Women's lacrosse goes worldwide, thanks to Red Alert Media!

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Client:		English Lacrosse Association
PR Team:		Red Alert Media
Campaign:		Women's Lacrosse World Cup, Wycombe
Timescale:		April to July, 2001

Objectives

"We never get any coverage in any of the national newspapers apart from results in the Telegraph. See if you can change that for the World Cup." That was the challenge given to Red Alert Media's Peter Jones, and one that he couldn't resist. A World Cup is a World Cup in anyone's language, and Peter was determined to give the lacrosse tournament the publicity it merited. And just for good measure, he was told that a measure of his success would be if he achieved coverage in The Guardian - "...they've always ignored lacrosse...!"

Strategy Plan

The first objective was to put together a comprehensive Press Pack and get it sent out as far and wide as possible - this included facts, figures, features and background, plus contact details. Initial take up was slow, but at least the seeds had been sown.

Peter then spent time nurturing contacts, planning coverage of the event itself, and talking to leading personalities in all the home nations, and engaged in e-mail exchanges with representatives of two of the likely winners: Australia and the USA (defending champions).

As the tournament approached, Peter stepped up the pace. He organised a Press conference, but in case of no take up organised his own photographer.

There WAS plenty of interest from the local media, but Red Alert Media's own photographer took photographs of the team that provoked interest from some tabloid picture desks. The Sun bought exclusive rights, but the pictures never made it because Tim Henman was in a Wimbledon semi-final, and that dominated the news and sport pages!

Peter approached various news agencies - domestically the Press Association, and internationally Reuters and Associated Press, and offered reports and results free of charge, offering feature articles in the countdown to the start of the World Cup then day by day round ups. The offers were gratefully received.

It was also noted by Peter that on the first weekend of the World Cup, England played Australia in the opening match - and on the same day the England cricket team were involved in an Ashes Test against the Australians, and the British Lions were taking on the Aussies Down Under in a Tour match. It was an angle that many outlets picked up on and followed up.

As the start of the World Cup approached, interest grew, and by the opening day the interest was intense. Peter himself - an experienced broadcast and print journalist - appeared on a number of regional radio stations to talk about the World Cup. As a TV journalist, Peter hired a camera crew and filmed preview footage with a script which he handed to two international sports agencies. The pictures were used on many stations worldwide. He hired an experienced BBC freelance radio journalist to put together a preview package which ran on many local stations, plus BBC World Service. Radio 5 Live did an interview ahead of the opening match.

During the next seven days, interest mushroomed. BBC Online commissioned a "World Cup Round-Up", read by millions worldwide. Peter's copy to the news agencies was distributed all around the world, and members of the various squads had regular calls from friends and family telling them how they had been following the tournament. And the national newspapers picked up both the reports and the results on a daily basis - including The Guardian!

Measurement & Evaluation

This was the coverage achieved by Red Alert Media for the English Lacrosse Association of their World Cup tournament:-

• All local Press and radio within the Wycombe and District area (where the tournament was held)
• Various Scottish media
• Various Welsh media
• London Live (BBC Radio in London - regular hits with Peter on both Saturdays)
• London Tonight (TV)
• BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC Radio Oxford, BBC Radio Solent
• BBC World Service Radio - including LIVE interview with winning captain after the final
• BBC Regional Desk (London based - distribute nationwide)
• Independent Radio in Guildford
• Independant Radio News (IRN - distribute to all commercial stations in the UK)
• BBC South Today (TV), BBC Newsroom South East (TV)
• BBC World
• SNTV (TV - international agency that sends out pictures worldwide)
• CNN (who also wrote note of apology for not attending themselves during the tournament - all their available staff from London over in Moscow for Olympic decision)
• Press Association (British Press agency, supplying national and regional newspapers, TV and radio - regular reports, previews before the tournament, preview of the final and 3rd place play-off and all results published during the tournament)
• Associated Press (USA agency - reports and results. And read by American supporters back home!)
• Canadian Press (reports/ results. Read by supporters back home)
• PA International (international Press agency)
• Thames Valley Focus (local sports newspaper)
• BBC Online (website - daily reports from me, including a preview and overall wrap of the tournament. Over 6 million hits in June alone!)
• UK Sport Bulletin (website - preview, halfway round up and overall wrap)
• BBC Radio 5 Live
• Ceefax and Teletext
• Daily Express, The Times + feature item and photo, The Daily Telegraph + feature item and photo, The Independent, The Daily Mail, The Guardian
• The Sunday Telegraph / The Sunday Times / The Independent on Sunday / The Mail on Sunday / The Express on Sunday

Blue Peter were interested enough to want to feature lacrosse in their new children's sport and leisure programme. They have subsequently followed that up!

The World Cup also featured on a number of syndicated sports magazine programmes before, during and after the tournament.

Results

Thanks to the coverage achieved by Red Alert Media, interest in the tournament was far more than organisers had ever dreamed of. And as a result, shortly after the championship the England team featured on the BBC TV programme They Think It's All Over!

David Shuttleworth, the chief executive of the English Lacrosse Association, was effusive in his praise for Red Alert Media: "we hired a world class team and got the most remarkable results!".

Sue Clegg wrote to Peter Jones months later saying that she was still receiving feedback about the "fantastic coverage". Peter also had e-mails and letters from a number of journalists and sports editors thanking him for his help, enthusiasm and high standard of work, and all said it was thanks to that, that the tournament received such widespread coverage.

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