Week 4
Overall, this week involved more of a preparation roll for the final event of the 2009 VISA Championship Series. This event is entirely put on by USATF and attracts the most highly regarded track and field athletes in the U.S. It was interesting at the All-staff meeting to hear how each department did their part to make this event possible. It really is a complex product. Since the event was in Tracktown USA--Eugene, OR—I watched the event on TV. It received six total hours of coverage on both ESPN and ABC.
For me in particular, I helped the Elite Teams Department create Athlete packets. This involved compiling all the necessary paperwork that would be needed for all athletes who qualified to go to the World Track and Field Championships in Berlin, Germany. Additionally, I went to the official USATF warehouse to help gather some necessary uniforms for athletes that will be competing in the Junior Outdoor Championships in Italy.
Lastly, I began to use a program known as constant contact. This is a pay service that allows business to send out mass emails, surveys, and online polls. It was great to get experience with this type of service because I was giving even better insight into the role technology plays in a business. Also, it gave me a better understanding of how different size companies outsource certain necessary materials/services.
Otherwise, I began slowly editing a Sponsorship Recap. This mainly involved just using a template to alter a previous PowerPoint. Hopefully, I will be able to improve this PowerPoint so that it can become more visually appealing to sponsors.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Week 3!!
In the third week, I was able to develop better communication with my immediate supervisor. Once again, she was very open to all my ideas and supportive of them. However, after meeting with the Director of Marketing and Communications, I realized the technological and budgetary constraints placed on a business. Nearly all my ideas could not be executed at this time because the technology just wasn’t available. Therefore, my ideas will stay on file for the future.
Otherwise, I spent the final two and half days of the week inputing Fantasy Track Pick-N-Win start lists. This was very tedious data entry that gave me a new appreciation for other fantasy games, such as MLB, NBA, NFL, etc. Those other games are much more complex so they must require an even longer duration of data entry.
Lastly, we have been having weekly intern meetings. These meetings provide the opportunity for everyone to brainstorm ideas for improvement for USATF as well as create an awareness for what other interns are doing. I found this meeting helpful; however, I can see how unproductive interns can be. Several ideas are dwelled on that have no real merit and are not worth our time. I will use this experience to run more efficient meetings in the future at McCombs and in other work places.
Otherwise, I spent the final two and half days of the week inputing Fantasy Track Pick-N-Win start lists. This was very tedious data entry that gave me a new appreciation for other fantasy games, such as MLB, NBA, NFL, etc. Those other games are much more complex so they must require an even longer duration of data entry.
Lastly, we have been having weekly intern meetings. These meetings provide the opportunity for everyone to brainstorm ideas for improvement for USATF as well as create an awareness for what other interns are doing. I found this meeting helpful; however, I can see how unproductive interns can be. Several ideas are dwelled on that have no real merit and are not worth our time. I will use this experience to run more efficient meetings in the future at McCombs and in other work places.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Rest of Week 2
On Wednesday, I was able to have my first meeting with my immediate supervisor. At this meeting, I practiced my presentation skills through an informal presentation of several ideas I had to improve the website. Additionally, I was able to ask for additional interaction with management because it was more conducive to my necessary work environment. Furthermore, we made plans to create a survey to send out to Fantasy Track players. Upon completing the survey, my supervisor and I worked collaboratively to make improvements to the survey.
Later this week, I worked on creating an excel spreadsheet of the marks athletes need at the 2009 Outdoor Track and Field Championships to win the VISA Championship Series. This action was particularly interesting because it gave me a better understanding of how the point system works in USATF. Otherwise, my work primarily consisted of research on sponsorships and brainstorming on event activation activities.
Later this week, I worked on creating an excel spreadsheet of the marks athletes need at the 2009 Outdoor Track and Field Championships to win the VISA Championship Series. This action was particularly interesting because it gave me a better understanding of how the point system works in USATF. Otherwise, my work primarily consisted of research on sponsorships and brainstorming on event activation activities.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Another Week Started
MONDAY
At the start of the second week, I spent a large portion of the time researching social media. Thus, I extensively compared USATF’s Facebook and Twitter pages to other major sports organizations. Through this research, I was able to create a list of recommendations of ways to improve the use and functionality of this social media. Additionally, I read several trade articles regarding how to marketers can maximize the use of social media. The articles gave me insight on innovative and creative ways to make social media worth a marketers’ investment.
TUESDAY
Today was a rather interesting day. Even though I started over a week ago, today was intern orientation as well as an all staff meeting. First, I was able to sit in on the all staff meeting. At this meeting, I was able to introduce myself to all staff members again. To my surprise, I ended up sitting at the main table with all the senior level executives, which I think helps to embody the culture of USATF. Even though I am an intern, there was no sense of discrimination because of my lower status.
