Sports Marketing-HELP

Hey Folks,
New to the forum. I currently reside in Montreal Quebec Canada and Im a University student. I have a huge interest in sports and planning on a career in Sports Marketing. If any of you have useful tips, information or advice to help me get started, Id greatly appreciate it.

Best regards,
Elias Koniaris

 

Start a sports bureau.

 

Beat me to it. Damn you.

 

Try to get an internship while you are in school.

Try to get a job with an agency.

Working for teams might sound sexy, but you'll probably have to start in the minor leagues and/or in a small town. You'll have to work in promotions and/or ticket sales and/or sponsorship fulfillment before you'll get to sell sponsorships and advertising.

You can make money selling advertising/sponsorships, but it's not easy and it will take time. When you join a team in sales, you're low man on the totem pole. They probably already have a bear & soda sponsors and they're not going to let you call on potential big sponsors. Someone else on the staff is already assigned to them.

Much better to work for an agency and then try to work for a company buying/managing sponsorships.

 

Thanks Yankeefan, much appreciated. Hopefully our Bronx Bombers lock down Mr. Lee!

 

From your mouth to God's ears.

Also look into internships with the City of Montreal. See if the Mayor's Office or the Parks Department works with sponsors for municipal events and festivals.

You want to try to do something that will get you in front of sponsors and their agencies. They're who you want to work for.

Try to subscribe to the SportsBusinessJournal and SportsBusinessDaily.

On Twitter follow:

http://twitter.com/darrenrovell

http://twitter.com/SBJSBD

http://twitter.com/dkaplanSBJ

http://twitter.com/terrylefton

http://twitter.com/MicheleSteele

http://twitter.com/sponsorpitch

Try to find out if there are any sports marketing conferences in town and attend them. Bring your resume.

Learn the language & buzzwords that sports marketing folks use.

 

Oh, and learn Chinese. Seriously.

A North American who can speak Chinese is very marketable.

 

This is good stuff here. I work for a team in the OHL and we get interns every season from the sports management programs at colleges and universities in the area. It may not be too late to touch base with some QMJHL teams, see if they have any intern spots open. Working for a team, even in junior hockey, is fun but it's not the NHL. It is a way to get your foot in the door and a great way to network.

 

If you're going to work for a team, it's best to do it early in your career. Do it as an internship or as your first job out of school. Get your experience with a team and go work for an agency or a sponsor/corporation.

 

Getting an internship is sound advice, not only will it get you quality experience for a resume, but it will also give you a true feel for the job.

Working in this field is often not what young students expect it to be.

 

Not at all. Especially if you're working for a team.

It's mostly low paying and long hours. Show up in the morning at the start of the work day and work through the end of the game.

There's a lot of people that want these jobs and there are a lot more low paying jobs than high paying jobs.

 

Don't be discouraged if you get shot down for internships. I got shot down for about 4,786 of them before landing one.