PORTLAND, USA // Dewayne Hankins enters his seventh season with the Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter in 2019-20, and first as Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer.
Previously Chief Marketing Officer, Hankins’ role has expanded to oversee the Brand Strategy and Impact & Innovation departments for the Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter.
Departments under Hankins’ guidance include Advertising, Analytics, Broadcast, Creative Services, Community Programs, Customer Experience, Digital Innovation, Equity & Inclusion, Fan Development, Game Operations and Retail. Under his leadership, the organization’s critically acclaimed social media team has increased following by over 80 percent between 2017 and 2019 and won the NBA’s Digital Innovation Award in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2014.
Hankins also plays an instrumental part in utilizing the Trail Blazers’ data-driven digital strategy to achieve franchise records over the last six consecutive seasons in game attendance, ticket sales and corporate sponsorship. By providing the marketing strategy for all Rose Quarter events, Hankins has assisted in bringing in an increasing number of concerts year over year, with 2019 being a record-setting year for the venues.
Additionally, Hankins orchestrated significant redesigns to the Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter websites, significantly increased outreach in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, led the redesign of the Trail Blazers’ iconic pinwheel logo and rebrand of the uniforms and established Portland’s new NBA 2K League esports franchise, Blazer5 Gaming. He was named as one of the International Leaders Under 40 Class of 2018 by Leaders in Sports, based in London.
Before joining the organization from Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), Hankins oversaw the digital efforts of AEG’s sports properties worldwide, including the LA Kings and LA Galaxy, most notably the Kings’ cutting-edge social media initiatives from 2010-13.
Prior to joining AEG, he spent time with the Minnesota Wild and Miami Marlins. Hankins currently serves on the NBA Team Marketing Advisory Board. A native of Lockport, Ill., Hankins is a 2002 graduate of Iowa State University, where he majored in Journalism & Mass Communications. He and his wife, Gloria, and their sons, Hudson (7) and Grady (5), reside in Northwest Portland.