Promotions Planner Review

My role as promotions planner involves adding promotions onto products on the AO website, as well as clients such as boots and next. We work closely with the commercial teams to come up with promotions to increase sales, awareness and clear stock. I also plan campaigns onsite, these are sales promotions such as Black Friday but also awareness campaigns that can be reactive and based on categories

My apprenticeship has helped be gain an understanding of marketing strategies that I didn't have before. I have also gained a knowledge of trading that I didn't have before. It is interesting to see how a business operates from inside and to see the reasoning behind marketing/trading strategies. I have also developed people skills that I didn't have before as I am able to communicate with people across the business as well as suppliers

I enjoyed the content of my apprenticeship as I didn't really know anything about marketing/business before I began. It was very useful to my job to understand the ideas behind different marketing techniques and has definitely helped me in the day to day. The content of the apprenticeship was interesting and I liked the exercises where I had to develop and analyse a campaign.

My apprenticeship could have been better organised. I felt like there wasn't consistent support from Estio to track my progress. I would get a call or maybe a meeting every couple of months to see how I was getting along however I felt that questions I asked or issues that I was having with specific modules was not answered in the best way. I had 2 apprentice providers for the different years of my apprenticeship and I felt like the support I got from my first provider (Arch Apprentices) was better than what I got from Estio. There was 1 dedicated person for me at Arch who I felt comfortable with and knew that I could ask questions as well as get emotional support when I was stressed.

There was a lot of support from AO with my apprenticeship. My manager was always encouraging me with it and let me take time where nobody would bother me so I could focus specifically on my coursework. There is a person at AO dedicated to apprentices that you can go to if you have any issues regarding the apprenticeship or just general stress. I got a lot of support from other apprentices as well as from colleagues across the business. I knew if there was a particular module that I didn't understand that I could go to a person in the business that has experience in that area and they would help me.

From Estio I didn't feel incredibly supported until right near the end of my apprenticeship. I felt like I was struggling for a lot of it, especially in my second year with my workload on top of my apprenticeship and I felt like I didn't get the encouragement and support I needed from Estio. I got the majority of the support I needed from Estio in the last couple of months before I ended my apprenticeship when I physically went to the Estio building to complete work. However I felt if I wasn't physically sat with a course adviser then I didn't get the help I needed. I don't live in Manchester and I have a full time job that I am also doing. I couldn't be at Estio all the time and it would have been nice to have that support from them outside of the building

My qualification helps my perform better in my role as it helps me understand the thought that goes behind the marketing strategies that are used in the business. I do not work in Marketing however I work closely with the teams and it gives some good context when understanding what does into a campaign. It has also helped me understand other people's roles within the business

There are lots of extra curricular activities at AO to get involved in. For my DofE award I was very involved in these activities. I used to play badminton every week with people from across the business as well as getting involved in volunteering opportunities. I spent a lot of time with other apprentices socially

Yes

AO is a great place to work. The atmosphere is so fun and although it is a serious workplace there is always time to have a laugh. Everyone here is so friendly and willing to help with things. My colleagues are great. I have also learned a lot at AO, not just through my apprenticeship but through the support I have recieved from others across the business.

I would say that it is important to be able to take your job seriously but also be able to have fun at work. In the interview process it is important that your personality comes through as AO are not just looking for people that are qualified but also fun and caring people that can bring the AO values to life.