All Stars Among Us, I like it, if it is a PR, not a hidden Marketing.

Well, I really clapped loud when I watched this event on TV. It was very meaningful for me, who really believe sports can do more than competition in the world. And, I can ambitiously say Public Relations can do that. When I watched it, I just kept saying, “Way to go, MLB, way to go.” And, my wife just looked at me like a crazy person. But, I really meant it and I was really happy about it.             

I know the “People’s all stars among us” program hosted by People Magazine started last year now, but, I did not know about the program until I watched it on All Star Game.             

Some of them had a tear in their faces and I just felt how they were proud of themselves by helping others and community. All Star players were all cheering those “everyday” heroes in the ground and all audiences were cheering for them. And, this means a lot for many people, even though much more people should be awarded as everyday heroes, and much more people are continuously helping their communities without even being recognized. But, the fact that one of those people were appreciated by many people in the stadium and watched by more than 400,000 people (even though MLB all star game recorded the lowest TV rating in history this year) means something to people who are currently everyday heroes and people who want to be everyday heroes.             

It might be a marketing, of course, MLB is filled with private baseball teams, and they need profits. It is big for any profit-organizations to create a good relationship with their customers. How to boost average fans to loyal fans is a very important issue for every sports organization. But, I would not cheer for them, if every charity event happens for just a marketing purpose.             

I will cheer for those charity events, only if those are good for keeping healthy relationships with various stakeholders (in PR, we call them publics).               

And, I really cheered People’s All Star Among Us program, because I could see those healthy relationships among various groups of people there. It was, in my opinion, perfect fit for a great PR campaign.             

First of all, it was good for organizations themselves.  MLB created a super community with People magazine and FOX. And, People Magazine could earn a very good recognition from public and boost their company image by sponsoring this event (they may need to evaluate it after each all star game). And, People’s All Star among us facebook page has now 399 fans and I’m now one of them.             

FOX made a very good video clip for this event. So, FOX could contribute to honor everyday heroes.             

Besides those super communities, Celebrities, including Amber Riley, who sang a song for everyday heroes, could also contribute for the program, because of the ceremony.             

The People who were recognized in Anaheim also rewarded by being cheered at the stadium and could feel proud of themselves.             

Players could also contribute to this program by commenting about the program, thanking the people and community, and cheering them in the ground.             

Each community of MLB baseball should be proud, because they have everyday heroes, and the heroes were representing their communities in front of more than 400,000 viewers and attendees at the stadium.             

Fans could have the “Aha” moment, which I had, that helping others can be recognized like that and is worthy. Children could learn from the ceremony and think about the meaning of heroes one more time.             

MLB, of course, was the organization, who got the most advantage out of it. The organization now earned the good reputation of caring communities and fans.             

This is not about a profit and is a long-term relationship building activity. And, this is a perfect role of public relations.             

One thing I noticed, though, I could not find many articles about it in newspapers after the ceremony. I tried to find a pitcure and news articles about it, and I found very few, probably four or five news articles. So, I was little bit disappointed. I teach Public Relations as a management function. And, I am always very sad, when Sports PR is recognized as a Sports information. PR should accomplish bigger role than just distributing information.            

I clapped very hard like a crazy man when I watched this big “PR event”, and immediately thought I would write about it. But, now, I am worrying about it. It may be, after all, a hidden marketing, again, like many people talk about PR.             

Well, there is nothing wrong with a marketing. I love marketing. Without marketing, MLB cannot exist. But, PR can really have its own role as a relationship builder, not as a hidden (I really hate this word) marketing. PR has to have an active role in organization. Why can’t we create more stories out of the big and excellent PR event? Only 400,000 people watched the event, and why don’t we boost that number to more people. Why don’t we spread the information about the event to more people by creating some stories about it? That is because public relations of MLB  do not recognize their role yet and they do not know they can change the world.             

Ok. So, I really like the People’s All Stars Among Us program, if its PR function works correctly. We need more stories out of it and make it a long-term project. It should be a year-long project and People’s All Stars Among Us Facebook page needs more than 399 fans. FOX should be able to contribute for this program more with a year-long campaign. Communities need more people who help their communities. More fans should be proud of being a fan of MLB because MLB and their local teams show they are valuing this kind of event. If this project works like this way, each community will become better with more volunteers and our children will have healthier mind. And, eventually, our world will become better and be full of everyday heroes.             

