<VIA LOUDSPEAKER> International Olympic Committee, Vancouver Organizing Olympic Committee and Tiger Woods, please report to the first-floor classroom for PR 101… I really wish I could say that people who work in my industry do it right because we had the best and the brightest teachers. Somewhere along the way, however, some didn’t learn basic…
Tag Archives | Gail Sideman
Ready, Set, Luge!
Will the Winter Olympics get more attention than people say and if not, is it a public relations issue? It’s interesting that I hear and see people asking others if they are going to watch the Winter Olympics. A recent poll revealed that just 20 percent of Americans plan to make the Games a viewing…
Super Bowl Commercials Play Role in Branding
A few days ago a reporter called and asked how I would advise a professional athlete if he wanted to endorse a hot-button topic in a forum as big as a Super Bowl audience. My answer was not textbook public relations. (I will reveal the outlet and topic upon its publication). The reasons that athletes…
Find a Job in Sports: Be Your Own PR Agent
I’ve decided to take a detour from writing about current issues and events surrounding sports public relations to provide some simple tips to young people entering the business. I recently read a query from a college-age man who is set to graduate this spring. He asked for advice from the panel about how to get…
Athletes Step Up to Help Haiti Earthquake Victims
So many conversations of the last year, and certainly beyond, have focused on huge dollar figures that go along with professional sports and their high-paid, spoiled athletes. During this past week, players from across the professional sports spectrum who are often portrayed as being little more than indulgent have shown quite the opposite personas. They…
adidas + UCF + Marcus Jordan – adidas = ???
It came as no surprise to learn that adidas and the University of Central Florida ended their eight-year $3 million marketing relationship five years early, last month. In what seemed to be a case of miscommunication and disagreement over whether UCF basketball player Marcus Jordan could wear his father Michael’s signature Nike shoes during Knights’…
Florida Football Coach Provides PR Case Study to End the Year
Just when you thought you could put the finishing touches on your year-end list of best/worst stories, University of Florida football coach, Urban Meyer, added yet another chapter to 2009’s book of sports public relations case studies. On Saturday, all modes of media went into overdrive when the 45-year-old two-time national champion coach announced he…
University of Alabama Cancels Classes for BCS Title Game and Escapes PR Wringer
Am I the only one who finds that the University of Alabama canceling classes January 6-8, thus postponing the start of its spring semester so its students and faculty can attend the BCS National Championship game in Pasadena, Calif., ironic? I’m all for giving Crimson Tide fans calendar flexibility to travel to see their team…
Tiger Tales…This is No Children’s PR Story
Have you read and heard more than your share about Tiger Woods’ unfortunate meeting with a fire hydrant and a tree last Friday morning? I think I have. But one last thing…and only because it’s the main, if not the biggest sports PR story this year, and is already leading Jay Leno’s monologue. The quickie…
The Bowl Conundrum Structure Needs Public Relations Help
BCS. Sometimes that’s all you have to say to launch a storm of criticism about today’s way to select the best team in college football. Just ask Bill Hancock, last week’s newly named executive director of the Bowl Championship Series. To be sure, Hancock is no Johnny-come-lately. He was the first director of the Final…
It Takes More Than Balls To Achieve PR Success In Sports
I’ve recently seen several people say they would like to see the meaning of PR change from public relations to people relations. Whatever you call it, teams and athletes are better for using it in their professional arsenals. As we take in the U.S.(tennis) Open these next two weeks, we’re reminded of the added value…
Sports Public Relations Critical to Athlete Playbook
We’ve heard the words “public relations” tossed around quite a bit this summer, particularly when an athlete or coach scrambles to save face after behaving badly. My concern as someone who’s worked in sports PR in some shape or form for most of my professional life, is that I increasingly hear consumers talk about press…