The meeting itself was very interesting. At the meeting, each senior executive gave an update on what was going on in there department. Then, the CEO talked to everyone (very casually) about the goals and direction of the organization. In addition, the CEO gave everyone the opportunity to ask him any questions they had about anything. Fortunately, this meeting gave me a good mindset to approach my internship with USATF. I was able to really understand the direction of the organization and their openness to anything new. It seems like the employees are all on board for change that will make USATF go from “good to great.”
After the all staff meeting, it was time for the official intern orientation. In this orientation, several HR/Business Ops. Managers spoke to us more about their expectations and general company philosophy. This helped to really set a good tone for the rest of the internship; however, it should have happened during my first week here. Furthermore, one of the managers conducted a brainstorming session where we all were instructed to discuss our goals for the internship. I found this goal exercise to be extremely impressive because it shows a lot about the company. You always read about these sort of exercises in textbooks, but I feel like few companies actually do them. After the goal session, we played a game as interns with the Director of Business Operations and the COO. While the game was a little difficult, it helped to get everyone a little more comfortable in their environment.
Overall, I learned a great deal about USATF company culture. Not only is USATF very open to new ideas, they are also not afraid of taking calculated risks. This risk taking is an excellent quality for an organization looking to grow and change its national image. To me, its obvious this company culture comes straight from the top. Doug, the CEO, is quite brilliant, but extremely grounded. I think he will get USATF on the right track and the US will win 30 medals in 2010.
At the start of the second week, I spent a large portion of the time researching social media. Thus, I extensively compared USATF’s Facebook and Twitter pages to other major sports organizations. Through this research, I was able to create a list of recommendations of ways to improve the use and functionality of this social media. Additionally, I read several trade articles regarding how to marketers can maximize the use of social media. The articles gave me insight on innovative and creative ways to make social media worth a marketers’ investment.
TUESDAY
Today was a rather interesting day. Even though I started over a week ago, today was intern orientation as well as an all staff meeting. First, I was able to sit in on the all staff meeting. At this meeting, I was able to introduce myself to all staff members again. To my surprise, I ended up sitting at the main table with all the senior level executives, which I think helps to embody the culture of USATF. Even though I am an intern, there was no sense of discrimination because of my lower status.
The meeting itself was very interesting. At the meeting, each senior executive gave an update on what was going on in there department. Then, the CEO talked to everyone (very casually) about the goals and direction of the organization. In addition, the CEO gave everyone the opportunity to ask him any questions they had about anything. Fortunately, this meeting gave me a good mindset to approach my internship with USATF. I was able to really understand the direction of the organization and their openness to anything new. It seems like the employees are all on board for change that will make USATF go from “good to great.”
After the all staff meeting, it was time for the official intern orientation. In this orientation, several HR/Business Ops. Managers spoke to us more about their expectations and general company philosophy. This helped to really set a good tone for the rest of the internship; however, it should have happened during my first week here. Furthermore, one of the managers conducted a brainstorming session where we all were instructed to discuss our goals for the internship. I found this goal exercise to be extremely impressive because it shows a lot about the company. You always read about these sort of exercises in textbooks, but I feel like few companies actually do them. After the goal session, we played a game as interns with the Director of Business Operations and the COO. While the game was a little difficult, it helped to get everyone a little more comfortable in their environment.
Overall, I learned a great deal about USATF company culture. Not only is USATF very open to new ideas, they are also not afraid of taking calculated risks. This risk taking is an excellent quality for an organization looking to grow and change its national image. To me, its obvious this company culture comes straight from the top. Doug, the CEO, is quite brilliant, but extremely grounded. I think he will get USATF on the right track and the US will win 30 medals in 2010.
Week 1..10 Weeks to Go!
After the first two days of the internship, the overall workload remained consistent for the rest of the week. For half a day, I worked on the USATF Pick-N-Win Fantasy game. For this game, I was updating racing start list and entering the information into the master system. Otherwise, I primarily worked on long-term projects.
On the third day, I participated in a very rainy and cold National Running Day. At this event, I met the CEO and a couple former Olympic athletes. Primarily, National Running Day was a community outreach event aimed at growing a sense of running in Indianapolis. Actually, many similar events were going on throughout the U.S. to celebrate this national running day.
For the rest of the week, I was researching Fantasy Sport Leagues in order to understand industry practices. Through online research of various sites, such as ESPN, Yahoo Sports, and CBS Sports, I was able to see what types of functionality and overall look fantasy gaming utilizes. Primarily, I researched through observation; however, I signed up for various fantasy leagues in order to get the true gaming experience.
