What Sports Marketing is to me, as an F1 girlie

My love of Formula 1 came from my dad, but like any stubborn daughter I would never admit how much I loved the sport to him or to anyone else for that matter.  Being an F1 girlie wasn’t a popular thing to be, I often felt judged or like I didn’t belong.  Then… Drive to Survive was released.  While the series itself was a huge factor in my love for the sport, the main thing that drew me in was the huge increase of social media marketing from all the teams.  I became fascinated by how online media could drive (excuse the pun) such a huge influx of new fans to a sport that’s been around for so long.  And to make it even better, the social media content began to not only target men but show that girls can be just as much of a fan (if not more!).  From that moment on I knew my career was destined to be in marketing and with a whole lot of hard work, in F1!  Hence why the Sports Marketing module has been so important for me, giving me the tools to succeed in this cut-throat industry.  

Within this module, the assignments have given me the freedom and opportunity to research and apply knowledge through creating a marketing and communications plan for a real sports team in London.  Originally I practically begged my tutor to let me do a motorsport team for this assignment which was cleverly denied.  But actually, by doing an American Football team, I expanded my knowledge even further into a sport that I wouldn’t necessarily look into otherwise.  It challenged my creativity and forced me to think outside the box for content ideas, which will benefit me as I step into my sports marketing career.  I took this assignment as an opportunity to express my understanding and passion for sports marketing through my presentation design as well as the content on the slides.  I used creativity to create slide designs that correlated with the chosen sports team, choosing fonts and colours to match the tone of the company.  This showed my ability to analyse a target audience and match the brand image to the appropriate demographic.  

Learning and understanding this module required a lot of research while completing assignments, gaining knowledge from outside sources and real-life evidence. I personally love sitting through a content-filled lecture and taking notes (crazy I know!), so I did feel like I missed that during this module since lectures were very assignment heavy.  However, the assignments themselves have been very helpful when completing them to their full potential.  This can be carried through to other assignments and practical work in a future role – although some moments may not feel like are providing any new knowledge, looking at it from another angle and applying research elsewhere is where you can gain.  

For Example, in this blog based assignment I have further expanded my understanding of WordPress and how it can be used to direct content to a sports audience.  Also… Keywords. In previous modules I’ve learnt of the importance of using key words and SEO, but this assignment has given me the opportunity to apply it, and WordPress even scores your headline out of 100 depending on how well the site thinks it will be viewed.

As I venture out into a career in Formula 1 marketing, I think this module has provided me with opportunities and knowledge to enhance my passion and pair it with knowledge to create an asset that companies and recruitment teams will value and want to add to their team.  The assignments have pushed me out of my comfort zone and the lecturer has given me the confidence in myself through feedback and positive communication that I can succeed in this module and beyond.  All of this is priceless for someone like me who has big, BIG aspirations.  

Getting on the paddock is no easy feat but this module takes me one step closer!

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