Fluent Essays

We have been exposed (briefly) to the strategic communication process. Based on one of the articles we were supposed to read for Tuesday, write a 300- 500-word blog that either… 1. Expresses the importance of social media to a sports organization’s strategic communications (public relations) campaigns, connecting one of the recommendations of the reading to an actual sport and social media campaign 2. States the value of a public relations (strategic communication) campaign like the one that English cricket undertook, suggesting a sport organization, cause or initiative that could use such an initiative, or how. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship l APRIL 2005 l RE SE AR CH PA PE R Executive summary The value of public relations as a strategic business communications function is well recognised, and companies understand the benefits that public relations can bring in terms of making people feel good about their organisation and its products. This occurs partly through the establishment of a sound corporate reputation and partly through getting people to think and feel positively about the company’s activities. Contemporary organisations understand that they can differentiate themselves – and gain competitive advantage – by developing the public relations function within their communications and relationship- building strategies. This holds true for sports organisa- tions and the promotion of the sports product as much as for any other type of business. The transactions and relationships that exist in sport today are frequently of a commercial nature, and as sport has become understood and managed as a consumer commodity, public relations has had a increasingly important part to play. Soccer aside, however, at grass roots level the use of public relations in sports relation- ship management in the UK is not always evident. For this paper, research was conducted to find out to what extent professional sports organisations use public relations. Cricket was chosen in particular because it has a certain image problem that has affected the sport’s potential to attract media and Applying the public relations function to the business of sport Abstract Public relations practice in sport is not always evident, yet to the contemporary sports business, it has much to offer. This paper explores the value of public relations to professional sports organisations. Cricket was chosen in particular because although it does not enjoy the same popularity as soccer in the UK, it has an extremely loyal fan base and widespread support at grass roots level. A critical finding from this research is that the communications strategies recommended for use in cricket are equally applicable to other sports. Peer Reviewed Maria K Hopwood Senior Lecturer in Public Relations, Teesside Business School University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK tel: 01642 342841 email: [email protected] 30 l APRIL 2005 l International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship RESEARCH PAPER financial support. Each of the UK’s 18 First Class County Clubs is responsible for promoting the game at local level, but there does not appear to be a unified, directed or consistent public relations strategy in place. Whereas marketing activity is considered essential, public relations, perhaps through a lack of under- standing of its potential, is not always thought to be relevant. The paper analyses public relations activity in two First Class County Clubs – Durham County Cricket Club and Yorkshire County Cricket Club. They are culturally and ideologically very different, and because they are both located in the north-east of England, the clubs are great rivals. (Yorkshire is among the oldest and Durham the youngest of the First Class clubs.) From the research, the consensus is that public relations is essential to the future success of cricket but that it is not formally implemented to the extent that the sport needs. A further critical finding of this research is that the communications and relationship management strategies recommended for use in cricket are applicable to other sports. Introduction “Sport personifies much of what humanity is about: community, the pursuit of physical excellence and the full range of emotions.” (Smith & Westerbeek, 2004) Sport has evolved dramatically: from important social phenomenon (during the 1960s) to its current status as a significant economic and political phenomenon. Today, it is widely regarded as a cultural subsystem of modern society, and because of the huge numbers of individuals who regularly participate, watch or otherwise engage in sporting activities, it has also become big business. As both participants and observers, people spend increasing amounts of time and money on sport; indeed, in some quarters sport is understood to be competing for its audience against the attractions of the shopping mall. Therefore, in order for sporting organisations to survive in the marketplace, whether they like it or not, they have to become much more business oriented. Public relations is still a relatively young profession and often not well understood. However, it can prove to be a valuable tool in the organisational armoury and is potentially as important to sports clubs as it is to the business world. This paper is a qualitative critical evaluation and analysis of the current level of public relations activity in English domestic First Class County cricket. It is based upon primary research that was conducted among marketing and public relations pro- fessionals, playing and coaching staff, and sponsorship and media managers. Research began in September 2002 and was concluded in April 2003. As far as some are concerned, cricket is the original national sport. Yet it has not attracted anywhere near the levels of support and financial backing enjoyed by soccer. As a spectator sport, cricket has also had to face the fact that the traditional structure of the game does not have wide appeal. The governing body for UK cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), is now funding and promoting initiatives to improve this – for example, providing cricket equipment to inner city schools to encourage greater participation in the sport by women. At professional level, although the national team attracts sponsorship and significant ECB backing, the County teams are finding that they need strategies that will contribute to the bottom line and ensure their long-term survival. The transactions and relationships that exist in all modern sports are frequently of a commercial nature. According to Hargreaves (1998) and others, market pressure now imposes an instrumental rationality on sporting institutions as much as on other institutions within civil society. In cricket, as elsewhere, there is a growing realisation that in order to attract and keep customers and others interested and loyal to clubs and the game, high quality products and services are no longer enough. Organisations now have to differentiate themselves and their offerings through effective com- munications and relationship-building strategies. 