Additionally, I watched various media to ensure that I understand the current state of USA Track and Field. This media viewing enable me to gain a stronger background in the sport of Track and Field so that I could better identify the problems in the organization. Along similar lines, I also watched the PreFontaine Classic, which is a professional track meet. Through this track meet, I was able to see what type of marketing currently being done in professional track and field.
Also, I began to do some preliminary research on potential sponsors for USATF. To generate ideas for new sponsors, I researched several local Indiana teams as well as nationwide leagues. As a result, I concluded that USATF has an opportunity to get involved with a radio, cell phone, air travel, banking, electronics/television, camera, towels, and/or shipping type companies. I will further investigate these leads at a later time.
Lastly, I was given the opportunity to listen in on a conference call from a representative from a USATF sponsor-Visa. In this call, USATF and Visa discussed the total remaining ticket value left for Visa from the original sponsorship agreement. According to the phone call, Visa was given $11,000 worth of tickets for the entire season, but Visa was about to go over this allocation. Therefore, USATF and Visa were discussing solutions to this problem. Additionally, USATF introduced a new buy-in for VISA where USATF would create a Visa fan zone with coaches, ping tables, and much more outside of the 2009 Outdoor National Meet. According to USATF, the main goal of this fan fare is to please fans while exposing them more to the Visa brand. The sponsorship asking price would be $15,000, which is considered very small for Visa’s budget.
Overall, my primary learnings for the week involve a better understanding of the sport sponsorship process. The conference call gave me new insight on the numbers involved in sponsorship as well as the relationships amongst the sport organization and the company. In addition, I gained a better understanding of the way a sports franchise organizes community outreach program to grow their brand.
On the third day, I participated in a very rainy and cold National Running Day. At this event, I met the CEO and a couple former Olympic athletes. Primarily, National Running Day was a community outreach event aimed at growing a sense of running in Indianapolis. Actually, many similar events were going on throughout the U.S. to celebrate this national running day.
For the rest of the week, I was researching Fantasy Sport Leagues in order to understand industry practices. Through online research of various sites, such as ESPN, Yahoo Sports, and CBS Sports, I was able to see what types of functionality and overall look fantasy gaming utilizes. Primarily, I researched through observation; however, I signed up for various fantasy leagues in order to get the true gaming experience.
Additionally, I watched various media to ensure that I understand the current state of USA Track and Field. This media viewing enable me to gain a stronger background in the sport of Track and Field so that I could better identify the problems in the organization. Along similar lines, I also watched the PreFontaine Classic, which is a professional track meet. Through this track meet, I was able to see what type of marketing currently being done in professional track and field.
Also, I began to do some preliminary research on potential sponsors for USATF. To generate ideas for new sponsors, I researched several local Indiana teams as well as nationwide leagues. As a result, I concluded that USATF has an opportunity to get involved with a radio, cell phone, air travel, banking, electronics/television, camera, towels, and/or shipping type companies. I will further investigate these leads at a later time.
Lastly, I was given the opportunity to listen in on a conference call from a representative from a USATF sponsor-Visa. In this call, USATF and Visa discussed the total remaining ticket value left for Visa from the original sponsorship agreement. According to the phone call, Visa was given $11,000 worth of tickets for the entire season, but Visa was about to go over this allocation. Therefore, USATF and Visa were discussing solutions to this problem. Additionally, USATF introduced a new buy-in for VISA where USATF would create a Visa fan zone with coaches, ping tables, and much more outside of the 2009 Outdoor National Meet. According to USATF, the main goal of this fan fare is to please fans while exposing them more to the Visa brand. The sponsorship asking price would be $15,000, which is considered very small for Visa’s budget.
Overall, my primary learnings for the week involve a better understanding of the sport sponsorship process. The conference call gave me new insight on the numbers involved in sponsorship as well as the relationships amongst the sport organization and the company. In addition, I gained a better understanding of the way a sports franchise organizes community outreach program to grow their brand.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Second Day of Work
Today was the second day of work. I think it gave me a better feel for what work is really going to be like.
Overall, I did a great deal of internet research. In particular, I examined the stickiness of websites. To do this, I looked at ESPN, NBA, MLB, NFL, and the Statesman. As I looked at these websites, I aimed to discover what exactly makes me (and other fans) stay on the website. Overall, it seems like fresh content, vivid pictures, and polls are some of the main factors for maintaining my attention. Additionally, things like discussion forums, blogs, and media seem to keep fans coming back for me.
