I had the privilege of having another valuable interview this week, this time with the Director of Basketball Communications (essentially the PR director) for the Dallas Mavericks, Ms. Sarah Melton. Ms. Melton was able to offer me a look at the more human element of public relations, emphasizing her relationships with each of the team's individual players and the many charities, media organizations, and brands that the team works with on a daily basis. While I knew that public relations is largely based around relationships with the public and consumers or customers, the thought had not yet crossed my mind that those same relationships must be formed on the other side as well. A public relations professional must also form close relationships with the people whose brand they are working to help, and they must also be familiar with their views, goals, and needs. This interview supplemented my research by allowing me to see my topic of study through a different lens. It also sparked a new curiosity in me that I could potentially continue to pursue in research; how does a PR professional take a certain view that a brand wants to communicate to the public and translate it through public relations? Are there certain strategies for portraying different views? My knowledge and intellectual curiosity continues to grow as I delve deeper into the PR industry.