31 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship l APRIL 2005 l RE SE AR CH PA PE R Cricket, although not enjoying the same popularity as soccer, does have an extremely loyal following and widespread support at grass roots level. However, it also suffers from a serious and long-held image problem, which is proving difficult to reverse and which is undoubtedly affecting the sport’s potential to attract essential media interest and financial support. The England and Wales Cricket Board does have a marketing orientation and disseminates good practice throughout the 18 First Class County Clubs. At local level, however, where each club is responsible for promoting the game, the picture is less clear. It is an accepted fact that professional sport is one of the major profit and loss industries in our society. The most popular leisure pursuits in the Western world are sports-related, involving countless individuals as participants or observers and many more in the highly profitable business of satisfying sports-related needs and wants. Although sport’s contribution to the global economy is indisputable, one striking feature that is common across sport is precisely the way that it is not organised as a business (Horne et al, 1999). The main reason for sport to appear to be uncomfortable with the associations of capitalism and entrepreneur- ship is that it remains heavily influenced by historical developmental traditions. Modern cricket, perhaps more than most contempo- rary popular sports, struggles with the legacy of its privileged past and with the fact that it is freighted with extraneous moral overtones (Birley, 1999). The widespread practice of describing unacceptable behaviour as ‘not cricket’ helps to perpetuate the myth that cricket is the gold standard for sportsmanlike behaviour, belonging to an age of imperialism and gentility. As a direct result of this legacy, professional cricket has struggled to keep pace with the tempo of the age, and has sometimes seemed to be lost in a dream-world of past glories and outworn social attitudes (Birley, 1999). One outcome of this is that cricket has found regarding itself as a business partic- ularly problematic. Most modern spectator sports, of necessity, operate as businesses and have had to adopt and adapt to the core business functions of marketing, finance and human resource management. Soccer has long enjoyed success as a business venture – as is borne out by the huge financial sums associated with the game – and now cricket clubs are beginning to accept that if the sport is to survive and compete effectively for media and supporter attention, it has to modernise and behave in a more commercial way. In order to maintain its licence to operate, cricket must regard itself as part of the entertainment industry and compete for its share of the global market. A key objective of this strategy is building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with a range of publics, an objective that is usually achieved through the systematic and structured implementation of public relations. One of the challenges facing contemporary profes- sional cricket is the need to generate interest in what is seen by many as a game which belongs to a bygone age and that is played at County clubs that can be experienced as stuffy or unwelcoming. If cricket is to have a viable future, it must address these image problems and appeal to a more demographical- ly diverse audience. Public relations, more than the other elements of the contemporary promotional mix, offers a potential solution. As is evident from the findings of this research, where a public relations focus does exist, there is much to be gained. It is encouraging to note that cricket in the UK has undergone some significant developments since this research began and that public relations has played an important part in these innovations. In June 2003, the Twenty20 Cup was launched, amid some resistance from the cricket establishment. The new short cricket (Twenty20 matches are one innings per ‘Modern cricket, perhaps more than most contemporary popular sports, struggles with the legacy of its privileged past’ 32 l APRIL 2005 l International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship RESEARCH PAPER side, with each innings a maximum of 20 overs) is proving its appeal to a range of different publics and cricket grounds throughout the country, and sell-out attendances have been reported. It is evident that this shorter form of cricket is pumping new life into the game, and 2004 saw the first international version of Twenty20 (between the England and New Zealand women’s cricket teams). July 2004 saw the inaugural ProCricket matches being played in the US, and a similar version in South Africa. In July 2005, Australia will play England in the first full Twenty20 internation- al match at Lords, the home of cricket. As well as offering an alternative to the traditional format, Twenty20 is proving to be exactly the type of product extension that the game needs. As Lawrence Booth (2004) says: ‘Call it hit-and-giggle if you like. Call it fast food. Call it blasphemy. Just don‘t call it irrelevant.” Methodology The English are frequently characterised and even stereotyped as being passionate about sport. As well as actively participating in a whole range of sports for leisure and fitness, as a nation, we spend huge amounts of our free time as sports spectators, either through our televisions and radios or live at the ground or stadium. According to Cashmore (1990), the contemporary fascination with sport has much to do with the fact that by consuming sport in various ways, we view and do nothing more functional than avoid what we do during the rest of our working week. It is, therefore, unsurprising that sport has, over recent years, become the focus for extensive academic research. A large part of this research has been conducted in the field of sports science, but as the amounts of money to be made in and by sports increase, both the clubs and participants have become lucrative business prospects. As a result, sports marketing and promotions have become and continue to be fruitful and dynamic areas of study. The research interest for this paper was to analyse public relations practice in English County cricket and offer a strategy for effective, proactive public relations. A case study approach was used to examine to what extent clubs understand and utilise public relations. Studies were made of Durham County Cricket Club (CCC) and Yorkshire CCC, focussing on, among other things, issues of regional identity and the operational practices of a young modern club (Durham) compared to one with a long and successful cricket history (Yorkshire). Communication and relationship-building strategies were analysed and key theoretical principles of public relations, insight and understanding were applied. In the UK, the sport that captures most attention in terms of spectators, finance, the media and academics is the ‘national game’ – soccer. As a nation, the English are fanatical soccer supporters and even if individuals do not support particular clubs, the country almost grinds to a halt for an important inter- national match. The patriotic fervour widely reported in the media during May and June 2002, and the attendant ‘feel-good factor’ that was enjoyed by both business and society while the national soccer team was keeping the