In the dynamic and creative world of sports marketing, Beth Doyle recounts her willpower and passion towards making a once faraway dream, to an early successful career. Working as a Marketing Coordinator in the Collingwood Football Club’s marketing department, Beth’s story is one of determination, authenticity, and personal growth.

Beth reflects the first moments of her Collingwood career as she recounts, “after my interview, I was lucky enough to get the job and started working at Collingwood just under a year ago”. She shares her appreciation for the Club as she feels “Collingwood does such a good job of encouraging women to put themselves out there, to develop their self-esteem and build on our skills to achieve great things in footy”. Recently Beth worked on a brand campaign project that was launched earlier this week. Beth shares some insight into the project explaining it “captures all the key moments from last season. Working in marketing I feel so lucky that I get to be that bridge that connects the fans to the Club and celebrate Collingwood’s history. It is one of my proudest career achievements.”  

However, the road to Collingwood wasn’t easy. Beth opens up about some of the adversity she faced at the beginning of her journey as her “biggest hurdle was how to navigate the sporting world.” Working at a neighbouring AFL club, Beth found it “overwhelming coming into a male dominated environment” as she “had no prior experience working in the AFL”. This overwhelming feeling came from a place where she was exposed to the idea that women couldn’t make it in the sporting industry. Woefully, Beth shares during her time in high school it “wasn’t talked about that women can work in sport, instead we’re taught to pursue a stereotypical career, like a nurse or a teacher”. Due to the lack of encouragement, she was disheartened and felt that “sport was always at a distance” because “having previously worked in retail, I didn’t think that someone like me, a young woman who didn’t have all the skills, would be able to have sport as a career”. When asked what was her breakthrough moment that inspired her to take the leap, she smiled and said “finding the strength within myself to follow my passion of working in sport was my breakthrough moment. I needed to be authentic to myself. My mindset changed when I started hearing and seeing other women making their mark in the industry. These female leaders helped me pursue a career within the AFL and I was inspired”.

In spite of the difficulties, she shares that from those experiences she gained valuable lessons. Beth recounts “when I was just starting out, it was hard to find opportunities within sport or the AFL. My advice is to put yourself out there and to not take no for an answer.” As she was someone who was apprehensive about starting a career in sport, when asked what helped her succeed? Humbly Beth replied, “honestly, I think it was my determination to make it into the sporting industry that helped me get to where I am. Having that passion and willpower will be your greatest advantage because it will push you so far. Being authentic to yourself is also important and making authentic connections while building your skills and knowledge will set you apart from everyone else”. Another piece of advice that Beth prescribes is to “not stop in the face of rejection or the fear of failure”. Admitting that before she got her position at Collingwood, she was “rejected from many roles that I really wanted”. Beth recalls applying for “a marketing role at another AFL club, but I was offered another position as an alternative. Instead of declining I thought, this will be my foot in the door. I’m so glad I said yes because I was able to create relationships from that role and build a wider skill set.” Along with these lessons, Beth confesses some mistakes she made along the way. Eager to prove herself and her work, she was faced with burnout early in her career, which ultimately affected the quality of her work. To combat this, she shared “once I took a step back and put in place the mindset of remembering every task’s value, asking for help when needed, and working on how to achieve my goals, I started to work at my best ability.”

Directing the interview to dive into the conversation about women empowerment, Beth shares her thoughts about why she believes companies would benefit from having more women at the top. “For me, it would benefit all women that felt like they couldn’t make it to the top. As I said earlier, I didn’t think someone like me could do it. So, seeing powerful women will inspire more girls to challenge themselves, become motivated, and be inspired to work in sport.” With the start of her career journey be a little rocky, when asked her thoughts on how women can be more powerful? Beth replied “an important and meaningful way women can become more powerful is to support each other. We can do anything we set our minds to and building your-self-confidence and being authentic is so important in all aspects.”

 “Collingwood FC is a place where I feel a true sense of women supporting women”. Working closely with the AFLW athletes she’s “learnt about their experience as a female AFL player, how they wish to be perceived in the sporting world, and how they can contribute to help market AFLW. The meeting was so empowering, and it truly felt when women come together to support each other we can strengthen our voices.”

The Club’s Women in Black and White Group will continue to profile the women and non-binary people of the Club each month in 2024.