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Jets probably need to do something the Miami Marlins are doing. I’m serious, and I’m not talking about a fire sale of key players.
The Marlins have a significant public relations problem right now.
This, after the city build them a stadium, and the owner, Jeffrey Luria, had a fire sale a few months later, getting rid of high priced players, after he promised, with the new stadium, he was committed to spending money to win.
The Jets don’t have a spending problem (we know that because they have cap problems), but they do have a major PR problem,
Not all of it is their fault.
There are people in the media that seem to live to smear this team.
I’m not saying they deserve zero fault for the myriad criticism. Some of it is their fault.
But there are people that won’t cut them slack on anything – ANYTHING.
They error on the side of making the Jets look terrible, and to me, something needs to be done about this.
I know for a fact the Jets have recently had high level meetings about their image.
I’ve heard from two sources the marketing side realizes their brand is in the garbage.
Like I said, some of this is their fault with two rough seasons in a row laden with questionable personnel moves.
But some of it is on Jets antagonists like Rich, Gary and Ian.
But whether the blame lies, they need a sophisticated plan to work on this.
And it’s not just about winning. Winning is the best cure for a bad image, but this goes deeper. These problems are deep-seated.
They need to hire a big-time firm to come up with a strategy to deal with this. This should not be taken as a personnel attack on the PR department.
As you know, I have issues with them rewarding bad behavior, and I’ve told them that. I try not to be two-faced.
I’m talking about high-priced, Madison Avenue, world-class PR strategy.
That is what the Marlins are trying hiring The Jeffrey Group, a major South Florida PR agency.
“Definitely the Marlins are cognizant of how important it is moving forward that they communicate better with fans and stakeholders across the community,” Jeffrey Group president Mike Valdes-Fauli told the Miami Herald.
“I think it will be important for the Miami Marlins to communicate their point of view on a whole host of issues, including on the upcoming season, some of the challenges they’ve faced in the past, and even the current comparisons with the Miami Dolphins.”
I can’t tell you how badly the Jets need to do this.
I have to admit, I feel bad for some of the people who work on the Jets’ marketing side. They have a very tough brand to pitch right now, whether it’s selling tickets, luxury boxes or ads.
The Jets need a new PR strategy, and they need it now.
And an outside firm is just what the doctor ordered.
Their on-the-field product, and a media that is often unfair and over-the-top nasty, have ruined the brand.
February 1, 2013
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