Posts Tagged ‘PR’

Getting Into Bed with TV

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Australian media deals between TV networks and athletes are extremely lucrative (think Stephanie Rice and Channel Seven) but there are pros and cons. Let’s look at some of them.

Pros

  • Lucrative multi year contracts
  • Great exposure for the athlete that is nearly always positive
  • Broadens the athletes appeal as they are used across different programming
  • Invaluable on-camera experience which helps their presenting and media skills
  • Opportunity to cross promote the athlete’s other sponsors
  • Gives you an excuse to knock back other / unwanted media requests
  • Can help win potential sponsors (they see it as a channel for free and regular publicity)
  • Can help ease the athlete into a media career when they retire


Cons

  • Limits the athletes exposure across other media channels
  • Pushed into programming that may not fit the ‘brand’ of your athlete
  • Media burnout from appeasing the network + all other print, radio requests
  • Creates rivalries with other networks (they can turn against your athlete)
  • Creates friction with the media plans of other sponsors / club / sporting body
  • Disrupts your own media plan as the athlete is always on call for the network
  • You can’t sell paid exclusives to other media outlets
  • Can turn off potential sponsors by limiting the reach of PR campaigns

Personally I think the money on offer from the networks outweighs the cons. But it’s still important to evaluate everything when considering these deals.

For example, a media deal would suit an established athlete who is nearing the end of their career. It keeps them in the spotlight (which is good for sponsors), and helps develop their TV skills which can give them a crack at a career in the media when they do retire.

On the other hand, such a deal might restrict the up and coming athlete and can even make them look bad because they are inexperienced or pushed into uncomfortable roles. Just some points to think about when your evaluating your next media deal.

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Posted in Communication, Media, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

Twitter

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

twitter-birdMore and more celebrities are starting to take advantage of the social networking site Twitter. For those who don’t understand the platform watch this video or read this text. Now why should an athlete be on Twitter?

Firstly, let’s look at one of the basic reasons why brands sponsor athlete’s. Athlete’s help put a face and personality to a product or service, and that human element helps the brand CONNECT with their target market. Brands try to achieve this connection by way of athlete appearances, consumer promotions and above the line advertising etc. These are all great, but are often expensive and sometimes a scatter gun approach to actually REACHING key customers.

So how does Twitter reach key customers? To give you a rough example of the power of Twitter, let’s say you’re selling a product and want to make 2,000 sales. Using your ambassador you decide to put an ad in the sports section of the paper (hoping it hits some of your target market), it costs you $30,000. A small percentage of your target market reads the paper, an even smaller percentage see your ad, and a smaller percentage actually take action. You make the 2,000 sales but it cost you $30,000. Now, just imagine your ambassador has 10,000 followers on Twitter, but these aren’t any ordinary people, they are fans who are INTERESTED and PASSIONATE about your ambassador. The ambassador has built incredible trust with his/her followers through daily tweets about their lives. Now instead of spending $30,000 on a newspaper ad, you ask your ambassador to tweet about your product with a direct link to a page that allows consumers to purchase that product. How many of these passionate followers do you think will click on the link? A bloody big percentage and all of a sudden they are at the check out counter. You easily get 2,000 sales (probably more) and it cost you nothing.

Twitter isn’t for everyone, but for those athletes that want to better connect with their fans and add value to their sponsors then I don’t see a better platform.

Some quick rules. Please don’t use a PR person to Twitter on behalf of your athlete, fans see right through this which defeats the power of Twitter. What you put in is what you get out. And don’t let your athlete abuse the service by over promoting their sponsors, they need to interact first, then promote, then interact some more.

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Posted in Social Networking, Sponsorship | No Comments »