Packers & Favre - Local PR Pros Weigh In

Public relations practitioners and communication professionals know that one can learn a lot from others, especially when dealing with a controversial situation.

 

Throughout the month of July, members of PRSA-Northeast Wisconsin have been monitoring the dilemma faced by the Green Bay Packers in whether to bring back Brett Favre as both fans and colleagues. With almost daily national coverage, a multi-million dollar industry and passionate bystanders with varying opinions, the Packers PR team has a lot on their hands.

 

It’s an interesting time to be a PR professional in Northeast Wisconsin as the Packers and Brett Favre try to figure out where to go next – and how to communicate that to stakeholders. With all that’s been said, it begs the question:

 

As a PR professional, what are your thoughts on the current PR situation with the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre?

 

As of July 30, here’s what some local PR Pros and PRSA members had to say:

 

"I've observed the Packers organization from the sidelines as a fan and practitioner for many years and know that it's neither comfortable nor natural for the organization to show its softer side. In my humble opinion, the Packers are handling things well, although I wish Ted Thompsen would continue to be as warm and thoughtful in his comments as he originally was. Messages like "We care deeply about the legacy of Brett Favre" and "...we needed to move on with the impossible task of replacing Brett Favre" resonate extremely well, as does sharing the organization's side of the story when it comes to Brett's on-again, off-again desire to return to the team. This is certainly a touchy, sensitive issue. I commend the Packers PR team for their continued hard work to adapt their communications strategy and messaging as the situation takes new twists and turns.”

Janet Bonkowski, APR

Public Relations Manager

Schneider National, Inc.

 

"In public relations, we strive for win/win situations. This is the worst: lose/lose. After such a fairy-tale ending to an amazing career, this reversal is especially heart-breaking. In my opinion, the only option the Packers have is to be open and transparent, and share as much information as possible -- and be rational. During a recent news conference, Ted Thompson said it wasn't Brett's fault that he retired, and it wasn't Brett's fault that he wants to come back. That's nonsense. Of course it is. The team could also study previous similar situations, and see what worked, such as Joe Montana and the 49ers. And start repairing the damage, which seems to be unavoidable."

Julie Henderson, Ph.D., APR

Professor of Public Relations

University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

 

"Some are calling the situation a ‘PR Nightmare’ and I suppose, in a way, it is. Certainly, managing the message amongst fans at this point is a tall order. But calling it a ‘PR’ anything I think underscores how confused people are about the role of Public Relations. The situation has gone well beyond what practicing PR professionals have the capacity to manage. PR is about planning, and careful execution, but some circumstances can become untenable no matter what. At this stage in the Favre/Packers saga, everything comes down to policy and position, and those are strategic management decisions – the next plot points in this epic. Public perception will follow how the drama plays out. That said, it would certainly behoove decision makers to place several seats for PR professionals at their table when they write out the script."

Adam Hardy

Communications Manager

Brown County United Way

 

"The current media frenzy with Brett Favre has been interesting to witness, especially in terms of the many leaks and apparent ill-timed announcements. Oftentimes in PR the biggest challenge is information control which has clearly been an issue with the initial story break and subsequent developments. To make matters worse for both camps, the stories themselves fuel further speculation with the many online forums creating new threads of rumors and misinformation."

Molly Vandervest

Marketing and Event Manager

Downtown Green Bay, Inc. & Olde Main Street, Inc.

 

"Both Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers opted to handle communications via text messaging, conference calls and express mail. Certain information was conveyed through media outlets. Life was made difficult for the Packers PR staff, in the sense that the organization did not immediately initiate in-person meetings back in June - to demonstrate good will, acknowledge this player’s contributions, reach a mutual agreement and prevent the rift between the two that is occurring. It was not until recently that Mark Murphy flew to Mississippi for a face-to-face meeting with Favre."

Tom Irizarry

Operations Supervisor

Associated Bank

Wine, Anyone?

Whether you are a wine connoisseur or a novice, you will learn more about wine in an interactive, educational presentation that starts off this evening PRSA networking social on August 19 at Red & White in Appleton. During this social event, you’ll have a chance to meet new people and network with those you know. The Northeast Wisconsin Chapter of PRSA is picking up part of the tab for this fun event, so don’t miss your chance to sip delicious wines and nibble on a variety of tasty hors d’ oeuvres catered by High Cliff.

The social is open to members, prospective members and PRSSA students from 5-8 p.m. Cost is $20 and is payable at the door.

National Nonverbal Expert Coming to Green Bay

Gain the “seven-second advantage” and make a lasting positive impression.
Project confidence and credibility.
Decode the silent signals of agreement, anger, discomfort, resistance, high/low confidence, deception and boredom.
Use body language to build or break rapport.
Optimize the power of touch.
Project your natural charisma.
Interpret the five “Cs” of reading body language (congruence, context, culture, clusters, consistency).
Translate nonverbal communication across cultures.

Ask not what PRSA can do for you, but what you can do for PRSA

Election season is upon us, and your local PRSA chapter is committed to leaving no practitioner behind. We're in search of the best and brightest to join our leadership ranks, with nominations now being accepted for several positions for 2009. This is a great opportunity for you to expand your leadership and management skills, learn about running a small professional association, serve your profession...all while learning how to spell "strategery".

Vacancies for 2009 are:
- President-elect
- Secretary
- Director-at-Large (three year term)
- Assembly Delegate

Descriptions for these roles can be found online at: http://www.prsanewis.org/involved.php

Help A Reporter Out – HARO is calling you!

By: Roz Barker

A new free service to match reporters with sources is creating a buzz around the PR e-world these days. Help A Reporter Out, or HARO for short, is the brainchild of Peter Shankman, author, blogger and owner of The Geek Factory, a boutique PR firm in NYC.

What started out as a Facebook group, has grown to over 15,000 members in a freakishly, “this could only happen on the web”, short time frame.

His rules are simple: it’s a free service (he’s a big believer in Karma), reporters contact him directly, he never sells or distributes e-mail addresses, and if you pitch off-topic you are publicly ridiculed and pulled from the list. Really. I’ve seen it.

Reporters’ queries come to your inbox three times a day. A summary of queries is listed at the top, so if nothing interests you, just delete without further reading. I’ve seen some pretty interesting requests from reporters, authors, and bloggers and he’s got some top national media on the list and it continues to grow.

Now if he could just change the name to get rid of that preposition at the end…

Krista Knabenbauer, Marketing Specialist for Town & Country Electric.

Lisa Sanders, Marketing Communication Specialist for Michels Corporation.

Anne Towers, Marketing Communications Assistant for Jewelers Mutual.

Scott Stein and Cole Buergi have been promoted to senior account executive positions at Leonard & Finco Public Relations. Stein has been with the company for more than eight years and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Buergi has also been with Leonard & Finco for more than eight years. He is a graduate of the Unversity of Wisconsin-Green Bay. 

Cassie Herrmann has joined Integrys Energy Group as Internal Communications Specialist. Cassie is a 2007 graduate of St. Norbert College and has served in a number of public relations and communication roles since 2004.

Jennifer Strebel has joined Aurora Health Care as Media Relations Coordinator for the North Region. Jennifer has worked in the public relations and marketing communications industry for four years and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in journalism and sociology.