country’s World Cup glory hopes alive, illustrate the power that sport can exert over a vast range of publics. Although cricket is played and watched all over the world by huge numbers of people, only those particu- larly interested in the game will have been aware of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. It certainly did attract media coverage and offered a whole range of sponsorship and commercial opportunities, but to a much lesser extent than is the case with soccer. Cricket generally has been rather slow to capitalise on the potential benefits of customer relationship- building, perhaps having a tendency to be complacent about supporter loyalty. Why is this? What is it about cricket that has allowed it to have the perceived status of soccer’s ‘poor relation’? What can be done to get cricket off the back pages and into the lifestyle sections of the newspapers? Why do cricket clubs not attract the same kind of support that soccer clubs do? 33 What role could public relations play in changing attitudes and behaviour towards cricket generally? Cricket at all levels of the game has received a great deal of criticism in recent years for an apparent inability, even reluctance, to take the requisite steps towards adapting to changing market demands. The sport has also suffered an image problem. One of the aims of this study was to attempt to discover the reasons for such negative associations. It was clear that the only way to get a realistic snapshot of prevailing attitudes and practices in cricket was by making personal contact with people involved in the sport. Interviews were held with a wide range of personnel associated with cricket, to gain a broad but representative range of perspectives and views of the game. The personnel listed were all interviewed during the primary research phase of the project and the information they supplied forms the core of the study. A limitation to the research was that it was not possible to get a balance of players’ views from both clubs in the study, because an interview with a player from Yorkshire CCC could not be organised. Instead, Paul Grayson, who began his playing career with Yorkshire CCC before moving to Essex CCC, agreed to be interviewed, redressing the balance somewhat. Informal talks with coaches and others associated with professional cricket provided useful material that has been incorporated into the study. In selecting individuals to be interviewed, a purposive sample was identified and agreed. Visits were made to Durham CCC and Yorkshire CCC head- quarters (at the Riverside in Chester-le-Street and Headingley respectively) to conduct face-to-face interviews; interviews were conducted by telephone where this was more convenient for the interviewee. The face-to-face interviews were designed to be semi-structured and open-ended, as it was felt that this approach would generate a more detailed response and would help put interviewees at ease. Interviewees were sent the questions via email in advance of the interviews and given the opportunity to decline answering specific questions. This did not happen, so no question had to be changed or deleted. Each interview was recorded, with the permission of the interviewee, and notes were made during the telephone interviews. All interviews were transcribed and analysed to produce a ‘thick description’, which has been useful in establishing the quality of the research. The main advantages of such interviews were that the researcher was able to control the line of questioning and tailor it specifically to the study, while gathering important information from the interviewee. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship l APRIL 2005 l RE SE AR CH PA PE R Personnel interviewed for research Andrew Walpole, Media Manager, England Cricket Team, England and Wales Cricket Board James Bailey, Marketing Manager Durham County Cricket Club Vicky Laverick, Public Relations and Marketing Executive, Durham County Cricket Club Liz Sutcliffe, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager, Yorkshire County Cricket Club Andrew Pratt, First Team Wicket Keeper Durham County Cricket Club Paul Grayson, Senior Player and Professional Cricketers Association Representative, Essex County Cricket Club; England One Day International player Richard Nowell, Karen Earl Sponsorship Limited Brian Hunt, Honorary Statistician and First Team Scorer, Durham County Cricket Club Paul Farbrace, England Youth Teams Manager and specialist Wicket Keeping Coach England and Wales Cricket Board Paul Grayson (former Yorkshire CCC player) Essex County Cricket Club 34 Secondary research involved consulting a variety of literature sources – key texts, journals and other print material. A range of scholarly texts were identified, the majority of which deal with sports from a social science perspective. An extensive preliminary literature search suggested that texts dealing specifically with cricket were few. Most general sports texts tend to have short, though significant, pieces on cricket. The majority of cricket- related writing tended to focus on the history and development of the sport or was specifically about cricket clubs or players. A particularly interesting issue is that of cultural identity and its impact and influence on cricket and its supporters. This has created much academic interest, but with specific focus on soccer. One aim of this study was to take and apply some of these key theories usefully to cricket. An extensive range of print media, particularly newspapers and special interest magazines, were also used. New media, such as online sources, also provided relevant material. (The Durham and Yorkshire clubs both have websites, as do the ECB and ICC. CricInfo, a website dedicated to the sport, has an extensive article archive and useful links to a range of alternative information sources.) In addition, public relations literature and theoretical material was consulted and applied to the research. Specific elements of public relations theory were appropriate to this study. For example, in determining the extent and application of public relations activity conducted by the two clubs, reference is made to: the public relations planning process; communication models and theories; stakeholder and publics theories; and image and identity theories. At no time during the research did it become necessary to adapt or alter the research methodology. As the basic methodology was sound, reliable and achievable, the quality of the research and its outcomes were in no way or at any stage compromised or threatened. Results A key finding of the research is that public relations is extremely important at Durham County Cricket Club. Vicky Laverick, the club’s Public Relations and Marketing Executive, is the personification of the club’s commitment to this element of their marketing and promotion strategy: prior to Vicky’s engagement, the post did not exist. Durham CCC’s approach to public relations is the exception rather than the rule among the 18 First Class County Clubs. Vicky is one of only a very few dedicated public relations personnel, which indicates a level of disregard for public relations in domestic cricket. Marketing is very much a feature of all the County clubs, and each club has a marketing