Chapter 5

Chapter 5Public Image

Chapter OverviewLesson 5.1 Public RelationsLesson 5.2 FansLesson 5.3 Publishing and

Speaking Engagements

Lesson 5.1Public Relations

Image is Everything!

Public Relations: Creates a

favorable public opinion of an individual or organization.

Game & Player

Action Plan Acquire letter of intent that details the

firms services. Should answer: Which forms of media are most appropriate? What will be used to create a favorable

image? How will the public relations firm promote it?

Public relations publicize and enhance the events and athletes.

The Big Picture Importance of a

positive image extends beyond the athletes and events to include: Location of event Attractive presentation Business reputation Community reputation

Special Events Promote goodwill

Willingness to work with or assist a person/organization based on positive relationship.

Keep the customer happy What were the problems with Atlanta during

the Olympics? Make public relations work

Listen to complaints & problems and find ways to fix them

Athletes and Public Goodwill

Oct. 1998 NBA contract negotiations Baseball player strikes Multimillion $ contracts for athletes

Look greedy Overcome this by donating money

Fans/Cities can get bad images too Reassure fans by bringing in extra

police to control unruly fans

Lesson 5.2Fans

Fan Clubs What attracts you to an athlete? What do fans give:

Loyalty Positive media attention Ticket and merchandise buyers

Offers the opportunity for an athlete to build a positive image.

Benefits of Fan ClubsCharge a small fee to join;

some freeWhat do you get????

Discounts on merchandiseSpecial outings or seminars

Licensing & Merchandising Multibillion billion

dollar industry License sports

merchandise to 3rd party companies Produce, distribute,

and sell Team Licensing

Business (TLB) magazine

Purchased through: Fan clubs Licensed

department stores Magazines At sports events

Fastest growing product line Collectibles and

electronic games

Evergreens Remain valuable

from year to year Trading Cards

Baseball Cards used to promote sales through: Addition to cigarette

packs Addition to Bubble

gum packs

What effects trading cards:

•New athletes

•Change teams

•Retirement of highly regarded player

Predicting the Market Very unpredictable Licensing are

expensive Oakland Raiders

took risk by adding black to color scheme Fans liked it;

increased sales

Successes Starter, Rawlings,

and Champion have consistent record

Upper Deck has done well

Kodak boosted sales by becoming Olympic sponsor

Lesson 5.3

Publishing and Speaking Engagements

Motivational Speaking

People enjoy listening to speeches by well-known individuals

Athletes cannot plan on a lifelong career in their sport

Range from giving motivational talks to small training seminars

Speakers Success Speakers success and the price they

charge depends more on: Excellent speaking and communication skills Well-written speeches Ability to handle unexpected questions Message that the audience is interested in

hearing Sense of humor, sincerity, people skills

Aids to Success Rely on strong

marketing and promotional campaigns

An agent to book engagements

Specialists paid % of fees charged for the speech

Promotional Sports Stars, Inc. Grooms its

speakers Top speakers:

Rick Pitino Tommy Lasorda Mai Hamm

Price of Motivation Rick Pinto receives $20,000 and round-

trip, first-class plane trip Talk about team building and coaching Uses “TEAM” as an acronym

Superstars earn between $7,500-$25,000 for single speaking engagement

Other related careers: sports broadcasting

Writing their Stories Well-written biography

will sell well Leads to national

publicity tour Broadens the audience

because of the themes and concerns.

Publishing Process Ghostwriters or sports reporters write Prices are determined by public

demand Author receives a royalty

10% or more of the price for each copy sold

Can make several million dollars on best seller