Breaking Through in a Crowded News Cycle
How can a faith-focused Super Bowl event effectively capture media attention amid a congested landscape of player news, game day predictions, athletic awards and competing festivities?
They enlist a communications partner with expertise in media relations.
The Challenge
With so many competing narratives, capturing media attention for a Christian Super Bowl event presented a significant challenge. Our team was enlisted to generate national visibility and awareness of the event, while also enhancing the overall reputation of the organization hosting the event.
The strategy
Standing out in such a crowded landscape required a strategic approach to garner media interest. We drafted dynamic messaging and tailored media materials to serve as the foundation for our efforts, and then set out to identify media outlets that would best reach our target audiences.
Several sports celebrities associated with the event were willing to participate in media interviews—but their availability was limited—so we designed a virtual media tour to reach as many media outlets as possible within a three-hour block on a single day.
Knowing that interviewers were likely to ask questions unrelated to the event, we coached spokespeople with talking points and tips for bridging the conversations back to the event.
While pitching media and facilitating inquiries in advance of the event, we also prepared information and materials to help ensure members of the media were well served if they covered the event on-site.
The outcome
Media relations efforts resulted in coverage from more than 179 media outlets, including the Associated Press, ESPN Online, Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports reaching an estimated total audience of 157.7 million people.
Additionally, we secured live interviews on Good Morning Football, The Herd with Colin Cowherd and The Jim Rome Show.