Industry Watch: Major League Sports Public Relations
May 2006

Q: In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Mariners fan, although, as a former New Yorker (and thus, very fickle), the last couple of seasons have tested my faith. How is your job affected by the team's on-field play?
Everything we do at the Mariners, like every sports team, is affected by how the team performs. When things are going well, we are all challenged to juggle the demands of a winning team. When things are not going well, we are all working that much harder to sell tickets, sponsorships, etc. However, it is important to keep an even temperament where work is concerned. Because we can't control what happens on the field, we have to stay focused on the things we can control-such as the fan experience in the ballpark. All things considered, winning is better than losing (and you can quote me on that!), but no matter what, it's great to be working in a field where we're paid to watch baseball.

Q. As a follow-up, how does a team's performance and standing affect the front office employees?
When the team is on a win streak, the mood is definitely a little lighter. When things are not going well, we will commiserate around the coffee maker. But, as I mentioned above, win or lose, we have work to do and we can't let the performance interfere with our ability to function as a busy office.

Q. How does it affect the need for special promotions?
The best promotion is a winning team. But since we can't control the outcome of games, we work very hard to ensure that our fans have a good experience while they're at Safeco Field. We train our event staff to be courteous and helpful and to treat every fan as if it is their first, and possibly only, experience at the ballpark. We put a lot of energy into our game program so that fans are entertained (such as funny and interesting video features, trivia, music, games, etc.) between innings. Our goal is to make this an enhancement for the in-park experience and not make it a sensory overload.

We also know that providing promotional items and special events at the ballpark are great ways of attracting the casual fan. People are still excited to get the Ichiro bobblehead. But we also look for opportunities in unusual places, such as the incredibly popular Stitch 'n Pitch Night last season that attracted almost 2,000 knitters to the ballpark. It was such a hit that several Major League teams are planning their own events this year. We also work very hard to attract and retain women fans. The Mariners have the highest percentage of women fans among all MLB teams. We make the ballpark experience family and fan-friendly, which women appreciate, our players seem friendly and approachable, which appeals to all fans, and we schedule promotions and events targeted for women. For example, we have Girls Night Out with giveaways, displays, promotions and other activities all for our female fans. This year, we're doing a Mother's Day promotion where the first 15,000 moms will get special T-shirts.

Q. What goes into planning a promotional event for a Major League Baseball game? (Do the bobble-heads come to you or do you have to seek them out?)
There are some promotions that we do most every year (such as the Ichiro bobblehead, the Mariners Express collectable train car series, T-shirts, caps, etc.). But we are open to new ideas and will try to pull together special events and promotions as they come up. Some things, like bobbleheads, require significant lead time (several months) for design, manufacture and shipment (most come from China), but the Stitch 'n Pitch event was pulled together last year in a matter of weeks. We work very closely with a couple of "novelties" or promotional items suppliers, such as Alexander Global and BD&A (both based in the Seattle area). Sometimes they bring us ideas; sometimes we take ideas to them. It is a very collaborative process.

Q. What was the most successful promotion you ever produced? And, consequently, what was the worst?
Our Marketing & Promotions Dept. is pretty creative. They have come up with some pretty original ideas in the eight years that I've been associated with the Mariners. One of the more interesting promotions was Barry White Night in 2002. We had Mr. White at Safeco Field, he announced the names of batters over the PA when they came up to bat (in that inimitable voice of his), we played his music all night between innings, we doctored the player head-shots on the video screen so they looked as if they were taken in the 70s and 80s. It was a very fun night. Stitch 'n Pitch was also a surprisingly successful and original event. Our Marketing and Promotions crew also does an amazing job with special events such as the Inaugural Game at Safeco Field, the 2001 All-Star Game, the farewell ceremonies for retiring players such as Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and just this year Dan Wilson. They work very hard to create a classy and heartfelt tribute to the players who have meant so much to the fans and the franchise.

I can't think of the worst promotion the Mariners have ever done. The stakes are so high these days that you try to put in the effort in advance to make sure it's going to work.

Q: What was the worst promotional concept ever for a sports team?
I suppose everyone answers that it was the Disco Demolition Night debacle in Chicago.

