Eight Reasons Haymon Boxing Is Doing Everything Right...a listicle, in random order, from a publicis
1) Get Out Of The Shot! Wait...
What's missing from this photo? Promoters, managers, trainers and hangers-on, that's who. THIS is what a lede pic should look like. Just talent...and a few legends. Also, every one of them in suits. I am so tired of boxers showing up to pressers looking like slobs. This is your profession. Dress like a gentleman. Show some respect for this great opportunity to your fans and sponsors. (PBC photo, link)
2) Hans Zimmer. That is all.
When professional athletes or any of the endless amateurs from the Chicago Golden Gloves trust me with their inspirational, compelling life stories of survival, Zimmer's music plays in my head. Ok- maybe it sounds more like bad, 90's pop because I have no taste in music, but Zimmer's music is how I feel when an athlete who hasn't ever shared their very personal story with anyone outside of his immediate family trusts me with it. It's my privilege to help them inspire others through their example. Often times, sharing and inspiring is good therapy for the client. Bonus.
3) Do you believe in miracles? Yes! (See what I did there? If not... shakes her head).
PBC's team of broadcast talent is beyond. It's Wide World of Sports and Jim McKay. These talented, some legendary, broadcasters with Hans equals epic. Of course, we need great fights, but that's not my department. Too expensive for every other promoter? You bet.
4) No credential for you! (Soup Nazi voice) Finally, someone has denied media credentials to the endless websites and bloggers who believe that they are journalists because they have internet access. (My previous blog is a detailed rant about this.) If you provide absolutely no coverage of an event before, during or after said event, do you know how my ticket sales and viewership will change? Not by one ticket. Not by one viewer. You don't drive traffic.
5) Press conferences...where should I begin? I haven't seen a fight-week presser from PBC yet, but I bet it won't be two hours of blow-hards listening to themselves talk before an audience of half a dozen bloggers (see #4). Again, no one really wants to hear from the state commissioner, the sanctioning body, every trainer, every manager and every guy who got into boxing for the purpose of standing at the podium and getting in the ring immediately after the fight. Members of the media are busy! This is their job and they have deadlines. If they want to talk to someone specifically, they can do a one-on-one after.
I bet PBC checks the sked. Why oh why do promoters plan pressers when they know no real media will attend? (Is it because they love to hear themselves speak at the podium? Yes!) Why do they schedule them against the daily Bears or Bulls presser? Why do they schedule them for their own convenience instead of the convenience of TV cameras? This is not brain surgery. It's also not breaking news. (Breaking news is my nemesis.)
6) Content. PBC generates their own content. They produce it, share it and control it. They give it away free. Are you not aware that so many experienced journalists are getting laid off due to the changing state of the industry? Since they don't have the time or budget to do it themselves, PBC is helping tremendously by providing content. In addition, PBC has more control over the content. Less sweating over an edit is a good thing! If a mainstream outlet requests original, exclusive content, I bet PBC produces it for them.
7) A press release is not publicity. It's an announcement of event details like ticket prices and such. It's NOT publicity. Far too many "boxing people" think writing and blasting a two-page, formulaic press release quoting the promoter to a huge list of junk journos is PR. The press release is dead. It died in the 90s along with my taste in music.
8) PBC's comprehensive social media strategy is fantastic. Connecting your Facebook to your twitter so you don't have to tweet is a #FAIL! Posting to FB once a month will reach no one because you're not boosting or buying advertising. Why aren't you posting to Instagram on the regular? It's where the cool kids are...
They tweet from everywhere. Every opp. Fight night. If you can't designate a staffer to live tweet and IG your events, #FAIL. An intern can do this! (Honestly, your intern is probably better at this than you anyway.) Have a social media wall on the jumbo-tron and/or TV monitors. It's easy and less than $100. (I use RebelMouse for free.) #LoveYourHashtag
Social media is about interaction. Tweet with your tweeple! Host FB contests. Gather data. Distribute content for your fans to share. Teach your athletes about social media and explain the pitfalls. Monitor them for stupid posts. Interaction is everything...but do not engage the trolls. Mute is your BFF. Twitter, FB, YouTube and Google+ (which is not my strong suit) all lead back to PBC's main site. Comprehensive and interactive = #PRWin
Finally, I understand other promoters don't have the money or influence to reach this level, but there were so many things they could have incorporated years ago that wouldn't have left them in the 90's.
Yes, I know. There's little to no SEO on this blog and the mobile version isn't great either. No one wins new clients because they have an outstanding website (unless they're a website designer). #TimeManagement
