Sport Public Relations

Sport Public Relations, Third Edition With HKPropel Access, offers a comprehensive examination of the value and practice of public relations in sport. Extensively updated and substantially reorganized, this third edition reflects the evolution of the field with modern applications across a wide range of media channels. The book’s topics align with the Common Professional Component topics outlined by the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA).

The author team brings together significant professional and educational backgrounds in sport public relations to offer an engaging look at the full range of public relations functions. Readers will learn the importance of consistent brand communication and how to manage organizational relationships, both internal and external, to attain key strategic goals.

The thorough coverage of the field is built around three common themes:
1. Public relations is a managerial function focused on advancing the brand and engaging key stakeholders.
2. The communications environment is continuously evolving.
3. Community relations, employee relations, and donor relations are as critical as media relations within the sport industry.

Woven throughout these themes are public relations theories applied in sport-specific contexts to help students further understand the complexity of the sport communication ecosystem.

Throughout the book, there is guidance for practical application, including samples of public relations materials such as news releases and employee newsletters. Be Your Own Media sidebars highlight how sport organizations are proactively telling their stories across various media platforms. New to this edition, case studies and discussion questions serve as a foundation for additional learning. Other updates include the following:

• Discussion of engaging key publics through social media and other forms of digital media—such as blogs, podcasts, virtual fan communities, and video—as well as approaches to developing content, metrics for measuring success, and skills for managing media in sport
• An examination of customer experience (CX) and how to enhance those relationships by defining customer touch points and mapping the customer journey
• Considerations for social media usage during crisis communication, with modern examples of effective and ineffective ways prominent sport entities have managed recent crises

Also new to the third edition are related online learning aids delivered through HKPropel and designed to generate discussion and highlight the opportunities and challenges that exist in sport public relations. Commentary on current topics is accompanied by links to associated content, discussion questions, and applied learning activities to promote engaged student learning. A live Twitter feed for specific hashtags within HKPropel ensures regular updates.

With Sport Public Relations, Third Edition, students will better understand the various demands of the field and learn to successfully and proactively develop consistent communication and stronger relationships between sport organizations and their key publics.

Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all new print books.