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From Maria Hopwood, James Skinner and Paul Kitchin, Bringing public relations and
communication, Sport Public Relations and Communication, 1st ed, Butterworth-Heinemann,
2010, pp. 1-12.
ISBN: 9781856176156
Copyright 2010, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Butterworth-Heinemann is an Imprint of Elsevier
Author's personal copy
CHAPTER 1
Bringing Public Relations
and Communication
Studies to Sport
Maria Hopwood
Leeds Metropolitan University
Paul Kitchin
University of Ulster
James Skinner
Griffith University
In March 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team toured Pakistan for a series of
matches. On route to a match at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore the team and
their International Cricket Council (ICC) test match umpires were attacked
by terrorists. The two buses carrying each group were targeted and eight
playing staff of the Sri Lankan team were injured. Sadly a driver and six local
police officers were killed in the attack, as well as nine policemen were
seriously injured. Later that day match referee Chris Broad, one of the
umpires in the second vehicle, addressed the media to respond to the growing
pressure for details of the attack. Referee Broad was scathing in his criticism
of the security arrangements provided to the umpires and the visiting team.
As a key stakeholder of the ICC, Broad’s comments added to the pressure on
the event hosts (the Pakistan Cricket Board) and also on his organisation
through his action. It is remarkable that a senior employee of an organisa-
tion, who could realistically be expected to be in a state of shock, was able to
address the media without his statements being approved by the ICC public
relations and communication officers. His comments started a public verbal
confrontation with the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket, Ejaz Butt who did little
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Sport Public Relations and Communication
Copyright Ó2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Author's personal copy
to ease the situation. The situation exposed operational procedures con-
cerning the safety and security of players and officials. However, it also
exposed a serious flaw in the public relations and communication strategies
of not only the ICC, but also some of its key stakeholders – the national
cricket organisations that play in its tournaments.
Formula 1 racing has always been a cavalier sport where technology and
passion meet in the desire to win. Unfortunately, in the recent past the sport
has suffered from some cavalier management techniques. In 2007 the
McLaren team was fined $100 million for spying on the rivals, Ferrari. At
the start of the 2009 season the same team was involved in an incident
where race stewards were lied to about the use of less-than-legal tactics.
However, an incident at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix was described by
sport writer Simon Barnes as ‘the worst single piece of cheating in the history
of sport’ (Barnes, 2009,online). In brief, Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr was
part of a conspiracy with team principal Flavio Briatore and his number two
Pat Symonds to crash his car on the Singapore circuit allowing his
unknowing teammate to win the race (FIA, 2009). The crash brought out the
yellow (caution) flags and allowed the teammate to effectively get his pit-stop
strategy correct and therefore win. The public relations (PR) dilemma of this
incident does not just affect the team involved in the incident but the entire
sport, its fans, sponsors and partners and the governing authority of the sport
itself (Fe
´de
´ration Internationale de l’Automobile – FIA). The sport is
a network of organisations that creates one of the world’s most watched
sporting events. Despite the furore over the race-fixing a number of stake-
holders took action to minimise the PR dilemma of the incident. First,
Renault’s major sponsor Dutch bank ING and partner Spanish insurer
Mutua Madrilena withdrew their sponsorship immediately after FIA estab-
lished wrong-doing to disassociate themselves from the team. However, this
may have been premature as the corporation Renault ensured that the F1
team Renault responded immediately to the investigation by sacking Briatore
and Symonds and ensuring that all staff cooperated with the government
body’s enquiry (Piquet had been released by the organisation in July). Also the
governing body FIA released its findings to the press to ensurethe justifica-
tion for its decision, ultimately to keep the team in the competition on
a suspended sentence, which would allay fears of a whitewash or cover up and
maintain the sport’s integrity. This decision was in no small part due to the
management of relationships within the sport that can be enhanced by sound
public relations and communication principles. Both the sport and the
Renault team are tarred by this event, however, steps have been taken to
repair these reputations.
