Mike Berry had one simple piece of advice at his presentation of sports public relations.
"Guys, please have someone read over your resumes."
I came across the importance of such basic advice just two days ago, when a professor I asked to write a letter of reference was looking over my resume to refresh herself on my experience as a journalist.
"Found a typo on your resume," read the title of her e-mail. "Duties includ writing photography and copy editing."
It would be hard to claim copy editing with a hiccup in my own resume, and Berry, the former owner of the NBA Developmental League Austin Toros, reiterated the importance of having someone proofread your work.
"Use your professors as consultants, because you're effectively paying their salaries," he said. "And they'd most likely be willing to help."
Berry said he'd wished he'd utilized his professors more while in college, which might have saved him money and toil during his early years in the business.
Now he's a member of a five-person team called Triton Sports Management, a PR company that will market and sell sponsorships to various companies.
The event centered on his time with the Toros, who he started with a different company in 2005. Since then the team has been purchased by the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. He recently left the team to pursue his new post with TSM.
"I think what you'll see with the NBADL is a move to something more like the MLB and minor league baseball," he said.
The session was a bit laid back, with the speaker acknowledging several times that he felt he wasn't the best speaker in the world. He even minored in speech communication to challenge his shyness.
Berry emphasized, like many in the media business, the importance of just getting your word out and outworking everyone around you.
He got his break after seeing a flyer to work with the Portland Trailblazers while working a different internship.
"I saw it on a Wednesday and it was due that Friday," Berry said. "I drove from Eugene (where he was going to school) to Portland because I wanted to make that if I didn't get the internship it wasn't because I didn't get my stuff there on time."
He said from time to time he thinks about what might have been had he not made that drive up to Portland.
"You have to go the extra mile, because if you don't some else is going to," Berry said. "If I hadn't driven up there I might still be making $5 an hour."
Since then he's come across different public relations situations, the most challenging behing the death of former Toros coach and Boston Celtic Dennis Johnson in February. Berry said nothing could have prepared him for the situation but felt he and his staff did the best they could.
"It was tough, because I was invested with Dennis as a person. He was a good friend," Berry said. "I was with his wife and kids when the doctor came and told us we'd lost Dennis.
"That's definitely the hardest thing I've had to do (in the PR business) and I hope nothing like that ever happens again. Days afterwards I was on camera and I wish I had had someone to help me through that. But it was one of those moments that challenge and define you. It's what makes you grow."
But Berry's job is usually not as heavy on the heart.
In January the Toros were hosting elementary school students during a day game that drew national attention when their mascot inadvertently jumped up on the rim of the basketball goal during a game.
With the Toros up by three their mascot bull grabbed the rim, with the opposition driving down the lane with two seconds remaining. Officials saw this and whistled the bull for a technical foul.
"That's the first time I've ever heard of something like that happening," Berry said.
The Toros ended up winning the game, and Berry's PR staff met after the game to brainstorm. The solution: Suspend the bull for two games, keeping him locked in a "bullpen." The team also sold shirts reading "Free da bull."
"It worked great. What could have been a disaster became a great story," Berry said.
The former Toros owner said stories like these are what highlight the needs of a PR team. The company targets a family audience in Austin, having to compete with other sports including college football, arena football and minor league baseball. They have generally not tried to tap the college-aged market.
"I know that with class and part-time jobs and concerts a basketball game isn't high on the list for a college student," Berry said. "If you know how to reach your demographic you're going to be very valuable."
He also suggested just getting out there, either by volunteering to work for free or coming to a company with crazy or creative ideas, but in a professional manner.
Which goes back to a typo-free resume.
No comments:
Post a Comment