Unknown

Knowing when to have a news conference or when to send out a press release is important. In this blog you will learn how in the Disney movie Invincible, Dick Vermeil approached the city of Philadelphia regarding the state of his team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

If you were the head coach of a team in decline from its glory days, what would you do to rebuild your team into a stingy unit of 53 men, and satisfy the fans while you rebuild? Dick Vermeil was that coach, in that very predicament of working with a struggling Eagles team and a fanbase that doesn’t take kindly to losing.

So how did Dick unite a team and a city? It started with a well thought out plan that turned into a news conference. Dick decided he would have open tryouts for the residents of Philadelphia. If residents were unhappy with how the team was playing, they had the chance to make a difference.

Now lets talk about the news conference. The Eagles called for a news conference with reporters and cameras to announce they would be holding open tryouts. Statements in the news conference were carefully thought out. They didn’t get the press together to just “wing it”. Before they called the press together they thought about their news. Is it worthy of a news conference or should we simply send out a press release? They decided their news was worthy of a news conference.

During the news conference, they didn’t come out swinging, saying things like, “If you think we’re so bad, you come try,” or “The team is so bad, we are going to invite regular residents of Philadelphia to come and improve it.” Instead they came out and said things like, “This is your team,” and “Lets come together, and build something great.”

Having this understanding of the difference between news conferences and press releases is essential to anyone looking into public relations. The PR folks for the Eagles knew the difference and knew how to approach their situation. Because of this knowledge they recruited an outstanding player named Vince Papale, and brought the city brotherly love back together.