June 3, 2022, by brzbs1
What it’s like to be a brand ambassador for UoN Sport
Here at University of Nottingham Sport we are currently recruiting for a brand ambassador to join our Marketing and Communications team for the 2022/23 academic year. The position offers a fantastic opportunity to gain real experience within an award-winning marketing and communications team and contribute to the ambitious vision of the our department. With a flexible work programme and opportunity to work virtually, it’s ideal for combining with your studies. If you’d like to apply for this role, you can do so here.
Over the last few years, Geography student Mathilde Tighe has been an invaluable part of our team – brilliantly covering the #GreenandGold as a UoN Sport brand ambassador, and we recently asked Mathilde some questions about her experience in the role.
How have you found the experience of being a brand ambassador for UoN Sport?
It’s been one of the best things I could have taken on at university alongside my degree. Not only has it given me valuable experience in marketing and social media that will help me to get a job in the industry after university, it has also allowed me to meet so many new people and learn about numerous sports that I wasn’t involved with before. Because you’re so immersed in everything that UoN Sport is doing, you get to see first hand how certain teams and athletes perform throughout the years and it’s really rewarding to be a part of their progression and successes.
What are some of the key things that you have covered as a brand ambassador?
No two days or weeks are the same, so I couldn’t list all of the different sports I’ve covered, people I’ve interviewed and other tasks that I do as Brand Ambassador. My main role is to support the marketing team in creating content to promote all aspects of UoN Sport, from performance sport to the leadership academy, BUCS to IMS. This could involve photographing events or products, interviewing athletes and coaches both pre and post events as well as writing match previews and reports or promoting the Moves+ app. There is just so much that UoN Sport do that we want to share, so its always so varied what I will be working on in any given week.
Are there any memorable moments that you’ve had working for us?
There have been so many great experiences over the past two years but two that stand out to me are BUCS Nationals and our F1 car activation with Red Bull. For BUCS Nationals I got to go to Sheffield for a weekend and cover our athletes’ performances in swimming, fencing, athletics and badminton. It was a crazy weekend with so much going on but it was amazing to get to know the athletes and see their progression throughout the weekend and promote it across our social media channels. As a Formula 1 fan, the F1 car activation with Red Bull was really exciting, especially as I got to lead the event and promote it across our channels, so when nearly 1,500 people turned up it was definitely a proud moment.
What have you learnt from your time as a brand ambassador, and do you think your experience in the role will help you in the future?
I’ve gained such valuable experience in marketing, social media, communications and more which is usually difficult to get at university when you aren’t doing a marketing or business degree. My experience will definitely help me to get a job in sports marketing when I graduate because of the vast range of marketing skills I’ve gained from the projects that I have worked on. However, as well as the practical skills I also think I’ve improved my social skills. From interviewing countless athletes and coaches to working with other staff and promoting UoN Sport at welcome events, I’ve had to step outside of my comfort zone and become more confident, which is one of the biggest changes I’ve noticed over my two years in the role.
What skills have you needed to do so well in the role?
Coming into the role I had limited experience in social media and marketing, but I quickly developed these skills with guidance from the rest of the marketing team. Copywriting and content creation make up a lot of the job so quickly understanding the tone of the brand and imitating it is essential to seamlessly contributing to the content going out on socials. People skills are necessary as interviewing is a massive part of the role, be it before a game/match, during or after, and it could be with coaches, athletes and staff.
What would you say to people thinking about applying and why should they apply?
Definitely apply if you’re interested in marketing and social media and you want a really fun and rewarding job alongside your degree. When I applied, I had no idea that this role would shape my career so much and allow me so many amazing experiences, and the practical marketing experience that I will leave with is rare to come across at university. It’s very manageable alongside your degree as hours are flexible and the marketing team are really accommodating for any other commitments you have – I train four to five times a week for cheerleading and this role fits around that and university work fine. I didn’t think I had the experience for this role when I applied but you learn so much on the job and have plenty of support from the team.
We thank Mathilde for her answers to these questions as well as for her work as a dedicated brand ambassador so far! If the role sounds like something that you’d be interested in doing at the University of Nottingham alongside your studies then please click this link to find out more. You can jump straight to the application here. Please note this role is only applicable to current University of Nottingham students who are studying at a Nottingham based campus.
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