CHAPTER 1:Bringing Public Relations and Communication Studies to Sport
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It is clear from the above examples that there is a need for further
development of public relations and communication strategies, knowledge
and understanding of the management of sport. As seen in the above situa-
tions, even successful international sporting organisations have a need for
well-honed practices. The coordinated implementation of sport public rela-
tions through sport communication methods can minimise the negative
impacts on the organisation’s publics occurring.
There is no doubt that sport has transformed over the last 30 years. At the
elite end of the sport continuum it has become a complex commercial enter-
prise, while at the ‘participation’ end it has become quite sophisticated in
marketing its activities to local communities. As a consequence, sport
marketing is now a recognised and rapidly developing sector with universities
offering sport marketing degrees. However, the one area where sport marketing
is underdeveloped is in public relations and communication strategies. For the
most part, sport management students have been forced to go to the generic
management literature to further their understanding. In many respects this
has not been a bad thing, but it often means that some of the ‘nuances’ and
special features of sport arenot given sufficient focus. This book customises its
discussion of public relations and communications so that it is directly rele-
vant to the sport management student. It provides a concise guide as to how
public relations and communication strategies and principles can be applied to
sport management and marketing issues and problems. In short, it demon-
strates how the principles of public relations and communications can be
successfully applied in practice within a sport context (Stewart, 2002).
The book is structured to address the wide and varied activities in sport
organisations that public relations and communications can develop in order
to achieve wider business objectives. Underpinning all of these themes is an
acknowledgement that sport organisations rely on a network of partners and
publics that constitutes stakeholders. Each chapter is structured around
a common approach consisting of learning outcomes, a presentation of the
chapter’s key terms, an overview of the chapter and the main body. The main
body consists of a discussion of the theory of public relations and commu-
nications within non-sport business and sport business situations. Each
chapter contains a case or a number of cases to highlight how various orga-
nisations and their stakeholders are utilising the Sport Public Relations and
Communications (SPRC) function to achieve their objectives. Following the
main body is a series of discussion questions that can allow the reader to
extend their understanding and critically reflect on the chapter’s main points.
The reader is also directed towards suggested readings and supporting web-
sites that assist in developing further the chapter content.
Bringing Public Relations and Communication Studies to Sport 3
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PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATION IN SPORT
This chapter serves to provide the theoretical basis for this publication.
Maria Hopwood provides an overview of PR theory and practice that is
encapsulated initially as organisations doing the right things at the right
time. By establishing the basis of PR activity as a crucial management
activity Hopwood provides a crucial distinction as to how the public
perceptions of PR have been tainted by its past associations with propaganda
and its current connotation with spin. Following a series of definitions on
PR that covers the academic and practitioner environments, the author
presents a critique of how well-managed PR can be used to convert negative
situations into positive ones. The second part of the chapter examines the
background to the two key areas of the textbook. Sport Public Relations and
Sport Communications is all about relationships, which is a theme that
runs throughout the book. However, Hopwood here defines it as a separate
form of sport communication as the former is the activities by which rela-
tionships are managed and the latter is the modes of media that are chosen.
This distinction is highlighted through a case study on the England and
Wales Cricket Board’s development of Twenty20 cricket in 2003 and its
subsequent success.
SPORT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
David Shilbury and Katherine Rowe address the importance of managing the
relationship with the sport organisation’s stakeholders and publics. Their
chapter begins with an overview of why a strategic approach to relationship
management is essential. They stress that difficulties arise when organisa-
tions view their publics as static and assume that they will respond
predictably to certain events and situations. Sport organisations should
manage their publics through a strategic approach to relationship manage-
ment that can minimise these eventualities. The chapter then focuses on
Ledingham’s (2003) work on organisation–public relationships and the
importance of management consideration of strategic publics. The work
required by organisations to develop relationships with these strategic
publics may be time- and resource-consuming; however, these efforts can
offer the sport organisations benefits over the long term. The case study
highlights such a situation where the Canterbury Bulldogs RLF Club used
SPRC to sustain its relationship with its key strategic publics; its fans. The
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case addresses how this was done through a five-step process that saw the
club increase its attendances in light of its situation. The chapter concludes
with an overview of the importance of relationship management in the
context of sport outlining some of the key authors in the area and providing
a platform for further study and investigation.
