Getting into….
Sports Marketing, Agency, PR, Events and Sponsorship
In this industry knowledge of sport comes second; business, PR and marketing skills come first, so your first
step is to secure work experience in this area. Start with www.sportbusiness.com and
www.sportsindustry.biz to get an idea of the industry and to research companies/agencies.
Lisa Norman is Head of Talent at Benchmark Sport International, which has a reputation for building
prestigious sports brands. Her advice is to do thorough research on prospective employers and avoid
sending generic emails asking for jobs.
“There’s no point sending an email saying, ‘I love sport’. You must offer skills that are needed in the
industry, such as marketing and PR, as well as commercial awareness. What’s important are business
skills and having the acumen to know where the money in sport comes from, such as TV rights. Who
has the rights to the World Cup? How is the Olympics run? Find out what’s happening behind sport.”
(CIMSPA website)
Getting work experience is essential yet highly competitive. If you haven’t got any work experience in
marketing/PR/events, then look to gain these skills outside of the sports sector.
 You can search for current jobs and internships via Careers Network’s Careers Connect.
 The volunteering department in the Guild has a range of voluntary opportunities relating to
marketing and PR, and Job Zone often advertises part-time jobs in this sector.
 UB Sport also often has opportunities that relate to marketing and events; search for their
opportunities in the advanced search section of www.do-it.org.uk and enter UB Sport in the
keyword search box.
Visit www.prospects.ac.uk and under the “Jobs and work experience” menu click on “Types of Jobs”, then
“Advertising, Marketing and PR” to gain an understanding of the skills required for working in this sector.
The industry is globalizing and so should you. International experience and language skills are ever more
relevant to working in sport and can be a key differentiator.
Where to look for vacancies…
Please note that the companies below do not represent a comprehensive list.
www.imgworld.com IMG: A worldwide sports and entertainment marketing company; they offer paid
undergraduate summer internships (visit their website in December 2014 for details on how to apply for the
2015 vacancies) and 3-9 month graduate internship programmes throughout the year dependent on
business demand.
www.octagon-uk.com Octagon: A sports agency that specialises in marketing, athlete and personality
representation and sports advertising. Offers internships in the marketing division which provide successful
candidates with an insight into Octagon and the industry. Students should send their details
to placements@octagon.com and a member of their HR team will be in touch as opportunities arise.
www.fourcommunications.com Four Communications: Specialises in sports sponsorship. They offer paid
summer internships to students interested in PR, public affairs and marketing. These are mainly available in
Spring/Summer at varying lengths up to a maximum of three months, in the areas of PR, PA, Sports Arts &
Sponsorship or Marketing. Also offer unpaid work experience for 2 weeks.
www.ketchum.com/careers Ketchum: International PR company with a sports & entertainment division;
operates a 3-month paid UK work experience programme in the areas of Brand, Healthcare or Corporate &
Public Affairs. They also offer a UK Graduate Programme in PR.
www.benchmarksport.com Benchmark Sport: Agents to sports celebrities and sponsor events. Benchmark
Holdings Group is always interested in hearing from experienced and talented people keen to join their
ranks, and operate a work experience scheme.
www.goodform.info Goodform: Commercial Consultancy, CRM agency, Membership Management
Specialist and Sales and Marketing Company. Regularly take on people looking for work experience in the
sports industry, for different amounts of time and in a variety of roles, including Telemarketing and Data
Management.
www.sky.com/academy/starting_out Sky Academy is a unique and ground-breaking set of initiatives that
uses the power of television, creativity and sport to inspire young people and help them reach their
potential. Work experience is offered each summer, as well as Graduate opportunities.
http://about.puma.com/en/careers/ PUMA: Offers internships that last 4-6 months in a variety of areas
ranging from PR to merchandising for thesis work. Graduate opportunities are also recruited worldwide.
www.nikeinc.com/pages/internships NIKE: Run paid internships at any of their European Offices all year
round in different departments.
www.careers.adidas-group.com The Adidas Group (which includes Reebok) offer 3-6 month internships in
almost all functional areas of their company.
www.sportsrecruitment.com Sports Recruitment International: The clients of this global recruitment agency
include the core sports organisations within International Federations, National Governing Bodies,
Major Events and Clubs and Teams, as well as Broadcast and Media, Sports Agencies, Sports Gaming, Corporate
Sponsors, Sporting Goods and Brands and Government Departments.
www.globalsportsjobs.com – Global Sports Jobs is a recruitment agency with UK and international sports
industry vacancies, and some really insightful articles and blogs.
http://jobs.brandrepublic.com/ Brand Republic Jobs: Lists job vacancies in advertising, creative, marketing
and media, including the sports marketing world, entertainment and leisure. Use www.brandrepublic.com
for news on marketing, advertising, PR and events (brand republic also produces industry magazines for each
sector).
www.jumpinsport.com – Jump in Sport, recruitment site that has lots of sport internship opportunities in
the UK and overseas.
Updated: July 2015