Over the summer of 2017 I was tasked with securing sponsorship for The University of Manchester’s Swimming Club. While sponsorship brings financial benefits to university clubs and societies, I was keen to work with companies that would bring more than that to the relationship. So I was absolutely delighted when Enterprise Rent-A-Car agreed to support us – this was a great opportunity to not only work with a business as prestigious as Enterprise, but also to work with a truly global brand that has a track record of having student’s interests at heart.
Swimming is our passion and a great sport to practice while we attend university, but we also have to think about our job prospects at the end of our studies. I knew that Enterprise’s ethos of improving the employability of all students – regardless of their background, would bring extra benefits to the members of our club.
Catherine Rawcliffe, the local recruitment manager for Enterprise in Manchester, was an enormous help right from the beginning. We discussed how the club could promote Enterprise and in turn how Enterprise could actively get involved in the club. As well as promoting Enterprise’s graduate programme on our social media channels we proudly displayed the Enterprise logo on our kit, which received great exposure when we participated in a national university competition in Sheffield.
Swimming is predominantly an individual sport, but we made sure that Enterprise got involved with our swimming club in every way possible, and Enterprise was more than happy to get stuck in and help. This was evident very early on – every year, our club holds a charity gala in which teams from swimming clubs from across the UK participate in. And when we invited Enterprise to take part too, they were more than happy to enter a team. I’m sure their very competitive spirit played a part in their decision! We enjoyed having our sponsor be so involved in the gala instead of only coming along to watch. I believe Enterprise’s contribution made them really stand out with the teams that participated, as they took the opportunity to network and get to know everyone.
We’re proud to be associated with such a successful global brand that values hard work. Enterprise is no stranger to sponsoring university sport club and societies, and rightly so: their ethos aligns itself perfectly with the performance goals we set ourselves as a sports club, as demonstrated by their participation in our gala event. Enterprise looks to recruit goal-orientated students into their graduate programme, and those that actively participate in sports during their university careers are prime candidates.
Our partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car has not only been useful in preparing our club’s members for the world of work, improving our employability and helping us to secure graduate jobs, but it’s also been beneficial to the club as a whole. I would certainly recommend Enterprise as a sponsor for your sports team or society as the benefits to both the club and the sponsor are invaluable. And if you’re a university society member looking for sponsorship, they also wrote a very useful guide on how university societies will help with your future graduate career, and how to get sponsorship.
Being a member of a university society will give you the soft skills that Enterprise is looking for, so make sure you browse all the graduate jobs and internships available across the UK that Enterprise has to offer.
