SEM – 4.03
A - Promotion
• PE - Utilize publicity to inform
stakeholders of business activities
• PI - Write a press release
PRESS RELEASE
• Factual announcements sent to the media to be
used as news items on a regular basis
• Who sends press releases?
– Businesses, Organizations, Individuals, and Government
• Locally, Nationally and Internationally
• Who creates press releases?
– Public Relations Department
– Marketing
PURPOSES of PRESS RELEASES
• Introduce new products
• Keep the business in the public eye
• Position the business’s image
• Support good employee relations
• Create good community relations
• Types of press releases in SEM
– Game advance – previews an upcoming game/rival
– Hometown release – highlight of player sent to their local
media outlets
– News release – information about the team (scores, schedule,
statistics and ticket prices
Information in Press Releases
HARD COPY
SOFT COPY
•Information that should be
announced immediately
•Public will want to know
about it right away
•Stories that deal with
formal serious information
•Information that does not
need to be announced
immediately
•Public will not care if they
hear about it now or later
•Stories that are informal or
lighthearted
Procedures for writing a press release
1. Prepare
– List the most important facts
– Identify which media to use
– Know the medias print deadline
2. Put important information first
– Inverted Pyramid Approach
– “Who, What, When, Where, Why, How”
3. Stick to the facts
– Avoid using opinions or emotions
– Use statistics, factual data and team/player goals
Procedures for writing a press release
4. Write clearly and easy to understand
– No complex words
5. Write in active voice (Verbs)
6. Edit Grammar and Spelling
– If sent with errors, contact the media to give the
correct information immediately
7. Attach a “captioned photograph”
– Photograph with text about the picture
Sending press release to the media
• Obtain and acknowledge media deadlines
– Sending press releases close to deadline is better
• Catch the editor’s attention with a hook
– The editor decides whether to publish or broadcast the
press release as time and space is limited
– Getting published is not due to buying advertising space
– Include a captioned photograph – hook?
• Picture that is accompanied by written text called a caption
• Send the release to a specific person
• Send a cover letter with the release
• Send a thank you note after the release is used
Create professional press releases
• Typed
• Arrange information appropriately
– Company name/contact Information
– When the release should be used
– If a photograph is enclosed
– A headline for the release
– The place and date of the news
– The body of the release
– End of the release (“-END-”)
SEM1 – 4.03 Activity
Write a Press Release for one of the following using the
format in the 4.03 PPT
– Ardrey Kell High School _________Team going to States
– _______________Band is having a concert in Charlotte
– _________________ NFL Team is going to the Superbowl
– _________________ NBA Team is being purchased by _______
– _________________ (professional athlete) is injured for the rest of the season
– _______________________(corporate sponsor) is dropping sponsorship with
__________________ (NASCAR Driver)
– _______________professional athlete is found guilty of possession of illegal
drugs
SEM – 4.03
A - Promotion
• PE - Utilize publicity to inform
stakeholders of business activities
• Develop and generate a SEM
newsletter
Newsletters
• Bulletin issued periodically to inform a group
about a business/organization
• Excellent marketing tool
–
–
–
–
Communicate with the public
Increase business
Market your brand
Send next year’s schedule to current ticket holders
• Types of newsletters
– Printed
– Online
Effective newsletters
• “Catchy content”
– Needs to be interesting to customers/fans
– Written for the target market audience
• Blend content articles with advertisements
– Promote your product throughout newsletter
– Provide relevant information
– Maximize your revenue stream
• Be polite
– “Dear Friends”
– Visually appealing
– Published on a regular basis
Steps to writing a newsletter
1. Research
– Look at other newsletters for ideas
2. Develop a plan
–
–
–
–
–
WHO will write it, WHO will read it, WHO will distribute it?
WHAT is the content?
WHEN will it be published?
HOW will it be produced (Email or print)?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M
3. Design a format
– Number of columns/pictures/articles per page
– Colors and Font Types
4. Select people to write articles to submit
5. Create submission deadline
6. Edit and proof
7. Distribute
SEM – 4.03
A – Promotion
• PE - Utilize publicity to inform
stakeholders of business activities
• PI - Explain media relations in the
SEM industry
• PI - Develop a media guide
• PI - Cultivate media relationships
• PI - Plan a media day
Media Guides – what & why
• Term - Sports-related press booklet
published by sporting teams for the media
• Provides information about:
– Participants/players – Organizations/teams
– Location/venue – Coaches/managers
– Ticket prices – Statistics/photos
• Encourages television/newspaper/online coverage of
the sport, venue, team or player – they have info!!!
