Behind the Scenes Chat No.2: Andy Stevens

Andy Stevens in the Marketing Manager at Sale Sharks. Being the top bloke that he is, he agreed to answer a couple of questions.

Best part of your job:

I genuinely love everything about my job. It is the most varied, high-pressure job I could ever ask for, and both of those things make it fantastic. It’s a great feeling when the large match attendances are being announced and you know that the hard work is paying off. I also love working out of Carrington. It’s just a great place to be. Everyone is fully focussed all the time, it’s a hive of activity, and the novelty of seeing the playing squad never wears off!

Yoga session at Carrington

What’s your favourite thing about rugby?

To be honest, when I first got this job I had not been to a single rugby union game. Compared to football, cricket and rugby league, I think Union is just awesome. Watching it on TV does not give it justice. The atmosphere is (mostly) friendly, and it’s only when you get next to the lads that you realise quite how big they really are! Talking to some of the Salford Reds fans about their perception of our code, I think many will be pleasantly surprised at how action-packed our game can be. For different reasons, I’d have to say that Powell, Seymour and Miller have been my favourite players of the season.

Andy Powell

David Seymour

Rob Miller

Do you support any other sport?

I follow the football. I’m a Man City fan – since birth, not since they’ve started doing well! I’ll cast an eye over other sports with a general interest, but mainly just rugby and football.

Best thing about the coming season?

The best thing about the coming season is that there are so many amazing things about the coming season! We’ll have the best stadium, we already have the best training ground and, with the lads we already have, those coming back from injury and the new signings, we have one of the best squads. The press desks at SCS also have desks that you can see over, which is always a help when live-tweeting the matches.

You use twitter a lot. How has that helped to build the Sale Sharks following?

I think it’s hard to engage with an audience if you don’t understand the medium. When I came in, one of the first things I did was to bring our social media management inside the club. That way, all the content you see comes from a member of the Sale Sharks marketing team, rather than a 3rd party that doesn’t fully understand Sale Sharks. Central to our social media strategy is media rich content. Words are great, but it is the photo and video content that fans really want. Once we have new kit in place for next season, fans will see our output increase by ten times. The past 6 months have been about getting everything in shape, this season we’ll really push on with some fantastic content.

Check out the Sale Sharks Youtube channel

How important is it to interact with the fans?

It’s vital. We are only a very small team here, but with a large output. Despite this, we try to take the time to engage with fans wherever possible. We’re also open to suggestions when fans suggest that they want to see or hear more of something in particular. At certain times it can become difficult to respond to everyone, but we certainly try our best.

How often do you check your twitter feed?

Honestly, not often enough. The Sharks feed has taken priority over the past month, so now I’ve turned into one of those ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ social media advisors. If you’re looking for best practice, look at @SaleSharksRugby, not @OnlineAStevens! Although when travelling on public transport or when my wife has control of the remote, you’ll see definite spikes in activity!

What’s your guilty pleasure song?

That Billy-Rae what’s her face one, So Call Me Maybe, I’m ashamed to say…

Where in the world would you most like to visit?

Sydney and Melbourne, with a stop off in Langkawi. I spent my uni placement year working for an Australia & NZ tour operator, but based in the UK and never actually got the chance to go out there. They were the three places at the top of the list and, once my lad has grown up, I’ll hopefully get out there. Don’t fancy those flights with a kid in tow!

Thanks again Andy!