Charlotte-based PR firm Sports Media Challenge (@SportsMediaChal) Founder & President Kathleen Hessert (@KathleenHessert) has worked with an eclectic clientele over the years, including Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter. She has even helped Christian Laettner in an effort to shed his “villain” reputation. Branching out from sports, Sports Media Challenge has worked with the likes of the Pope and P. Diddy. “Based on what we were doing in sports, we created the social media around the Pope’s visit to the United States, all geared toward millennials."
Having a unique social media voice: It’s not the easiest thing to do at all. One of the things we spend a great deal of time on with clients is helping them figure out their voice.
Looking outside the box: That’s something that I bring to all of our clients. When I was in broadcasting, it was connecting the dots; you take a little piece of information from different places and that’s how a story develops. When I worked with P. Diddy, I would bring in sports. When I worked with sports, I would bring in music. When I worked with the Pope, I brought in sports -- that kind of thing. It leads you in other directions that you otherwise wouldn’t go.
What is important to convey via social media: You can have fun, but it’s not all fun. It’s very important that there is a clear sense of brand and that the brand is clearly and consistently aligned with the brand’s goals. So many entities get into social because they understand they have to be there. But they don’t know why, they don’t know how. There’s no strategy, no alignment to the business goal and a bunch of wasted time.
Social media advice: They have to not just do it, but they have to do social listening in a deep and comprehensive way. Just putting it out there and not knowing where it’s going and what people are saying about it is not a good business decision. If you are listening and looking for real-time actionable information, social media is an incredible business intelligence.
How social media has changed sports business: In dramatic ways. It can redefine brands; it can make them more current; it allows them to be more whimsical no matter if their brand has been known to be whimsical; it humanizes a brand in sports business when it’s done right. It extends relevancy when it’s done right. There’s a lot of bad social out there. It’s important to look for ways to be innovativeand break out of the pack. You have to break the mold and be brave.
If you know anyone who should be featured for their use of social media, send their name to us at
jperez@sportsbusinessdaily.com
