TED LESHINSKI
Sports Public Relations and Communications
Frequently Asked Questions
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1. What is public relations and why do I need it for my business or organization?
Public Relations (or PR) is a form of communications
between your business or organization and the public
(fans, customers, sponsors, investors, etc.). The
practiceof PR is an important method of generating
positive publicity for your business or organization
through a third-party outlet such as: Newspapers,
television and radio news, magazines, social media, trade publications,
Web sites, blogs, e-blasts, newsletters and events and
promotions.
A PR message is crafted and designed by an expert on behalf of your business or organization and strategically distributed to appropriate third-party outlets.
2. How is public relations different from advertising?
Is it more effective?
Advertising, of course, is when you pay to have your message appear on a billboard, radio commercial, magazine ads, etc. PR is the practice of designing news or information that positively reflects your business or organization and then offering it to respected and reputable outlets to convey.
Whether PR is better than advertising depends on many factors. But generally PR is more effective
because your message is delivered from a third-party that’s completely separate from your business or organization and does not benefit financially. Because that third-party does not directly benefit from your success, your message comes across stronger and more honest -
Hence, More Effective.
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3. What kinds of businesses use PR?
What types of PR do I need?
PR is constantly used in the sports industry. The practice is vital for all sports organizations, teams, individual athletes, sponsors, etc.
• Day-to-day PR is executed through media relations, where routine news (game scores, new products, new sponsorship deals, etc.) is delivered directly to reporters and journalists for a quick turnaround in the media.
• Longer-term PR efforts include generating interest for a feature story, continually monitoring and reacting to your public’s perception of your business, crisis management (i.e. spin control) and also understanding your target demographics (fans, customers, investors, etc.) to help remain “in touch” with continuous communications.
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4. Is PR expensive to incorporate into my business?
5.What is an example of a PR program Ted Leshinski created and implemented?
Since you've asked, I’ve worked and been involved with just about every type of sports PR function or project imaginable. As director of public relations for the New Haven County Cutters (minor league baseball team), I was responsible for managing and coordinating public relations for the team (players, coaches, manager) and the overall organization (the team as a brand and off-the-field activities and publicity).
During the 2007 off season, I decided to create an event to draw publicity for the organization. Without any games to promote or players in town to bring to schools or recreation centers, I was worried the fans and community might forget about the Cutters.
One of the best ways to garner interest from the media is to be involved in a community-relations event. Anytime you do something special for a community or charitable group, the press usually jumps all over it.
• Tagline for the new program: Cutters Baseball: Off the Field and in the Community
• 15-page booklet/outline of what the program features
• Reaffirmed pledge that the Cutters exist for the benefit of the community
• New Logo
As host and emcee of the press conference, I introduced the team’s
owners and general manager along with local community leaders to the
media and public. By creating news and making these specific people
visible, the media had a very good story gifted wrapped for them,virtually guaranteeing terrific coverage of the organization - which we got!
My community relations program subsequently earned the organization
New Haven's “2007 Community Outreach Award." The award drew the
team even more publicity when, behind the scenes, I arranged for the
team's owner and GM to receive the award from the town's mayor during
another press conference held at city hall.
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So I created a brand new community-relations program for the organization and held a press conference/ luncheon to announce it to the media, sponsors, community partners and season-ticket holders.
The new community program consisted of some basic ideas and really just some fancy bells and whistles like:
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Like anything else, costs and fees vary when implementing or increasing your PR. Sports-related businesses and organizations usually handle its PR in one of two ways (sometimes both):
1. Internally: Having a director or manager on staff to oversee and be responsible for public
relations. This could be an employee who reports directly to the owner or VP of communications
(depending on the size or your business or organization).
2. Externally: Using an agency or consultant specializing in sports PR. Most general PR agencies and
practitioners are experienced in many areas of PR (health care, technology, finance, etc.) But sports is
a very unique industry requiring its PR pros to possess very strong knowledge of sports along with
the requisite skills and background in PR. One has to know the world of sports, inside and out, in order to sniff-out PR opportunities that other PR pros would miss out on.
Many sports businesses and organizations outsource their PR needs to a consultant on a monthly basis
with a negotiated fee. Depending on the success and satisfaction of their work, the consultant is
sometimes hired fulltime.
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