How an Effective Public Relations Model Can Glue an Organization Back Together
In today’s media centric world, public relations is more important than ever for sports organizations to not only foster their present fan base, but also expand their following. With more and more mediums for communication between a sports organization and fans being created, social media being one of the sources for these new developments, public relations campaigns can be an essential strategy to turn a deteriorating organization into a flourishing brand.
Take the Washington Commanders for example, they went from being the Washington Redskins, who were a historic franchise in the NFL with a loyal fanbase in the nation’s capital, to an organization who is unrecognizable. They have experienced one of the most unusual and impeding rebranding processes ever publicized in the NFL.
A list of things the Commanders have gone through during this rebranding process:
- An ugly and publicized ownership change
- A complete rebranding of their organization
- A complete 180 with their organization’s focus
- A major decline in ticket sales and attendance at their games
It has been a prolonged process that has completely crippled their organization, as well as fractured their loyal fanbase into a small group of confused and embarrassed followers. They were no longer focused on success of the team and fan enjoyment, and rather on fixing internal issues caused by external pressure. However, there is still hope in turning this fractured mess back into the historic organization they once were.
A public relations campaign could be implemented, and with the right strategy, they could reunite their fanbase and get back to focusing on the point of their organization, to win football games. There is a well documented strategy that the Commanders could use to reinstate their brand to its former success, and that is the Two-Way Symmetrical Model of Public Relations. This model consists of public relations statements or implemented tactics, to be structured with the goal in mind that both parties are benefiting, specifically that stakeholders and fans feel involved and are benefiting from the organization’s decisions and success. This removes any imbalance of power and highlighting the benefits associated with following the organization.
Two-Way Symmetrical Model of Public Relations.
“This model attempts to minimize the potential imbalance of power between organizations and stakeholders found in the asymmetrical model of public relations and embraces a broader social responsibility perspective. As a result, the organization is not considered the primary beneficiary of public relations activity. Rather, stakeholders and society are both important considerations.”(WPSU – Penn State Public Media) Here is a link that fully explains this model. https://archive.pagecentertraining.psu.edu/public-relations-ethics/core-ethical-principles/lesson-2-sample-title/ethics-the-public-relations-models-two-way-symmetrical-model/#:~:text=Finally%2C%20the%20two%2Dway%20symmetrical,organization%20and%20its%20key%20stakeholders.
How the Commanders Organization could implement this model:
- Utilize the youth of your brand by creating social media content that invites a “new” football fan to come follow their “new” football team and be a part of formulating a football franchise
- Create polls and surveys that could be posted via a social media platform, that could ask questions about future team names and logo designs, allowing fan involvment in decision making
- Offer more meet and great opportunities for fans with their favorite players to help more fans get to know the players
- Train players in the skills of public relations, this way they could utilize free publicity for their brand through things the players may do off the field, as well as to get the entire organization and its employees on the same page
- Have more control when information that affects the team’s image or likeness is made available to the public
- Utilize social media platforms, this is a medium the organization can use to communicate to their fan base, release information, allow for more fan interaction, and allow fans to communicate to the organization directly and feel heard
Using the symmetric PR model would allow them to continue on their path of rebuilding, while also involving the fan base in decision making as well as allowing transparency of their organization for the public eye. It would also allow them to discover what type of benefits fans would want if they were to remain or join the fanbase of the Commanders, and this wouldn’t just be financial benefits, but also benefits where fans can feel more involved in decision making, creating a stronger link to their fandom.
Keeping your audience satisfied and wanting more is crucial when trying to have a big time successful brand. The two-way symmetrical model is the most ethical public relations model because it utilizes a more broad social responsibility by ensuring the needs and wants of an organization and its fans align and are balanced. Researching what your fans and stakeholders want, and then using that information to market your brand is the more ethical way for public relations to be handled, rather than simply trying to persuade people to be fans of their organization.
Social media can be a useful tool to implement this model. When attempting to grow a new brand in today’s world, utilizing the ability social media gives organizations is a great way to gain traction and awarness for your brand. Social media gives organizations a new medium to communicate to their stakeholders and fans in the blink of an eye. If the Commanders as an organization care about the success of their brand and the fanbase they entertain, they should implement the two-way symmetrical model.