Joining Fast Track two weeks before the Beijing Olympics kicked off was a great introduction to the company. There was such a buzz around the office and it gave me the chance to see Fast Track at a really exciting time. From day one I was welcomed on board as part of the team and joined two challenging accounts. Working on both G4S and Texaco has allowed me to gain extensive knowledge of the ways in which two different accounts can work, but has also given me the opportunity to develop a broad understanding of the sports marketing industry as a whole. As Fast Track sits at the heart of the sports marketing world today, there is no better place to start a career in the sports industry. I have really enjoyed my first three months here and look forward to all the challenges and opportunities ahead.
When I left university I wasn't entirely sure of what I wanted to do. Having studied Sports Science I knew I wanted to work within the sports industry and I'd always had an interest in marketing communications. I was unsure of what different areas within marketing would entail on a day-to-day basis and decided it was worth looking into.
Whilst researching these areas I came across Fast Track. The appeal of the company was simple - they had an attractive client portfolio and the execution of the sports sponsorship was varied. The communications department particularly appealed, I expected it to be varied and challenging but also involve some element of planning and creative thinking.
As soon as I started I was thrown into the UK School Games, helping to organise and run the media centre, arranging interviews with participants and trying to get as much coverage as possible. This was followed by a short spell working with British Basketball during their successful quest to reach the Eurobasket finals next year, this involved working with various media at all of the games.
Now, I am working on the Heineken Cup and HSBC Lions Tour. This is just as varied, including the organisation of Heineken Club nights and helping with PR events for HSBC. Due to the variety and diversity of clients and events I have also been able to get involved with Heineken 10s and planning sessions for UKA as well as work on Texaco's partnership with the Premier League and Sainsbury's sponsorship of the Future's seminars.
In addition to all this it's a fun company to work for, a company that values its employees and wants to get the best out of them. The office is full of young, vibrant people making working life more enjoyable.
I joined Fast Track Events at their busiest time of year and hit the ground running by working on one of their largest accounts - the UK School Games. The team were really supportive, but I was also given responsibility for a number of key elements of the event from the word go. The drive of the team in the build up was inspiring and before I knew it we were on site and everything I'd been planning was brought to life: nine sports, 1300 excited kids and four days of competition. It was a whirlwind and hard work creating our vision, but everyone pulled together to make it a huge success, reinforced by the fantastic feedback we received post-event.
As an events graduate I have now moved onto another account and will work with this team towards its delivery in May. The experience I gained from the UK School Games was invaluable and I am already enjoying getting stuck into a completely different event, but approaching it from a new, already more experienced perspective.
