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Executive summary

The value of public relations as a strategic business communications function is well recognised, and companies understand the benefits that public relations can bring in terms of making people feel good about their organisation and its products. This occurs partly through the establishment of a sound corporate reputation and partly through getting people to think and feel positively about the company’s activities.

Contemporary organisations understand that they can differentiate themselves – and gain competitive advantage – by developing the public relations function within their communications and relationship- building strategies. This holds true for sports organisa-

tions and the promotion of the sports product as much as for any other type of business. The transactions and relationships that exist in sport today are frequently of a commercial nature, and as sport has become understood and managed as a consumer commodity, public relations has had a increasingly important part to play. Soccer aside, however, at grass roots level the use of public relations in sports relation- ship management in the UK is not always evident.

For this paper, research was conducted to find out to what extent professional sports organisations use public relations. Cricket was chosen in particular because it has a certain image problem that has affected the sport’s potential to attract media and

Applying the public relations function to the business of sport

Abstract

Public relations practice in sport is not always evident, yet to the contemporary sports business, it has much to offer. This paper explores the value of public relations to professional sports organisations. Cricket was chosen in particular because although it does not enjoy the same popularity as soccer in the UK, it has an extremely loyal fan base and widespread support at grass roots level. A critical finding from this research is that the communications strategies recommended for use in cricket are equally applicable to other sports.

Peer Reviewed

Maria K Hopwood Senior Lecturer in Public Relations, Teesside Business School University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK

tel: 01642 342841 email: [email protected]

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financial support. Each of the UK’s 18 First Class County Clubs is responsible for promoting the game at local level, but there does not appear to be a unified, directed or consistent public relations strategy in place. Whereas marketing activity is considered essential, public relations, perhaps through a lack of under- standing of its potential, is not always thought to be relevant. The paper analyses public relations activity in two First Class County Clubs – Durham County Cricket Club and Yorkshire County Cricket Club. They are culturally and ideologically very different, and because they are both located in the north-east of England, the clubs are great rivals. (Yorkshire is among the oldest and Durham the youngest of the First Class clubs.)

From the research, the consensus is that public relations is essential to the future success of cricket but that it is not formally implemented to the extent that the sport needs. A further critical finding of this research is that the communications and relationship management strategies recommended for use in cricket are applicable to other sports.

Introduction

“Sport personifies much of what humanity is about: community, the pursuit of physical excellence and the full range of emotions.” (Smith & Westerbeek, 2004)

Sport has evolved dramatically: from important social phenomenon (during the 1960s) to its current status as a significant economic and political phenomenon. Today, it is widely regarded as a cultural subsystem of modern society, and because of the huge numbers of individuals who regularly participate, watch or otherwise engage in sporting activities, it has also become big business.

As both participants and observers, people spend increasing amounts of time and money on sport; indeed, in some quarters sport is understood to be competing for its audience against the attractions of the shopping mall. Therefore, in order for sporting

organisations to survive in the marketplace, whether they like it or not, they have to become much more business oriented.

Public relations is still a relatively young profession and often not well understood. However, it can prove to be a valuable tool in the organisational armoury and is potentially as important to sports clubs as it is to the business world. This paper is a qualitative critical evaluation and analysis of the current level of public relations activity in English domestic First Class County cricket. It is based upon primary research that was conducted among marketing and public relations pro- fessionals, playing and coaching staff, and sponsorship and media managers. Research began in September 2002 and was concluded in April 2003.

As far as some are concerned, cricket is the original national sport. Yet it has not attracted anywhere near the levels of support and financial backing enjoyed by soccer. As a spectator sport, cricket has also had to face the fact that the traditional structure of the game does not have wide appeal.

The governing body for UK cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), is now funding and promoting initiatives to improve this – for example, providing cricket equipment to inner city schools to encourage greater participation in the sport by women. At professional level, although the national team attracts sponsorship and significant ECB backing, the County teams are finding that they need strategies that will contribute to the bottom line and ensure their long-term survival.

The transactions and relationships that exist in all modern sports are frequently of a commercial nature. According to Hargreaves (1998) and others, market pressure now imposes an instrumental rationality on sporting institutions as much as on other institutions within civil society. In cricket, as elsewhere, there is a growing realisation that in order to attract and keep customers and others interested and loyal to clubs and the game, high quality products and services are no longer enough. Organisations now have to differentiate themselves and their offerings through effective com- munications and relationship-building strategies.

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Cricket, although not enjoying the same popularity as soccer, does have an extremely loyal following and widespread support at grass roots level. However, it also suffers from a serious and long-held image problem, which is proving difficult to reverse and which is undoubtedly affecting the sport’s potential to attract essential media interest and financial support. The England and Wales Cricket Board does have a marketing orientation and disseminates good practice throughout the 18 First Class County Clubs. At local level, however, where each club is responsible for promoting the game, the picture is less clear.

