Oct

14

NHL hurt by newspaper staff cuts

Filed Under Sports PR | Leave a Comment

Almost two weeks ago, I blogged about the decline in print media and how that would impact sports PR professionals. Soon thereafter, word came out about how the troubled economy was affecting coverage of the NHL.

Greg over at Puck Daddy argues that the biggest concern should not be whether the LA Times just cut its only staffer who covered a certain team, but the column inch space that the team receives. His reasoning is as follows:

Pick up a local paper in any city and look at the bylines. Many mid-sized dailies are regurgitating wire copy for game stories for many sports, to go along with the opinion pieces people are picking up the paper to read.

The NHL should be more concerned with its real estate in the sports section than whether someone local is flying from Miami to Vancouver for a game story, or if someone from the local paper is staying for both days of the draft. There needs to be stories covering these events. That’s essential.

If there isn’t an AP story and a photo for every Panthers game in the Palm Beach Post … well, that’s reason for concern. It’s the same concern that should be felt if the local news stops showing highlights.

And who decides the amount of newspaper ink dedicated to a certain team? The editor. Take the Philadelphia Inquirer for example.

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s long-time hockey writer, Tim Panaccio, accepted a buyout after he was taken off the Flyers beat and assigned to cover the Philadelphia Eagles. Panaccio says he was told by the newspaper’s sports editor, Jim Cohen, that hockey was “an irrelevant sport” and that in Philadelphia, the Eagles “far outweighed anything else.”

Panaccio was replaced on the Flyers beat by a former high school sports reporter who was the Philadelphia Phillies’ backup reporter.

Philadelphia is among the NHL’s leading U.S. markets.

If that’s not enough, the LA Times will only have one beat reporter covering the LA Kings AND the Anaheim Ducks. Plus, this reporter will be unable to regularly attend either teams’ road games.

A recent Portfolio blog post explains how the NHL could be the league of the Internet and in my humble opinion, they need to be. They are seemingly on the losing end of the newspaper staff and coverage cuts and former NY Islanders VP of Media Relations even calls it a crisis. The Portfolio bloggers proposal? Allow fans to view NHL games streaming online for free, but with ads. He even adds that the games should be stored like Hulu so that if a fan misses the game or the first 30 minutes of a game, they can watch it online. While that’s not going to happen right away, it does appear that the NHL is taking steps in the right direction.

Additionally, the NHL seems to have more blogger-friendly teams. However, the league has incredibly blogger-friendly teams with developed policies and then other teams that ignore blogs like they don’t exist. While the NHL can’t force teams (to my knowledge) to provide press pass access to bloggers, it would be a good idea for the league to encourage teams to foster relationships with team bloggers. Now some popular teams don’t have room in the press box for bloggers, I understand that. But perhaps bloggers could be added to the press release e-mail list for starters or allowed to attend press conferences and practices. It doesn’t have to be crazy if your team is pleased with its press coverage, but it can’t hurt to reach out to the hockey blogosphere because down the road your team may wish they had already done so.

Oct

13

Conroy is Calgary’s media go-to guy

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According to a recent article in the Calgary Herald, forward Craig Conroy is the media’s go-to guy when it comes to the Calgary Flames. His first television interview apparently wasn’t go so hot in high school, but he has since matured and is now known for being willing to talk whether it’s after a loss or a win. The reporters appreciate his bluntness and the fact that he tends to avoid the typical hockey post-game cliches and actually offers up something unique and noteworthy for their article.

So, as one of the poster boys for media relations, what, pray tell, is his philosophy?

“You guys are doing a job,” says the 37-year-old.

“Sometimes you write bad things about me, sometimes good things, but that’s what it is. It’s your job. And I know when I play bad. I’ve never had a problem with the media. I don’t take anything personally. I don’t feel that anyone’s out to get me.

“I just come in and I try to tell the truth, whether I’m in favour of something or not. As long as everything’s fair, then I’m comfortable with it.”

So it’s not surprising then that in the required media training for NHL youngsters, Conroy is used as an example. Specifically, it’s his minute and a half post-game remarks following a Game 7 win in 2004 in Vancouver. Oh, he also had a “mouthful of stitches.”

“Ah, I was too excited in that interview — it was too long,” says Conroy, chuckling. “I was pretty excited, I was rambling as usual. Just very, very excited about that whole game. The highs and lows of it.”

