The Insider Q2 2010

1. You’ve fully embraced social media, utilizing platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You’ve also built up quite an audience for your blog and your newsletter, which reaches 13,000+ people. When did you first start using social media, and how were you able to garner such a large following?

I think I have somehow always been involved in what is now social media. I remember my grandfather in Brooklyn gathering all these people at the Knights of Columbus or for a meeting at the Brooklyn Democratic Club, or my family getting together for big parties, and I think that’s where it started. It certainly wasn’t a real “plan” and to be honest, it still isn’t. I look at many of my lists and I can safely say there isn’t anyone on any of them who I haven’t at least looked at their resume or their connections as to why they are there. I hate spamming and I don’t really ask anyone to join what we are doing. They come and find us, and it seems like people get some value out of what we are doing. I also know that I’m never the smartest person in the room and I love learning, so what we have done…even with my book…is put together best practices of others. There are too many people out there who are claiming to be experts. I just wanna help.

2. Unlike securing placements, it can be difficult to measure the exact value that social media can have for a client. What value do you see in social media and how do you personally measure it?

I measure it when I get a check (laughs). Seriously, I think social media is still just a part of the picture, and anyone who tells people differently is being disingenuous to their clients. You need a good story and to find every possible way to tell it. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t. If they don’t then you have to find other ways and mediums to tell the story.

3. You served as the Director of Publicity and Media Relations for the USTA from 1999 – 2001. What are some of the differences and new challenges that senior level communications professionals of large sports leagues/entities have to face now, that weren’t there when you served, and vice versa?

I think there are always different challenges no matter what the era. The biggest challenges remain in keeping up-to-date with what is going on not just in sports, but in media and business overall, and how do those changes, innovations and ideas apply to you. More importantly, how can you embrace the new things going on and figure out how to best exploit those opportunities as they arise. It is much better to find ways to be progressive and proactive than to be reactive.

4. You have 22 years of communications and marketing experience. Can you give us a particular case study in branding, public relations or marketing you’ve worked on in your career that you’re proud of?

There have been many fun things over the years. I haven’t worked for great teams but have for great team brands…we got to close the Spectrum in Philly and retire Mo Cheeks Number 10…Patrick Ewing Night was voted one of the Top-10 Moments in the history of Madison Square Garden…opening Arthur Ashe Stadium…helping raise the profile of women’s tennis from a branding and PR perspective with all their new stars…starting a new brand in Mixed Martial Arts and learning how to run a public company…getting to work on Olympic Baseball with people like Dr. Harvey Schiller…seeing Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day not just help launch great tennis names but great musical acts like Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears….now working on the upcoming play "Lombardi" with Tony Ponturo, or on Bloomberg’s new analytic product…so many fun, fun things. It has never been work.

However, I think the most fun is seeing so many people from along the way who I have worked with go on to be so successful in business, media and journalism…from classmates at Fordham to writers, broadcasters and PR people. That’s what has really been the fun part. The camaraderie of working with good people and watching us all grow…and maybe get old (laughs).

5. Where do you see the future of sports marketing and brand building going?

I think the biggest thing is that as an industry we have to continue to evolve and become more global, as opposed to sitting back and becoming the ugly Americans. I am very intrigued by new brands which are trying to assimilate into the vast opportunities that exist in sports and entertainment and think those will continue to grow. The biggest challenge is to figure out which are the opportunities that can make money and which are the ones that sound sexy but never amount to anything.

You can read Joe Favorito on his website, JoeFavorito.com. He is also a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post. His book, "Sports Publicity: A Practical Approach (Sport Management in Practice)" is available on Amazon.

This quarter, we'll be speaking with Alison Rhodes, Founder of SafetyMom.com, a very popular Mommy Blog. Please click on the play button below to listen.

Trying to control the media in the middle of a crisis is like trying to control the aerosol after it has left the spray can. You can’t do it. In crisis communication you can control what you say and how you say it. You can control the consistency of your response and the consistency of your organization's response. You can control who will talk to the media and when they will talk and how often they will talk. As a matter of fact, you should control those things. But do not try to control the media because you can’t.

Tiger Woods tried to control the media during his apology “press conference.” I put that in quotations because unless you hold the title of dictator you have to actually invite the press to have a press conference. Woods' belief that he can control everything—including the media—will come back to haunt him. Tiger and his handlers infuriated countless media members and outlets who will not forget his arrogance and attempts at control.

Fear of the media and a lack of understanding of the media usually lead individuals and organizations to try to control the media in a crisis situation. Avoid that mistake. Focus your energy instead on controlling yourself and your organization. It will serve you far better in the long run and, ironically, may help you build a better relationship with the media.

Gerry Sandusky is a communications consultant, TV & Radio sportscaster, and the Voice of the Baltimore Ravens. His company, The Sandusky Group, is on the web at www.SanduskyGroup.com.

Maroon PR President John Maroon joined Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. on Feb. 16 to assist in Ripken’s media tour promoting Topps Million Card Giveaway. Maroon worked with Ripken throughout the day to help The Topps Company and New York-based PR firm DKC generate exposure for the special Topps promotion.

Ripken has partnered with Topps, the leading producer of sports cards and the official baseball card company of Major League Baseball, for the unique promotion. Topps' slogan is, “We’re giving you back the cards your mom threw out.” The company has scoured the vaults and is making available more than one million original Topps cards, including every Topps baseball card produced since 1952, such as rare rookie cards of Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle and Ripken.