manager or equivalent. However, public relations tends to be incorporated into marketing activities rather than being used as a com- munications tool in its own right. From the research conducted at Durham, it is evident that even where there is a keenly proactive approach to public relations, activity is not always considered to be a priority and there is a constant struggle for budgets and resources. This apparent neglect of public relations is a risky strategy that must be addressed, particularly as it contradicts the ECB’s proactive approach to public relations. The greatest barrier to implementing public relations strategies in cricket is lack of finance. Although the ECB is financially secure, the Counties are reliant on the ECB for funding. However, in order to survive, the County clubs have to generate their own income. Depending to a large extent on location and relation- ships with key publics and stakeholders, some Counties are more financially secure than others. l APRIL 2005 l International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship RESEARCH PAPER ‘The greatest barrier to implementing public relations strategies in cricket is lack of finance. Although the ECB is financially secure, the Counties are reliant on the ECB for funding.’ 35 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship l APRIL 2005 l RE SE AR CH PA PE R There appears to be a case to answer here that the ECB could redress the balance somewhat and allocate specific resources for public relations activity. It is suggested that if cricket were treated more like a business, the ECB could adopt the role of ‘head office’ in overseeing the activities and performances of the ‘branch offices’. A more corporate approach to public relations would assist greatly in improving the corporate image and the identity for the game. This would allow the County clubs to continue promoting their regional identity but under the England and Wales Cricket Board corporate umbrella. It is evident that there is a distance between the ECB and the Counties. Any marketing and public relations activities have to be cleared with the ECB before implementation, but visits to the Counties by the ECB governing body are rare. It is also evident that the ECB focuses much more on the England national team than on the Counties. This skewed balance was particularly noticeable during the early part of 2003, as very little information had been made available about the new Twenty20 tournament, which was widely regarded by players and officials as a resuscitation strategy for the sport. The tournament, which had its inaugural games in June 2003, had at the time of writing up the research still to be fully marketed. According to Paul Grayson of Essex CCC, this was a tactical mistake. In his opinion, public relations is vital to the long-term survival of the game of cricket and he cited this as an example of a typical failure to act proactively. This view was supported by James Bailey and Andrew Pratt from Durham, who had held the view that the time to be disseminating the message to the publics was already at hand, but that this could not happen because the ECB was still engaged in research and development and a sponsor has not been secured. However, the political wrangles associated with Zimbabwe’s role in the World Cup in 2003, in which cricket had reluctantly become involved, rather overshadowed the development of the domestic game. This is perhaps another strand of the argument that ECB focus is directed too much towards the national team. However, it is encouraging for public relations practice to discover that much greater use of public relations at County level features as a significant element of the ECB’s long-term strategy. Durham CCC allocates part of the marketing budget for public relations activities because of a perceived need. The chairman, Bill Midgley, and the chief executive, David Harker, are active, high profile spokespersons for the club and are involved personally with a range of key publics and stakeholders. This proactive approach, encouraged throughout the club, is being observed with great interest by many associated with the promotion of cricket. The reality is that much more practical public relations needs to be done, but certain limitations are imposed which have long-term implications for the survival of both the club and the game. The club’s policy of nurturing local young cricketers by developing them through the Durham Academy before they graduate into the First and Second teams is a key element of the club’s public relations strategy – and one that is well regarded by the supporters and members. Of the 20 playing staff in 2003, 14 were from the North East and had been playing together, according to Andrew Pratt, since the age of 13. Durham CCC’s attitude to player development is a key strength. It extends throughout the club, from its programme of youth cricket coaching in the region’s schools, through the Durham Schools Cricket Association, which has county representative teams in all age-groups (from Under 11s to Under 16s as well as women’s teams), into the Academy and First teams. The County youth teams receive coaching from the Academy coaches and players, and specialist coaching is offered to young elite players. Players of all ages are valued and made to feel part of the club, ‘Durham CCC’s attitude to player development is a key strength. It extends throughout the club’ 36 l APRIL 2005 l International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship RESEARCH PAPER which is a key element in developing player loyalty. The resource issue with regard to public relations at Durham CCC needs to be monitored, with a view to ensuring that financial backing is put in place to optimise communications efforts. The following comment by James Bailey illustrates this very clearly: “Cricket is such a break-even business. One of the main reasons that First Class Counties don’t have any PR or even marketing is that it doesn’t add to your bottom line immediately. They’ll concentrate on selling sponsorship or corporate hospitality, which has a big impact. Durham is a break-even business but we’re very much focussed on the long-term.” The same theme is identified by Vicky Laverick: “There’s so much we could do here really. It’s just having the resources to do it. We don’t have resources to measure the effectiveness of articles printed in particular magazines. If we can’t evaluate it, it makes you wonder whether its worth it. We don’t have resources to pay media clippings agencies to scan every publication.” The role that public relations has to play in the overall promotion of cricket, and specifically for Durham CCC, cannot be overemphasised. Since its inception as a First Class County, Durham CCC has relied heavily on the support of local spectators and businesses, and the club readily admits that without such stakeholder backing, the club would be unable to survive as a going concern. Of all the First Class County cricket clubs in the UK, supporters and non-supporters both agree, Yorkshire is the most traditional and well-known. Yorkshire CCC is one of the very few sporting institutions that is recog- nisable to a wide audience, many of whom are not in the slightest bit interested in cricket. In