Hello,
Today I am going to share some of my understandings after reading few research papers on how an Image is important for a sports organization or what role does a Image management plays in sports organization and what is the role of Public Relations in it.
To began with
“Public relations communicate the news, influence the news,
receive the news, and responds to the news for a brand via the media. It’s the
art and science of talking to the right audience in the right voice. PR is the
communication hub of an organization. It influences and shapes a company’s
image, reputation, brand perception and culture. PR connects a brand and its
public via direct messages or editorial media including print, broadcast,
radio, digital, video or social media. Before social media, a company had one
voice; now social media encompasses an orchestra of voices that contribute to a
company’s image, reputation, brand perception and its public community” (Buyer)
"An image is synthetic. It is
planned: created especially to serve a purpose, to make a certain kind of
impression." (A person's
image is) "a visible public personality as distinguished from
an inward private character.
"By our very use of
the term we imply that something can be done to it; the image can always be
more or less successfully synthesized, doctored, repaired, refurbished, and
improved, quite apart from [though not entirely independent of] the spontaneous
original of which the image is the public portrait." (The
Image; A guide to Pseudo-Event in America, 1962)
After culture, comes a sport which divides communities by increasing the
level on entertainment. People follow their favourite sport as a religion it
can be cricket, football or any other sports.
“Globally, sport is a unique and
powerful cultural phenomenon which both unites and divides communities as well
as engendering an increasing element of entertainment value” (etal, 2007)
The
purpose of this review is to know how can Public Relations help in the image management process
of a Sports organization to publicise itself among the people increase the
participation in sports. It also tries to find out that dose an Image of a
sports organisation has any role to play in the increasing number of
participants in sports. The framework has been
constructed on the process of organisation image management. To create,
maintain, and when necessary and needed, regain a desired image in the eyes of
organisational stake holders is what organisation image management referred as.
“An organization’s image “is a holistic
and vivid impression held by an individual or a particular group towards an
organization and is a result of sense-making by the group and such
communication by the organization occurs as top managers and corporate
spokespersons orchestrate deliberate attempts to influence public impression”, As
what understood from the quote given by (Hatch & Schultz, 1997).
For being successful
and at the top of the chart research helps demonstrate or see to it that the
organisations sustain a desirable image. The
chances of succeeding will simultaneously decrease if the organisations do not
engage themselves in a successful image management process says (Seeger, Sellnow, &
Ulmer, 1998).This study suggests that every
organization will have to work its best and try out new techniques to sustain
or maintain their image which will ultimately help them in being successful and
at the top and a leading one.
An
image is projected or portrayed to the surrounding with the help of the social
phenomena as their function by the sports organisation. This image derives from
a variety of facets: the connotations of the sport, the personalities of its
leading exponents, its system of awards, etc. Sport encompasses a rich range of
values and symbols. All these aspects can be expressed in image. The concept of
image within the framework of marketing has been ascribed many meanings. (Ferrand & Pages, 1999) The study of above
paragraph says that a an Sports Organisation showcases its image with the
existing assets in the organisation like the awards the poses, the kind of fame
their sports person have or the kind of sports training they give to the players.
It
has been defined as:
(1) General characteristics, feelings or
impressions (Jain & Etgar, 1976)
(2)
Brand personality (Arons & Martineau, 1961
; 1958)
(3)
Linkages between characteristics and feelings/emotions (Oxenfeldt, 1974)
(4)
A set of associations generally organised in a significant way (Aaker, 1991) and
(5)
The set of beliefs consumers hold about a particular object (kolter & Amstrong, 1996).
(Aaker, 1991) “considered that the representations which
build an image can include perception which may or may not reflect the
objective truth. Image as such suggests a form of current social knowledge
shared by a group of people. Such shared social knowledge aims at a concrete
management and mastery of the physical and socio-cultural environment. Image
can thus direct both behaviour and communication activity as it works towards
the establishment of a common vision of reality in a given social or cultural
group. This understanding of image lends itself to the symbolic fields specific
to a sport, club or an event. We can conclude from these latter definitions of
image that a sporting organisation, as a social object or phenomenon embodies a
stock of image capital.”
The
above study states that the presentation which builds a framework of an image
can have perceptions which may or may not reflect the objective truth. A group
of people or a set of people sharing a form of current social knowledge about
the organizations is considered to be the Image. Thus it creates a social-cultural
surrounding and helps in aiming at proper management. Image can thus direct
both behaviour and communication activity as it works towards the establishment
of a common vision of reality in a given social or cultural group. This
understanding of image lends itself to the symbolic fields specific to a sport,
a club or an event. We can conclude from these latter definitions of image that
a sporting organisation, as a social object or phenomenon embodies a stock of
image capital.