Q: What is a day in the life of a major league professional sports franchise director of public information like?
My day varies depending on what's happening. It starts at 8:30 a.m. I spend time going through emails, responding to voice mails I didn't get to the day before, going to meetings, scouring newspapers for articles and information that involve the Mariners or are of interest to members of the Front Office. I'll frequently have a Japanese TV crew looking to do feature interviews on a variety of topics. (Today, a crew is coming to shoot video in our Team Store and interview our Merchandise Director about how well Kenji Johjima t-shirts and other items are selling.) On game days, things get pretty busy around 3:30pm. That's when most members of the media arrive at the ballpark and are looking for interviews or the story of the day. If a TV crew wants to do a special project during the game, I am often escorting them around the ballpark so they can do a feature on the peanut guy, or the sushi stand, or a special guest or group in the stands. Often, I'll spend part of the game at my desk writing news releases, feature stories for the Mariners Magazine publication, or any number of tasks that require some uninterrupted quite time. My day usually ends around 9:30pm or 10pm (an hour or two before the Baseball Information crew gets to go home), and it starts all over again at 8:30am the next day. We do that until the team goes on the road (6-13 days straight), and then some of us are lucky enough to get back to a normal schedule while the team is on the road. On non-game days, I tend to catch up on emails, phone calls, writing, clearing the papers off my desk and planning for the next homestand. By the end of a homestand we're all drained, but by the time the team returns from the road, we're ready to go again.

Q: What is your favorite part of the job? Your least favorite part?
The best parts of my job are the creative, interesting people I work with, and that I get paid to watch and talk baseball. How cool is that?! The least favorite part is the time it drains away from real life during the season. As I mentioned above, we work 12+ hours a day while the team is in town for days in a row, and sometimes we only get a couple of days off a month. But it's not world peace, and we don't have to lift a lot of heavy objects, so it could be a lot worse.

Q: How does your job change in conjunction with whether the team is home or away?
While the team is in town, the schedule is long and busy every day. When the team goes on the road, those of us who don't travel with the team get to have a somewhat normal schedule - 8:30am- 5:30pm. During the off-season, it almost feels like a part-time job since we work only 40-50 hours a week instead of the 70-80 hours a week during the season.

Q: Much has been made of teams, in the interest of financial solvency, demanding new stadiums. What was your role in the Mariners getting Safeco Field? How difficult was selling the idea to the public, as well as public officials? How difficult was selling it to the local business community?

The road to get Safeco Field was a long one, and it had lots of bumps along the way. There were groups that did not want to see it happen, and there were constituencies equally adamant that the ballpark be built. I was working for the former Mayor of Seattle during the time that the ballpark was being proposed (so I got a look at the process from a different angle). By the time I got to the Mariners, the ballpark was one year away from opening.

The Mariners worked very closely with local, county and state governmental officials and were involved in the negotiations that eventually led to the construction of Safeco Field. The business community, as well as local and state elected officials, was extremely supportive of the Mariners and plans for a new ballpark. But it was not easy, and there were times when it appeared that the whole thing would blow up. Fortunately, everyone kept the goal in mind and worked through the difficulties (construction delays, massive cost overruns, etc.). Watching what the Seattle Sonics are going through right now, I'm very happy that this whole process is well behind us.

Q: How essential is it for someone working in public relations for a major sports franchise to like the sport?
You don't have to love sports, but with the hours you spend at work, it helps make the job more enjoyable. It is hard to work around a team every day without becoming invested in it. You must have a good understanding of your sport and your team. You need to be plugged into what your customers think, feel and want and how your product (team) works and performs. I know you could do this job if you were not a sports fan, but why would you?

Q: Did you aspire to a position with a baseball team or did circumstances shape your career?
I wish I could say that I ended up here as the result of some long-range career strategy, but that's not how it happened. I worked in broadcasting for 12-years, including 8-years at the Mariners former flagship radio station (KIRO). While there, I was able to indulge my interest in baseball by volunteering to be the token female sports voice (back in the day, that was still unusual). I covered the Mariners off-and-on around my regular news reporting for about four years. I left radio in 1992 and went into PR. I spent about 6-years working for the City of Seattle, including 4-years as the Press Secretary for the former Mayor of Seattle. When he left office at the end of this second term, I was approached by the Mariners for a newly created position to coordinate the media relations around the completion of construction and opening of Safeco Field. Because I had worked around the Mariners in the late 80s and early 90s, I was familiar with many people in the Front Office, and they thought of me when the position was created. It was luck and good timing and it took me about 2-seconds to accept the position.

Q: What advice would you give to new entrants to the field of sports public relations, whether recent college graduates or seasoned professionals looking for a career change?
My path to this job was a bit unusual. A more typical route is to work your way through the ranks, often going from the minors to the majors, sort of like a ballplayer. A good place to start is an internship, often unpaid, with any team you can find. Once you get in the door, work your tail off at anything and everything that's asked of you and look for opportunities to move around within the organization. You'll also hear about opportunities at other sports teams. At the Mariners, we frequently fill positions from within. The Senior Director of Safeco Field Operations (basically, the guy responsible for the day-to-day operations at the ballpark) started working for the Mariners over 25 years ago when he was 14-years old. He worked in various part-time jobs through high school and college and got a full-time job upon graduation. Over the years, he's worked in nearly every department here.

Be prepared for long hours and, for the most part, low pay. You're getting into a line of work with a small number of positions and a lot of people willing to make the sacrifices and do the work. It is not a job, or a life, that suits everyone. But for me, there's nothing I'd rather be doing right now.