It is an accepted fact that professional sport is one of the major profit and loss industries in our society. The most popular leisure pursuits in the Western world are sports-related, involving countless individuals as participants or observers and many more in the highly profitable business of satisfying sports-related needs and wants. Although sport’s contribution to the global economy is indisputable, one striking feature that is common across sport is precisely the way that it is not organised as a business (Horne et al, 1999). The main reason for sport to appear to be uncomfortable with the associations of capitalism and entrepreneur- ship is that it remains heavily influenced by historical developmental traditions.

Modern cricket, perhaps more than most contempo- rary popular sports, struggles with the legacy of its privileged past and with the fact that it is freighted with extraneous moral overtones (Birley, 1999). The widespread practice of describing unacceptable behaviour as ‘not cricket’ helps to perpetuate the myth that cricket is the gold standard for sportsmanlike behaviour, belonging to an age of imperialism and gentility. As a direct result of this legacy, professional cricket has struggled to keep pace with the tempo of the age, and has sometimes seemed to be lost in a dream-world of past glories and outworn social attitudes (Birley, 1999). One outcome of this is that cricket has found regarding itself as a business partic- ularly problematic.

Most modern spectator sports, of necessity, operate as businesses and have had to adopt and adapt to the

core business functions of marketing, finance and human resource management. Soccer has long enjoyed success as a business venture – as is borne out by the huge financial sums associated with the game – and now cricket clubs are beginning to accept that if the sport is to survive and compete effectively for media and supporter attention, it has to modernise and behave in a more commercial way. In order to maintain its licence to operate, cricket must regard itself as part of the entertainment industry and compete for its share of the global market. A key objective of this strategy is building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with a range of publics, an objective that is usually achieved through the systematic and structured implementation of public relations.

One of the challenges facing contemporary profes- sional cricket is the need to generate interest in what is seen by many as a game which belongs to a bygone age and that is played at County clubs that can be experienced as stuffy or unwelcoming. If cricket is to have a viable future, it must address these image problems and appeal to a more demographical- ly diverse audience. Public relations, more than the other elements of the contemporary promotional mix, offers a potential solution. As is evident from the findings of this research, where a public relations focus does exist, there is much to be gained.

It is encouraging to note that cricket in the UK has undergone some significant developments since this research began and that public relations has played an important part in these innovations. In June 2003, the Twenty20 Cup was launched, amid some resistance from the cricket establishment. The new short cricket (Twenty20 matches are one innings per

‘Modern cricket, perhaps more than most contemporary popular sports, struggles with the legacy of its privileged past’

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side, with each innings a maximum of 20 overs) is proving its appeal to a range of different publics and cricket grounds throughout the country, and sell-out attendances have been reported. It is evident that this shorter form of cricket is pumping new life into the game, and 2004 saw the first international version of Twenty20 (between the England and New Zealand women’s cricket teams). July 2004 saw the inaugural ProCricket matches being played in the US, and a similar version in South Africa. In July 2005, Australia will play England in the first full Twenty20 internation- al match at Lords, the home of cricket. As well as offering an alternative to the traditional format, Twenty20 is proving to be exactly the type of product extension that the game needs. As Lawrence Booth (2004) says: ‘Call it hit-and-giggle if you like. Call it fast food. Call it blasphemy. Just don‘t call it irrelevant.”

Methodology

The English are frequently characterised and even stereotyped as being passionate about sport. As well as actively participating in a whole range of sports for leisure and fitness, as a nation, we spend huge amounts of our free time as sports spectators, either through our televisions and radios or live at the ground or stadium.

According to Cashmore (1990), the contemporary fascination with sport has much to do with the fact that by consuming sport in various ways, we view and do nothing more functional than avoid what we do during the rest of our working week.

It is, therefore, unsurprising that sport has, over recent years, become the focus for extensive academic research. A large part of this research has been conducted in the field of sports science, but as the amounts of money to be made in and by sports increase, both the clubs and participants have become lucrative business prospects. As a result, sports marketing and promotions have become and continue to be fruitful and dynamic areas of study.

The research interest for this paper was to analyse public relations practice in English County cricket and offer a strategy for effective, proactive public relations. A case study approach was used to examine to what extent clubs understand and utilise public relations. Studies were made of Durham County Cricket Club (CCC) and Yorkshire CCC, focussing on, among other things, issues of regional identity and the operational practices of a young modern club (Durham) compared to one with a long and successful cricket history (Yorkshire). Communication and relationship-building strategies were analysed and key theoretical principles of public relations, insight and understanding were applied.

In the UK, the sport that captures most attention in terms of spectators, finance, the media and academics is the ‘national game’ – soccer. As a nation, the English are fanatical soccer supporters and even if individuals do not support particular clubs, the country almost grinds to a halt for an important inter- national match. The patriotic fervour widely reported in the media during May and June 2002, and the attendant ‘feel-good factor’ that was enjoyed by both business and society while the national soccer team was keeping the country’s World Cup glory hopes alive, illustrate the power that sport can exert over a vast range of publics.

