Maximizing the Public Relations Agency—Client Relationship in the Sports Industry

ABSTRACT

Despite the undoubted importance of Public Relations (PR) in the sport industry and the increasing reliance on external PR agencies, the study of the PR agency – client relationship within this context remains in its infancy. In this study, we focus on the question, how can PR agencies develop and maintain strong relationships with their sport clients for the benefit to both parties? Qualitative data generated through semi-structured interviews with twenty “business elite informants” comprising senior PR agency executives reveal a new multi-layered conceptualization of the PR agency – client organization relationship. The findings uncover a “surface” layer to the relationship captured by a client satisfaction – dissatisfaction continuum, a core layer of relationship management and trust, to the deepest layer characterized by power (im)balance between the two parties. Uncovering the complex, nuanced and multi-layered dynamics of the relationship highlights effective PR outsourcing practices to be utilized for future value maximization.

KEYWORDS:

• PR agency
• PR outsourcing
• right holder
• sport public relations

Acknowledgments

We would like to declare that the findings reported in the manuscript are original, contribute to the broad body of knowledge in public relations, and have not been published previously.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical statement

We would also like to clarify that we have complied with American Psychological Association ethical standards in the treatment of our samples.