fact, Yorkshire CCC, until very recently, was synonymous with cricket, meaning that both ‘cricket’ the word and cricket the sport were inextricably linked with the club, and that the word ‘Yorkshire’ could even be extended as a connotation for the sport. The whole Yorkshire approach to cricket has become legendary. Much of the writing on this subject, together with stories that have grown around some of the famous players through the years, has helped create a mythology around the club. A key feature of Yorkshire CCC is the fact that it has successfully positioned itself as a corporate brand, which many of its competitors have still to achieve. It is worth analysing, however, how relevant Yorkshire CCC’s image is to contemporary cricket and … 1 Sport, Public Relations and Social Media Raymond Boyle and Richard Haynes Sport is simultaneously a global phenomenon and a local and personal one. It is simultaneously a gigantic commercial business and a gigantic voluntary enterprise [ ] Sport fulfils all of these conflicting roles in global society through a multi-layered and mutually dependent relationship with the media and other commercial interests. There is no simple definition of what modern sport stands for and therefore no simple solutions to its many problems. Mihir Bose, (2012) The Spirit of the Game: How sport made the modern world, page 570. Introduction: Asking the right questions of networked media sport Sport has long been a medium through which marketing communications have sought to capture an audience for commercial services and goods, and for participation in a sport itself. Nineteenth century sports newspapers and pamphlets carried advertising for the latest tonic for a healthy body, or the latest innovation in lawnmower technology to enable the suburban upper middle classes to have pristine lawns for tennis and croquet. Victorian and Edwardian sports administrators took to using pseudonyms as they engaged in early forms of sports journalism, in an effort to both inform and persuade their public about the wonders of their sport or to lobby for changes in the organisation or rules of the game (Vamplew, 2004). Media relations have therefore always formed an aspect of sport, and the historical connection between sport, communications and what we now understand as the promotional industries of advertising, marketing and public relations is both long and strongly interlocked with the operational activities of most sports administrators, teams, leagues’, governing bodies, athletes and associated agencies. 2 Unpicking the complexity of these interrelationships is no easy matter. The nexus around which sport engages with media and communications has gained even more complexity since the development of the Internet and what Brett Hutchins and David Rowe have labelled ‘networked media sport’ – ‘the movement away from broadcast and print media towards digitized content distributed via networked communications technologies’ (Hutchins and Rowe, 2012: 5). More recently, the evolution of mobile social networked media has given a more direct public voice to athletes who are cosseted from mainstream media outlets by agents and communications managers, but at the same stroke, are given a new freedom of expression through sites and applications such as Facebook and Twitter to engage with their fans. The variegated nature of the relations between athletes, sponsors, the media, and fans means that communications strategies of sports organisations are more differentiated than ever before, and understanding the flows of communication between the different stakeholders is a challenge. The plenitude of content created by networked media sport is so expansive that it is increasingly difficult to fully comprehend the multitude of ways in which sport relates to new communications technologies. This is not only an issue for academic researchers of the sport-media nexus, but also for the sports industries, the media industries and consumers of sport alike. Historically, and for nearly half a century, television has dominated the sports media landscape, maturing to a state where the political economy of elite professional sport ticked over to its every whim. But with networked media sport, the screens on which sport is produced, distributed and consumed are 3 multiple, delivered in an array of formats and consumed in differential and mobile spaces. This is not to argue that television has become less important. It remains one of the key platforms that supporters and fans engage with sport through, and crucially, remains a key platform in allowing key sports events to resonate with an audience beyond the dedicated sports fan. The television audiences for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in the UK on free-to- air television were impressive and indicative of the enduring appeal of watching sport on this particular screen. However, networked media sport will arguably change the nature of the TV-sport relationship, and the demands of television executives and advertisers are inflected with quite different business models and economic imperatives, which are no longer directly in their control. One obvious example here is the rise of television piracy (so called), which in terms of sports content is a virulent global phenomenon, that potentially undermines the media rights models of exclusive contracts, national markets, pay-walls and a rights regime that has given some sports untold riches. While other online companies such a Dailymotion and YouTube spent much of 2012 acquiring the online streaming rights to various forms of sports content from the Wimbledon tennis championship (Dailymotion) to French Ligue 1 football (Dailymotion, YouTube). In such a volatile and evolving media environment there is a need to know how sport has responded to such challenges. To what extent is sport a key driver of new media technologies and their uptake, and alternatively, in what ways is its symbiotic relationship with television a conservative force blocking new modes of communication. Do the various actors and agencies in media sport use social networked media in the same way, and if not, how are they differentiated. 4 Finally, what strategies, guidelines and regulations have been introduced to manage networked media sport and its stakeholders, and how do they impact on the media relations of athletes, teams and governing bodies of sport. In what follows, we first outline the approach of corporate sponsors of sport to public relations and networked media sport. We then map out the ways in which sports organisations and athletes have responded to networked media, and then invert the question to ask what media organisations, particularly the press and television, have done to adapt their practices to the demands of networked media. Sport Sponsorship, Public Relations and Social Media In the context of sports public relations and communications management, network media sport has also introduced new opportunities and challenges for both sports industries and the media. As Lewis and Kitchin (2011: 208) have noted, the ‘social web’ has enabled corporate sport to break down barriers between the organisation and its consumers by creating ‘more tangible and vibrant relationships’. Sport has always helped drive the uptake of new communications technologies, and the practices of journalists, broadcasters and public relations professionals has often had to fit with the culture of sport in quite distinct and unique ways. With the rise of social networked media we might want to ask if this remains the case. Has the evolution of the Internet and the digital cultures that have been inspired and created from it, transformed the ways in which sport now engages with the media. Or, are their continuities in what sport delivers to networked media sport, in terms of its cultural and economic value. 