Although cricket is played and watched all over the world by huge numbers of people, only those particu- larly interested in the game will have been aware of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. It certainly did attract media coverage and offered a whole range of sponsorship and commercial opportunities, but to a much lesser extent than is the case with soccer. Cricket generally has been rather slow to capitalise on the potential benefits of customer relationship- building, perhaps having a tendency to be complacent about supporter loyalty. Why is this? What is it about cricket that has allowed it to have the perceived status of soccer’s ‘poor relation’? What can be done to get cricket off the back pages and into the lifestyle sections of the newspapers? Why do cricket clubs not attract the same kind of support that soccer clubs do?

What role could public relations play in changing attitudes and behaviour towards cricket generally?

Cricket at all levels of the game has received a great deal of criticism in recent years for an apparent inability, even reluctance, to take the requisite steps towards adapting to changing market demands. The sport has also suffered an image problem. One of the aims of this study was to attempt to discover the reasons for such negative associations. It was clear

that the only way to get a realistic snapshot of prevailing attitudes and practices in cricket was by making personal contact with people involved in the sport. Interviews were held with a wide range of personnel associated with cricket, to gain a broad but representative range of perspectives and views of the game. The personnel listed were all interviewed during the primary research phase of the project and the information they supplied forms the core of the study.

A limitation to the research was that it was not possible to get a balance of players’ views from both clubs in the study, because an interview with a player from Yorkshire CCC could not be organised. Instead, Paul Grayson, who began his playing career with Yorkshire CCC before moving to Essex CCC, agreed to be interviewed, redressing the balance somewhat. Informal talks with coaches and others associated with professional cricket provided useful material that has been incorporated into the study.

In selecting individuals to be interviewed, a purposive sample was identified and agreed. Visits were made to Durham CCC and Yorkshire CCC head- quarters (at the Riverside in Chester-le-Street and Headingley respectively) to conduct face-to-face interviews; interviews were conducted by telephone where this was more convenient for the interviewee.

The face-to-face interviews were designed to be semi-structured and open-ended, as it was felt that this approach would generate a more detailed response and would help put interviewees at ease. Interviewees were sent the questions via email in advance of the interviews and given the opportunity to decline answering specific questions. This did not happen, so no question had to be changed or deleted. Each interview was recorded, with the permission of the interviewee, and notes were made during the telephone interviews. All interviews were transcribed and analysed to produce a ‘thick description’, which has been useful in establishing the quality of the research. The main advantages of such interviews were that the researcher was able to control the line of questioning and tailor it specifically to the study, while gathering important information from the interviewee.

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Personnel interviewed for research

Andrew Walpole, Media Manager, England Cricket Team, England and Wales Cricket Board

James Bailey, Marketing Manager Durham County Cricket Club

Vicky Laverick, Public Relations and Marketing Executive, Durham County Cricket Club

Liz Sutcliffe, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager, Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Andrew Pratt, First Team Wicket Keeper Durham County Cricket Club

Paul Grayson, Senior Player and Professional Cricketers Association Representative, Essex County Cricket Club; England One Day International player

Richard Nowell, Karen Earl Sponsorship Limited

Brian Hunt, Honorary Statistician and First Team Scorer, Durham County Cricket Club

Paul Farbrace, England Youth Teams Manager and specialist Wicket Keeping Coach England and Wales Cricket Board

Paul Grayson (former Yorkshire CCC player) Essex County Cricket Club

Secondary research involved consulting a variety of literature sources – key texts, journals and other print material. A range of scholarly texts were identified, the majority of which deal with sports from a social science perspective. An extensive preliminary literature search suggested that texts dealing specifically with cricket were few.

Most general sports texts tend to have short, though significant, pieces on cricket. The majority of cricket- related writing tended to focus on the history and development of the sport or was specifically about cricket clubs or players. A particularly interesting issue is that of cultural identity and its impact and influence on cricket and its supporters. This has created much academic interest, but with specific focus on soccer. One aim of this study was to take and apply some of these key theories usefully to cricket.

An extensive range of print media, particularly newspapers and special interest magazines, were also used. New media, such as online sources, also provided relevant material. (The Durham and Yorkshire clubs both have websites, as do the ECB and ICC. CricInfo, a website dedicated to the sport, has an extensive article archive and useful links to a range of alternative information sources.)

In addition, public relations literature and theoretical material was consulted and applied to the research. Specific elements of public relations theory were appropriate to this study. For example, in determining the extent and application of public relations activity conducted by the two clubs, reference is made to: the public relations planning process; communication models and theories; stakeholder and publics theories;

and image and identity theories. At no time during the research did it become necessary to adapt or alter the research methodology. As the basic methodology was sound, reliable and achievable, the quality of the research and its outcomes were in no way or at any stage compromised or threatened.

