The SportsGrad Podcast #296: Manchester City FC Head of Research Tom Wilkins on using fan insights for business growth
Meet Tom Wilkins, the Head of Research at City Football Group for Manchester City FC. City Football Group are one of the biggest sporting bodies in the world, who own and operate Manchester City FC, Melbourne City FC, New York City FC, Mumbai City FC and 9 other clubs across 5 continents.
Tom’s role as Head of Research involves helping the club understand fans to make better decisions across Fan Engagement, Strategy, Marketing and many more. Basically if a department has a research question they need solved, they turn to Tom and his team.
In this podcast we cover why this role exists internally, key projects Tom has been involved in, asking good questions, setting research briefs, being a strong moderator and remaining objective. We also dive into Tom’s career journey and how this Man City fan landed in his dream job.
We cover:
(06:30) Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast Tom!
(07:51) Quick-fire questions
(15:26) What does the ‘Head of Research’ at City Football Group do, and what does a day in the life look like?
(17:20) Why does this role exist?
(18:01) What are some of the key projects that Tom has been part of?
(21:05) How to ask good questions when conducting research interviews, to ensure that you receive the more relevant and in-depth results
(25:45) How do they create project briefs?
(30:18) How does Tom remain objective when conducting new research?
(34:10) What sort of learnings do you get out of Moderator Training?
(36:53) How does Tom learn from other industries and sports?
(40:27) How does Tom’s career transpire to make it to Manchester City?
(44:50) Does Tom act proactively in his career growth or has it happened naturally?
(46:32) What does Tom enjoy most about working at City Football Group?
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Additional episodes you may enjoy:
#85: NBA Vice President of Product Experience, Jay Lee (Part 1)
#87: NBA Vice President of Product Experience, Jay Lee (Part 2)
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This episode is brought to you by Deakin University, the Official Education Partner of The SportsGrad Podcast. Find out why their Master of Business in Sport Management is not one of, but the best one in Australia ranked at #1 at www.deakin.edu.au
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