Red Alert Media hits the target as archery raises its profile

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Client:		GNAS (British Archery)
PR Team:		Red Alert Media
Campaign:		Raise profile of a minority sport
Timescale:		January 2004 onwards

Objectives

"We don't get any Press coverage, yet there's always plenty going on in our sport," said David Sherratt, chief executive of the British archery governing body, Archery GB, back in 2004. The challenge to Red Alert Media was to change that, and - taking on board the success they had with the women's lacrosse World Cup in 2001 - they were ready to rise to the occasion. Said Peter Jones, partner and account executive:

"Archery's an Olympic sport, and as the country gets excited about London hosting the 2012 Games, there will be lots of opportunities. It's our job to exploit those opportunities and make sure the achievements of our leading archers receive the coverage they deserve."

Expectation is realistic, but the Red Alert Media team have always been fired up for the challenge ahead, and the results have been very encouraging over four years.

Strategy Plan

Initially the idea was to work out the best avenues to explore, and to maximise coverage ahead of the Junior World Championships in the summer of 2004, when the Red Alert Media team first got involved. We wanted to make the governing body look busy and pro-active (which of course, they are!), and an initial "must" was regular coverage in the UK Sport's weekly newsletter. Getting the sport in the national newspapers and in other areas of the national media was also a goal, but a big part of this project was to raise the profile of archery local, and generate interest in the sport.

Measurement & Evaluation

So far, so good! In four years archery has enjoyed some great coverage on national and regional TV and radio, in national and local newspapers and other media outlets. In the build up to the 2008 Olympic and Paralympics, archery regularly featured as part of various ‘Beijing Countdown’ projects, and thanks to the pro-active approach of the Red Alert Media team, archery featured in some items where many other sports failed to do so. In both the Daily Mirror and Daily Star features about how to get involved with an Olympic sport, archery was featured.

The first success, back in 2004, coincided with the success of Lord of the Rings at The Oscars. The film included archery, and Peter Jones had word that some clubs had enjoyed an uptake in interest because of it. It was all he needed! The day after the Oscars, Peter was in touch with the national media telling them how archery was "booming" thanks to the film. The Times did a half page spread, the Daily Star did the story, Radio 5 Live featured it, the BBC website carried a feature item, and the story was duly picked up by a multitude of local newspapers and radio stations. Channel 4's Richard and Judy programme also did a feature on archery.

Since then, archery features regularly in many outlets, including the UK Sports Newsletter, while major tournaments and international events are now regularly covered by the Press Association (so distributed all over the country), and by the BBC Online website, thanks to the pro-active approach of Red Alert Media. Archery has also featured on the TV show “The Game” after enthusiastic lobbying from the Red Alert Media team.

Red Alert Media put together a Press Pack for both the Olympics and Paralympics in 2008, and during the countdown, came up with regular feature ideas on various individuals who would be taking part in the Beijing archery competitions.

The Red Alert Media team continue to look for any and every opportunity to raise the profile of archery - and are helped greatly by the enthusiasm and co-operation of everyone involved with the sport.

More than that, the Red Alert Media team is involved in the planning and production of a regular archery E-zine, distributed to members all over the country.

We also play an active role in maintaining a regular flow of news items on the official website, and have been involved in developing the website, and making it more active and appealing. We also support the efforts of the marketing team, working together to use every opportunity to help archery raise its profile.

Said one observer: "You were given a challenging brief, but you've risen to the challenge with enthusiasm, and the results have been very impressive".

And feed back from the media has also been very positive, praising the Red Alert Media team for it’s enthusiasm, ideas, and pro-active approach. “That”, said one sports editor, “is why you get far more than your fair share: some Press Officers put hurdles up, but you kick them down, and because of that, journalists warm to you.”

Results
Encouraging! Archery, like other "minority" sports, will always struggle to achieve regular recognition, but coverage of the sport this year has been encouraging, though Peter Jones says there is still much to be done - television coverage is a massive challenge, but one that the GNAS and Red Alert Media are determined to rise to.

Said Peter: "It's a pleasure working with Archery GB, they're very keen, very co-operative, and most importantly, go out of their way to give us enormous support and encouragement. Every time we get a “hit” I take an enormous amount of satisfaction, because I know how much it means to the archery fraternity to be getting the recognition they deserve."

www.gnas.org

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