Results

A key finding of the research is that public relations is extremely important at Durham County Cricket Club. Vicky Laverick, the club’s Public Relations and Marketing Executive, is the personification of the club’s commitment to this element of their marketing and promotion strategy: prior to Vicky’s engagement, the post did not exist. Durham CCC’s approach to public relations is the exception rather than the rule among the 18 First Class County Clubs. Vicky is one of only a very few dedicated public relations personnel, which indicates a level of disregard for public relations in domestic cricket. Marketing is very much a feature of all the County clubs, and each club has a marketing manager or equivalent. However, public relations tends to be incorporated into marketing activities rather than being used as a com- munications tool in its own right. From the research conducted at Durham, it is evident that even where there is a keenly proactive approach to public relations, activity is not always considered to be a priority and there is a constant struggle for budgets and resources. This apparent neglect of public relations is a risky strategy that must be addressed, particularly as it contradicts the ECB’s proactive approach to public relations.

The greatest barrier to implementing public relations strategies in cricket is lack of finance. Although the ECB is financially secure, the Counties are reliant on the ECB for funding. However, in order to survive, the County clubs have to generate their own income. Depending to a large extent on location and relation- ships with key publics and stakeholders, some Counties are more financially secure than others.

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‘The greatest barrier to implementing public relations strategies in cricket is lack of finance. Although the ECB is financially secure, the Counties are reliant on the ECB for funding.’

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There appears to be a case to answer here that the ECB could redress the balance somewhat and allocate specific resources for public relations activity. It is suggested that if cricket were treated more like a business, the ECB could adopt the role of ‘head office’ in overseeing the activities and performances of the ‘branch offices’. A more corporate approach to public relations would assist greatly in improving the corporate image and the identity for the game. This would allow the County clubs to continue promoting their regional identity but under the England and Wales Cricket Board corporate umbrella.

It is evident that there is a distance between the ECB and the Counties. Any marketing and public relations activities have to be cleared with the ECB before implementation, but visits to the Counties by the ECB governing body are rare. It is also evident that the ECB focuses much more on the England national team than on the Counties.

This skewed balance was particularly noticeable during the early part of 2003, as very little information had been made available about the new Twenty20 tournament, which was widely regarded by players and officials as a resuscitation strategy for the sport. The tournament, which had its inaugural games in June 2003, had at the time of writing up the research still to be fully marketed.

According to Paul Grayson of Essex CCC, this was a tactical mistake. In his opinion, public relations is vital to the long-term survival of the game of cricket and he cited this as an example of a typical failure to act proactively. This view was supported by James Bailey and Andrew Pratt from Durham, who had held the view that the time to be disseminating the message to the publics was already at hand, but that this could not happen because the ECB was still engaged in

research and development and a sponsor has not been secured. However, the political wrangles associated with Zimbabwe’s role in the World Cup in 2003, in which cricket had reluctantly become involved, rather overshadowed the development of the domestic game. This is perhaps another strand of the argument that ECB focus is directed too much towards the national team. However, it is encouraging for public relations practice to discover that much greater use of public relations at County level features as a significant element of the ECB’s long-term strategy.

Durham CCC allocates part of the marketing budget for public relations activities because of a perceived need. The chairman, Bill Midgley, and the chief executive, David Harker, are active, high profile spokespersons for the club and are involved personally with a range of key publics and stakeholders. This proactive approach, encouraged throughout the club, is being observed with great interest by many associated with the promotion of cricket. The reality is that much more practical public relations needs to be done, but certain limitations are imposed which have long-term implications for the survival of both the club and the game. The club’s policy of nurturing local young cricketers by developing them through the Durham Academy before they graduate into the First and Second teams is a key element of the club’s public relations strategy – and one that is well regarded by the supporters and members. Of the 20 playing staff in 2003, 14 were from the North East and had been playing together, according to Andrew Pratt, since the age of 13.

Durham CCC’s attitude to player development is a key strength. It extends throughout the club, from its programme of youth cricket coaching in the region’s schools, through the Durham Schools Cricket Association, which has county representative teams in all age-groups (from Under 11s to Under 16s as well as women’s teams), into the Academy and First teams. The County youth teams receive coaching from the Academy coaches and players, and specialist coaching is offered to young elite players. Players of all ages are valued and made to feel part of the club,

‘Durham CCC’s attitude to player development is a key strength. It extends throughout the club’

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which is a key element in developing player loyalty. The resource issue with regard to public relations at

Durham CCC needs to be monitored, with a view to ensuring that financial backing is put in place to optimise communications efforts. The following comment by James Bailey illustrates this very clearly:

“Cricket is such a break-even business. One of the main reasons that First Class Counties don’t have any PR or even marketing is that it doesn’t add to your bottom line immediately. They’ll concentrate on selling sponsorship or corporate hospitality, which has a big impact. Durham is a break-even business but we’re very much focussed on the long-term.”

The same theme is identified by Vicky Laverick:

“There’s so much we could do here really. It’s just having the resources to do it. We don’t have resources to measure the effectiveness of articles printed in particular magazines. If we can’t evaluate it, it makes you wonder whether its worth it. We don’t have resources to pay media clippings agencies to scan every publication.”