5 One way in which it is possible to approach such questions is to explore the market-driven discourse of elite professional sport, and look at some of the recent market research and intelligence available and circulated among those who work in the sports industries and the associated cultural industries that gravitate around it. Again, as Hutchins and Rowe (2012) have argued, much of the rhetoric that surrounds the discourse of sports and media industries is mere boosterism, an attempt to inflate ‘the new’ in new media, and promote a sense of radical change when incremental developments occur. The language of sport in this context is one of branding, sponsorship, event management, public relations, and television rights and, most crucially in the context of digital communications, social media activity. It is useful to draw on the data produced by this industry when examining the impact of socially networked media on sport because it tells us something about the strategic goals of both major sports organisations and the commercial partners they connect with. Both have turned to social media as a public relations and marketing tool. Both have arguably a long way to go before their analysis of what is happening in this domain of communications provides any tangible understanding for the social and cultural engagement with sport via the Internet. Advertisers demand consistency in appraising the economic value of investment in sport. The greatest risk for advertising in sport is the uncertainty of return from expenditure, and there is a need to know how effective a campaign has been (Gratton et al, 2012). Sponsorship, which is a function of both the advertising and wider public relations activity of a company, presents further 6 risks, not least because of the multiplicity of objectives any one sponsors might have for their investment in sport (for, example, building brand image and visibility, corporate hospitality, launching new products, and so on). When combined to the complex social relations of networked media sport, how the sports industries and their sponsors evaluate social media activity remains a murky science. One thing we might want to investigate, therefore, is how global sports organisations and their sponsors approach media research in this context, and what kinds of questions are being asked. For example, early market data from the London 2012 Olympic Games, heralded in some quarters as the ‘Social Olympics’, revealed that a number of the International Olympic Committee’s blue-chip Olympic Partner (TOP) sponsors gained what they perceived to be huge traction from viral social marketing campaigns via sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. In the lead up to London 2012, between 18 April and 29 June, the global consumer product corporation Proctor and Gamble created what was termed a ‘social media buzz’ with more than 17,000 posts mentioning their brands in connection to the Games. This far outstripped the ‘buzz’ generated by other TOP sponsors such as Samsung, Visa, Coca-Cola, Acer, Dow Chemical, General Electric, Omega, McDonald’s and Atos by some considerable margin (Sport Business International, August 2012, No.181, p.4). While the need for major sports sponsors to measure the effectiveness of social media campaigns is merely an extension of a long- established model of market research around sport, the reporting of Proctor and Gamble’s ‘success’ in this field, suggests a shift in priorities in the commercial strategies of global corporations and sport. The scale of the ‘buzz’ was equated 7 with an improved ‘sentiment’ by consumers towards their leading brands, which is arguably highly subjective, but nevertheless taken as a serious indicator to justify the £1.4 billion invested by the company in London 2012 (The Independent, 16 July 2012). Critical approaches to social networked media (Boyd and Ellison, 2007) have noted that the ‘bean counting’ approach to Twitter ‘followers’ or YouTube ‘likes’ only tells a partial story of engagement with such media texts, and indeed, tells us absolutely nothing about the qualitative experience of clicking through and reading or watching such material online, which is further complicated by the technologies being used to access social media which ranges from mobile phones, personal computers and tablet devices. Social media have moved to accommodate such criticism, for instance in October 2011 Facebook introduced a new metrics system called ‘Talking about this’ which measures unique users who make a story, on top of which another metric measures the ‘engagement ratio’ to account for the depth of any encounter with stories and threads. Although marketing companies may have introduced more subtle and nuanced metrics to interpret what is going on in the world of social media, there is a sense to which the presence of corporate logos and official social media sites of global corporations is both unwelcome and indeed, largely ignored by the majority of users of such technologies. Take for example, this reaction in a reader comment to The Independent newspaper in July 2012, by no means isolated, to the news that sponsors were clamping down on ambush marketing around London 2012: 8 How is it possible that the words ‘gold, silver and bronze’ can be appropriated by corporate sponsors, let alone ‘summer’? Will the London Metal Exchange be shut down for the duration? And the Met Office? At least the article obligingly provides me with a list of companies to boycott. (posted on www.independent.co.uk, 16 July 2012) Such reactionary commentary, now archived on newspaper websites, social media threads and assorted social media including blogs, provide both qualitative and sustained criticism of the inroads of corporate sponsors in sport, and a staunch rebuke to the ‘sentiment’ that such corporations are the true ‘gamesmakers’ of major sporting events. The idea that sponsorship is a benevolent force in sport is both problematic and increasingly critiqued by a range of competing stakeholders in sport including its consumers (Horne, 2006). Global Sports Organisations and Social Media The media has been central to the evolution and economic development of professional sport throughout its history (Holt, 1989; Bose, 2012). In the latter half of the Twentieth Century the link between global sports organisations such as the IOC, FIFA and North American mega-brands such as the NBA, has been commercially tied to the economics of the media, in particularly television, which has thereby had a strong influence on the economics of sport (Gratton and Solberg, 2007). Hutchins and Rowe (2012: 47) illustrate a sense of complacency in the ‘media sports content economy’, which is born of cultural as well as economic dependency and conservatism. 