I admit it: I love American football. And hailing from Seattle, I am – of course – a big Seahawks fan. But my day job is working with B2B companies to drive bottom-line results from top-of-funnel marketing. My friends and family know this.
They also know I was both thrilled and disappointed when former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch came out of retirement. Thrilled because I love to watch him run. Disappointed because he won’t be running for my beloved Seahawks. But I did think it was a good time to revisit Marshawn’s infamous shyness with the media.
I originally posted this to LinkedIn back in 2013, because my friends had often asked what I would do if I were the head of Seahawks PR. So, while Marshawn’s team is now different, the advice remains the same.
I don’t pretend to be a Seahawks (now Raiders) insider nor do I claim to know Marshawn’s PR strategy. But it was interesting to think about this from the perspective of a PR professional, rather than just a fan. And in doing so, I realized much of what he does could be PR lessons for the rest of us.
Identify your long-term goal and how PR can help you achieve it
PR should never be a standalone goal. It needs to support the overall business goals, and for most organizations, PR is a good idea. By raising awareness of the company and its products, a for-profit company can achieve greater revenue. A non-profit can increase donations. A political candidate can garner more votes.
Marshawn Lynch wants to win another Super Bowl. Media interviews can’t really affect what happens on the field, so perhaps that’s why he doesn’t consider them important. However, one thing he does consider important is his Fam 1st Family Foundation. It’s a long-term goal of his to give back to the Oakland community where he grew up and help other kids fulfill their dreams. He mentioned a foundation event in an interview earlier this year, so if I were the head of PR for Marshawn’s team, I would encourage Marshawn to keep bringing up his foundation. I would suggest he talk about how it inspires him to keep performing on the field.
Have a well-defined strategy and stick to it
There is an old saying, “any publicity is good publicity.” Not true, especially in today’s 24-hour news environment and citizen journalism. Everything is online, and it never goes away. That’s why it’s important to know what you want to get out of PR efforts and the best way to accomplish it.
In Marshawn’s case, his strategy of non-interviews may actually help. He’s promoting his mystique as a somewhat rebellious player who lets his accomplishments on the field do the talking. That would certainly appeal to a certain demographic of NFL fans, and it can preserve his credibility with one audience he cares about a great deal: the kids in Oakland. He doesn’t pander to the media, so they don’t see him as a sellout.
It also doesn’t hurt his visibility. When I originally posted this, three of the top five search terms related to Mr. Lynch had less to do with football and more to do with his media interviews. In the NFL, it’s all about marketability, so you can bet his agent wants him to keep his name out there to ensure his next contract is as lucrative as possible.
Ensure consistency with the corporate philosophy
Read any series of Seahawk interviews and you will see a consistent message running through almost all of them. The message often focuses each teammate playing for his brothers. It’s not about personal glory; it’s about the team. While this may sound trite, a deeper look into the Seahawks philosophy shows a strong link. The first rule is “Protect the Team.” The message fits.
For other organizations, consistency is just as important. If your media statements conflict with what your customers already know about your company and its products, they will have a hard time believing the story. That’s why a big PR push can’t fix a fundamental flaw in a company’s business.
In his own way, Mr. Lynch was adhering to the team rules. His one-word replies weren’t doing any damage to the team. And in return, the team is letting “Marshawn be Marshawn,” – another team philosophy of letting players be who they are and maximize their individual potential.
Be authentic
If there’s one thing Mr. Lynch can’t be accused of, it’s conforming to expectations. When the NFL threatened to fine him for not doing interviews and then followed through on the threat, he complied with the letter of the law – he gave interviews. But he didn’t suddenly turn into a happy-to-talk-with-you media hound. He did what he had to do, nothing more: repetitive one-word answers to questions, but nothing the media could use to provide insight into the game just played.
The lesson for PR pros is this: work with what you have
If your CEO doesn’t want to do media, find others in the company who will. If an executive isn’t enthusiastic about a topic, don’t insist that she talk about it. Instead find something she does want to talk about – the passion will come through in the interview, and you’ll have some great quotes.
So again, if I were head of PR for Marshawn’s team, I would spend time working with Mr. Lynch on the topics he cares about most, but then – if he still doesn’t want to talk, I wouldn’t push it. There are others on the team who will.
Set expectations and accept the consequences
This last tip falls right in line with #4. If Marshawn Lynch chooses not to speak with the media, he should be prepared to accept the consequences, which he has.
It’s the same thing with corporate PR. Sometimes, a negative story hits, and the PR practitioner recommends a proactive response, but is overruled. It’s our job as strategists to set the expectation for what may happen next. After all, if the company chooses not to comment, we lost our ability to influence the story. The reporter can write whatever he wants and note the company declined to comment – which often adds more fuel to the fire.
By having the courage to push back on an executive and then setting appropriate expectations, we are helping our executives make informed decisions about whether to participate in a story. That increases our value as PR practitioners in their eyes and helps the company avoid making mistakes.
As I said, I love American football. And I love what I do for a living. Maybe that’s why I’m always getting ideas and learning things from each of my loves to apply to the other. We may not always think of someone like Marshawn Lynch as a PR-savvy business man, but my guess is he knows exactly what he’s doing.
Personally, I hope he continues to play great football. But I’ll also be watching to see how his PR strategy continues to play out.