The role that public relations has to play in the overall promotion of cricket, and specifically for Durham CCC, cannot be overemphasised. Since its inception as a First Class County, Durham CCC has relied heavily on the support of local spectators and businesses, and the club readily admits that without such stakeholder backing, the club would be unable to survive as a going concern.

Of all the First Class County cricket clubs in the UK, supporters and non-supporters both agree, Yorkshire is the most traditional and well-known. Yorkshire CCC is one of the very few sporting institutions that is recog- nisable to a wide audience, many of whom are not in the slightest bit interested in cricket. In fact, Yorkshire CCC, until very recently, was synonymous with cricket, meaning that both ‘cricket’ the word and cricket the sport were inextricably linked with the club, and that

the word ‘Yorkshire’ could even be extended as a connotation for the sport. The whole Yorkshire approach to cricket has become legendary. Much of the writing on this subject, together with stories that have grown around some of the famous players through the years, has helped create a mythology around the club. A key feature of Yorkshire CCC is the fact that it has successfully positioned itself as a corporate brand, which many of its competitors have still to achieve. It is worth analysing, however, how relevant Yorkshire CCC’s image is to contemporary cricket and how their image compares with reality?

Yorkshire CCC, unlike Durham CCC, has no dedicated public relations professional on the marketing team. In her role as marketing and sponsorship manager, Liz Sutcliffe describes public relations activity as being important, but says that it is not given dedicated financial resources. Marketing communications at Yorkshire appear to be very suc- cessfully integrated and, like Durham CCC, the income-generating focus is not exclusively on cricket. Though there is clearly a place for public relations, other techniques, not aimed at grass roots supporters, appear to be more important at Yorkshire. This is a clear example, seemingly common in domestic cricket, of public relations being subsumed or even overlooked in favour of other organisational functions and activities that are perceived as being more lucrative and cost-effective.

For example, to generate club loyalty, and as a lucrative income stream, 2003 saw a concerted push of hospitality packages using carefully targeted personal appeals. Although hospitality packages are thoughtfully targeted at corporate client publics, and have the potential to be very lucrative, there is a tangible sense that, for the long-term survival of both the club and the game, it is the younger publics that clubs need to attract. This understanding is relatively new at Yorkshire CCC: the acceptance that if a younger public is targeted, they can potentially be tied into the club for a long time. Along with the many other First Class Counties, Yorkshire CCC is having to compete for support with Premier League soccer

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clubs. That young supporters are much more likely to be attracted to a shorter and more dynamic game is something that cricket clubs are having to face up to and accept. With the advent of Twenty20 cricket, Yorkshire CCC and Durham CCC both hope that they will be able to fill a gap in the market.

At Yorkshire CCC there seemed to be a tendency to internalise problems and issues which, in terms of reputation management, can be seen as ill-advised. As Hutton et al (2001) state, reputation management, if it is to emerge as a significant business function, clearly rests on a foundation of what is traditionally termed ‘public relations’. That the club does not have a dedicated public relations function, and is apparently content to rely on history, tradition and even mythology to assuage potentially damaging image and reputation issues, suggests a possible lack of under- standing concerning reputation management. It became apparent during the interview with Liz Sutcliffe that the focus at Yorkshire CCC was on trying to encourage greater numbers of spectators through the gates for the following season.

The overwhelming justification for developing a proactive approach to public relations and reputation management is that a good reputation is fundamental to any organisation’s success (Hutton et al, 2001). It is evident from the research at both Durham and Yorkshire that cricket clubs, which depend upon continual replenishment of supporters for their long- term viability, need to be especially mindful of the implications of ignoring the basic principles of public relations.

Conclusion

Recent research into the operation of professional English cricket is unanimous on one issue: that the modern game is strategically vulnerable. In 1997, Shibli & Wilkinson-Riddle, among others, made detailed observations on the financial strength of the First Class Counties, based upon published accounts for the year ended 1995. Despite a number of radical

changes made at every level of the game since the late 1990s (including the introduction of the 10- match triangular NatWest Series between the national and visiting teams, the central contracting of England players, the introduction of a two-division promotion and relegation competition for both the County Championship and the one-day National Cricket League, and day/night matches), at the game’s highest levels, the focus must continue to be on making cricket accessible to a wider audience.

In order to consider how the game can move forward, it is necessary to review a number observa- tions made by Shibli & Wilkinson-Riddle (1998). A significant amount of gross income in cricket is generated by commercial activities. However, this falls far below the amount needed to pay for the core activity, leading to an unsatisfactory situation for all the clubs where “the commercial income shows static profitability, a high degree of volatility and therefore inherent unreliability”. With only 34% of gross revenue coming from the England and Wales Cricket Board, lucrative additional income streams are therefore essential to the survival of the County clubs.

Shibli & Wilkinson-Riddle’s research suggests that cricket’s current financial difficulties are a direct consequence of a number of microenvironmental factors. Most significant are:

l Clubs continue to rely upon grant income from the ECB

l County Championship matches have not generated enough support from the public

l Member subscriptions are falling year on year l Commercial income is unlikely to grow sufficiently to

provide clubs with the necessary financial support.

