Coach K: a legacy of basketball and publicity
Will Krzyzewskiville go the way of Henman Hill? Only time will tell. The Mike Krzyzewski era is now in the books. And there are volumes. In his 42 years as head basketball coach at Duke University (47 years total as a head coach), Krzyzewski — Coach K – developed a program that won. A lot. That created infinite […]
PR during a pandemic can be tricky
My job is to get businesses or people noticed by their ideal audiences and the media. That part hasn’t changed since most of America began to hunker down in wake of the COVID-19 or coronavirus pandemic. How and when to send out publicity pitches — approach people about business news and notes — has become […]
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, […]
NCAA self-inflicts PR pain
Name: It belongs to you. Image: None like yours (unless you’re an identical twin). Likeness: Artist draws a picture of someone with long curly hair pulled back with a distinctive headband that looks like you. Those things make your brand. They identify you better than any publicity or PR campaign could. When we say that […]
PR buzz was great, but AAF not prepared to support it
If you’re a football fan, you know by now that the Alliance of American Football, the startup spring league that generated loads of positive publicity and was headed toward its first postseason, has suddenly gone dark. With some of its eight teams at practice preparing for this weekend’s games, a letter was reportedly sent out […]
NFL commissioner Goodell let public speak for him
It’s been nearly two weeks since the egregious no-call during the Rams-New Orleans NFC Championship game, and league commissioner Roger Goodell still hasn’t spoken publicly about this and other officiating mistakes. It’s a topic that PR and other sports communications professionals should use as case study for years to come. The late-game no-call was most […]
PR and more — a look ahead
This isn’t a textbook post that if you work in the industry, have read in newsletters this month about how PR will change in 2019. I don’t know how it will change. I know what will remain though. The public and media want to know one thing from you: the truth. A most tired cliche […]
After further review … coach goes on a power trip
Alabama football coach Nick Saban helped us forget about Urban Meyer for a day. No, Saban didn’t lie, he was, in layman’s terms, a jerk. The reason I put the two in the same camp is because they violated the simplest of public-relations practices that all coaches, let alone two of the winningest in college […]
Different look, same writer
Welcome to my new blog. And my new look. In an effort to communicate the personal side of the publicity work I do, I decided to use what I identify with best — my own name. I continue to work with and consult with others who know how to do things better than I do […]