(Aaker, 1991) “has analysed the contribution of image to the
value of brand equity and we suggest that this framework can be applied to
sporting organisations. Image can assist in the process of sifting and
assessing information because it synthesises a set of characteristics. It can
help an individual interested in sport to extract information from a vast array
of available services and to make sense of it. For example, a deeply involved
supporter will keep himself regularly and accurately informed by buying
specialist magazines, whereas an uninvolved person will not even see the
billboards advertising an event”.
According
to his suggestion the framework or the built-up of Image which has a value of
brand equity (value in itself as a brand) can also be applied to sporting
organisations. Image can assist in the process of sifting and assessing
information because it synthesises a set of characteristics. It can help an
individual interested in sport to extract information from a vast array of
available services and to make sense of it.
It
is not easy to manage this brand image process for a sport organisation in
today’s environment. According to (Payne, 1996), the marketing
director of the International Olympic Committee, there are four keys to the
successful management of sports organisations: viz. total control, integration
of all different programs together, a positive relationship with the business
community partners and professionalism. Successful sports management must also
take account of pressures and barriers, both internal and external as sports
organisations are operating in an increasingly complex and competitive. They
have common goals: to create loyalty amongst members, to increase the number of
their spectators and to manage their sponsorship relationships.
The
sports organisation are getting more and more cautious and taking an extra
effort to maintain their image in the society. There is an increasing
identification that behaviour of all those who are involved with a sporting
organisation which includes the member’s, sporting spectator, journalist
sponsor, etc. get influenced by the power of the image. Some people consider
that the image plays an important and vital role in the consumer behaviour and
thus which leads to the change in the brand equity.
Despite
the growing propensity of sport organisations to engage with CSR, there has
been little academic analysis of the role of sport and social responsibility.
Little is known about which elements of CSR are being addressed and which
aspects can be most successfully addressed by sport organisations. Sport is
demanding on the physical environment. Environmentally responsible business
practices are an element of CSR in that they are often initiated for reasons other
than to make a firm money (but sometimes do), they are not(always) required by
law, and they benefit society (Babiak & Trendafilova,
2011).
The study says that there is an increase in inclination bye the Sports organizations
to do CSR to maintain their image in the market. As sports organizations do CSR
on the basis of physical environment, environment being one of the aspects of
CSR the organizations earn money as well as some publicity which helps in their
Brand image management.
Action
has been taken in the past, at various levels, to study the sports scenario in
the country and analyse India’s performance in international sports. In 1987, a
Committee, headed by Shri Amrik Singh, was appointed by the Government to study
the report of IOA on the performance of India in the Xth Asian Games at Seoul.
In 1991, Government constituted another Committee, headed by Shri M. M.
Rajendran, to review all the schemes.
The
Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource
Development also took up India’s performance in international sports as a
subject for special study and presented the 34th Report on the
subject, covering every aspect of sports, in 1995. The Committee further
deliberated on a wide range of issues concerning sports in 1998 vide the Action
Taken Report (77th Report) of the Committee.
In
these Reports, the Committee has, inter-alia, again emphasized the need for
bringing about reforms in sports management and governance urgently to make it
more dynamic, responsive, responsible and result-oriented.
Some
of the problems and issues identified by Committee in their reports are
summarized below:
(a)
Lack
of a sports culture and consciousness in the country;
(b)
Non-integration
of sports with education;
(c)
Lack
of proper co-ordination amongst the Centre, States, Federations/Associations
and various private and public sector undertakings;
(d)
Lack
of infrastructure in the rural areas and its concentration in
urban/metropolitan centres;
(e)
Under-utilisation
of available infrastructure and its poor maintenance and upkeep;
(f)
Lack
of good quality and affordable sports equipment’s;
(g)
Absence
of adequate incentives for the youth to take up sports as a career;
(h)
Lack
of a system for proper identification of talent;
(i)
Unfair
selection procedure and last minute finalization of teams;
(j)
Lack
of adequate exposure and specialized training/coaching of international
standards;
(k)
Non-availability
of nutritious diet for sportspersons;
(l)
Inadequate participation of women in sports;
(m)
Lack of committed administrators with love and
knowledge about sports;
(n)
Lack
of modern facilities for sports science, sports medicine, psychology, etc.; and
(o)
Inadequate
allocation for sports in the budget.
The
best way to increase the participation in sports at first we will have to see
where dose the organisations stand what records it has created and what type of
sports person it has created which will help in its Image management and
automatically people will start recognizing the organization and the
participation will increase. Provide the best coaching and conduct effective
Public Relations campaign for the people to know about your existence. Conduct
a time to time event like for say a sport competition and telecast it through a
local television channels this might help maintain the Image and even increase
the participation.