Findings such as these point to the anachronistic nature of some cricket management and illustrate the persistent problematic financial situation peculiar to a sport in which clubs operate at a loss and are, in fact, subsidised by cricket followers. Unlike soccer club directors, who embrace initiatives such as share flotations as a way of raising revenue, cricket clubs

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have historically relied upon membership fees, gate receipts and local fundraising rituals. The apparent reluctance by those at the sport’s highest levels to regard cricket as a business has its roots in the very origins of the modern game: it took more than 130 years to change the County Championship to a two- division, more competitive tournament. It is this type of resistance to change that can fuel sometimes ill- informed attacks. Perhaps the most pressing public relations challenge of all is to create an image of cricket that is appealing and relevant to today’s more demanding and sophisticated audiences.

The primary research suggests that although the modern game is proving to be more attractive to audiences with a demographic different to that of the traditional cricket fan, much more needs to be done. The players and coaches interviewed were unanimous in supporting the notion of getting close to the people who really matter and giving them more of what they really want to see. This view was further endorsed by Nicky Peng of Durham CCC:

“Crowds want to see big shots and action. We need to encourage people to come and watch. You can see by the Norwich Union League how much the people love it; with coloured clothing and floodlights – it brings a different dimension to cricket.”

The ECB’s own market research has found that “some groups of consumers felt that there was a lack of buzz and excitement associated with cricket compared to

other sports, particularly with the county game. Younger and potentially new cricket audiences made clear that they wanted forms of entertainment with enough excitement to justify the leisure time and money they would invest in purchasing a match ticket.” There is clearly a recognition that cricket must continue in its attempts to become more consumer- focused and that a systematic public relations orientation can help in achieving that objective.

A dominant phrase in the lexicon of contemporary public relations and marketing communications is ‘relationship building’. Public relations practice has historically been directed towards managing communi- cations. However, within the last few years, academics have begun to conceptualise the practice of public relations as ‘relationship management’, and research has become centred on critically examining the range of variables that impinge upon organisation-public relationships. The findings of such research continually show that effectively managed organisa- tion-public relationships affect key public member attitudes, evaluations and behaviours. Recent research conducted by Hutton et al (2001) and others, though not applied to cricket club publics, is nonetheless relevant. The fundamental tenet of such research is that publics will display long-term loyalty and repeat purchase behaviour to a company, brand or service if a relationally-based grounding is applied to organisa- tional public relations practice. This theory of relation- ship-building is consistent with Grunig’s two-way symmetric model of public relations (Table 1).

TABLE 1 Grunig’s Two-Way Symmetric Model of Public Relations

PURPOSE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

NATURE OF COMMUNICATION TWO-WAY; BALANCED EFFECTS

COMMUNICATION MODEL GROUP GROUP

NATURE OF RESEARCH FORMATIVE; EVALUATIVE OF UNDERSTANDING

LEADING HISTORICAL FIGURES BERNAYS, EDUCATORS, PROFESSIONAL LEADERS

WHERE PRACTISED TODAY REGULATED BUSINESS, AGENCIES

ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF ORGANISATIONS PRACTICING TODAY 15% (INCLUDING DURHAM CCC)

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Characteristics of the Two-Way Symmetric Model of Public Relations

The research findings for this paper indicate that this model is evident in the communication strategies at both Durham and Yorkshire but that Durham is more proactive in creating two-way symmetric communica- tion strategies than Yorkshire. The obvious implication of such findings is that there is need for trained public relations practitioners at all First Class County clubs.

Hutton et al (2001) state that relationships are significant and relevant to people who are direct stake- holders of the organisation, such as employees, customers and stockholders – usually the organisa- tion’s most important publics. Hutton et al also make the interesting observation that a reputation is generally something an organisation has with strangers, but a relationship is generally something an organisation has with its friends and associates. The relevance of these findings to cricket clubs and the sport in general is clear. Creating the correct image for both the sport and clubs is necessary, as this will develop the reputation that helps turns strangers into long-term friends and associates. The primary research conducted for this paper underpins this theory and is encapsulated in Vicky Laverick of Durham CCC’s view:

“Your company reputation and image is what it’s all about, and if you don’t have that, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. If people think it’s rubbish but it’s not, there isn’t much you can do about it so you really have to manage your reputation.”

Proactive relationship-building strategies present an achievable critical success factor for cricket. According to Richard Nowell:

“Relationship building with all key publics is critical, but it is vitally essential to forge relation- ships with children. The role of the sponsor is to get things for the kids to do. [Cricket] needs to take itself to the public a lot more.”

For publics to become more widely engaged with cricket, it is necessary for those involved in the game, whether administrators, players or the media, to communicate all that is desirable about the sport and its teams, frequently and consistently. This goes to the very heart of the human communication theories which form the foundations of modern public relations. An acknowledgement and awareness of the influence of particular communication theories can only assist in the construction of highly effective public relations strategies for cricket clubs.

