Feb

27

Sports PR should emphasize salesmanship, creativity

Filed Under Sports PR | Leave a Comment

An opinion piece by Andy Furman, the man behind Publicity Enterprises, in the Feb. 1-7 issue of Sports Business Journal remarks on how the role of the sports public relations practitioner has changed over time. Furman comments that the role has changed from salesperson or “pitchman” to serviceperson.

“Every team has a leading scorer, and every team clamors for its proper place in media. But superlatives alone may not get the media drooling.”

He also referenced former publicist Joey Goldstein, who was known for his creativity and salesmanship, when others put out “corporate brochures” to demonstrate the value of those traits.

Furman argues that social media does not equal social contact, which he says is fundamental to the job. What do you guys think of his comments? I agree that social media can be a tool for PR practitioners and can offer means to be creative technologically speaking (i.e. contests, unique promotions), but building relationships with the media and other individuals remains critical to public relations.

Feb

19

HAPPO — Hire Me!

Filed Under Career | Leave a Comment

Some of you may have heard of the HAPPO movement. HAPPO stands for Help a PR Pro Out and today from 11-3 p.m. EST, PR professionals around the country are helping others find positions in PR.

As someone who is still searching for a job in the sports PR field (either with a team, sport publication, or an agency with sport clients), I wanted to create a post to go live during the HAPPO action. If you know of any relevant entry-level positions, please let me know via e-mail at christy[dot]hammond19[@]gmail[dot]com or by Twitter.

As you can see in my bio, I have 3.5 years of experience working for hockey teams (minor league, college, and the NHL), including 2.5 years with the Detroit Red Wings, in addition to a summer internship with Burson-Marsteller at their Chicago office. As my online portfolio and LinkedIn profile demonstrate, I have acquired experience in event management, new media (writing articles for the web and gameday programs, blogging weekly), media relations (updating media guides, setting up interviews, updating game notes and player bios, creating media lists and editorial calendars), and community relations (setting up meet and greets, maintaining charitable donations request database, assisting with 50/50 raffles).

If you have any questions about my experiences/qualifications or can point me to a relevant job opening, please reach me at christy[dot]hammond19[@]gmail[dot]com. Thanks in advance!