9 The rise of social networks, and the kinds of production and distribution practices it has fostered, is now transforming the communications strategies of those sports organisations willing to explore and experiment with developing new forms of media relations which exploit the communication power (Castells, 2009) of digital media. This process has been ongoing for more than a decade (Boyle and Haynes, 2004), but is now rapidly advancing with rapacious intent. A decade ago the barrier to online and mobile sports development proved to be a broadband infrastructure that was not robust enough or extensive in its reach. The rise of fast broadband connections and 3G and 4G has helped to erode this barrier. Examples of the fusion of television and the Internet include the Indian Premier League’s contract with Google to transmit live coverage of every match in the 2010 season on its social media site YouTube, and Total College Sports run by global sports media company Perform Group whose corporate website claims 20million unique viewers per month to its ePlayer which is embedded in more than 250 national and regional news outlets in the United States. These developments are not only significant commercial partnerships, but also provide differentiated social media experiences for fans and consumers. Many sports clubs and franchises have developed branded YouTube channels, tapping in to a realisation that fans are willing to download both live and recorded streamed video to keep in touch with their favourite team. The innovation of sports branded applications (apps) for mobile technologies such as 3G and 4G smartphones and networked tablet technologies have spurred the development of online sports. For example, Fanatix.com is a sports app that launched in 2011, 10 initially as messaging vehicle to connect fans at events and at home during the game or match. By 2012 it had evolved from a messaging app, to one that was also a sports news aggregator and attempting to engage with fans beyond the confines of the event itself, be it a football or tennis match, as the rise of he smart phone gave 24/7 mobile global access to dedicated sports fans. These types of technologies have been welcomed by sport because they offer far more control over the networked media experience than technologically open platforms such as the Web. Apps effectively offer a ‘walled garden’ approach to networked media sport, and ensure clarity of copyright control and user interface. They also enable micropayments, advertising and online gaming, creating new revenue streams and business opportunities. Where social media does present a challenge to global sports organisations is the less regulated technologies of blogs and micro-blogs. A number of previous studies have illustrated the challenges faced by sports organisations in the management of ‘information accidents’ (Hutchins and Rowe, 2012), where scandals and public criticism which may harm the sport, individual athletes and teams, sponsors and associated commercial partners (Boyle and Haynes, 2012). Most crucially, issues can arise from both within and outside the areas of control of a sport, and understanding multiple publics and stakeholders, and how to manage their expectations, attitudes and behaviour is now a full time occupation of communications managers. Indeed this trend is prevalent across the Public Relations industry, with reputation management and online social media profile identified by the sector as the contemporary challenges for PR professionals in 2012. The tensions between freedom and control in networked media sport are 11 redolent here. The global sports industries propound the virtues of the widening choice for sports fans, and at the same stroke, nervously look over their shoulders to ensure that the integrity of their sport and their commercial partners are not compromised in any way. Of course these are not uncontested areas. The US Olympic athletes in particular seemed unhappy about not being able to namecheck their sponsors on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The even organised a Twitter hashtag #WeDemandChange and #Rule40, to attempt to pressure the IOC. How you police this type of regulation is also a challenge for organisations and indeed breeches of the code did take place, and went largely unpunished. However, expect a new modified set of regulations for athletes in Rio 2016, as these emerging battle lines continue to get drawn. As a matter of course, and now standard governance practice, most global sports organisations have introduced guidelines and regulations on social media activity associated with their events and of the athletes and teams competing in their competitions. Analysis of blogging during the 2008 Beijing Olympics by Hutchins and Mokosza (2010) suggested that while the threat of a major scandal never materialised, the overbearing information management and control of the IOC introduced a new level of surveillance to the media activities of athletes and teams. This policy carried through to London 2012 where some confusion reigned as to what athletes were allowed to do and the kinds of engagement they could have with the public. The IOC guidelines (IOC, 2012) encouraged ‘participants and other accredited persons to post comments on social media platforms or websites and tweet during the Olympic Games’ but forbid video, taken on a smartphone for instance, being broadcast on any social media 12 platform. In the Olympic village, athletes could post photographs, but to do so required full permission of anyone in the frame and images could not be exploited for commercial purposes. The word Olympic could be used as a point of reference, but no association could be made with third parties, and the logo’s and emblems of the IOC and LOCOG could not appear in photographs. These and more restraints represent an attempt to micro-manage the use of social media by athletes and ensure compliance with the commercial security of the Games and its commercial partners. Not all sports competitions have so stringent approach to managing social media. The sport of cricket has followed an ‘empowered approach’ which understands the opportunities for personal communication in social networks, but also flags up the responsibilities and risks that are associated with it. Unfortunately, the sport has been drawn in to a number of controversies primarily based on the behavior of international players, and their comments and criticisms of the sport, fellow cricketers and management via networked media technologies. In 2012 the star English cricketer Kevin Pietersen found himself at the centre of a storm over Blackberry messages he had sent to opposition players in the South African team that purportedly criticized the then England captain Andrew Strauss in defamatory language. The player was withdrawn from the English Test squad and his international career placed in serious doubt. The player missed the World T20 finals in Sri Lanka, and was obliged to make a public apology over the affair in order to be reinstated to the England squad. Pietersen had also been the target of a parody Twitter account ‘KP Genius’ set up by a cricket fan and friends to a number of high