Two specific – and accessible – communication theories worth discussing in this context are the theories of social penetration and social exchange:

Social penetration theory Originally developed by Altman & Taylor and analysed by Heath & Bryant, social penetration theory is relevant to public relations in cricket quite simply because social penetration refers to the process whereby people come to know one another in varying degrees of detail and intimacy. This theory views the quality of communication – what is exchanged between relational partners – as vital to the development and maintenance of relationships. Positive communication produces positive relation- ships, whereas negative communication results in negative ones.

One of the keys to relationship development is what the participants remember about previous encounters with one another. Memorable and positive experiences are critical to all relationship-building founded on social penetration theory. Here, the metaphor of ‘penetration’ helps in explaining the idea that club- publics relationships can be developed on the basis of ‘getting into’ and, by association, getting to know each other, in order to achieve the mutual understanding of two-way symmetric public relations.

Social exchange theory In order for cricket clubs to further nurture lucrative relationships of the kind that have the potential to ‘draw in’ future generations of supporters, an under-

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standing of social exchange theory is necessary. According to this theory, individuals (publics) who are involved in interactions that they want to be positive, define and negotiate what they consider to be required for positive and negative communication, and ‘agree’ on the rules and behaviours required to foster the rela- tionship.

Heath & Bryant (1992) state that interpersonal communication is a symbolic process by which two people are bound together in a relationship, provide each other with resources or negotiate the exchange of resources. This theory, then, sits at the very heart of public relations practice.

A conclusion to be drawn from the two theories mentioned above is that many of the relationship- building strategies that are fundamental to human interpersonal communication can be perfectly adapted to cricket club-publics relationships. Toth (2000), who also recommends and endorses the use of interperson- al communication processes as part of all organisa- tion-public relationship-building, supports this assertion. Therefore, key public members and the cricket club will benefit when public relations activities are managed utilising relational perspectives. It is also extremely likely that when publics are able to feel as though they have a relationship with their club, the halo effect will occur, whereby the overall image of cricket as a sport will be greatly improved.

By applying Grunig’s situational theory of publics to the concept of relationship management, cricket clubs, through a better understanding of how their publics operate, will be able to devise much more effective communications strategies. Organisations need to establish relationships with their publics, and publics seek to establish relationships with their chosen organ- isation for reasons of mutual benefit.

For the Yorkshire and Durham clubs, most publics, including stakeholder members, players, spectators and the local community, are passive. Mutual interest and acknowledgement exists, but for the greater part of the relationship, publics and organisation are content to function without significant formal commu- nication. However, to maintain positive relationships, it

is imperative that the organisation does not take these publics for granted or overlook them when communi- cation becomes a necessity.

Both Yorkshire and Durham commented upon falling membership and low gate-numbers at matches, par- ticularly at County Championship games. A key finding of the primary research for this study is that there is clear evidence that certain key stakeholder publics in cricket have been allowed to become active – they are demonstrating their dissatisfaction with the clubs, or the sport in general, by not buying into the game. This has clear implications for cricket’s future and is an issue that needs to be addressed at the sport’s highest levels.

“As for the future of the game, some very tough decisions need to be made. Cricket is in the entertainment business and has to take its customers very seriously... What does cricket need to do to change people’s perception that it is merely a game rooted in the past and no longer relevant to today’s helter-skelter society?”

The above statement, which appeared in the February/March 2003 edition of the Cricket Society Bulletin, is an excellent summation of the current state of English cricket. The extensive media coverage of the 2003 Cricket World Cup undoubtedly raised awareness and created interest in and discussion about the game, and this should be welcomed by all its constituent parties. One of James Bailey’s key stated objectives for the game has been met: cricket has been moved from the back pages, not only to the lifestyle section but also to the front page. It would seem that now is the time to capitalise on people’s awareness and to take the opportunity to keep cricket in the public eye.

This heightened awareness of cricket that was created by the World Cup resulted in some important announcements surrounding the game. In March 2003, npower announced its sponsorship of the new Twenty20 Cup. The Durham CCC website welcomed this announcement with the comment:

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“We are excited by what the ECB is doing to broaden the appeal of cricket.”

This is an example of a significant third-party endorsement for cricket the product, as npower was already extensively involved with the sport. It is especially significant because in 2002 npower became the first Test sponsor to market matches to families and children actively, with designated ‘Lion’s Den’ areas at the games. This project introduced over 6,500 children to Test cricket.

It is apparent from the research that the Twenty20 Cup is regarded as cricket’s potential saviour. Those consulted during the course of this research were unanimous in their opinion that cricket had to change and that by creating a shortened, fast-paced version of the traditional one-day match, to last just two hours and 45 minutes and be played under floodlights and in coloured clothing, new publics would be reached and drawn into the game. The Twenty20 Cup was the result of the ECB’s own market research, which proved to be an invaluable tool in helping to develop a more consumer-focused approach to cricket. The ECB anticipated that the venture would yield long-term benefits that would help the game within England and Wales to become stronger at all levels, professional and amateur.

