How to Hit a PR Home Run
Posted on Tue, Mar 29, 2011
By Mike
As the regular season heats up for the Boston Red Sox, I can’t help but think about some of the parallels between success on the baseball diamond and success in the PR office.
Personally, I failed miserably in my dream to be a professional baseball player, but I did spend 10 years in the game as a player and two more covering the Cape Cod Baseball League. Here are three principles I’ve taken from my career around the diamond to my career in the PR office:
Patience
Hitting a good curveball is something with which I, and a lot of professionals, had trouble. It’s about waiting, perceiving the spin, and being content with a single to the opposite field. Patience is paramount, and the same applies to PR. It pays to calmly assess the situation, see what the best plan is, and go from there. The approach has to fit the circumstances.
Mixing up your pitches
As a pitcher, throwing the same pitch over and over again is a great way to get run from the game. Different players have different strengths and weakness that have to be taken into consideration. Literally, a PR pro can’t write the same pitch every time either. But in a broader sense, each of your clients requires a personalized approach. They aren’t all the same.
Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork
Baseball is a team sport. Every player on the field is involved over the course of a game, which is no different than a quality PR approach. A well-rounded campaign involves contributions by the whole team, for which everyone is held accountable.
Home runs don’t have to take place at Fenway. How have you hit one in your own profession recently?