profile players. Pieterson claimed the spoof account had 13 been fed stories by fellow England cricketers Graeme Swann and James Anderson, which poked fun at Pieterson’s aloof behavior in the dressing room. The whole series of events undermined attempts by the ECB to pursue a more enlightened approach to social media, ultimately damaging public confidence in their management and structures of governance. Episodes of this nature provide evidence of major sports organizations struggling to maintain control over networked media, which ultimately have the potential to damage relations with sponsors and media partners. Similar controversies have occurred in football (Boyle, 2012), tennis (Boyle and Haynes, 2013), golf (Boyle and Haynes, 2012) and during the London Olympics when Swiss footballer Michael Morganella was dismissed and sent home from the Games after making a racist comment about a South Korean competitor. In so many of these cases, including the Pieterson story, it is the instantaneous velocity of communications, from the banal and ephemeral moment of thumbing a text or ‘tweet’ to its wider public reception and re-distribution in to mainstream media, that networked social media has introduced something quite different into the sport-media nexus. As the culture and volume of social media messages by athletes shows no signs of abating, it is the interface with established media, journalists, broadcasters and online publishers, which presents a challenge to orthodox media relations. Increasingly sports organisations have taken a proactive approach to social media, not only encouraging use of Facebook and Twitter, but also developing communications policies, which foster positive public relations through 14 networked media sport. In the lead up to London 2012, the English Football Association’s Women’s Super League developed a digital ambassador programme to provide an insight into the lives of leading players and encourage more girls and women in to engage in the sport. More proactive communications policies, utilizing the power of social networks, can therefore help some sports, particularly those trying to build their profile with various publics, to directly intervene in the communications process as part of wider strategic objectives. Sports Journalism, Media Relations and Social Media Another way in to understanding the impact of networked media sport is to look at the practices of sports journalism, both in the everyday work of the journalist, and the narratives and forms of content they produce. Digitisation has impacted on journalism at a range of levels. Structurally journalism organisations are struggling to find viable business models to sustain funded professional journalism, in an era in which news content can appears ubiquitous and often free at the point of consumption. Professionally the impact of this structural change and the manner in which technology has reshaped practice for journalists has been documented elsewhere (Boyle, 2006). Social media has quickly become an increasingly important element of the day-to-day life of journalists, both those working in sports and also other journalistic arenas (Boyle, 2012). Sports journalists use social media as a news feed, to follow players, journalists and supporters. They 15 use it to promote their own profile and that of the organisation they are working for, as well as to engage in real time conversations with readers and other sporting stakeholders. Again these changes need to be viewed as part of longer process that has seen sports journalists - particularly those in the print sector – and their unique access to a ‘ringside seat’ at sporting events alter and erode over the years (Koppet, 2003). Initially this occurred through the advent of radio, then the arrival of television and subsequent dedicated sports channels and more recently the rise of the internet from the mid 1990s and now social media. As football journalist Kevin McCarra from The Guardian has reflected: I believe that it is in football that the relationship between writer and reader has most changed, particularly since those roles are no longer fixed. Access to the internet, I am glad to say, has done away entirely with the silly assumption that journalists have access to a higher knowledge. Countless websites cover all aspects of football in virtually every nation. If any player at a World Cup is an unknown quantity it will be purely because the research has not been carried out with sufficient thoroughness [ ] Websites, whether statistical, solemn, esoteric or comic, disseminate limitless quantities of information about even the most obscure footballers and managers. The press fool themselves if they suppose for an instant that they can be a priesthood who own a sacred knowledge (McCarra, 2010) 16 Thus the challenges on sports journalists to deliver something distinctive are increased, as they are in other areas of journalism. However it would be wrong also to view sports journalism as past its sell by date. Despite some of the hyperbole that surrounds the new age of citizen journalism, we are not all journalists yet (Tunney and Monaghan, 2010). It is often only when mainstream journalists pick up and run with stories that they gain mainstream traction in public profile, even if the origins of these stories may lie among the plethora of bloggers and online commentators that can be found around online sporting discourse. Social media has shortened the timescale in which a ‘scoop’ can retain its exclusive value to a journalist. The issue of the pace of information flow has resulted in the always-on journalist and, as we’ve noted above, raised issues for professional communicators working in the sports arena. Two examples highlight some of these issues and the intertwining of journalism, PR and sports. When Liverpool FC’s Luis Suarez refused to shake the hand of Manchester United’s Patrice Evra at the league match between the clubs in February 2012 it was the latest instalment in a very public falling out of the players that resulted in the FA finding Suarez guilty of making racist comments made at the Manchester United player. However what happened next signalled how digital media had changed the environment within which sporting events and their participants now operated. For the then Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, it was an example of how he had simply failed to adapt to a media culture that had evolved since his previous time at the club twenty years earlier. 17 As live television coverage of the non-handshake at the start of the match was broadcast, so social networking sites reported and commented on this event. Yet when Dalglish was interviewed after the match, live on television, he not only indicated that he was unaware that Suarez had refused to shake hands with Evra, but accused the media of inflaming the situation. This performance from Dalglish drew strong criticism from journalists and further damaged the reputation of the club. Both Dalglish and Liverpool later apologised for the behaviour of Suarez that day, but by then the racism story that should have ended that day had been given fresh impetus. Liverpool launched an internal enquiry, presumably asking how Dalglish could be allowed to carry out a live post match …