The interviews began with an early in-studio segment on FOX & Friends (video below) and continued throughout the entire day on numerous outlets/programs, including FOX 5’s Good Day New York; WFAN Radio; ESPN’s First Take; The Dan Patrick Show; Fox News Channel with Shepard Smith; Fox Business Channel; MLB Network; SNY’s Daily News Live, and more.

Maroon also worked with Ripken on March 9 to promote the Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame. The Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame was created so there would be a place where the extraordinary stories of everyday people can live. People can nominate extraodinary people with great stories every month.

As part of the Energizer promotion, Cal appeared on ESPN's Mike & Mike in the Morning, NBC's The Today Show, Fox Business Network's America's Nightly Scoreboard, among others.

“It is always a pleasure working with Cal, he is a PR person’s dream,” said Maroon. “Cal values the power of PR and we have had many discussions about public relations and branding. In addition, the Topps and Energizer promotions were very natural tie-ins for Cal.

“It was a wonderful experience and hopefully Topps and Energizer will continue to work with Ripken Baseball on other projects.”

Maroon PR will feature a regular column by someone from our team, in an effort for our readers to get to know us and hear our opinions. This quarter, we’ll hear from Vice President of Business Mitchell Schmale about working with nonprofits.

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As Maroon PR continues to grow in the wide range of clients that we serve, including organizations in the world of sports, entertainment and leading businesses in various industries, we also take great pride in the nonprofit clients that we support on a daily basis.

Maroon PR currently works with nearly 10 nonprofit organizations in helping to support their various missions and promote their good works. We understand the challenges that nonprofits face on a regular basis, including funding issues, limited resources and staff size, as well as the need to do more with less. Therefore, Maroon PR caters our services to each of our nonprofit partners depending on their specific needs including media relations, branding, executive positioning, social media, program development and perhaps most importantly to some nonprofits, relationship building.

Relationship building continues to be a vital need for all of our nonprofit clients no matter their size or mission. We have successfully matched all of our nonprofits with a new partner at some level, either as a new community partner to support local programming, a high-profile venue to hold events, a potential corporate sponsor or organizational partner to deliver additional media opportunities in the press.

With the support and direction of Maroon PR, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) has successfully teamed with the Washington Nationals and Washington Capitals for reading events in schools in the nation’s capital. As a result, the media attention and outreach helped showcase RIF’s important mission of supporting literacy to a wider audience in numerous media outlets across the region.

Maroon PR also looks forward to assisting the American Cancer Society to partner with new organizations and grow the impact of its various community events across the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area in the coming months. It’s yet another new relationship we are excited to build.

Mitchell Schmale is the Vice President of Business at Maroon PR. He can be reached at Mitchell@MaroonPR.com.

In 2010 Maroon PR has been posting and updating its "Maroon Blog" consistently, in an effort to give our opinions about public relations, communication, marketing, sports, business and more. Starting this quarter, we will spotlight our top blog post from the previous three months. This quarter we've chosen "Gilbert Arenas Op-Ed a Step in Right Direction," written by Maroon PR Account Executive Matt Saler on Feb. 2.

Please visit our blog at its new home, maroonpr.blogspot.com.

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I was pleasantly surprised when I read the op-ed section in this morning’s Washington Post and came across a piece from Gilbert Arenas, who recently plead guilty to a felony count of carrying a pistol without a license. The professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards was suspended by the NBA for his actions.

I say pleasantly surprised because all of his prior activity has been questionable at best. He's exhibited disrespectful behavior to the very serious gun safety issue in society today, particularly in his hometown of Washington D.C.

However, in this op-ed, Gilbert acknowledges how serious of an issue this is in today’s society and he apologizes for his recent poor decisions, expressing regret and humility. He goes on to title his op-ed “Learning to be a better role model." The op-ed was very sincere and showed an important first step in a long rebuilding process with fans, the Pollin family, the Washington Wizards and the NBA. He writes:

That message of nonviolence will be front and center as I try to rebuild my relationship with young people in the D.C. area. I know that won't happen overnight, and that it will happen only if I show through my actions that I am truly sorry and have learned from my mistakes. If I do that, then hopefully youngsters will learn from the serious mistakes I made with guns and not make any of their own. I am trying hard to right my wrongs… But if I help steer even just one young person away from violence and trouble, then I'll once again feel that I'm living up to Abe Pollin's legacy and to the responsibility I owe the kids of the District.

It took Arenas longer than it should have for him to come out with a message like this, but at least he's doing it now.

From a PR perspective, choosing to share his message through an op-ed piece with a local, respected newspaper is a safe play… one that I think was effective in this situation. However, the game has just begun for Arenas.

It’s now time to continue showing respect for such an important issue in society and take advantage of this unfortunate opportunity he’s put himself in. He now must use this situation to not only stress the importance of gun safety to children, but to also become the role model he says he wants to be.

Note: On March 26, 2010, Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony count of carrying a pistol without a license and was sentenced to two years probation and 30 days in a halfway house.

Matt Saler is an Account Executive. You can contact him at matt@maroonpr.com.

After nearly two decades in communications and branding for a number of sports organizations and professional teams, public relations specialist John Maroon launched Maroon PR in April 2006.

Maroon PR has experienced growth each year since it opened its doors. Originally an agency focused on sports and entertainment clients, the firm experienced tremendous success, leading to the creation of two distinct divisions in May of 2009 - Sports & Entertainment and Corporate public relations. Under this new structure, Executive Vice President Tim Richardson oversees the Sports & Entertainment division, while Vice President Mitchell Schmale manages the firm’s increasing corporate clientele. Each division is guided by President John Maroon. Click here to view Maroon PR's Corporate Brochure.

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