Barry McGuigan Sports PR Events - Raising Profiles and Awareness
Who are Cyclone Promotions
Cyclone Promotions is a UK based Boxing promotional company bringing free-to-air fights to the fans, founded by Barry McGuigan and his family. Since they began, they have sell-out Champion and World Title fight boxing events in the UK, Ireland and USA. Barry McGuigan MBE is a former world champion retired professional boxer and known all over the world.
What did we set ourselves to do
With any PR for sporting events promotions, we look at where best we can raise awareness and create a buzz surrounding events to increase ticket sales and maximise TV viewing. Cyclone Promotions wanted us to get good coverage and excitement for the boxing event of 'Scotland's Finest' at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. We also set about heightening the profile of WBC Super Lightweight Champion Josh Taylor and the other Cyclone fighters fighting on the night.
Strategy for enhancing the success of PR for sporting events
With sports PR events promotions with global audiences such as boxing brings, we look at securing quality, extensive coverage across all media platforms. We aim to bring as many spectators and as much excitement as events deserve and with live events, you cannot gauge audience attendance. You have to secure spectatorship by getting attention on where the audiences are most likely going to be in order to tune into, from both sides of the Atlantic to see the event.
PR for sporting events would include interviews and press releases with the key people with our global contacts at Sky Sports, BBC Sport, CBS, Channel 5, Showtime, ESPN, ITV, online forums, sport radio, podcasts and the press, to enhance the promotion of the event. In this instance, we specifically profiled Josh Taylor - now a world champion in his own right, who started his boxing career with Barry McGuigan at his gym in South London.
To enhance sports event awareness, we often work with influencers as people engage more when someone that is revered in the field is involved and of course, in this instance, the owner and founder is Barry Mcguigan himself; a legend. We then set to work on raising the profiles of the fighters.
To raise personal profiles, we identify, write and distribute news stories to a number of press mediums, such as commentary, talking head pieces, opinion articles and podcasts pre and post sports event.
We then build anticipation and post teaser content using digital platforms such as social media, forums and press online. It varies but we can post behind-the-scenes footage, comparisons of competitors, interviews from sports commentators and experts and bios and stats of key players. There is so much that can be done to create an excited anticipation across the channels when we do PR for sporting events.
We handle all coordination of the media at press conferences and press junkets, ensuring that it is an enjoyable, comfortable and profile enhancing experience for all and that the media had the correct, positive perception of Cyclone Promotions and their fighters. We assist our clients prior to media exposure and with preparation for Press Junket interviews for promotional events.
We aim for clients not to be surprised with media interview questions, since we will always pre-approve all questions and run them through with our clients. After all, journalists want good answers in the little time that they have with their interviewees, so that they have good copy for broadcast. We will be close to hand to coordinate and write compelling stories and promotional copy, so our clients will come across really well with their audience.
What can be achieved when you create a PR for sporting events campaign
All PR campaigns are bespoke, since each client has their own identity and their own objectives and with the right execution, good brand awareness will be delivered long term, even with a one-off event - if done correctly. A first time launch event has the ability to make or break many brands. With sports PR events, people want an enjoyable experience and inspiration to keep coming back for future events, so PR expertise is essential.
Social media is a huge platform for developing engagement with fans and new spectators with Sports PR events and we utilise all live social media and other video streaming outlets to provide buzz, awareness and anticipation.
On the event day, we also manage the media and are to hand, offering engaging, well-researched written and verbal, punchy comment to enhance profiles further. Images are taken by a professional photographer who has been briefed and managed by us. All images will be signed off by us before they leave the event, too. Privacy, security and the best publicity is important, all across the board at our PR firm.
Coverage for this sports event awareness went far and wide and included a profile piece on Josh Taylor and two fight diary entries from Barry Mcguigan himself.
Barry McGuigan appeared on Channel 5's morning talk show - The Wright Stuff, as well as appearing on national radio channel Talk Radio on the James Whale show in the lead up to the fight.
After the event, post-fight coverage gained speed across national outlets with a clip from the press conference went viral on the BBC Sport social media channels.
A lot can be achieved with the right promotional strategy with PR for sporting events awareness campaigns, as long as the execution is spot on.