Microsoft UK visit University of Northampton

Sports marketing students Ben Warren and Callum Hill were privileged today to speak to Tony Henderson, who offered his expertise to the University of Northampton. Tony is the Account Director of Microsoft UK and specialises in technology and engineering. Ben and Callum are currently in the process of developing a start-up business in the mobile technology sector.

After an inspiring lecture about Tony's career and his role at Microsoft, our attention shifted to a "Dragon's Den" style pitch, whereby we spoke about our business idea. Tony was really helpful in giving us feedback and advice for the future, as well as providing opportunities to further aid the process of starting up a business.

Receiving positive feedback has been fantastic for us, but to hear this from an expert in the industry reinforces our beliefs that our idea could be a success. We are committed to using the knowledge that we have acquired at university to help us along the way, as well as using our position as students to our advantage. We can get instant free business advice from a number of sources, and we are very grateful to a number of University lecturers for this.

Killing ten birds with one stone

It is widely accepted that attending lectures is of significant importance to attaining the best degree possible. The question I would like to raise is how important is turning up to lectures? Is it possible to get all the required information online nowadays? Would using the time I spend in lectures be better spent doing my own research?

All of these questions are ones that I will never attempt to answer while I am still at university. There is a sense of guilt if a lecture is missed, a sense of what I may be missing out on. However, in the last 12 months, I believe that a lot of the content we have been taught has been invaluable. The reason for this is integration between lectures is far more prominent. For example, one particular lecture may give me knowledge for that respective assignment, but also give me an extra insight to look at something else from a different perspective.

The was perfectly summed up in the career development session earlier today. We had a guest speaker talk to us about how he set up his own business. Primarily, the session gave us insight into how to start up a business, and the ideas behind his company. Despite this being very interesting in its own right, it so happened that his business directly related to another major piece of work from another module. After a brief conversation, he had allowed us access to crucial data and given us contact information for the head of research from the English Football Association.


So after walking in to a career development session, I walked out much further along the line in a totally different area. If this opportunity had not arisen, it would have taken weeks to get the same level of research. Lectures may seem at times like a pointless exercise, but without them, you will miss more than just the bare facts!

Marketing is Everywhere!

Studying sports marketing over the last three years has enabled us to gain a fair understanding of how big the marketing industry is. A famous quote popped to mind recently that sums this up perfectly.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

We have all heard this, but it has never been used in conjunction with marketing. My analysis would suggest that if a product is put to market and no one hears about it, is it really a product?

I feel this encompasses the importance of getting your marketing strategy spot on. You may have a great product, but if no-one knows about it, will they buy it? Unlikely.

In my next post, I will share information about a business that we have recently set up. Many people have asked questions surrounding competition and differentiation to other similar products. My argument is that although our product is unique, our main differentiation strategy is in its successful marketing.

Just remember a famous quote from marketing guru Phillip Kotler, who states that marketing is everywhere!