10 Minutes With Nicole Pacitti

Can you give our readers a bit of background on yourself and your career journey so far?

Hi everyone, I’m Nicole and I work in the Sponsorship and Brand Activation team at Three UK. Originally from Aberdeen, I moved to Glasgow to study International Business with Marketing at Strathclyde University. After graduating in 2021, I packed my bags and moved to Reading to start my Marketing Graduate Scheme with Three UK. This was a two-year programme, where I rotated around four different teams: Customer Communications, Retail Marketing, Sponsorship and Brand Activation, and Social Media. During my time in the sponsorship team, I worked on all things women’s football and music festivals – for someone who loves music and sports, this truly was a dream role.

Upon completing my graduate programme, I applied for a permanent sponsorship position at Three and was offered a role in women’s football – it was a very quick yes! Even though I studied Marketing at university, honestly, I didn’t know sponsorship was a career option – if it weren’t for my graduate programme, I would likely not have found the path I’m on now.

What does your role as a Sponsorship and Brand Activation Specialist at Three UK entail?

Working on the brand side, my day-to-day role involves working closely with rights holders we sponsor – Chelsea Football Club and talkSPORT – and internal and external creative agencies, as well as supporting our festival activity during the summer months. From a strategic standpoint, I plan our campaigns from beginning to end, developing project plans, KPIs/objectives and budget requirements for each element. I then brief our creative agencies to bring these plans to life, outlining the specific deliverables required for each project. Additionally, event management and planning, hosting guests at Chelsea FC matches or competition winners at festivals, and event creation/facilitation are crucial to my job. Ultimately, my role focuses on driving awareness and consideration of Three UK among football fans.

One of your main projects is the #WeSeeYou Network in partnership with Chelsea FC. Can you tell us more about it?

The #WeSeeYou Network inspires the recognition and celebration of women across the football industry. We encourage people to recognise the inspirational women in their own network and nominate them, or themselves, into one of our three categories – Passionate Players, Committed Coaches or Media Masterminds. From this, 30 nominees are selected from each category and invited to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime experience weekend at Stamford Bridge, learning from the best in the business while developing their network.

The #WeSeeYou Network is my baby! I’ve been involved in this campaign since 2022 and have led the development of seasons two and three. This campaign has two key phases: Nominations and Experiences. During the nomination phase, I create content with players and alumni members to drive entries through our website, and the experiences phase involves event management, planning and executing three experience weekends at Stamford Bridge for our 90 standout nominees. Through the #WeSeeYou Network, I have met many incredible women, many of whom I now call friends.

What does a typical week at work look like?

No week looks the same in the sponsorship world, which is partly why I love it! One week, I could film with Chelsea FC Women at Cobham; the next, I could meet #WeSeeYou Network Alumni, followed by a social media shoot at talkSPORT’s head office. My role is both strategic and creative, working with various agencies, partners and internal teams to bring our football campaigns to life.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Getting the opportunity to meet and work with so many inspirational women through the #WeSeeYou Network has been a massive highlight for me. Similarly, and it sounds so cliché, but the people I work with at Three are second to none. The team are my biggest cheerleaders, and we encourage each other to step out of our comfort zones to help develop our skills and experiences – I have learnt so much from them all.

What are three skills are essential to your role?

Spinning Plates: Working on various projects across sports and music often requires juggling several campaigns at once. Planning and organisation are key to ensuring deadlines can be met.

Stakeholder Management: In my role, I meet and work with many incredible people, whether internal colleagues, external agencies or individuals at Chelsea FC and talkSPORT. Building relationships with stakeholders, communicating clearly and engaging the whole team is crucial for success.

Being Proactive: Bringing ideas to the table, no matter how big or small, is a super important part of my role. Exploring different ways to amplify campaigns will help inspire the team and may result in more ideas from your suggestions.

What advice would you give someone looking to work in a similar role?

What’s great about the world of marketing is there are so many events you can register for to learn more about the sports and entertainment industry. Not only do you get the chance to hear from industry experts, but you also get the opportunity to meet a variety of people. Sign up for some of these events and start chatting to people in the industry – you will quickly see familiar faces popping up at each event! Don’t be afraid to reach out to people, grab a coffee and chat to understand more about their role. Like me, you may come across a position you didn’t know existed.

If you were to choose one person to shine a light on in the industry, who would it be and why?

I would love to shine a light on the one and only Deborah Dilworth. Deborah is the Head of Women’s Football at the Football Supporters Association and is a qualified UEFA B coach, coaching over 50+ women every week. Working tirelessly both on and off the pitch, Deborah is a great role model, empowering young girls and women to hone their skills and develop as players. Deborah’s work for the game is amazing, and her enthusiasm and passion are infectious!

Where can people get in touch with you?

Feel free to get in touch via LinkedIn.