“Kenny Ran So I Could HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE”

Bianca Graves’ two biggest sources of motivation are both near and far: Her family, and her drive to create a legacy not only for herself but those who later enter the same space in the sports industry.

“Family is my truest motivator,” Graves said. “Being able to share this journey with the ones I love most is the greatest reward. Another driving force for me is being able to build a legacy for myself but also for those that come into the space after me—I want to inspire young Black and Brown women and men to know that there is a place for them where their dreams are.”

Currently serving as Partnership Marketing Manager for the Rams and having recently completed her fifth season with the team, Graves oversees the relationships between the club’s corporate sponsors by developing creative campaigns to highlight the Rams and partner brands. Her day-to-day consists of meeting with clients, building creative campaigns, activating experiences across the Los Angeles community, learning new trends, building relationships between partners and players, and sharing ideas cross-functionally with the various teams within the organization.

She also helped bring to life Kingfish: The Story of Kenny Washington, a film on the story of the former Rams running back breaking the NFL’s color barrier in 1946 that premiered on Feb. 15.

That process began in November 2021, when Graves and Senior Manager, Brand Strategy Rachel Zisman started having discussions about how they wanted the Rams to show up during Black History Month. A year later, those conversations evolved into the film about Washington. Graves’ roles within the campaign included connecting the Rams with a Black creative agency to help tell that story and authentic integration of corporate sponsors.

“As we started to ideate around how we would tell Kenny’s story and the reach we wanted it to have, I connected with the Pan African Film Festival to learn about opportunities to show the film at one of the festival events,” Graves said. “From there, I met regularly with the Rams Brand Strategy and Media teams to develop a plan for providing access to a Black creative agency to tell the story of Kenny’s legacy. Although I am extremely passionate about the overall project, as a Partnership Marketing Manager, it is my job to determine opportunities that benefit the Rams and our Corporate Sponsors. With that, I knew that Audi was focused on providing resources to Black and Brown communities and impacting generations to come,…