At 3 pm, I was invited to my favorite part of day. USATF puts out two quarterly magazines--Elite Beat and Fast Forward. Originally, these magazines focuses on putting out pure facts about the runners, such as race times, meet results, etc. and things only hard-core runners would care about, such as shoe recommendations. Unfortunately, this limited the interest in the magazine. As a result, USATF decided to redesign the look and content of the magazine to appeal to more of the casual runner. These changes involved putting in more content about the players on and off the track, nike marketing articles, historical pieces, rising stars, and much more.
This meeting was particularly interesting because it was a departmental meeting where I was able to better understand the vision of USATF as well get familiar with some of the key athletes. It was also great to hear everyone pitch story ideas and see them really come to life.
Personally, I was asked to come up with ways to improve the magazine based on an old edition I was given. Unfortunately, the changes I was going to recommend were already in the works. However, this shows that my ideas would be credible and worthwhile. Additionally, at the meeting, I was assigned the task of looking through all the pictures from previous events to identify photos that will be included in a middle two-page spread of Fast Forward.
Lastly, the company culture is very laid back. There is little real direction given so long as you do your job right. Everyone seems busy all day, but I really have no idea what they're doing. It would be interesting to walk around and ask everyone what they're working on so that I can get a better understanding of USATF.
Overall, I did a great deal of internet research. In particular, I examined the stickiness of websites. To do this, I looked at ESPN, NBA, MLB, NFL, and the Statesman. As I looked at these websites, I aimed to discover what exactly makes me (and other fans) stay on the website. Overall, it seems like fresh content, vivid pictures, and polls are some of the main factors for maintaining my attention. Additionally, things like discussion forums, blogs, and media seem to keep fans coming back for me.
At 3 pm, I was invited to my favorite part of day. USATF puts out two quarterly magazines--Elite Beat and Fast Forward. Originally, these magazines focuses on putting out pure facts about the runners, such as race times, meet results, etc. and things only hard-core runners would care about, such as shoe recommendations. Unfortunately, this limited the interest in the magazine. As a result, USATF decided to redesign the look and content of the magazine to appeal to more of the casual runner. These changes involved putting in more content about the players on and off the track, nike marketing articles, historical pieces, rising stars, and much more.
This meeting was particularly interesting because it was a departmental meeting where I was able to better understand the vision of USATF as well get familiar with some of the key athletes. It was also great to hear everyone pitch story ideas and see them really come to life.
Personally, I was asked to come up with ways to improve the magazine based on an old edition I was given. Unfortunately, the changes I was going to recommend were already in the works. However, this shows that my ideas would be credible and worthwhile. Additionally, at the meeting, I was assigned the task of looking through all the pictures from previous events to identify photos that will be included in a middle two-page spread of Fast Forward.
Lastly, the company culture is very laid back. There is little real direction given so long as you do your job right. Everyone seems busy all day, but I really have no idea what they're doing. It would be interesting to walk around and ask everyone what they're working on so that I can get a better understanding of USATF.
Monday, June 1, 2009
First Day of Internship
Today was the first day of work. First we were given a tour and met everyone. Then, I was instructed to overview USATF website, sponsor recaps, and brand identity materials on the marketing drive.
Then, I was asked to search through newspapers from select cities (New York, LA, and Philadelphia). I found several clippings for the Penn Relays, Reebok Classic, and Adidas Classic. These are intended to be included in a sponsor recap presenation. These presenatations are intended to entice sponsors to buy-in to USATF. Basically, USATF will look more attractive to sponsors because they will get an idea of the exposure and importance of USATF events.
Additionally, I was giving numerous long-term assignments. These assignments include website improvement, gaining new sponsors, enhancing social media, and improving the in-stadium experience.
Hopefully, I will be given the opportunity to practice my communication skills through the compilation of research reports as well as inter-office communication. Additionally, I hope to use my understanding of consumer behavior and sports marketingg to develop new ways to help USATF more effectively attract and maintain fans.
Then, I was asked to search through newspapers from select cities (New York, LA, and Philadelphia). I found several clippings for the Penn Relays, Reebok Classic, and Adidas Classic. These are intended to be included in a sponsor recap presenation. These presenatations are intended to entice sponsors to buy-in to USATF. Basically, USATF will look more attractive to sponsors because they will get an idea of the exposure and importance of USATF events.
Additionally, I was giving numerous long-term assignments. These assignments include website improvement, gaining new sponsors, enhancing social media, and improving the in-stadium experience.
Hopefully, I will be given the opportunity to practice my communication skills through the compilation of research reports as well as inter-office communication. Additionally, I hope to use my understanding of consumer behavior and sports marketingg to develop new ways to help USATF more effectively attract and maintain fans.
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