Changing the structure of a game that to many is outdated and irrelevant is an important first step, but it is also clear that much more could be done at club level to develop and maintain satisfying long-term rela- tionships with a range of existing and intensely loyal publics – as well as the new publics which the Twenty20 tournament attracts. A systematic commitment to proactive public relations is undoubtedly the key, and management commitment to ensuring that the function is professionally applied and resourced is likely to be rewarded.

It is evident from the research that those involved in the game recognise the need for and actively encourage what Peters & Waterman (1982) refer to as “staying close to the customer”. This is an example of the active symmetrical communication which is

practised extensively in what they termed “excellent organisations”. Grunig (1992) says that it is only a small leap in logic to conclude that excellent organisa- tions should have an excellent public relations function to manage this symmetrical communication. Durham CCC, with its existing commitment to public relations, is well on the way to achieving excellence. If public relations is allowed a greater strategic role at the club, there is real potential for Durham CCC to enjoy a competitive advantage that will affirm its position as an innovative market leader in the sport. As Richard Nowell from Karen Earl Sponsorship Limited observed:

“Durham CCC brings innovation to the game in terms of what they are doing as far as PR and marketing are concerned. Many other cricket clubs (including First Class Counties) don’t do PR and I feel that this is a big mistake.”

Players should also be used much more strategically for public relations purposes. Youngsters are attracted to the sport because they want to emulate and get close to the players that they admire. Cricket has the advantage of being much more accessible than sports like soccer. Identifying and training playing staff to coach young players, and making players available on match days to sign autographs and play in the nets, is a cost-effective approach to relationship management. In Richard Nowell’s opinion:

“Players need to understand their role as ambassadors – they need to be consumer friendly. Cricketers have short contracts and are only tied to the county for a few months – building goodwill is important to ensure that players will engage with PR effort. On a local level, you need to get involved with local people. The Counties don’t have any money, so players need to be worked harder in terms of PR. Get players to talk to the media as a way of generating loads of free advertising. Players need media training. Take players to the publics, make them human, get people to relate to them – cricket needs a David Beckham.”

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Essex CCC’s Paul Grayson endorses this view. He feels that it is incumbent on all senior cricket players to engage in “active public relations” and thinks it should be a compulsory part of an international player’s training, at all ages and levels.

Andrew Pratt refers to situations where players have felt disadvantaged because they did not have the requisite communications skills training, and although he believes you have to learn from experience, he also feels that players are under-utilised in public relations terms because they do not have relevant training and expertise.

It is clear, therefore, that the clubs have the potential to derive significant benefits if they develop their players as public relations tools, which means that they also need to invest players with the skills to become confident media spokespersons. According to Andrew Pratt:

“Cricket has to work a lot harder to get column inches. Counties are very wary of the media but it’s important to give local journalists access to the players. Get to know the media a lot more, build relationships. Durham use their players for PR – the more interviews players do, the better the club’s relationship with the media. Relationship building with media is critical. ECB need to train more players to become media savvy.”

Cricket – both the clubs and the sport in general – must also identify who their publics are and be able to categorise them in accordance with Grunig’s typology of publics. Reference has been made to the fact that, perhaps through lack of awareness or understanding of publics behaviour, key stakeholder publics in cricket have changed from being passive to active, and that this situation needs to be addressed and reversed. Acknowledging the existence of active publics in cricket has to be a priority both for policy-makers at the highest levels of the domestic game and for CEOs at the clubs. It is imperative that strategies are put in place that allow for both the continual monitoring of publics and the organic adaptation of the organisation. This can be achieved by the installation of public

relations personnel who perform what organisational theorists call a ‘boundary’ role.

Marketing and promotions are evidently the functions with which the clubs and the sport are most comfortable. The rather reluctant acceptance that cricket is a business and thus needs to operate as one is manifest in the promotional strategies in place at both Durham and Yorkshire. However, in response to Richard Nowell’s view that cricket needs to take itself to the public more, a final observation can be made. In their research into public relations and marketing practices, Ehling, White & Grunig (1992) found that both marketing and public relations are important functions for any organisation. However, when public relations is subsumed into marketing, as tends to be the case in cricket clubs, organisations are deprived of one of those two critical functions. It is therefore recognised that if the public relations function is to derive its optimum capabilities and benefits, public relations departments must exist separately from marketing departments; if that is not viable, then the two functions must be conceptually and operationally distinct within the one department.

The case for public relations in cricket has been made. The 2003 season brought the most significant structural changes the domestic game had seen for years. It seems appropriate, therefore, that the innovations which are beginning to be seen on the field of play be underpinned and optimised from within the boardroom. Maximising the potential and benefits of public relations has to be done now in order to secure the future of the modern game.

Biography

Maria Hopwood is a Senior Lecturer in Public Relations at Teesside Business School, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK. An active researcher into sports public relations, her current interests range from the Twenty20 cricket phenomenon to sports corporate social responsibility and PR for players.

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