2008 Woodie Awards
Playing 'PR' games
Frank Vitale, Collegian staff
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: Features
Roughly 50 people settled down as four sharply-dressed young people approached the podium and, with the reporters, pens in hand, leaning forward in their seats and then Anthony Rouzier kicked off the press conference with the words Las Vegas had been waiting to hear: "We're proud to introduce the Las Vegas Shooters as the latest NBA Expansion team."
The group then went right to work and detailed their plans for the Shooters, "owned" by former Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban. They highlighted the goals of the team, announced plans for special events, went over similarities to other NBA markets, announced the Shooters' roster (Greg Oden, Ron Artest and Michael Beasley, to name a few) and ended with a special presentation by elite defensive player and Shooters team captain "Dennis Rodman."
"I expect to bring the first NBA Championship to Las Vegas," said Rodman, who came out of retirement to play for the Shooters.
When asked if the lures of Sin City may get him in trouble, Rodman shrugged it off in characteristic style: "Naw, I don't think I'll get in any trouble cause what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas," he said.
Then came a Q&A session with media heavy- hitters such as ESPN, the New York Times, The Associated Press and The Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
Unfortunately for the city of Las Vegas, this press conference didn't take place in some fancy hotel on the Strip, but in 212 Dickinson Hall, the four young PR representatives aren't seasoned business veterans, but University of Massachusetts students. Dennis Rodman wasn't Dennis Rodman, either, rather a very tall and tattoo-adorned student play-acting.
While the Las Vegas Shooters may not be a reality, the work that went into promoting them was. Over the semester, students in Professor Connie Griffin's course, Principles of PR: From Nonprofit to Corporate have been working on their final project: a full-fledged PR campaign designed to promote something the students saw a need for.
The group then went right to work and detailed their plans for the Shooters, "owned" by former Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban. They highlighted the goals of the team, announced plans for special events, went over similarities to other NBA markets, announced the Shooters' roster (Greg Oden, Ron Artest and Michael Beasley, to name a few) and ended with a special presentation by elite defensive player and Shooters team captain "Dennis Rodman."
"I expect to bring the first NBA Championship to Las Vegas," said Rodman, who came out of retirement to play for the Shooters.
When asked if the lures of Sin City may get him in trouble, Rodman shrugged it off in characteristic style: "Naw, I don't think I'll get in any trouble cause what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas," he said.
Then came a Q&A session with media heavy- hitters such as ESPN, the New York Times, The Associated Press and The Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
Unfortunately for the city of Las Vegas, this press conference didn't take place in some fancy hotel on the Strip, but in 212 Dickinson Hall, the four young PR representatives aren't seasoned business veterans, but University of Massachusetts students. Dennis Rodman wasn't Dennis Rodman, either, rather a very tall and tattoo-adorned student play-acting.
While the Las Vegas Shooters may not be a reality, the work that went into promoting them was. Over the semester, students in Professor Connie Griffin's course, Principles of PR: From Nonprofit to Corporate have been working on their final project: a full-fledged PR campaign designed to promote something the students saw a need for.
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