Media & Communications Masterclass Launches With Inspiring First Edition
June 17, 2015
The iSportconnect Media and Communications Masterclass made an inspiring debut in London today at the headquarters of executive search firm, Odgers Berndtson.
Senior media and communications professionals from across the sport industry attended what was an informative and thought-provoking event.
Attendees included representatives from ATP, BBC, Bundesliga, Chelsea FC, City Football Group, ECB, England Rugby 2015, NBA, Newcastle United FC, Premier League, Southampton FC, PGA European Tour, The FA, UEFA, UK Sport, WADA, West Bromwich Albion FC, WTA and many more.
The morning’s first panel featured Shaun Custis, Head of Sport Content at The Sun and Lee Clayton, Group Head of Sport for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.
The pair discussed several topics including where the importance sits between the newspaper and online/social media, where and how sporting organisations can be more proactive when working with the media and how they see the media landscape in the future.
The second panel of the day had a football theme to it as Dan Johnson, Director of Communications at the Premier League, Steve Atkins, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at Chelsea FC and Christian Pfennig, Director of Corporate and Brand Communications at the Bundesliga took to the stage.
Dan Johnson, commented: “The sport industry is changing rapidly and the communication is a very important element. We’ve seen the media and the leagues and club sides during this event. It’s a very interesting debate.”
The trio each focused on where communications sits within their respective organisations, how their work has changed with the emergence of social and digital media and the level of their involvement at the formative stages of key decisions within their organisations.
The third and final panel of the day involved Pedro Pinto, Chief of Press at UEFA, Will Chignell, Head of Communications at the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Philip Bernie, Head of BBC TV Sport.
They touched on several issues such as what sport organisations should be doing to generate more coverage, examples of proactive work that has resulted in successful campaigns and coverage and how their respective organisations have responded to social and digital media generating instant news.
Speaking after the event, Pedro Pinto said: “For me it was particularly interesting to hear from the Premier League and from a club, and the Bundesliga as well because these are similar set ups as we have at UEFA in terms of communication, so it’s interesting to see how they are thinking about communicating themselves and what their priorities are.”
The event proved to be hugely successful and was one of the best Masterclass events to date.
The Masterclass event continues with the first Sport Performance Masterclass taking place on July 14th.
For more information visit the website HERE.
More pictures below
Networking in full flow at the Masterclass
(Steffen Merkel, Bundesliga, left, Christian Pfennig, Bundesliga, centre & John Williams, WRU, right)
(Greg Demetriou, FA, left & Pedro Pinto, UEFA, right)
(Welcome by Simon Cummins, Managing Director, Global Sports Practice, Odgers Berndtson)
{jcomments on}