The heart of public relations
When you work in sports, there’s a point when something happens to your fandom, even if you’re lifelong loyal to one team. It’s not a thing that turns the fan dial. It’s a person. Or people. When friends play, coach, represent someone or work on a team’s staff, you find yourself cheering for their success, […]
League mandate sparks sports PR challenge
A lot of us go into business because we think we can do something differently or better. Produce a tougher widget. Provide better service. Offer stronger solutions. This past week, a sports publicity issue gnawed at me. The NFL reportedly mandated the Green Bay Packers to hold a moment of silence before its September 11 […]
Southwest Airlines took a PR hit, but can recover
In case you didn’t hear, Southwest Airlines got into quite a public and customer relations pickle this week. More than a million people reportedly saw flights canceled or lost luggage during a high-volume holiday travel period. Passengers and even some of the airline’s staff took to social media and slammed the airline’s internal operations. I […]
There are PR implications with Supreme Court rulings
I’m an emotional person. Sometimes that’s a good thing and other times, well …. I was a bundle of them last week when the Supreme Court announced it was overturning Roe v. Wade which constitutionally gave women the right to safe reproductive healthcare. I went so far in emotional dump writing to call it Taliban-like […]
Marketing and PR have helped Title IX, but how much?
Marketing and public relations have played big roles in the rise of women’s sports, but it’s been athletes on their own who have cemented their value. The 50th anniversary of Title IX has brought about stories of old that many today can’t imagine. Until 1972, women weren’t provided resources to compete in sports at the highest […]
Aaron Rodgers goes for two; doubles down on I’s, me’s and COVID claims
This post was initially published in gpublicity’s newsletter, SIDEbar, November 11, 2021. I, I, I, me, me, me … If Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers approached his regularly scheduled hit with the Pat McAfee Show this week to tame widespread criticism that followed his Friday appearance, I don’t think it worked. If Rodgers’ feelings were hurt, […]
Jeopardy’s PR lesson
This was initially posted in the August 25, 2021 issue of SIDEbar, a weekly PR newsletter distributed by gpublicity. When game show Jeopardy! set out to find a replacement for its late legendary host, Alex Trebek, it looked like it was doing everything right. Several guest hosts stepped into temporary auditions of sorts. Each generated a healthy […]
Buzz off buzzwords
Every year seems to have its buzzwords and many are overused. I’m sure that as you read this, you’re forming your own list in your head. I’d just as soon make up words than read these again en masse. So, as we close out the year, can we omit, or at least use the following, […]
PR scraps left from the NFL-Kaepernick workout
Pretend you own a multi-million-dollar business that’s internationally known, and your affiliates have only increased in value each year they’ve existed. During those flush years, which span more than half a century, your business has staged events for all the world to see. Each of them takes months, even years of planning and a steady, […]
As football’s PR efforts work to focus message on safety, violence rears its ugly head
When you’ve set a goal and created a PR plan to essentially rebrand football, the last thing you want are conspiracy theories and brawls in which one player could have killed another on national television. The public relations state of football is mostly good, despite complaints about officiating, reports about long-term head injuries and puzzling […]