SPORT MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS
Chapter 4 serves to introduce the concept of sport marketing public
relations (SMPR) and its place within the management and marketing of
sporting organisations. Hopwood serves up the SMPR Rugby Ball model
which represents the environment and context for the collection of
marketing communication-related activities and presents where SMPR is
positioned within the organisation. This is highlighted in the case of
Durham County Cricket Club which forms one of two chapter cases.
Following this is the application of Harris’ (1993) key areas where tradi-
tional marketing public relations (MPR) (sans Sport) is applied to the sport
industry. Hopwood then concludes with an examination of one of the key
issues within this text. That of how does sport public relations and
communications differ from the practices of sport marketing.
SPORT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Despite the increasing commercialisation and professionalisation of sporting
practices organisations need to consider their impact on their wider inter-
national, national and local communities. James Skinner discusses the
importance of adhering to principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
for organisations in wishing to examine their community impact. The author
extends Carroll’s (1979) model of CSR to the sporting industry to provide an
overview of sport social responsibility and the resultant SPRC benefits that
arise from such an approach. Through a discussion of economic, legal,
ethical and discretionary responsibilities, Skinner addresses how sporting
organisations across the globe are positioning their work for CSR goals. This
is highlighted in two cases, the first on the National Football League (NFL)
and their use of the Super Bowl to produce public relations benefits for the
game as a whole and the second case demonstrates how English football has
repositioned itself through its national governing association, the Football
Association (FA), to engage with CSR activities.
Sport Social Responsibility 5
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COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT
Throughout the local, national and international there are many examples of
how sport organisations do good work in local and international communi-
ties. Paul Kitchin and Rob Lewis address the importance of using SPRC to
highlight these community relations and engagement situations. The
development of community programmes of sport organisations or the sport-
related community programmes of non-sport organisations has led to
increasing media clutter for good news stories. Many organisations are yet to
use this work to reach its potential benefits through the strategic application
of SPRC in order to break this clutter. The first case focuses on the challenges
that exist for a small not-for-profit sport organisation implementing SPRC on
minimal resources. The case highlights how an organisation of this size
works with partners and agencies to provide sport activities that compliment
the work of partners and hence provide SPRC opportunities throughout these
partnerships. Capitalising on community involvement organisations can look
to develop cause-related marketing (cause-RM) initiatives that use sport and
physical activities to achieve a number of organisational goals. Many of these
initiatives have been developed due to the rise of socially conscious
consumers (Webster, 1975), more recently known as the ethical consumers.
The second case study in this chapter focuses on two such programmes. Both
programmes aimed to get young people active to increase long-term partic-
ipation, however, the specifications of the programme highlighted how the
SPRC benefits can vary. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the
management implications for cause-RM and other community programme
partnerships.
SPORT VOLUNTEERISM
B. Christine Green and Lawrence Chalip examine how the SPRC function
can be used to assist in the recruitment and retention of volunteers and how
these volunteers can be used to achieve a range of benefits for the sport
organisation. The authors’ focus on how volunteer involvement can be
beneficial not only for making volunteers feel more valued but also for
heightening organisational profile and reputation. Additionally, by providing
the local community with speakers to present a range of issues important to
the sport organisation links can be developed with the local stakeholders.
The first case focuses on how Special Olympics International uses it
volunteers to fulfil key SPRC roles and increases awareness and
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understanding of the movement in the community. The second case focuses
on the Purple Armband Games (also used in Chapter 11), which was
established by supporter groups to highlight the plight of those caught up in
violent and abusive situations. This volunteer programme was used by sport
organisation to further develop links with stakeholders and create a proactive
stance on these serious issues. The chapter concludes with a discussion on
the benefits of using volunteers within the SPRC function itself. Although
challenging, this can assist the organisation in achieving its objectives
without requiring significant financial resources.
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS AND SPORT
PUBLIC RELATIONS
The importance of the SPRC function is instrumental when the sport orga-
nisation suffers a crisis situation. Allan Edwards and Wayne Usher focus on
the need for crisis management practices. This is developed through
considering the naturalist and positivist perspectives of crisis management.
