Who does what?
Head of the pile is commercial director Nick Mills, who bullies the marketing team into submission and maximises sponsorship and advertising revenues. He uses a variety of sales techniques, but these often involve a long lunch and a few beers. Ryan Dall, senior marketing manager, and Hannah Wright, marketing and sponsorship manager, help Nick with sponsorship and advertising, and handle residential subscriptions. Christina Marsh, commercial marketing manager, manages commercial subscriptions, and the team is ably supported by marketing assistant Camilla Hall.
Who is the biggest character and why?
Nick. As a professional northerner, he is inclined to call every female in the office "Doris" and will only ever eat meat and chips. Nick's knowledge of the racing industry is huge, bettered only by his knowledge of the betting industry, where he has plenty of first-hand experience.
What is your office atmosphere like?
The office ranges from quiet to manic, depending on who is in - if everyone is in at once, it's chaos. And when the big race meetings are on, we have been known to have a few big bets flying around.
What does it take to get a job in your team?
Marketing, broadcasting and horse-racing experience is a must, and it's essential that you have a can-do attitude and are prepared to put the hours in when necessary. Being able to develop relationships with third-party brand contacts is also important, given that we drive the sponsorship side of the business in-house.
How are staff encouraged to hit targets?
We are a small but ambitious team with a united approach to exceeding targets - largely because we all get to celebrate together when we do. Days out at the races with several bottles of champagne provide a good incentive.
What stands you apart from the rest of the industry?
We pride ourselves on the strength of our relationships with subscribers and partners. For our advertisers, we represent good value and direct access to a wide, high-end audience - as proven by our recent Barb figures showing that we pull in 400,000 viewers, 75% of whom are ABC1.
Where do you let your hair down?
We quite often let our hair down at the races, but closer to home is the "loco" Mexican bar - cheap beer, cheap cocktails and cheap nachos.
Is your team the best in the business? E-mail harriet.dennys@haymarket.com