The world is changing rapidly and from now onwards the speed of that change is only going to further increase. We’re daily bombarded with thousands of images. Every photo can be worth a thousand words. But which images are the ones that stick and make a difference? Which (and whose) story is being told (and where) has almost become as important as the quality of the image. Choices about which professional images are created are increasingly made by executives, not necessarily creatives. At the same time, anyone can now take pictures. The quality of a sports photography image is no longer defined by its resolution or razor sharp focus. A picture made by a fan can travel all over the world and end up on the international front pages before you can say ‘bong’.
This post covers the changes in sports photography from the perspective of the photographers, media, sponsors, fans and athletes. Its not intended as a philosophical reflection of the value of a photograph. The digital revolution, which this blog is dedicated to, has resulted in lasting behavioral change as well as the way sports imagery is produced, distributed, and ultimately consumed. How do photographers find their audience, how do sponsors maximize their visibility, and how do athletes manage their exposure? [click to continue…]
Thomas studied Communications in Amsterdam and has been working in international sports for over 15 years. He started his professional career at the Amsterdam Admirals in the NFL Europe and moved to Dutch professional soccer champions PSV Eindhoven in 1997. In 2001 he moved to Southern Germany to join Adidas. He's filled a variety of roles with the sporting goods brand, including 'Head of Global PR'. In 2011 he moved into the role of Global Brand Director.
I recently got to meet the CEO of Spira Footwear, Andrew Krafsur. He is a lawyer turned entrepreneur and with the help of his brother, they launched the revolutionary Wavespring technology used in their running and walking shoes today. The technology has been proven to give athletes better results (both in comfort and in speed), so much so that it is ‘technically’ banned in many marathons. Having been called the steroids of running shoes,
Andrew talks about how to deal with PR controversies and turning it into a marketing tool. Andrew is an inspiring and innovative guy and was a pleasure to talk to. Also, if you listen to the end, there’s a little something extra for you. Definitely check it out!
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As a side note, Andy sent me a pair of shoes to test out for myself. Here are the results:
I hadn’t run 2 miles in about a year (I’m normally a sprinter) so I spent seven days running 2 miles each day to see how much I could drop my time. I dropped about 20 seconds off my first and second day personal bests, and on the third day when I got the Spira shoes on I dropped over 40 seconds of my personal best. The shoes felt light and I could definitely notice a difference in my speed even when my legs and lungs were feeling fatigued.
Nothing is sure in this world except death, taxes and text messages that will come back to bite you in places that will hurt.
Right now, future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, Brett Favre, is smarting from even the suggestion that he texted a former game-day reporter for the New York Jets (there is no verification of these stories and the investigation by the NFL is in its infancy). This news evolves as golfer Tiger Woods continues to reel from released text messages, voice mails and his eventual admission to infidelity that cost him millions of dollars in endorsements and his marriage during the past year.
My guess is that phone companies are vetting each future endorsement prospect like never before.
There is a lesson here for everyone, however: everything we record in type or voice and transmit via Internet, phone or cable, is forever traceable and transferrable. The messages are also resilient to destruction. They are the movie ticket stubs that we keep for years as mementos or prom dress that hangs in a closet decades after your big night. The big difference is that texts, emails and voice messages tell stories. There’s little to guess about what’s being communicated because it’s out there for people to read and hear if that once-special someone chooses to share what you may have assumed to be forever private. [click to continue…]
Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.
A couple of weeks ago I was faced with a challenge unlike anything I’d experienced in the last few years while attending the Professional Golf Association’s premier event – the PGA Championship — at the beautiful Whistling Straights golf course in Kohler, Wis. I went to the tourney as a fan, not as a member of the media, which limited my communication throughout the day.
According to PGA rules, I was not allowed to bring a phone or mobile device of any kind (which in my case, are one in the same) into the venue. I could deal with having to silence my phone, but to be removed from social media and email was trying for someone who depends on those tools to run and monitor a publicity business.
After all, I was pretty excited about the prospects of how I could monitor other holes from my iPhone – the PGA touted its apps like few other organizations do. But they weren’t app-licable to me. I was there.
As it turns out, it was a Friday in August and people who may have contacted me were either at the beach or cutting their days short so correspondence wasn’t crucial. There’s always that “what if” though, and I was nervous that the biggest opportunity of my career might come across in a tweet while I was incommunicado.
Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.
I just shook my head and mentally shook LeBron James by the collar when I read his tweet directed at critics, yesterday: “Don’t think for one min(ute) that I haven’t been taking mental notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!”
(For the record, I wouldn’t lay a hand on a man three-times my size, especially if I was coaching him.)
Ok, so I guess I won’t be invited to his South Beach Christmas Bash. Oh, well….
Missed drinks donning umbrellas with The Decided aside, James is still a young player in the NBA. He has no championship rings and he still has lots of endorsements to sign before he comes close to Michael Jordan, the star basketball player he has been most compared. James’ endorsements may even trail Tiger Woods’. [click to continue…]
Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.
In the last weeks I’ve thought a lot about a hot button issue that began with a political decision, yet has touched sports organizations from the National Basketball League to Major League Baseball…or should I say that they hit on the topic by no choice of their own.
As if the Arizona Immigration Law SB 1070 2010 needed more steam, the topic of immigration has jumped to Page One of several sports searches because professional organizations and athletes have either voiced opinions or taken action to show dissatisfaction for the legislation.
The law, which will require police to verify a person’s immigration status if there’s “reasonable suspicion” that he/she is in the United States illegally, is scheduled to take affect in July.
Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.
It’s official. Tiger Woods announced on his website that he will begin his comeback from the personal mega-bogey that derailed his professional career for four months.
Ben Roethlisberger is still fighting a sexual assault charge, his second such fumble in three years.
These are just some of the dozens of professional sports figures whose off-the-field actions have affected theirs and their organizations’ reputations.
Despite the proliferation of portable recording devices and media’s unprecedented coverage, athletes and coaches who enter the public limelight because of their talents, continue to endure public humiliation because of their own poor personal decisions. It’s for that reason I want to reach out via SportsNetworker with a PR primer. It could even be looked upon as an image savior.
Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.
Athletes in trouble. We see it every day in the news and find ourselves wondering aloud, “Wow. Did they really just say/do that?”
The vast majority of athletes will face a crisis of some proportion during their career or post-career. How they handle it is everything, and who manages them through it plays a major factor in the outcome, hence the need for true strategic communications professionals (i.e., seasoned PR people) on their team of advisors.
Too many athletes rely on less than qualified “handlers” to counsel them through the eye of the storm of controversy. They are foolish enough to follow the non-expert advice of, “We can handle this. Here’s what we’ll say/won’t say and this is what we’ll do. This will blow over.” Their reactions and responses will range from avoidance, vehement denial, finger pointing, and… the answer that is really not an option, “No comment.” Bad advice or no advice, we’ve seen it all too often and athletes are left wishing they could do it over again. Ask Tiger. Ask Roger Clemens. Ask Gilbert Arenas. Take your pick. There are hundreds of case studies in what NOT to do.
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The world is changing rapidly and from now onwards the speed of that change is only going to further increase. We’re daily bombarded with thousands of images. Every photo can be worth a thousand words. But which images are the ones that stick and make a difference? Which (and whose) story is being told (and where) has almost become as important as the quality of the image. Choices about which professional images are created are increasingly made by executives, not necessarily creatives. At the same time, anyone can now take pictures. The quality of a sports photography image is no longer defined by its resolution or razor sharp focus. A picture made by a fan can travel all over the world and end up on the international front pages before you can say ‘bong’.
(This is a guest article by Wesley Mallette)
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