This chapter develops into a discussion of crisis communication strategies in
light of the case of the Brisbane Broncos RLFC. Edwards and Usher then draw
attention to approaches used by sporting organisations in a number of
contexts and focus on the Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt (1996) model of crisis
communications. Finally the chapter focuses on the professional sport lea-
gues in the USA and the inability of two of their leagues to implement more
proactive public relations in light of the incidents. Recommendations for
practice are presented.
THE PUBLIC RELATIONS ROLE OF FANS
AND SUPPORTERS’ GROUPS
In this chapter we will be looking specifically at the role that fans and
supporters play in sport public relations and communications. Referring to
specific supporter groups such as the Barmy Army, Maria Hopwood high-
lights their intense public relations value to sport organisations and contends
that those organisations need to use their fans and supporters’ groups stra-
tegically for public relations purposes. Fans and supporters are the highly
visible representation of sport public relations and communications as they
are the living and breathing representation – the heart and soul – of sport.
Fans and supporters are the lifeblood of any sport organisation. Without their
The Public Relations Role of Fans and Supporters’ Groups 7
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support, the sport organisation would arguably cease to exist and function.
For the astute sport organisation, fans and supporters are a key public rela-
tions tool. They only say good things about the sport organisation and they
support it through thick and thin. Even more importantly, they are likely to
pass on their passion for the sport organisation to their children and others.
For this reason and others, fans and supporters’ groups are extremely
important brand ambassadors for any sport organisation and, consequen-
tially, are an extremely powerful sport public relations and communication
resource. Hopwood has included a case study based on the time she and her
family spent with the Barmy Army at the 2004 test match series between
England and the West Indies at Antigua when Brian Lara made his historic
400 not out.
CROSS-CULTURAL SPORT PUBLIC RELATIONS
AND COMMUNICATION
Developing communication strategies that are designed to cross borders and
cultures is a challenge for those involved in managing the SPRC function.
Jacquie L’Etang discusses these challenges facing public relations in complex
and increasingly international contexts. L’Etang takes a critical perspective to
discuss the role and function of public relations in these environments. The
importance of cultural analysis is considered in light of its implications for
communication. This is applied through a brief analysis of mayoral justifi-
cations of four cities bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games. In this regard the
reader is encouraged to compare and contrast bidding communications
rhetoric. L’Etang then carries out a detailed discussion of factors that add
complexity to the SPRC function with regard to cultures, borders and the
forces of globalisation before presenting a critical review of its potential
impact on sport business.
NEW COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA FOR SPORT
The rapid rise of telecommunication systems such as satellite television to
the development of social networking sites has progressed beyond all early
predictions. In this chapter Lewis and Kitchin address the evolution and role
of new media and communications in developing SPRC strategies. The
authors begin by presenting an overview of the PR uses of the Internet from
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1996 to 2005. At this time sporting organisations were deemed to be reac-
tionary towards SPRC opportunities but additionally faced with increased
challenges presented by heightened stakeholder interest in these organisa-
tions. The first case addresses the Purple Armband Games (also discussed in
Chapter 6) and how the movement was supported by a website that coor-
dinated the group’s advocacy work. The chapter then considers the paradigm
shift of Web 2.0 and its implications for SPRC. A number of Web 2.0 tools are
developed in light of their potential benefit to SPRC. The second case
examines MyColts.net, a social networking site developed for the Indian-
apolis Colts NFL team. This chapter discusses social media and why it is
important to sporting organisations looking to break through the commu-
nications clutter. The authors present a series of guidelines for developing
a social media strategy for sporting organisations.
PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR PLAYERS
In Chapter 12, Skinner draws predominately on the work of Summers and
Morgan (2008) to explore the role of public relations in professional sport. In
doing this, particular emphasis on how public relations and communication
strategies can be used when dealing with potentially damaging situations for
players, the sport organisation and the sport itself are discussed. A failure by
sport public relations professionals to deal with a player’s crisis can lead to
unsavoury or bad press about players and has the potential to call into
question a player’s reputation and lead to poor public perception of the sport
organisation and/or sport. This negative press has the potential to impact on
future participation problems and a reduction in a range of revenue streams
including sponsorships and player endorsements (Bruce and Tini, 2008).
