Popular brands need popular sports endorsers

Third party endorsers are important in public relations. Most major corporations use third party endorsers to represent and sell their brand. "Popularization happens when you get credible third parties to speak for your brand, and that is something PR can do extremely well." - Scott Keogh, chieft marketing officer of Audi.

Let's take a look at the brand, Gillette. All the way back to the year 1910, Gillette has been sponsoring sporting events; baseball players were featured in many advertisements for their original Gillette Safety Razor. NASCAR has also partnered with Gillette in a program which is called "Young Guns" where popular racecar drivers endorse Gillette. Gillette pays sports celebrities to endorse their products and I believe they do this well.

Gillette is often linked with many sports celebrities such as Derek Jeter, a baseball champion, and also Tiger Woods, a well-known golf champion. They also use many other tennis, cricket and soccer champions to endorse their products. In order to have these sports celebrities endorse their products, they need to maintain a close relationship. MLB, NHL, World Cup Soccer and the PGA Tour are all examples of professional sports leagues in which corporations will pay celebrities to endorse their products and services.

Sports need public relations too

Various types of sports such as college and professional teams survive because of powerful public relations (PR). PR helps stir up interest in sports teams and players, sell tickets to upcoming games and encourage souvenir and clothing sales. PR also advertises the many corporate sponsors that fund these sporting events. Corporate sponsors are imperative to many sports teams even existing.

Many college and professional teams have their own public relations staff that work to stir up interest. Volunteers and interns also play a part in assisting teams with these tasks. Stirring up interest can involve many different tools and tactics. The basic tools such as news releases, media kits, interviews, and press conferences are used.

There are a lot of enthusiastic sports fans, those fans are usually very emotional and they will stand by their desired team. PR feeds off knowing this and when stirring up interest by creating a media kit or a news release for example, they will try to stir up emotions to get fans enthused. Emotion is just one angle that PR can use to draw attention to sports teams.

2010 Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic Torch will be relayed across Canada from October 30, 2009 to February 12, 2010. The torch relay is on a strict schedule, travelling from large to small communities in all provinces in Canada. On December 15, 2009 (day 47 of the schedule), the Olympic Torch will travel through my local community, Belleville.

The Canadian Olympic Games is a huge tourism booster for Canada as there will be people travelling across Canada and worldwide to Vancouver, British Columbia. The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) has a major role in marketing Canada as a desirable tourism destination to the whole world. The CTC had to develop strong media relations and online communication to prepare for the Olympics.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games are fast approaching, as a Canadian, I am very excited and I know I'm not the only one! The Olympic games would not be a huge success without strong media relations, marketing and of course public relations to maximize promotion of the games. The games would also not be a success without all the major corporate sponsors.

Sports and the ever popular social media...

There are so many ways to stay connected and be up to date with everything happening in the sports world. We all know you can't physically be in more than one place at once but with social media you can be aware of all that is going on as updates are instantaneous. Sports teams all have their own website but these days that is not enough to keep everyone updated.

Along with the well known websites, there are also mobile updates, RSS feeds, blogs, e-newsletters, twitter, facebook...there are more but these are the most used. I personally use facebook, twitter and as of recently this sports blog, they are great to provide updates on sports highlights. Unlike websites, most social media is free to use and who doesn't like free stuff!

Out of curiosity, I checked out twitter and found that many major sports teams, associations, television networks all use this free tool to communicate with the public. For instance, MLB, the PGA tour, the Toronto Argonauts and the Canadian Olympic Team all have twitter accounts. The way technology is going, everyone should jump on the social media band wagon as it is becoming more popular by the day.

Press conferences

I want to talk about press conferences when it comes to sports. This is an important aspect of public relations, you have to know how to talk to the media. Everyday on t.v. there are press conferences held by the media for professional sports players, coaches, managers and owners of teams.

My absolute favourite press conference is when an NBA player Allen Iverson, was addressing the media. It is funny to watch and listen to. During the press conference he said the word "practice" over 20 times! To watch the video, click on this link.

As funny as the press conference is, I personally do not think it is a good idea to talk to the public and the media this way. On a positive note, that press conference happened quite awhile ago and it is still getting public attention but not in a professional way. That press conference gets public attention on a humourus note. I hope you watch the video and see why it is my favourite sports press conference.

