A lecture to second year sports journalism students at UEL about the relevance of Strategic Public Relations to sport. Also features a section about the use of Social Media as a tool.

1. PR and its
relevance to
Sport
5th March 2018
UeL
Kevin Rye MCIPR, PG Dip PR,
FRSA
info@kevinrye.org
www.kevinrye.org
@kevinrye

2. PR
Is it:
noun
‘a short, explosive burst of
breath or wind’?

3. PR
Or is it just spin?

5. “Public Relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and
what other say about you. Public relations practice is the discipline which looks
after reputation – with the aim of earning understanding and support, and
influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to
establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an
organisation and its publics.” Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
(2004)
“Good public relations teams act as the eyes, ears and conscience of an
organisation and work with it to maintain its legitimacy within communities. They
help it navigate uncertainty, especially in times of acute change like we are
currently experiencing.” Sarah Hall, current President, CIPR
Back to Basics...

6. As sports journalists, many of your liaison points will be with press/media officers:
often the front-end for people in your profession.
Whether or not they recognise it as PR, organisations will be practising some form
of strategic communications, whatever they call it, and however well or badly they
do it.
As a journalist, it’s your responsibility to scrutinise, investigate and critique the
actions of organisations.
Because of social media, you find that you also liaise directly with senior officials
of organisations or clubs - including players.
How is PR relevant to sports journalists?

8. Link to Video:
https://is.gd/sD7IVL

9. PR in sport
It’s not just about the
fixtures and related
information.

10. PR in sport
Modern sport isn’t just a
fixture, or meeting:
They’re events.

11. Modern sports events have
multiple stakeholders:
Participants
Supporters/Fans
Broadcasters/Media
Officials (participating clubs,
coaches, governing bodies)
Organisers
Community
Security/Safety
Sport

12. PESTLE Analysis and identification of key publics/stakeholders for World Cup
Russia 2018
Exercise...

13. Example PESTLE analysis (see handout 1)
Example analysis of key publics/stakeholders (see handout 2)
Exercise

14. PR tactics
“Everything else flows
from strategy. You have
to start with your
objective - what you want
to achieve - and your
strategy - your approach
to achieving it. Only then
do you start thinking
about tactics, which are
the actions and tools
needed to deliver the
strategy.” Alastair
Campbell

15. These can range from:
News releases, press conferences, exclusives (interviews, site visits), features,
competitions, lobbying and influencing
PR tools/tactics...

16. The use of
Social Media
as a tool in PR
Social media is instant,
and impactful…
It provides free
opportunities that used to
require money/resources
Enables influence

17. Can be used
successfully by
companies &
brands
Link to video:
https://is.gd/dD27e
U #equalgame
Social
Media

18. People….
Social Media

19. And change campaigns
like this….
Social Media

20. Social
Media
#ThisGirlCan
Link to Video:
https://is.gd/5QZ
Xo9

21. Source: https://econsultancy.com

22. And this...

23. But there are risks
attached….

25. Social Media
#Fails
And this...

26. Ouch!

27. Can you
assess the
risks with the
use of
Snapchat or
Instagram
Stories by a
club or sports
business?

28. Social Media
Isn’t a substitute for hard
work and persistence...

29. Thanks/Questio
ns
Kevin Rye MCIPR, PG
Dip PR, FRSA
info@kevinrye.org
www.kevinrye.org
@kevinrye