: sports administration/management), University of Kansas
It was a quiet team bus for the Atlanta Falcons leaving NRG Stadium after they lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI in February 2017.
But Morgan Shaw Parker was huddled with team President Steve Cannon to craft an immediate digital outreach to the team’s heartbroken boosters.
“We needed to talk to our fans,” she said. “What was really important was we needed to understand what our fans were feeling. Had we gone dark, at that time, that would have been detrimental to our fan base and we decided not to, and we decided to have a conversation with our fans.”
Shaw Parker got to work on a video that spoke to the club’s connection with Atlanta and posted it across all of the team’s social and digital media platforms later in the week. Under Shaw, the Falcons have emphasized digital storytelling, so much so the NFL holds the club up as an example for the other 31 teams.
The club won two Webby Awards in 2018 for its revamp of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium website. Originally created to sell PSLs, the site was changed to emphasize engagement with fans.
“That was not something that created loyalty,” she said of the PSL strategy for the site, “nor would it tell the story of what [team owner Arthur Blank] is building in this city.”
— Daniel Kaplan
Getting to know...
Attributes I look for when hiring: Versatility, drive and empathy towards others.
Proudest professional achievement: Rebuilt the entire marketing discipline within the organization to create a fully integrated communications, marketing, digital/social media and creative design team; at the same time developed and launched a new brand strategy for the Falcons all while our digital team received two Webby awards and was nominated for several Southeast Emmy awards.
I wish I’d known at my career’s start: You don’t have to have all of the answers. I’ve always tried to hire (and surround myself) with people smarter than me.
Role of sports in social issues: I truly believe that sport brings people together who may not ordinarily do so on their own. We should be celebrating it and figuring out how to harness that potential (for good) instead of trying to control it.
