By Melanie Norall and Rick Roose/WeissCom Partners Inc., San Francisco
Partnering with an athletic organization on a public relations program can be great fun if you step up to the plate early in the season and anticipate the inevitable curve
balls that will come your way. Keep in mind the differences in the overall goals and objectives of your organizations and, as that famous wit Yogi Berra said, "When you get to a
fork in the road, take it."
Scout Out the Talent: When partnering with a sports team, do your homework to find out its issues. This will give you a better perspective on where your client's and
the team's priorities mesh and where they may be off-base. What may seem like a minor issue to you - for instance, the colors of your program logo - could become a major issue if
those colors happen to belong to a rival team.
Read the Sports Pages: For those of us who generally view the sports section as something you immediately hand off to your spouse in the morning - change your habits.
You don't want to be the last to find out your spokesperson is about to be traded to another team.
Cover Your Bases: You'll want to have several players in your program in the event that one is traded, injured, involved in a controversy, or can no longer participate
in your program.
Make Time for a Pre-Season Warm-Up: Be sure you have enough time before the season starts to get all the elements of your program in place. Once the season arrives,
the focus of the team's front office and your PR contacts will quickly change.