Ski Area Public Relations: Where To?
Elsewhere, one of the better PR people in the ski business left the ski area business, tired of the frustrations he felt in attempting to do his job right.
In talking with writers and with public relations people around the country, discussion eventually focuses on their mutual frustrations. On the press side, it’s difficulties in reaching responsible management personnel when a news story breaks and a statement of explanation is needed. On the PR side, it’s the old cliche: “PR is always the last to know what’s going on,” coupled with the “PR is simply an arm of marketing” attitiude. The implication is that product publicity is the sole function of public relations and that one’s value and performance is measured in piles of press releases about the resort and in piles of clippings—”free ink” —of favorable stories on generates.
Role of the Media
To better understand what a PR professional does, let’s review some of the current media “rules of the game.” As in the rest of society, the Watergate Syndrome, the consumer movement and legal liability have changed the rules somewhat in recent years.
Because of the notoriety and lifestyles of some of our customers, because of our industry’s drive to be taken seriously as a business and as an important component of consumer’s lifestyles, and because of the aesthetics and the excitement of skiing, the sport is more visible than ever. The flip side of this equation is that interest does not fade when “bad news” happens.
Careful reporters and media rely on credible sources and spokespeople whom they can quote in stories. The danger in this is that management people may find themselves misquoted, misrepresented or not represented at all in a story. Why? Because they failed to establish with a reporter the exact context of that reporter’s questions in the story being written, or because they were not accessible to the reporter, or failed to return a call within the working deadline of the medium.
Only the investigative reporter on assignment or a long-lead feature writer has the time to seek out a number of sources for a story; the daily media are required by their deadlines as well as the short life of “news” to run with attitudes/statements expressed by the sources whom they can reach immediately or within a short period of time.
Marketing and public relations spokespersons are not the people writers want to quote in hard news stories, unless the story has to do with marketing programs/goals/targets. Instead, they would prefer to talk to the CEO or general manager, project director—the person in charge. That person is the most credible spokesperson. (An exception would be if a marketing/public relations person had a long-established reputation with that writer as a credible resort spokesperson.) The PR person makes sure the two entities get in touch, and follows up by providing the writer with general background information to assist them in writing the story.
Presenting “Our Side”
Liability, a topic familiar to the ski industry, impacts the media as well. They are continually being sued for supposedly misrepresenting the facts about individuals, companies and events and as a result, are careful to present an objective, factual, i.e., not always favorable to “our side,” viewpoint.
Which leads to the topic of consumerism. Some of the ski publications are taking flak for carrying articles directed to the benefit of the consumer/skier or reflecting current attitudes of consumers about things like the high cost of skiing, the existance of long lift lines at popular resorts, etc. I applaud those publications’ assumption of responsibility to their readers whose interests don’t always coincide with the interests of the publications’ advertisers.
Furthermore, they are reflecting what is going on in society in general—the consumer movement is strong and experts predict that it is going to remain strong in the foreseeable future. As responsible businesspeople, we should be aware of how the consumer feels about the way we do business. This is easily accomplished if we allow the media to communicate to us about ourselves, as well as communicating what we want the public to know about our product. Today’s journalism in general reflects the strength of the consumer viewpoint.
Role of the PR Professional
Working PR professionals are aware of these things. What they need is support, including an elevation in their status within the ski industry, so that they can do their jobs to their utmost. They need direct access to top management and to be taken seriously if they say a response is needed—and if it is needed immediately. Furthermore, they need to be free from reporting relationships where a department’s interests conflict with the role the press is requiring the PR person to play. Standard product publicity should take into account marketing plans and goals, but there is a fine line between public relations and marketing responsibilities, and conflicts will sometimes occur. The PR professional has learned how to handle a story so that vested interests are represented, but within the context of the overall news content.
You should require good communications skills of your PR professional, including the ability to develop internal lines of communication so that all company spokespeople “speak with one tongue” about any given issue, company policy or position. Given that they should develop a number of contacts at any particular medium and to remember their various requirements, they should also be able to determine which company spokesperson is the appropriate one, and to put them in touch directly. They should be aware of and sensitive to issues that can relect on the company’s image and ability to do business in its community, in the marketplace and in the ski industry.
You are paying PR people to be the “Communications Central”—the switchboard that links the writer with the spokesperson. You are paying them to take the press seriously because the press is the major medium by which we communicate with our customers. How much you like your company’s press public image is directly proportional to how seriously you take the public relations function.
