Note: ASAP Sports in a long-time corporate partner of CoSIDA and CoSIDA’s official provider of instant transcripts. Did you know that ASAP Sports provides cutting-edge live captioning services (for the web or Jumbotrons) as well as instant transcripts?
Especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic and crisis, sports information directors are contemplating where they should cut their budgets in response to their school’s economic situation. Is it a smart approach to reduce expenditures that have positioned your organization as a true partner to your media and your stakeholders?
It's obvious there’s a need to make an effective shift in overall activities. But, warns
Jeri Gargano, ASAP Sports’ vice president, look for the opportunity amid this crisis.
“Media — online as well as newspapers and magazine outlets — are starving for fresh content that might include everything from press releases on your school’s future plans to transcripts of player or executive press conferences,” she says. “Hold regular virtual pressers and, as your media’s partner, automatically deliver text of those pressers to their email boxes,” she says.
“ASAP Sports can help accomplish this,” Gargano explains. “The company's innovative transcript delivery system can help e-deliver that material to your media’s email boxes, and will post the transcripts on their own regularly-visited sports-media website.”
Gargano also emphasizes using your website and your social media platforms to continue connecting with fans, alumni and external stakeholders.
“Post those transcripts, and also stock content, to your website, or stream to your Twitter page,” Gargano adds.
Besides increasing traffic to your platforms, fans will feel connected to the school they miss, and that will only help to support long-term relationships.
For ASAP Sports’ part, the company already considers itself partners with its clients, and pledges to work with them to find a solution that benefits both the client and itself in the short-term. This might mean deferring some of their fees to later in the year, but keeping activities in place, or reducing the fees associated with those activities. Schools that currently work with ASAP Sports should contact the company by emailing Gargano (at
garganoj@aol.com) for specific details relative to their school or conference.
“For schools or conferences that do not yet use a remote instant transcript service, this might be a good time to contact ASAP Sports, as our company has temporarily reduced its fees in response to the pandemic”, Gargano concludes.
While we can’t predict how many months it will take, one thing is certain: our world
will get back to normal, and until it does, athletic communications directors should stay the course and continue to be the partner you are to your media and fans. ASAP Sports will continue to be your partner, too.