Xenophon Strategies

Surge Communications: The World Series

Blake Rhodes

As I wait in anticipation for Game 1 of the World Series tonight, I will be thinking of my former colleagues with the San Francisco Giants as well as the public relations personnel with Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers. 

When Tim Lincecum throws the first pitch tonight to kick off the 106^th World Series, months of preparation by the communications staffs for both teams and the league will come to fruition.  Believe me, making sure that the 1,000 credentialed media all gain entry to AT&T Park with the proper credentials, find their assigned seats, can conduct interviews as easily as possible and have wireless access to file their stories without the server crashing, much less broadcasting the game around the world is no small feat.

In many cases, the games may be a blur for the pr folks. During the 2007 MLB All-Star Game that the Giants hosted in San Francisco, I didn’t see one pitch of the Home Run Derby or remember much of the game except for the National League’s ninth-inning rally that fell short.  My main concern was assuring that the 700 credentialed media members had everything that they needed to cover the events and show the Giants and AT&T Park in the most positive light possible.

Luckily things came off without a hitch, as many people call that All-Star Game one of MLB’s best run “Jewel Events.”  Actually, it wasn’t luck.  The reason we were successful was that we were prepared and established protocols for the surge communication.

The media prepares for these events as well.  Take Game 6 of the 2002 World Series when the FOX television crew felt it was safe to build the trophy presentation stage in the Giants clubhouse as the team held a 5-0 lead over the Angels during the 7^th-inning stretch.  Baseball players are superstitious to begin with, but when the Angels started to make their comeback for an eventual 6-5 victory I had the unenviable task of escorting disgruntled television crews out of the clubhouse with a smile. Working with our players to face the media after that disheartening loss is akin to helping a CEO prepare for a news conference following a disaster that has affected their company and employees.

When you’re prepared you also have to keep your mind open to the unexpected.  Like in the aftermath of Game 5 of the 2002 World Series when I was dispatched to assist a media member from Japan who collapsed from dehydration and working around the clock.  In a nearly empty ballpark and not having any medical training or no Japanese language skills, we had to improvise.  We summoned our Japanese-speaking intern who in turn assisted the paramedics.

While we don’t currently manage World Series and All-Star Games at Xenophon Strategies, we use many of the same principles to help our clients achieve the same acclaim the Giants did for the 2007 Midsummer Classic.  Whether it’s an aviation accident, a product recall or preparing one of our clients to testify on Capitol Hill, preparation is key to assuring that our clients can deftly handle all the developments that arise in each case.

Simply put, preparing our clients for every type of scenario puts them in the best position to succeed during a surge communications event.

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