App State: Land of PR Nightmares and Poor Communication

Gonzo · Unread post by **Gonzo** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:36 am

My take. The angry musings of someone in communications that has to watch the school he loves consistently fail at the simplest communication tasks.

http://appstatecentral.com/content/app- ... munication

"It all started with "Hot Hot Hot." Just as YouTube and viral video was in its infancy, Appalachian State was turned into a laughing stock as a promotional video that was never intended for the public spread like wildfire. In 2007, the unfortunate fame of Miss Teen South Carolina made its way to the school as revealed in this Today Show interview. Beating #5 Michigan in the Big House on the way to winning three FCS national championships in a row certainly compensated well enough at the time.

More recently there has been little in the way of positive press to compensate to the almost weekly bouts with internal strife, poor communication and lack of transparency, all exemplified in this weekend's newest viral video......."

AppinATL · Unread post by **AppinATL** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 12:44 pm

I'm with you. I spent 21 years in the PR field and the amateurish way we handle things in the ASU athletic department makes me cringe. Charlie is either being poorly advised or he's not listening to advise or there is no one in position who's job it is to advise on PR matters. Is the SID involved in this? I've been a little suspect about that guy for years. This whole JM thing just smacks of people not knowing what they are doing PR-wise. Whether or not the decision was right or wrong, Cobb really blew it with the way it was handled and announced. I can't say that I absolve Coach Moore from all blame either. Going public with his statement that he didn't know about any deal was not cool. But all of this should have happened behind closed doors with everyone involved hashing it out and getting on the same page before anything happened publicly.

The impression has been given that Cobb couldn't wait to get rid of Jerry, called him in the very next morning, dropped the axe on him without so much as an explanation and sent him out the door. All very amateurish.

Gonzo · Unread post by **Gonzo** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 1:07 pm

What would be the protocol with writing letter expressing concern?

Unread post by **appst89** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 1:33 pm

Gonzo wrote:What would be the protocol with writing letter expressing concern?

I'd send it to both Peacock and Cobb. Be brutally honest, but professional. Do it from a position of being concerned about ASU. I don't know about Cobb, but I'd be willing to bet you get a personal response from Peacock.

bcoach · Unread post by **bcoach** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:13 pm

appst89 wrote:
Gonzo wrote:What would be the protocol with writing letter expressing concern?

I'd send it to both Peacock and Cobb. Be brutally honest, but professional. Do it from a position of being concerned about ASU. I don't know about Cobb, but I'd be willing to bet you get a personal response from Peacock.

If you do it as well as you wrote the above I would also copy the trustees as I am not sure they would see it otherwise.
Again you have hit the nail on the head and done it VERY well.

asumike83 · Unread post by **asumike83** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:25 pm

A very concise rundown of the last year in Appalachian athletics.

Many times, our administration cannot completely control what happens in regards to coaching transitions, conference affiliation, etc. What they can control is how they communicate with the fans and alumni who give their hard-earned money to ASU. In that department, they have failed us on more than one occasion.