lesson 11.5 – the publicity plan copyright © 2014 by sports career consulting, llc

Lesson 11.5 –

The Publicity Plan

Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Developing the Publicity Plan

A sound community relations effort

The goal of the plan is to monitor and gauge community response to each organizational effort

It must take into account how consumers perceive the organization as a whole

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Community Relations Efforts

Speaker’s bureau

Clinics and player / celebrity appearances

Mascot, cheerleaders, and band appearances

Correspondance (fan mail, photo requests etc)

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Consumer Perceptions

The organization must have a current understanding of consumer perceptions

The organization must also have an accurate understanding of consumer perceptions

The organization must then manage their publicity plan based on that information

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Key Strategies in any Publicity Plan

Identification of any specific information the organization intends to communicate

A “hook” to make information newsworthy and grab the reader’s immediate attention

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Popular Strategies

Sneak previews to the press prior to your product release

Careful selection of a spokesperson

Launching an organization scheduled media blitz

Distribution of sequential press releases to encourage media publication of new information

Getting creative

Creating a sense of urgency

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Common Components of a Publicity Plan

Press (news) releases

Press kits

Interviews

Photographs

Speeches and appearances at seminars, conventions etc.

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Common Components of a Publicity Plan

Online chats and forums

Community involvement

Participation in local, regional and national talk shows or similar programming

Press conferences

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Press conferences generally imply that the organization has a newsworthy announcement featuring information of significant importance

Press Conference:

Take place when an organization spokesperson or the athlete/entertainer addresses the media to answer questions or make announcements

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Utilizing Resources

Email, fax, internet

Telephone follow up calls

Guest speaking opportunities for all staff when available

Working with coaches, players and management to create a mutually acceptable expectation level for participation

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Publicity stunts can serve as an effective vehicle in generating public “buzz”surrounding an organization or athlete/entertainer

Publicity Stunt:

Refer to specific events or activities that are activated with the sole purpose of achieving a high level of media coverage and public awareness

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Publicity stunts can serve as an effective vehicle in generating public “buzz” surrounding an

organization or athlete/entertainer

Restaurant chain Red Robin, upon hearing that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick really liked its food, took out an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle to offer him free food for the rest of his life if he was able to guide the team to a Super Bowl victory (they came up short, losing to the Baltimore Ravens)

The Publicity Plan


VIDEO: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/colin-kaepernick-gets-free-red-robin-life-wins-200417007--nfl.html

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Red Bull, no stranger to publicity stunt success, launched a Golf Skee Ball event in conjunction with the 2012 Masters where popular professional golfers Rickie Fowler, Lexi Thompson and Kelly Kraft were challenged with hitting golf balls into a giant man-made skee ball display

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

The Publicity Plan


In 2013, Papa John's offered one million pizzas and America Online offered $1 million to any fan who

correctly predicted a perfect March Madness bracket (according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, there were about 9.2 quintillion possible combinations)

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

The Publicity Plan


Less than 48 hours after being released by the New York Jets in 2013, Tim Tebow received a contract offer from the Omaha Beef of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League, an offer that generated plenty of publicity

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

The Publicity Plan


Despite not actually airing a commercial during the Super Bowl in 2014, Esurance had an extraordinarily successful night, thanks to wildly successful PR stunt in which the company purchased the first ad slot after the game ($1.5 million less than an in-game slot), and vowed to give away the difference in price to one lucky viewer who tweeted the hashtag #EsuranceSave30 within 36 hours after the ad aired.

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

The Publicity Plan


In an example of successfully integrating a celebrity endorsement with a PR stunt, the Esurance brand leveraged their celebrity spokesperson, John Krasinski, to announce the winner on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Click here to watch the video

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

When spontaneous, publicity stunts pose a risk and could yield undesired results

The Publicity Plan


In 2012, an online pawn shop dreamed up a controversial publicity stunt that entailed delivering 900 pounds of Butterfingers to Copley Square in Boston after Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker dropped a critical pass in the Super Bowl. The company received so much negative publicity that they were compelled to issue a public apology.

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications


The Publicity Plan


From the USA Today: When U.S. luge slider Kate Hansen posted a video online questioning whether there was a wolf walking down her hallway in the Olympic Village (where athletes stay) during the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, it was part of a hoax involving talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. "I'm not sure about repercussions, but I can tell you that our organization is not happy with the incident," USA Luge spokesman Sandy Caligiore said in an email to USA TODAY Sports. "Sochi problems? Sochi fail? That's not USA Luge speaking."

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications


The Publicity Plan


When the Seattle Seahawks won the 2014 Super Bowl, the owner of a furniture store was out about $7 million after a PR stunt offering customers who shopped at the store their money back with a Seahawks victory.

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

In some instances, an event takes place where the public is not sure whether or

not the activity was a publicity stunt

Former Heavyweight boxing champ Lennox Lewis and opponent Hasim Rahman squared off in a brawl during a press conference, leading many to question whether or not the fight was real or simply a publicity stunt to generate additional excitement for the pay-per-view event

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

In some instances, an event takes place where the public is not sure whether or

not the activity was a publicity stunt

At the 2012 Academy Awards, Actor Sacha Baron Cohen, promoting his new movie The Dictator, dumped ashes on host Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet. While many speculated whether the stunt was scripted, Cohen would later publicly apologize to Seacrest for the antic. Reactions to the scene were mixed on Twitter, but according to The Hollywood Reporter’s poll at the time, 32 percent of people said the stunt was ‘so not funny,’ 57 percent said ‘it was hilarious’ and 12 percent said ‘it was a great Oscars moment but rude.’

The Publicity Plan


LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

Two videos went viral and successfully generating millions of views online with consumers debating whether they were real

NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon released a video that showed him purportedly taking an unsuspecting car salesman for a wild test drive, sparking a wild debate online as to whether the video was fake

The Publicity Plan


In 2014, Jeff Gordon and Pepsi released a second version of the “test drive” viral video to exact revenge on the blogger who originally called Gordon’s video out as “fake” the first time around, this time posing as a cab driver (the video reached over a million views in a few hours.

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications

The Publicity Plan


Dime Magazine released a video of Washington Wizards’ star John Wall throwing himself a full-court alley-oop dunk that one USA Today writer referred to as the “So fake as to be beyond fake. It’s a special kind of fake.”

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for Teacher Edits

LESSON 11.5

SEM Communications


lesson 11.5 – the publicity plan copyright © 2014 by sports career consulting, llc

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