When you think of brand positioning for Apple Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:AAPL) a few words come to mind: creative, quality, dynamic design and secretive. In light of the last definition, most all information that has any hint of a new product, design or circuitry hits every mode of media within minutes. Apple’s PR department has one…
Gail Sideman
Author Archive | Gail Sideman
Sports Organizations Enter Political Fray & PR Battle
In the last weeks I’ve thought a lot about a hot button issue that began with a political decision, yet has touched sports organizations from the National Basketball League to Major League Baseball…or should I say that they hit on the topic by no choice of their own. As if the Arizona Immigration Law SB 1070…
Pro Athletes Help Fight Childhood Obesity
From the National Football League to the National Basketball Association, professional sports organizations and their athletes are realizing that they could have a positive influence when it comes to getting kids to move off the couch and onto playgrounds and in organized physical education. Newest to the anti-obesity team isBoston Celtics forward, Paul Pierce, and…
Tiger Woods Nike Ad, a Bad PR Move?
The Nike ad. Just say those three words this week to a sports fan and it’s pretty much understood they’re talking about the Tiger Woods ad for the shoe and apparel company that debuted on SportsCenter and GolfChannel. The social mediasphere immediately began to weigh in on its value or misplacement. By Thursday, I believe…
WWTD – What Will Tiger Do?
It’s an exciting time of year for sports. It’s officially opening day for Major League Baseball. The Final Four tips in Indianapolis with storybook character, Butler University, taking on hoops behemoth, Duke in the evening. In the midst of it all will be lots of talk about Sunday’s big National Football League trade of Donovan…
5 Proactive PR Tips for Sports Figures
It’s official. Tiger Woods announced on his website that he will begin his comeback from the personal mega-bogey that derailed his professional career for four months. Ben Roethlisberger is still fighting a sexual assault charge, his second such fumble in three years. Four University of Oregon football players have been in trouble with the law…
NCAA’s Best PR Campaign: March Madness
I’m banging my hands against my head as one of my favorite NCAA basketball teams turns the ball over …again. The Big Dance, March Madness, the NCAA Tournament … it’s begun in a big way! There’s not a neater publicity package that exists than the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. CBS Sports, the event’s…
Popular Brands Pay a Price
This week, Tiger Woods’ college girlfriend defended her Stanford sweetheart by talking to Sports Illustrated and golf.com reporter, Alan Shipnuck. As I read Irene Folstrom’s take on Tiger during their time as motivated college students with many of the same dreams that others enjoy, I was reminded of the huge public and private responsibility that athletes…
Bad Timing in the PR World
<VIA LOUDSPEAKER> International Olympic Committee, Vancouver Organizing Olympic Committee and Tiger Woods, please report to the first-floor classroom for PR 101… I really wish I could say that people who work in my industry do it right because we had the best and the brightest teachers. Somewhere along the way, however, some didn’t learn basic…
Ready, Set, Luge!
Will the Winter Olympics get more attention than people say and if not, is it a public relations issue? It’s interesting that I hear and see people asking others if they are going to watch the Winter Olympics. A recent poll revealed that just 20 percent of Americans plan to make the Games a viewing…
Super Bowl Commercials Play Role in Branding
A few days ago a reporter called and asked how I would advise a professional athlete if he wanted to endorse a hot-button topic in a forum as big as a Super Bowl audience. My answer was not textbook public relations. (I will reveal the outlet and topic upon its publication). The reasons that athletes…
Find a Job in Sports: Be Your Own PR Agent
I’ve decided to take a detour from writing about current issues and events surrounding sports public relations to provide some simple tips to young people entering the business. I recently read a query from a college-age man who is set to graduate this spring. He asked for advice from the panel about how to get…