March 2017 | 115
Anna Flanders is currently working as Cycle Sportmarketing Officer at British Cycling . Our editor jumped at the chance to speak to somebody who works tirelessly behind the scenes to promote British Cycling and enhance its global brand .
Explain your role within British
Q Cycling
AWithin British Cycling I work in
Cycle Sport marketing , which means I ’ m involved with major international events we host and deliver in the UK ( such as the recent UCI Track Cycling World Cup ) as well as major domestic events such as the British Cycling National Road Championships and British Cycling National Track Championships . It ’ s my job to raise the profile of these events to consumer and commercial audiences to attract spectators ( to ticketed and free-to watch roadside events ), drive audience engagement with TV , online and social media content , attract media coverage and service our commercial partners .
Your job as a Marketing Officer
Q must be relatively easy given you represent a world renowned & muchloved brand like British Cycling ! What are the challenges ?
It ’ s true that the success of the
A Great Britain Cycling Team gives us a great platform to promote cycling and we have seen a huge
surge in mass participation with more people taking up cycling than ever before ; but that still doesn ’ t mean it ’ s easy ! The sporting environment is still very competitive though , with so many sports organisations competing for both participants and commercial support . We have to work very hard to make sure that cycling remains an attractive option for both parties and stay focussed on the principle goals of the organisation . Major events such as the UCI Track Cycling World Cup are a great shop window for our sport , so we have to make sure we put on a good show . We hope to harness the inspiration of major events such as this to strengthen our existing programmes and deliver tangible benefits for cycling through all of our programmes , which have been successful in delivering increased participation for many years . The pressure certainly grows in the build-up to the event , but overcoming the pressure is also what makes the successful staging of the event so rewarding .
What are the best parts of your
Q job ?
AThe best part of my job is definitely when I get to competition day . After the many months of hard work it ’ s amazing to see the event you ’ ve been planning for so long finally in action . Last Friday I watched the men ’ s team pursuit final at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup London . I was standing at the top of the stands at the Lee Valley VeloPark looking out at a packed velodrome and listening to the deafening cheers of the crowd as the Great Britain team crossed