BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing graduate Daniel Smith has landed his dream role as Marketing Executive at Entain, the world’s largest sports betting and gaming company. Here, he shares the highlights of working in this thrilling sector and how his industry-relevant degree helped him gain the job…

Tell us about your role as Marketing Executive at Entain and how you landed it.

I received an email from UCFB careers regarding positions in marketing at Entain. With this industry looking the perfect fit for me, I was desperate to make the application a success. I flew through the process and landed myself a final interview which I felt I performed really well in.

However, due to an internal restructure, the position that I applied for was unfortunately pulled. Thankfully they held onto my details and I was invited to apply for an entirely different position in a different brand. Again, I went through the interview process and this time I was offered the job! Here I am now, and I have been working remotely since March.

What have been some of the highlights of the job so far?

First and foremost, the journey and the knowledge I have gained during my first four months has been incredible. Working for a FTSE 100 company has been a real eye opener into the corporate world, and I have loved every minute. When working with such a big company, there obviously comes big projects, including an entire re-brand. My personal favourite so far has been our Euros campaign though. To be able to be a part of it from launch to finish is a first for me, and something I am proud of.

We had some terrific things going on during this period, but for me, having the ability to have an input on our fantastic ‘All To Play For’ podcast, hosted by Joe Cole, was a real honour. Sport never stops, which is why I am so happy to be immersed within this industry as there is never a boring day. There are so many great things that I have been a part of so far, and many more to come.

Did you work on the Euros or Olympics in the role and if so, what has this involved?

Yes! During the Euros I was tasked with running all of the organic posting on our social media accounts. We have had some fantastic content to distribute including previews from Alan Shearer, Ally McCoist and Dean Saunders, our Euros edition of the All To Play For podcast, signed shirt giveaways and much more. Further to this, I have been responsible for all of our adverts in the press, and acquiring all of the creative and messaging for social media, CRM, real time CRM and the performance marketing teams. A truly hectic but fantastic month!

What have you taken into the role from your BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing degree?

I feel I have taken a lot of the knowledge that I gained from my degree into my role. Not only does the degree title fit my role perfectly, but all of the modules undertaken have been a real benefit for me. On a daily basis I am liaising with the CRM team about communications and their effectiveness, something which I was already exposed at UCFB in the CRM module. Another one of my responsibilities currently is having ownership of our organic social channels, which the digital marketing module has certainly helped me with. Due to the practicality of the module, in which we were tasked with creating a strategy for a sports organisation, it has allowed me to quickly perform well.

Another module that has assisted me a lot has been the branding strategy module. Being a part of the brand team, as well as implementing a rebrand, the module really allowed me to gain a fantastic understanding of various strategies and terminology. Those modules are just a few examples of how they have related to my current day-to-day life, but all the modules that I undertook have been of the utmost importance due to their practicality.

Did you take part in any other work experience during your time at UCFB and how did this benefit you if so?

During my final year I worked for STE (Sports Tourism Education). As this was a start-up it really opened my eyes to the working world. It allowed me to combine my studies with work, and putting theory into practice is an essential thing whilst studying. It’s a very important skill to be able to transfer theory work into real life practice. UCFB provide a remarkable foundation as the modules fixate their focus on real life data and situations which certainly made it an easier transition.

Finally, what advice would you pass on to anyone looking to study at UCFB?

First of all, there are some outstanding modules that will really help you understand the different roles in the sports industry. And it goes without saying really, but work as hard as you can to achieve the best grades you can. It will definitely help you in the job market. I also need to stress that you should take each opportunity that comes up during you time at UCFB, there will be a lot. At UCFB there is always so much going on with internships and work experience, and it’s important to grab these opportunities with both hands. It will provide an important basis for you when you ultimately have to enter that competitive graduate job market, and it will help you gain the upper hand on competitor students by gaining this important experience. Not only will it allow you to have an advantage when trying to land a job, but if you have already worked in a professional setting then it will be a much smoother transition on a personal level.

Additionally, with all these opportunities it allows for a lot of networking to take place. Connecting with people on LinkedIn and forming professional relationships with as many people as you can will only help you in the future. If working in the sports industry is your passion, then UCFB have the perfect foundation for you to get your foot in the door. You will need to work hard with the theory and take the opportunities that crop-up, but there will be some terrific opportunities for you after you’ve graduated.