Last week was spent in the office with my main focus on preparing for the grassroots rugby model that we would be proposing to all OPRO partner Premiership clubs. 

This required me to do a lot of desk research, which although doesn’t sound the most glamourous, is so important when it comes to actually presenting the brand and to get our model into place.

By doing my desk research, it allowed me to have a better understanding of our clients, their requirements and needs. As every club is different, their schedules differ and what they want differs too; my desk research allowed me to throw over bespoke offers that the club can utilise at different stages of the season.

There was a last minute meeting between the directors which I was able to sit in on. It was for Joe (a member of the sales team) to brief them on the AYF (American Youth Football) conference which he was flying out for the following day. OPRO have recently signed with the AYF, who represent over 25,000 teams, over 100,000 coaches and well over 650,000 youth football players. The numbers are truly staggering. Joe was to attend the conference and by the face of OPRO.

The discussion was a brief of what was to be presented to the AYF, who to speak with and what key achievements were to be achieved. For me, to sit in on this meeting was invaluable as I was able to see things from a sales perspective, and with over 15 years of experience for most people in the room, it was a wealth in knowledge in that room.

The last part of the day was spent with Daniel and a phone call with the partnership manager at Great Britain Hockey. The discussion was based around the new selection of OPRO branded mouthguards for the team. What’s great is that these mouthguards were to be worn during the upcoming Commonwealth Games, as well as a retail product for the next generation of hockey players to buy.

What I thought was great is that the OPRO team had come up with a few designs for the hockey team to choose their favourite. You get the feeling and impression that this really is a collaborative effort! After hearing what design was chosen, it was very interesting to hear about licencing laws, which was understanding where logos can and cannot go. Finally, there was a talk about how the PR programme would work for the launch of the range.

Next week, I will spend time at Rosslyn Park, so watch this space!