Mississauga road trip

On November 6, 2009 a Foley coach bus will be filled with Belleville Bulls hockey fans. The bus will be headed to Mississauga for the fans to watch the Belleville Bulls play against Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. For $45 the trip includes the game ticket and transportation.

Every home game in Belleville, I have a table set up where I promote the fan bus trips. I am there to answer any questions about the trips and sell seats by collecting money and issuing receipts. At the start of the regular OHL season I have had a physical presence at the games.

I am in my opinion a communicator, I have to communicate the features and benefits of going on these fan bus trips. I have to prepare for any type of crisis, such as customers not paying, bad weather, bus breaking down or even disgruntled customers. Working in the public, I have to act and dress professionally at all times. These things are imperative for success.

NFL Minnesota vs Pittsburgh

While watching the Minnesota Vikings play against the Pittsburgh Steelers, I thought to myself how exactly does this link to public relations? Well, in all types of sports there is always a winning and a losing team (not to sound negative) but that is the reality. So whether you are a winning or losing team-member you may have to address the public and the media to talk about what happened.

Team members can range from the quarterback, to the coach and also the manager, etc. Before and after a game members of a sports team often have to address the media to speak about important information that most likely sports fans would want to hear. They could be asked about rosters, statistics, and even how the players feel about their game play. Press conferences happen frequently in sports.

Players can be quoted, recorded, videotaped and used in press releases among many other things. This information will be found in newspapers, which will be also found online. Information will also be found on television and radio station sports shows. So, in my opinion it is very important for all team members to be prepared to talk to the media and be able to communicate.

Toronto Maple Leafs Just Keep Losing!

It could be the worst start in Toronto Maple Leafs history. The Leafs have not won a single game yet and that's hard to believe! The Leafs have been around since the year 1917, 92 years later and they might have broke a record for the worst season start! Ouch.

Ron Wilson the head coach must be pulling his hair out! I know I would be. I have been watching NHL hockey since I was a kid with my parents. I remember being curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn cheering on the Toronto Maple Leafs. This year there has been some cheering but no winning!

The Leafs better get into gear and fast if they are going to get a victory. I know they are going to be trying out a new goalie tonight so lets hope that helps the situation! Maybe they need to work on team building and get all the players working together... I don't know - I'm not the expert but I do know that if they don't win soon I'll be rooting for another team!

Belleville Bulls Win for the First Time this Season!

On Wednesday October 7th the Belleville Bulls finally won their first home game against the Ottawa 67's in overtime. It was the fifth game into the 2009-2010 regular season and hard work from the Belleville Bulls team paid off. Bulls fans have been patiently waiting for a home ice win and they got it!

The attendance at the game was over 2,300 and boy oh boy the fans were certainly happy with the win and you could hear it! Frustrated and disappointed fans turned into ecstatic, happy fans when the puck soared through the air and into the net. According to the OHL website, the Belleville Bulls currently rank third in the East Division of the Ontario Hockey League. The East Division consists of five teams which of course include the Belleville Bulls, Kingston Frontenacs, Oshawa Generals, Ottawa 67's, and the Peterborough Petes. October 14th at 7:05 p.m. is the next scheduled home game at the Yardmen Arena.

The home of the Belleville Bulls is located at the Yardmen Arena in Belleville, Ontario. The Quinte Sports Centre includes the Yardmen Arena and the Wally Dever Arena. The sports centre is expected to be expanded by 2011. With this expansion the sports centre will have two new ice pads, gymnasiums, and more!

My first blog post

I am a post-grad student taking public relations at Loyalist College. Blogging is new to me and this is my first blog and my first post. To me sports are fun, entertaining and engaging.

All my life I have been involved with sports from soccer, cross-country running, to track-and-field. Recently I completed an internship with the OHL team the Belleville Bulls. I planned and implemented fan bus trips to out-of-town games. Currently I am working for Foley Bus Lines selling fan bus trips for the Belleville Bulls.

Over the year I will be posting interesting sports highlights that I come by that surprise me. I hope that they interest and even surprise you. Specifically I will cover varsity sports at Loyalist College, OHL highlights, national sports and of course in 2010, the Olympic winter games.