• Goals:
– Generate interest so the media will provide coverage
– Encourages spectators to buy tickets
Developing a Media Guide
• Budget
– How much will is cost?
• Advertising
– Who will buy advertising space?
• Photographs and Graphics
– Logos, photos from past seasons, team pictures, etc.
• Page design
– Layout: where will certain information go?
• Printing - distribution
– Online or Printed?
– How will you get it to the fans or media?
SEM1 4.03 Activity
In groups of three create one of the following for a
fictitious team of your choice:
1. Develop a Newsletter using the steps from your
notes.
2. Develop a Media guide using the steps from your
notes.
• Research other examples of newsletters/media guides
online for ideas.
• Your newsletter/media guide may be printed in color
and match the format of a real newsletter/media
guide (booklet).
• You may use existing celebrities but you must create a
new team/logo/colors/mascot, etc.
Media relations and sports
• MEDIA:
– Media relations term: cultivating positive
relationships with media personalities that facilitate
an organization/team in getting favorable and
widespread coverage with regular follow up
– keeps us informed, entertained and enlightened of
sporting events
• SPORTS
– Provides media with news and events which attracts
public interest and builds brand equity of the team
– Encourages media to cover the team – maximize
favorable publicity
Public relations vs. Media relations
PUBLIC RELATIONS
•Communicating with all the
many people an organization
may have a relationship with
•Employees
•Customers
•Fans
•Communities’
•Media
MEDIA RELATIONS
•Interaction with the MEDIA….
•Reporters
•Journalists
•Editors
•Print Media
•Electronic Media
•Online Media
…to communicate
organization’s newsworthy
information
Media relation representatives
• Beat writers
– Writer assigned to cover specific topics
– Sports: typically assigned to cover specific sport or team
– http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-sports-beat-writer.htm
• Columnists
– Writer for a specific publication – offers opinions
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columnist
• TV game broadcasters– news crew
• Radio game broadcasters
• Wire service reporters - nationally
• Photographers
MEDIA RELATIONS
POSITIVE EFFECTS
Money
Media companies pay for the
rights to show a sporting event
Sports shown on the TV generate
sponsorships
Role models
Endorsements from famous
athletes
Inspiration
Encourage people to action
Coaching aids
Watching games on TV can
provide guidance other participants
Increased number of media outlets
NEGATIVE EFFECTS
Bias
Only really popular sports get
much attention
Lack of attendance
Games shown on TV-ticket sales
often drop – Is this true?
Attention
Attention paid to pro athlete
private lives more than sport
Demands
Media coverage impacts games
(timing, commercials, etc.)
Increased options for media
Media relations and crisis
• Athletes have become celebrities because of
increased media coverage
– Their personal lives are covered by the media
– Sometimes, due to the money celebrities are paid
they are often criticized by fans and media
– Athletes/teams can use strong media relations to
correct this image by showcasing something positive
they might be doing for charities, etc.
Positive media relationships
• Why develop positive relationships with the media?
– Generates publicity
• More publicity = More sales = More Money!
– Maximize favorable news and event coverage
• Media will want to work with their favorite teams
– But you must be honest and professional
• Public relation professionals must present themselves in this
manner to gain a positive relationship
Types of media relationships
• Interactive
– Both media and sport entity have ongoing two-way
communication
– Build trust and goodwill
– Builds a mutually beneficial relationship
• Both parties must get something out it – a “win-win” situation
• Proactive
– Consider positive messages the company wants to send
– Planning ahead of the event and utilize risk management
• Reactive
– Consider potentially negative news and establish how the
company will respond
Plan a media day
• Plan a media day
• Invite the media to your venue prior to the event
– This will encourage the media to publicize the
preparations of the event – creates excitement
• Pitch stories, ideas, hold a news conference
• Provide space, equipment, WIFI, feed and
entertain the media
• Build trust by being honest and professional
SEM1 4.03 Activity
• Individually, you will research and write an essay
about “Creating positive media relationships”
• ESSAY CRITERIA:
– 5-7 paragraphs – minimum 5 sentences per paragraph
– Typed – 14 point font – double spaced
– Address why it is important to have positive
relationships with the media if you are a sports
organization
– List and discuss in detail the three types of media
relationships
– Argue which type of relationship you think is the best
to have with the media and why