This is Sports PR, I think. This is how sports can contribute to society. This is how sports can be a perfect Social Capital, so that it can help community as well as create healthy relationships among communities. Then, I will like it.             

It is a very good PR campaign picture obtained from Mlb.com

Strasburg, Sports, and Community. Did hype work?

It has been a good run for Strasburg and Nationals.      

2-2, 2.27 ERA, 48 strikes outs in 5 games. He is a super star. He is the iPhone and the Android in Baseball.      

Hype worked and the story was spinning accurately. Many times, high expectation brings a big disappointment. So, people hate spins and many times, they hate Public Relations, and call them “spin doctor”.      

As a PR professor, I hate the word, “spin doctor”. I always teach students not to “spin”, and use facts. When I observed “hype” of the BIG Strasburg, I thought I might be wrong about the “spin doctor”, at least in Sports.      

I was just curious, so, I visited “google trends” site and compared web traffic of Washington Nationals and New York Yankees.      

Comparison between web traffic of Washington Nationals and New York Yankees

 

Red graph shows traffic of New York Yankees and Blue graph shows traffic of Nationals. And, of course, red graph beats blue graph almost every time, except for the beginning of 2005 season, when Nationals played its first game at RFK stadium. And, finally, Strasburg beat New York Yankees in Web Traffic.      

I was also curious about attendance before and after Strasburg.      

Before Strasburg, average home attendance of Nationals was 21,336.      

After Strasburg, average home attendance of Nationals was increased to 28,467 (130%).      

I also calculated home attendance without the games Strasburg did not start after Strasburg, and it was 23,942. It was little bit better than before Strasburg.      

It was little bit surprised even Strasburg’s the most recent home game draw just 31,913. It was not full.      

Did “hype” work? Well, after I observed one-month of Strasburg, I don’t want to say it worked. It might work if Nationals won many games after Strasburg. What was their records? 7-13 (0.350), which is worse than before 0.465 of winning percentage.      

So, now I am more confident to say that the hype did not work.   Then, what is Sports public relations? I strongly believe that public relations is a mouth of organizations. And, when whole body does not do a right thing, the mouth is useless. Whatever it says, it is meaningless. If the mouth does not have any words, still, it is meaningless.      

James Grunig, a famous scholar in Public Relations, talked about Excellent Public Relations, which is, sometimes, criticized by practitioners, because of its unrealistic nature. His first and the least effective public relations model out of four models is press agentry, so-called, “hype”.      

Bruce Berger, also a famous scholar in Public Relations, said Public Relations works only when the organization is doing a right thing. Is it too common sense? Is it too ideal? But, it is true.      

Arthur Page society suggested seven principles of public relations http://www.awpagesociety.com/site/about/page_principles. Its second principle is “prove with action”.      

Strasburg’s hype worked, because Washington Nationals proved with action. He was indeed a good product. But, in sports, what do fans want? One hero? Or a good team? Especially, in team sports, what do fans want? Chicago Bulls might not be that popular, if they did not win NBA championships, even though they had Michael Jordan.      

In a book, “Examining identity in sports media (Edited by Hundley and Billings), Jennings Bryant and Glen Cummings, scholars in entertainment communication, surveyed University of Alabama and Auburn University College football fans. Their answers indicated they felt more self-confident when their team won. There exists the secret of sports public relations. What do sports fans want? They want something to be proud of. Can one hero be a pride of whole team? I really doubt it.      

Did Nationals tried to make Strasburg a hero of Nationals? Or hype super star? Did Nationals think about a great opportunity for fans for a short period time? Did Nationals think about a community, which may need something to enjoy in this bad economy? Did Nationals think about other players? Can Strasburg win a game without other players? Can Strasburg win 162 games?      

Public Relations is a mouth of an organization. Professional sports organizations are filled with very expensive organs. But, regardless of the price of organs, the body only works when the organs are intimately connected and work harmoniously. Then, mouth can say something good. Can mouth control brain? Well, sometimes, it can.      

Can hype work? I, again, sit back and will say, it won’t. “Prove with action” is a golden rule of Public Relations. Can Public Relations do more than hype? Well, if organizations want them to say something good, they may need to listen to their mouths.