In honor of Women’s History Month, the Richmond Kickers are celebrating the women in and around the club that help keep the ball rolling and add that extra special something to the club. In this edition, we spoke with Alyn Carr, the Senior Manager of Marketing and Branding.
Oliver: Not only as a woman but a Black woman too, what challenges have you faced — if any — when it comes to how you choose to market or brand certain things?
Alyn: “I think in that regard, the biggest challenge is trying to understand and trying to relate to not only Black culture, but other cultures and not in a way that’s disrespectful or also in a way that’s too cheesy.”
Oliver: What does it take to try and keep misogynistic or disenfranchising copy, branding, or marketing out of the ether, or what should others do to avoid it?
Alyn: “I think just having that woman’s voice, as part of the conversation and that creation of any kind of copy or any kind of visual imagery and marketing that you do.”
Oliver: What are some of your idols, within or outside of the field, whether it be sports or any other field?
Alyn: “I think I’ve always been a fan of Kelly Lemon, I will say that I’ve always been a fan of her and the work that she’s been doing in Richmond and with Black culture and with creativity in general. Always been a fan of hers. She’s created several different businesses around Richmond and a lot of them kind of cater more to encouraging and cultivating Black creativity and entrepreneurship and stuff like that. So it’s always fun to watch what she’s doing and how she’s doing it.
Oliver: What has been your experience so far as a woman working in an industry, and maybe even in this role that has been generally through history seen as a ‘man’s place’?
Alyn: “I feel the Kicker’s have been great, honestly. I think the only slight difficulty would be just how young I am. I think coming in like a fresh new voice has been the only challenging thing. Because truth be told, it’s been really good. It’s been really fun. They’ve all obviously welcomed me with open arms and they’ve been pretty receptive to the ideas that I have brought forward.”
Oliver: How does it make you feel literally seeing the progress over the years of women being included in sports broadcasting and being visually represented on a sports show or reporting live?
Alyn: “I love it. I’m not necessarily interested in broadcast, but I think it’s very important for, especially young girls, seeing a woman being able to exist successfully in a male-dominated role, talking about sports, having these in-depth conversations. I think it’s important for girls especially to see that, it’s very inspiring.”
Oliver: What are some things that you look forward to, or hope to see in the future of women’s equality and diversity in the roles and opportunities available for women?
Alyn: “I think it’ll be interesting to see how women eventually end up shifting or enhancing what is traditionally seen, as you said, ‘a man’s place’, I think women now in the field and outside have had a tremendous impact. I think it’s gonna be interesting to see how as more women and more diversity come into the industry. I think that’s gonna be better for everyone. It’s gonna be interesting to see how it evolves from that.”
