Madden NFL fans and new announcers find mutual brand respect
I learned something about branding last week that shouldn’t be entirely surprising. When humans interact with humans as it relates to a brand, good things can happen. I had the privilege to attend EA Play with sports broadcaster Charles Davis, with whom I’ve worked several years. It was the culmination of a year during which […]
Sports PR is about helping media do their job
Sports PR, along with every industry, has changed, but I maintain that those that publicize teams, individuals and products are in the business of making information and access relatively simple for media that cover them. The opposite seemed to happen in Buffalo today where media received a laundry list of “do nots” that essentially gave “get […]
Lessons to learn from Tunsil’s NFL Draft PR inferno
Bill Belichick can get away with saying, “We’re onto [name-the-city],” each time he’s asked about a hot topic. A rookie that hasn’t played a down of football in the NFL? Not so much. As if Dolphins’ first-round pick Laremy Tunsil didn’t have a rough enough introduction to the league, he eventually met the media in […]
10 ways Twitter wins the sports business game
This week, Twitter-owned Periscope celebrated its first anniversary. Last week marked Twitter’s 10th year on our screens. As I’ve written, I use other social media and advise clients to use what meets their needs, but Twitter is my primary social media platform. To many in media and related businesses, Twitter is the first place we visit […]
Sports PR was front-and-center in this week’s news
It was quite a week of you’re into sports PR case studies. Or just into sports. Sure, there’s that college conference basketball tournament thing. A few overtimes, buzzer-beaters and upsets are always good for a sport that seems to emerge from a regular season slumber at this time each year. [Note to those people: the […]
Social media is changing the way athletes make big announcements
When it comes to professional athletes announcing their retirements, the media planets are in the process of a major realignment. Last week former Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Carolina defensive end Jared Allen announced that he was stepping away from professional football after playing 12 years in the NFL. He didn’t issue a press release […]
Newton was wrong for his Super Bowl pressroom conduct, but shouldn’t be crucified
Super Bowl 50 armchair quarterbacks are running at full force today, and comments are not so much about the game as they are about one player. And that player isn’t Peyton Manning or Von Miller. Cam Newton critics are loud today. Newton’s Law ruled throughout the 2015 football season. With every dab and loud celebration, […]
The NFL could generate great PR beyond the Super Bowl
I was interviewed for a podcast last week when the host asked me about sports organizations that do the public relations thing wrong and what they could do to improve. I was really at a loss because there haven’t been any glaring examples as of late. Well … The host responded with, “you’ve been critical […]
Sports show love to the military for a price that’s not right
During the last several years, we’ve seen members of the United States military honored at professional sports events with heart-warming reunions, stunning standing ovations, waving flags and touching warrior tributes. The public loves the ceremony and thought that their favorite teams and leagues salute brave men and women that give their lives to help protect […]
Attract women to the NFL with respect, not recipes
Last week the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced its “RED Women’s Movement” marketing campaign, which is designed to attract females to the Bucs’ brand. I respect the end. The means, however, made thousands of women, including me, cringe. In its news release and video promo, “highlights” of the program included introducing women to NFL gameday fashion, […]