This chapter suggests that given the ‘market value’ of a player’s image and
the reputation of the sport hinges on public perception, which is the domain
of the sport public relations professional, it is vital for this professional to
nurture and defend a player’s image and a sport’s reputation. It is argued that
at its best public relations should be proactive in its efforts to create a positive
player image and reputation; however, it is often forced to react to negative
situations by using strategies to repair a tarnished player image or reputation
in order to defuse a public perception crisis. The chapter concludes by
highlighting that it is essential that sport public relations professionals need
to focus on protecting and enhancing a positive player image and reputation
through building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with key
publics, in particular their fans (Hopwood, 2007).
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INTERNATIONAL SPORT PUBLIC RELATIONS
In the final chapter, Skinner is joined by Kristine Toohey in examining the
rise of international sport public relations. The authors first examine the
rise in international public relations as a consequence of increasing inter-
national trade, communications and politics. Focusing on international
SPRC the chapter examines previous use of the Olympic Games to provide
non-sporting agendas to be broadcast across the globe. The first case
examines the Olympic Torch Relay and the public relations difficulties the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Beijing 2008 organisers
faced as it travelled from Greece to the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing.
Skinner and Toohey go on to focus on the role that International Non-
Governmental Organisation (INGO – of which the IOC is one) can play in
the development of society through sport. The public relations issues that
these INGOs face in this work are discussed. Once again focusing on the
IOC, and in this case on the Salt Lake City Bribery scandal, the authors
highlight how the appointment of a well-known PR consultancy assisted in
resolving stakeholder management issues.
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES
For coverage of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team readers can be
directed to the BBC and Cricinfo websites at <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/
south_asia/7920677.stm>and <http://www.cricinfo.com/infocus/content/story/
infocus.html?subject¼38>, respectively.
For coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix race-fixing scandal see the following: <http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Formula_One_crash_controversy>.
For journals relating to Sport Public Relations and Communication see:
International Journal of Sport Communicat ion – <http://hk.humankinetics.com/
ijsc/journalAbout.cfm>.
Journal of Sport Media – <http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_sport_
media/>.
Additionally a special edition from Public Relations Review – <https://enduser.
elsevier.com/campaigntypes/specissue/index.cfm?campaign¼public_relations_
sport>.
International Journal of Sport Marketing and Sponsorship – <http://www.
im-reports.com/SM/IJSM/?type¼current>.
For a general blog site on the area of Sport PR – <http://sportprblog.com/
blog/>.
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REFERENCES
Barnes, S., 2009. The worst act of cheating in the history of sport. Times Online.
Retrieved on 17 September 2009 from: <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/
sport/formula_1/article6837713.ece>.
Bruce, T., Tini, T., 2008. Unique crisis response strategies in sport public rela-
tions: Rugby League and the case for diversion. Public Relations Review 34,
108–115.
Carroll, A.B., 1979. A three dimensional model of corporate performance.
Academy of Management Review 4 (4), 497–505.
Fe
´de
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Gonzalez-Herrero, A., Pratt, C.B., 1996. An integrated model for crisis commu-
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Harris, T.L., 1993. How MPR adds value to integrated marketing communica-
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Hopwood, M.K., 2007. The sport integrated communications mix: sport public
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Hall, Harlow, England, pp. 292–317.
Ledingham, J.A., 2003. Explicating relationship management as a general theory
of public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research 15 (2), 188–198.
Stewart, B., 2002. Foreword. In: Edwards, A., Gilbert, K., Skinner, J. Extending the
Boundaries: Theoretical Frameworks for Research in Sport Management.
Melbourne, Victoria, Common Ground Publications, p. XI.
Summers, J., Morgan, M.J., 2008. More than just the media: considering the role
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Webster Jr., F.E., 1975. Characteristics of the socially conscious consumer. Journal
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