In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, the Rams are highlighting the diverse AAPI experience through the voices of our employees.
This year's series continues with Partnership Marketing Coordinator Brandon Hino.
Being half Chinese and half Japanese means Brandon Hino grew up with his values being shaped by two distinct cultures.
"The two cultural values that have made me who I am today, professionally and personally, are being respectful and working hard," Hino said. "Those are traits that both my parents have instilled in me growing up. My dad taught me the importance of understanding and being respectful of others, no matter how old someone is or what they look like. My mom, who immigrated to Los Angeles when she was 18 from Singapore to go to college, taught me the importance of doing your very best no matter the situation. Reflecting on it now, I think that's part of the reason why I'm working for the Rams and am in partnerships. Working in sports requires a specific work ethic, and working in partnerships requires you to be respectful of the internal departments I touch and the external partners I work with. I believe those strengths of mine are rooted in my upbringing and culture."
As Hino pointed out, he applies those values today while working as Partnership Marketing Coordinator for the Rams.
Recently completing his second season on the organization's partnership management team, Hino's main responsibility is to manage the relationships with our corporate partners and ensure the Rams are executing on key partner assets such as social and digital promotion, community initiatives, and marketing campaigns on Rams gamedays and other tentpoles (Draft, Training Camp, etc.).
For Hino, the best part of his job is getting to work with so many different people and building genuine relationships, noting the cross-functional teamwork required across departments within the organization to execute a partnership.
"Through this collaboration I have been able to team up with and learn from my peers at the Rams," Hino said. "On the other side, I have been able to work with Rams partners who represent a variety of industries, such as alcohol, healthcare, hotel, and many more. It has allowed me to learn so much about how their industries operate, and how the Rams partnership fits in with their organizational success!"
While he has always been motivated by friends and family, Hino said that during his time at the Rams specifically, his colleagues on the Rams partnerships team have become another source of motivation as well.
"It's inspiring to go to work every day and be surrounded by some of the most hard-working, strategic, and relational people I have ever met," Hino said. "They truly have become my work family, and my wins are credited in part to their support and encouragement."
When it comes to being better allies to the AAPI community, Hino points to speaking out against the crimes and violence against that community that have become widely-publicized in recent years, especially the elderly.
"In addition to their old age, AAPI culture is typically one of more reservation and restraint, so often it is hard for these people to speak up for themselves," Hino said. "Like the Rams did with their support of Hate is a Virus, I think we can be better allies by speaking out against these crimes and defending the AAPI community."
Hino recommends celebrating AAPI Heritage Month by exploring all the different cultures that comprise it.
"The AAPI community is representative of so many different cultures, which means there's a whole melting pot full of different people, food, celebrations; each is unique," Hino said. "I would encourage everyone to try and experience and appreciate as many different ones as possible! Yelp is a great tool!"
