Karen’s Public Relations Blog

September 5, 2008

College Football and Public relations: Successful programs off and on the field

Filed under: Public Relations, Sports, USC Trojans, Graduate School, College Life, Sports Reputation Mgmt, It Factor, Image Consulting, Football, Image / Perception / Rep , Friends, Brand Identity — Karen @ 8:18 am

Packed stadiums, fans screaming for their teams, bands playing popular songs, and great athletes playing football– does it get any better than this? The one thing that I absolutely love about the start of fall classes is that it is when college football season begins. I have always enjoyed watching college football– I remember going to a couple of pretty amazing games when I was on my recruiting trips during my senior year in high school. I got to go and see my first college game at Oregon versus UCLA (and Oregon won– go ducks!), and then I got to also see Washington play Oregon State, Michigan versus Michigan State at UM (that was such an AWESOME game!) and Arizona versus UCLA again (I see a them here…. ) It was a lot of fun and I will always remember it!

Today, I follow several teams in college football. I cheer for of course Florida (I figure I can’t lose for the UT and UF game in a couple of weeks), USC (of course!!), and Tennessee (go Vols!). I also cheer for Army (West Point) because Kristin went there for school. USC right now is ranked number one, and I have to say– they have great PR! They are professional, respectful of other teams, and overall presents themselves as a team that has fun, works hard, and gets the job done. They also are very interactive with fans and the community, and they have implement some great media strategies to connect with them. I was also very impressed with the way that Pete Carroll talked about how UCLA’s victory against Tennessee (so sad!) was great for the PAC 10 conference, and congratulated them. Wow! What a class act and great PR messaging! Pete Carroll also does a lot in the Los Angeles community and has really brought honor and success to USC. Keep up the great work Coach Carroll!

My point is that there are some great college football programs that are very successful– but there are only a few that are on and off the field with their public relations practices. And I am very lucky that I have gone to three that fit this category. So– Go Gators, Gator Chomp! Go Trojans– Fight on! And Go Vols– good ol’ Rocky Top! Have a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

Comments (0)

August 30, 2008

Happy Birthday Mom!

Filed under: Dear Diary, Family, It Factor, Love to Laugh! — Karen @ 3:23 am

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is Mom’s 56th Birthday! Dad has planned a FANTASTIC meal for Mom for her birthday– just looking at the pictures of the Peanut Butter and Chocolate cheesecake makes me so envious! When I saw this pictures, I was like– oh my goodness!!! It looked amazing, and it made me wonder how many calories are in it. But it is all good– Jenny Craig will have to understand!! Having cheesecake, watching football, and spending time with friends and family– it doesn’t get better than this! It should be fabulous and I hope that you have a wonderful birthday Mom!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

Comments (0)

Let the Games begin!: The College Football Season has FINALLY arrived!

Filed under: Public Relations, Sports, USC Trojans, Dear Diary, Graduate School, Family, Academics, College Life, It Factor, Football, Love to Laugh!, Tennessee — Karen @ 3:18 am

There are many things that I like about the fall semester. Classes start, the weather seems to change to get a little cooler and the leaves change color (well– it’s still early for that), and there seems to be a lot going on. We started our classes last Wednesday, and it’s the beginning of my second year in the Ph.D. program at Tennessee. Very exciting! I am taking three courses this semester– two in Marketing, and one in Public Relations. I am currently working also as a Research / Teaching Assistant this semester as well. It’s been fun so far!

Another reason why I really look forward to the fall semester can be summed up in two words: college football. Yes, it has finally arrived– football season! Very exciting! I have always enjoyed football– whether it was playing in the marching band my freshman year in high school (I played the clarinet), or going to college football games at SMU, Florida, USC, or at Tennessee. Football games are so much fun– there is nothing like being in a packed stadium with thousands of fans cheering on for their teams and watching some amazing performances.

This weekend is a big weekend for my schools. Florida is playing Hawaii for their season opener while USC kicks off their season against Virginia. Should be a great game- Fight on Trojans!! And Tennessee opens up on Monday against UCLA AT the Rose Bowl!! Of course you know who I’ll be cheering for! Go Vols!!!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

Comments (0)

August 28, 2008

Facebook: Social networking web site, online chatting with friends, blockbuster movie?