But that clip — which is still a treat to watch — contains a valuable lesson.

“It’s OK to show emotion. It’s OK to be happy,” he says. “Rather than just going” — he affects a comically uncharacteristic monotone — ” ‘Oh, that was a great game.’ I was smiling and having a good time. I really enjoyed it. People can feel that.”

From a PR perspective, you want to make your beat reporters happy and having a go-to media guy makes your job easier. And as Conroy says, it’s totally fine to show emotion. Just because you’re a hockey player doesn’t mean you have to give the same answers in the same vocal tone day in and day out. If a player can inject some of his personality into his quotes, you’ll find his remarks making the articles. And while the athlete may not understand it, having a visible personality can help build his personal brand.

I know when Sidney Crosby came to Detroit for the Stanley Cup Finals last season, he had a press conference after every practice and game. No other player did that. He didn’t have to and it had to be a pain in the butt for him. But as the face of the team and even the league, he did it to better the sport and the reporters appreciated that. Now I’m not saying Crosby is the most personable interviewee, but at least he makes himself available.

Conroy is the media go-to guy because he’s not only available, but honest and shows some emotion. It makes the athlete more real and less robotic, which is what readers want to see in the sports section. I know it’s hard for players to commit to doing things to help the team outside of playing hockey. They don’t get a lot of time at home and when they are at home, they don’t want to be doing odds and ends for the team. That being said, being a tad more open and even emotional would do wonders in assisting reporters after a game and it doesn’t add more time/responsibilities to their day. Sometimes I feel bad for the beat reporters as they face an impending deadline and they were given quotes saying the same old basic remarks they’ve literally heard hundreds of times. Note to players: open up a bit!

Oct

10

Former P&G employee gives Rays a makeover

Filed Under Brand Marketing, Sports Business News | Leave a Comment

Thanks to former Procter & Gamble brand manager Darcy Raymond, the Tampa Bay Rays have been given a makeover this season and it appears to be working. He has used P&G brand mantras like the five critical brand pillars and other philosophies to help turn the team brand around.

So what changes did they make? First, they removed Devil from the team name and created a new logo including a color change (from green to blue). The team then used focus-group research to make a list of 30 consumer touch points that they can use to measure consumer satisfaction (known as fan experience in the sport business). As the VP of branding and fan experience, measuring the consumer’s satisfaction is crucial so these touch points are essential to his work. It also doesn’t hurt that the team has made a significant jump in the MLB standings. After finishing last in the league, the team improved largely thanks to the efforts of its young players and made the playoffs.

Rays executives said past “worst-to-first” teams have also experienced a one-year lag effect between when a team improves dramatically and when ticket sales follow suit. “With consumer package goods, you can pretty much dictate everything about the product,” said Darcy Raymond, the team’s VP-branding and fan experience, who joined the franchise as a consultant in 2006, shortly after it was acquired by former Goldman Sachs managing partner Stuart Sternberg. “But in this world, the media controls so much of what gets said, so it’s a little different.”

Sports and politics are known for generating passion in its fans and even the reporters themselves. Unlike most brands, teams have fans that are willing to paint themselves for games and even get tattoos with the team’s logo. As a result, it is certainly a lot harder to have a say in the discourse about your brand. From a PR perspective, I would suggest that the team continues to reach out to publications like Advertising Age to get coverage on this change in brand image resulting in increased business sales. Publications such as BrandWeek and Sports Business Journal may be interested outlets.

Oct

9

Internship tips from MLB PR professional

Filed Under Career, Sports PR, Tips | Leave a Comment

InternshipRatings.com recently posted some comments from Paige Novack, a PR specialist with Major League Baseball. She briefly discussed being a female in what is usually shown as a male dominated field and what to work on in your sports PR internship.

At Major League Baseball, a strong interest in the field you are applying in, solid organizational skills, and the ability to juggle multiple projects at once are all qualities we value in an intern. As an intern, you are there not only to assist with projects as needed, but you are there to gain a basic understanding of the business and learn where your strengths and passions lie. During your months as an intern, you should also take time to carefully observe the atmosphere and working culture within your company, and throughout the industry. When choosing your career path it is important not only to consider if you will feel passionate and invigorated by your job, but it is also equally as important to consider if you will be content and fulfilled by the lifestyle that career will bring.

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