ERIE, Pa. \u2014 Penn State Behrend graduate Erica Pavlov\u2019s paper planner is old-fashioned, but it works. So do her color-coded email flags and her ever-growing to-do lists. When you\u2019re the director of marketing for Erie Events, overseeing strategy for five distinct venues \u2015 including UPMC Park, the Warner Theatre and Erie Insurance Arena \u2015 staying organized isn\u2019t optional.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be able to set priorities,\u201d said Pavlov, a 2026 graduate of Behrend’s Communication program. \u201cWhat needs to be done now? I focus on that first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pavlov manages advertising, marketing, public relations and promotions for Erie Events, which delivers programming to more than 650,000 fans annually. Since she arrived in 2024, she has led the organization through major upgrades to its email and ticketing systems.<\/p>\n
The job demands versatility: One day, she\u2019s collaborating with promoters on a concert at Erie Insurance Arena, and the next she\u2019s designing VIP experiences with specialty cocktails or analyzing ticket-sale data to understand why a show\u2019s digital impressions didn\u2019t convert.<\/p>\n
The scope would overwhelm many. But Pavlov has handled plenty on her own before.<\/p>\n
Shortly after college, she worked as a marketing assistant for Scott Enterprises. Then she moved on to the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority, where she weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, handling crisis communications as routes shut down and uncertainty mounted. She also had marketing roles at Erie County Community College and Truck-Lite.<\/p>\n
When Erie Events created a new position for a marketing director, Pavlov wasn\u2019t intimidated. She said she saw opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy a challenge,\u201d she said. \u201cI was able to build out the department, figure out the strategy and decide what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erie Events now has a marketing budget for the first time. Pavlov said that gives her real power to help shape how the organization reaches audiences.<\/p>\n
She has worked to build a unified brand identity across all five venues while preserving each property\u2019s distinct personality. The colors in each venue\u2019s logo mirror the Erie Events palette, she said, and the tone of promotional materials stays consistent, whether it\u2019s a Broadway show at the Warner or the “8 Great Tuesdays” concert series at Rebich Investments Amphitheater.<\/p>\n
As a lifelong Erie resident, Pavlov knows her market. Country concerts and Disney on Ice reliably sell, she said. Comedians do well, rock concerts are still a draw and up-and-coming acts like Teddy Swims bring multigenerational crowds.<\/p>\n
When working with promoters, Pavlov develops appeals to household decision-makers \u2015 typically women aged 35-50 \u2015 within a 50- to 100-mile radius. That local expertise, combined with her jack-of-all-trades skill set, makes Pavlov a great fit for Erie Events.<\/p>\n
Like many college students, she said, she assumed she would leave Erie after graduation. But opportunities kept appearing, and each role built her capacity for the next.<\/p>\n
Looking back, she credits her Penn State Behrend degree with preparing her for all of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am artsy, social and like to talk to people,\u201d she said. \u201cCommunication fit my strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program\u2019s hands-on approach \u2015 graphic design classes, video editing, PR Case studies, crisis communication and writing advertising plans \u2015 honed practical skills that she uses daily.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted a career where I could be creative, but I\u2019m also interested in the business side of things,\u201d she said. \u201cWith a communication degree, the sky\u2019s the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pavlov\u2019s career is evidence of that. In less than a decade, she has moved from entry-level roles to directing marketing for an organization that touches nearly every major entertainment and sports venue in the region. That footprint will soon grow even larger: This year, Erie Events will continue to develop the area on Presque Isle Bay known as Bayfront Landing, near Dobbins Landing, including the construction of a market house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lot to be optimistic about the future here in Erie,\u201d Pavlov said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ERIE, Pa. \u2014 Penn State Behrend graduate Erica Pavlov\u2019s paper planner is old-fashioned, but it works. So do…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,138,137],"class_list":["post-281728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}