Filed under: Public Relations, Graduate School, College Life, Image Consulting, Image / Perception / Rep , Communications, Research, Brand Identity, Corporate Reputation — Karen @ 4:20 pm

I feel like in many ways I have been a late adapter to Facebook, but I have been on for about two months now and I have really enjoyed it! I have been able to connect with friends from high school and various colleges and see what everyone has been doing. It’s been a lot of fun for my family as well. Facebook is part of our everyday culture as a popular social networking web site. Now, it is going to be featured in a movie of its own. Aaron Sorkin, who developed the West Wing TV series, is researching on Facebook to do a movie about the founders of the social networking web site.

I think that this is really interesting for many reasons. First, this is another statement that shows the popularity that this one web site has had on not only Americans, but the rest of the global community. And second, this movie is going to give the background picture of the people behind this cultural phenomenon and how it has really transformed how people connect with each other online. Should be a fascinating movie!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

Comments (0)

August 26, 2008

Update on Rick Suhr PR Nightmare Case: Jenn Stuczynski opens up to ESPN about Beijing and Suhr

Filed under: Public Relations, Track and Field, Sports, Crisis Management, Sports Reputation Mgmt, Image Consulting, PR Nightmares, Image / Perception / Rep , China, Brand Identity, Corporate Reputation, Crisis Communications — Karen @ 3:21 am

A couple of days ago, I posted on how the track community and Internet discussion boards were talking about how Rick Suhr, the pole vault coach for Jenn Stuczynski, reacted negatively to her winning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. I came across an article that updates what is going on in the situation. In an interview with ESPN Magazine, Jenn Stuczynski opens up and presents her side of the story on what happened. She defended Suhr’s infamous comments that he made right after her Beijing performance by saying:

“What he said to me is nothing that made me sad. I’m a 26-year-old professional athlete. I ask him to be fair coach. I don’t ask him to be a cheerleader. I want you to tell me when I jump good, and I want you to tell me when I jump bad` I think a lot of people don’t understand that this is my job. This is what I do for a living, and I have to be good at it, and I have to get better at it. And we celebrated it. But at that moment, I wanted to know why I didn’t make that bar.”

I am still puzzled by what she would be defending someone that really was not positive about her performance and was not supportive of her. After Jenn competed, Suhr said the following (which was shown on TV):

“(It’s) the same old same old. You’re losing take-off at the big heights. What are you gonna do. You gotta learn to keep take-off. You got caught at that meat grinder. I did not—and I told 10 people—I did not want to be caught in a meat grinder between 65 and 80. You had to, though. You weren’t on, you know, your warm-up didn’t go well, you were 55, you got caught up in that meat grinder. What are you gonna do. What are you gonna do. You didn’t have the legs. Her legs are fresh. Hey, it’s a silver medal. Not bad for someone who’s been pole vaulting for four years.”

Wow– hmm– that sounds like a supportive coach to me. What is surprising to me is that Suhr has not made a public comment about this situation and is appears that Jenn has to be the public figure in this situation and defend him. In this particular case, Suhr should be the person that needs to defend himself and his personal brand, not his athlete– it just appears from this article that he wants others to do his work for him.

Stucynski also wanted to go on record for her comments that were printed right after the Olympic Trials in Eugene on how she was going to “kick some Russian butt” at the Olympics. Hmm– not exactly the smartest move I would say– because Jenn’s comments soon were published in various newspapers, magazines, and Internet sites. Plus, it motivated Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia to not only win, but break the world record as well. One of the things that athletes shouldn’t do is disrespect their competitors, and Jenn did this– it comes across as being unprofessional and impacted her personal brand negatively in the process. Whether she intended to do it or not, I think she learned a valuable PR lesson from this.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

Back in 2000, my father wrote a widely syndicated article on the “Power of Positive Coaching”. It is just as valuable today as it was then.

Comments (0)

— Next Page »