Editor's Note: A front-page article in
Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal earlier this week covered NASCAR's goal to upgrade its communications department with new leadership - a chief communications officer and perhaps as many as 20 new positions, nearly doubling the staff - and a new focus.
It is the comments from NASCAR CMO and Senior VP Steve Phelps which have a stinging effect for all members of the athletic media relations/sports information profession. It is this disparaging comment about the SID profession (see bold quote, below) which was the impetus of a September 1
blog entry by Dr. Steve Dittmore, assistant professor of recreation and sport management at the University of Arkansas.
Around the nation, college athletic communications have embraced digital/social media - and are leaders in their department when it comes to strategic branding and use of digital media. In the last month, a half-dozen former SID's have ascended to athletic director positions at universities and colleges across ALL divisions of competition. On campuses and in conferences, thousands of SID's are veterans when it comes to managing and dealing with crisis communications issues.
As stated in its logo, CoSIDA represents "Strategic Communicators for College Athletics." In turn, it is the goal of CoSIDA's leadership to continue highlighting and promoting our organization's branding and strategic messaging initiatives - now going on year No. 3 for the organization - to support and coordinate professional development education and professional growth opportunities for athletic media relations pros. The successes so far in educating and assisting CoSIDA members to become better strategic communicators and campus/national leaders is a boost to the profession while also helping to change the perception and attitudes about collegiate athletic PR professionals/SID's from those inside and outside collegiate athletics.
Dittmore's blog entry appears below the quotes from the
SportsBusiness Journal article.
“Things are changing so fast on the media landscape, especially in digital media,” [NASCAR CEO Brian] France said. “Our [media relations] model was designed to be more of a service bureau rather than something that could attack all of these things that are evolving. Now we’ve got the right road map to address an ever-changing area and we’re putting a significant amount of resources against it.”
The chief communications officer most likely will come from outside of motorsports and could come from outside the sports industry, [NASCAR} CMO Steve Phelps said, and will be someone with broad consumer marketing communications experience on global brands.
“This is not going to be an SID from somewhere,” Phelps said. “This will be a leader in the communications business in strategic thinking, creativity, someone who’s a proven and trusted brand thinker.”
- excerpt from
NASCAR retolls its communications: Organization looking for new CCO to boost marketing efforts, by Michael Smith, Sports Business Journal
stevedittmore.posterous.com
Dittmore's blog encompasses his thoughts on the business of media, professional sport and college athetics. Here is his entry on the NASCAR story and the quotes.
Sept. 1, 2010
The quote comes from NASCAR's CMO Steve Phelps (in a page one article in this week's SportsBusiness Journal) and it manages to insult the entire profession of college sports information directors. Whether intentional or not, the between-the-lines of Phelps' comment is that SIDs are not leaders, strategic thinkers, creative, etc.
While it is true the traditional role of an SID has been very tactical in nature, more and more SIDs are being elevated into strategic roles. Here at the University of Arkansas, longtime SID Kevin Trainor was recently promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Public Relations and is no longer involved in day-to-day media relations for any one team.
Want creativity NASCAR? How about turning right some time during a race?