Being Sponsored Thoughts

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piz : )

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As an athlete for various companies, I sometimes feel that my services are being utilized and sometimes not so much. This last week I was invited to speak on behalf of the athletes at one of my sponsors marketing and sales meetings.

First off, it was an honor to be invited to these meetings and I would like to do it again! (those of you who attend them every year as sales reps may think otherwise, but it was a new experience for me and I truly enjoy these kinds of things because they provide enlightenment to an otherwise dark and unknown world for me.)  So back to the point, I was invited to speak about what we do as athletes and how we can further assist in the branding process.

Wow. Since understanding marketing is not something that I studied in school, I don't really know the processes behind the scenes. To be in the "secret circle" of a company was really rewarding and made me truly feel like I was an integral part of the team. I like that feeling. Knowing that what you do matters whether or not you get press or have a photo in a magazine or even if you are on the cutting edge of anything. Just you doing what you do helps, that is pretty cool. The other things are icing on the cake really.

I guess my reflection upon the experience is that companies are out there doing their best to care for the market, the environment, to connect with their client and to provide people a streamlined experience. There is a ton that goes into it and I am sure that I only was exposed to the tip of the tip of the iceberg. The complexity of moving from one company to another and be in marketing must be crazy since you have to learn so much about the new company and its past, present and future. In many ways it is way easier to go and climb rocks! But as I said before, I think that feeling utilized and being utilized by companies is when they will get the most out of their resources (like athlete programs) when everything works together toward that common goal, growth is not far off.