Steve Hannagan and His Chief Associates
(Steve Hannagan seated, Joe Copps standing to left and Larry Smits to the right[1])
Steve Hannagan contributed several important principles to public relations in general and to sports publicity in particular. His principles can be divined from his work with motor racing (land and water), boxing, individual athletes, major league sports, and other competitive events.
Hannagan’s Sports Publicity Campaign Principles
- Focus on athletes and their stories .
- Put the athlete in direct contact with fans.
- Make sure that athlete’s and event managers coordinate their messages and informal communications with the press agent.
- Find a connection between a game and local markets.
- Realize that press and publicity tactics use the same tactics as a political campaign. The press agent has to know the target market for the event, figure out what the market wants to know about the event, identify media that reaches those markets, and structure messages and events to fit the market.
- Create a press packet for the media that tell your story and helps make their job easier.
- Be kind to media people; they define who you are and will only work with you if they trust you. They also like free food, drinks, news tips, and anything else that is easily consumable.
- Help others, be they fans, the media, the public, or big money, because they will remember and help you
- Do not beat a dead horse! If the public finds the sport boring, it is a waste of time trying to convince them that they should watch it.
End Note
- Photograph of Steve Hannagan, Joe Copps, and Larry Smits (retrieved February 2, 2013); http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoX8wuC9RShoAuPOJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dsteve%2Bhannagan%2Bjoe%2Bcopps%2Blarry%2Bsmits%26fr%3Dyfp-t-900%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D3&w=366&h=488&imgurl=imgc.artprintimages.com%2Fimages%2Fart-print%2Falfred-eisenstaedt-press-agent-steve-hannagan-on-phone-as-assist-joe-copps-and-larry-smits-listen-to-his-conversation_i-G-27-2762-FGCTD00Z.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.art.com%2Fproducts%2Fp14019728-sa-i2831698%2Falfred-eisenstaedt-press-agent-steve-hannagan-on-phone-as-assist-joe-copps-and-larry-smits-listen-to-his-conversation.htm&size=105.7+KB&name=Agent+Steve+Hannagan+on+Phone+as+Assist.+Joe+Copps+and+Larry+Smits+…&p=steve+hannagan+joe+copps+larry+smits&oid=7dea782c0844ac5e0aeb3635466c8281&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-900&tt=Agent%2BSteve%2BHannagan%2Bon%2BPhone%2Bas%2BAssist.%2BJoe%2BCopps%2Band%2BLarry%2BSmits%2B…&b=0&ni=112&no=3&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=15bbr6dtt&sigb=13topclem&sigi=15natjlac&.crumb=bE4f.9Ci8e ↑
