The common thread - PR

[Viva_Palmeiras]

In all the scrutiny one common thing since before Straiton.
Talk about the safest job in Scottish football - it’s the folks responsible for Hibs PR.
PR amongst other thing can go a long way to helping the custodians and the fans come together.
This is not stattergunning but reflection.

[Frank Moon]

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In all the scrutiny one common thing since before Straiton.
Talk about the safest job in Scottish football - it’s the folks responsible for Hibs PR.
PR amongst other thing can go a long way to helping the custodians and the fans come together.
This is not stattergunning but reflection.

Said it to my mates earlier, we are crap at it and leave ourselves exposed to the media to control it instead of us managing it.

[Kojock]

It would be interesting to see who has the final say on the wording of statements prior to release.

[Bright_Hibee]

I would also like to add that our social media is awful. Just an endless cycle of the same posts worded the exact same way. How is that engaging for supporters?

[Frank Moon]

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It would be interesting to see who has the final say on the wording of statements prior to release.

That short one shouldn’t have taken that long surely? In my work there is a ‘press office’ who have all the wording agreed well in advance of any actions. I know football clubs will be different but this is no knee jerk and could have been planned well in advance as part of a mitigation in case we did ‘ relieve them of their duties’

[Sammy7nil]

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That short one shouldn’t have taken that long surely? In my work there is a ‘press office’ who have all the wording agreed well in advance of any actions. I know football clubs will be different but this is no knee jerk and could have been planned well in advance as part of a mitigation in case we did ‘ relieve them of their duties’

Yeah I hope they are working on the press release for when we sack our next manager

[CL0762]

Surely there could’ve been a ‘wish them both all the best for the future’.

[Danderhall Hibs]

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Surely there could’ve been a ‘wish them both all the best for the future’.

Maybe to do with them only being “relieved of their duties” rather than having “left the club”?

I’m sure the club will say that when they agree their packages.

[hibeejeebies]

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In all the scrutiny one common thing since before Straiton.
Talk about the safest job in Scottish football - it’s the folks responsible for Hibs PR.
PR amongst other thing can go a long way to helping the custodians and the fans come together.
This is not stattergunning but reflection.

Could always be worse mate, could have Jim Traynor writing our statements.

[jacomo]

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Maybe to do with them only being “relieved of their duties” rather than having “left the club”?

I’m sure the club will say that when they agree their packages.

This is a fair point. Lawyers might be sorting that tomorrow and we will get a fuller statement then.

[Vault Boy]

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This is a fair point. Lawyers might be sorting that tomorrow and we will get a fuller statement then.

Aye it does make sense. Particularly given the statement said to expect more news in the coming days. Think OP hit the nail on the head.

[MagicSwirlingShip]

We’ve went from having some of the best PR in Scotland to some of the worst in 24 months.

[lyonhibs]

This fascination with our quality of PR and the number of apparent industry experts in our support is inversely proportional to how many games we're winning.

Once the club sort out priority number 1, on field performances, this in-depth analysis of every utterance (or perceived lack thereof) will lessen or ideally stop altogether.

Sooner the better IMO as it'll mean the product on the park is good enough to occupy people's minds and attention which currently very much isn't the case.

[Since452]

The PR and social media side of Hibs seems ott. Constantly forcing Hibs ladies on everyone and the cringy "Daily Darren" photoshoot thing they've thankfully stopped. I can't be arsed with it at all. I'll get slated for this but i couldn't give two hoots about the womens team especially when the mens team i pay to see are toiling.

[MWHIBBIES]

During our years in the championship, it was really good. The show from East mains with the silly challenges was great.

Wonder how much marathon bet had to do with things.

[worcesterhibby]

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During our years in the championship, it was really good. The show from East mains with the silly challenges was great.

Wonder how much marathon bet had to do with things.

You are right in many ways the PR back in the Stubbs days was excellent with the Fontaine of Knowledge etc etc. However we were winning matches and competing near the top of the league. producing videos of the players larking about and having a laugh after they have just thrown away a 2-0 lead against Ross County is unlikely to be looked on favourably by the fans.

For the last few months every single bit of social media that the club has put out has been met by a torrent of "Heck out" and "Sack the board" replies. The positivity and fan engagement needs to start with wins on the football field, then the PR team can begin to get more creative about the way they present the team behind the scenes.

[Vault Boy]

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The PR and social media side of Hibs seems ott. Constantly forcing Hibs ladies on everyone and the cringy "Daily Darren" photoshoot thing they've thankfully stopped. I can't be arsed with it at all. I'll get slated for this but i couldn't give two hoots about the womens team especially when the mens team i pay to see are toiling.

The social media presence has to appeal to a wide variety of people, so not everything is going to be catered to your particular taste.

There are lots of people who enjoy things like Daily Darren and updates on the Ladies.

They're not forcing anything on you, you don't have to follow.

[Keith_M]

Honestly, how important was the wording of that statement in the grand scheme of things?

I really don't get why some people are getting their knickers in a twist about it.

[Pretty Boy]

Given we don't know what the circumstances of the departure are it's hard to comment on the wording of the statement.

In general our PR and social media output is pretty rubbish though. It improved massively for a while with things like 'Shoot the O', 'The Incredible Holt', 'the Fontaine of Knowledge' and so on all being good, lighthearted fun. There was also a lot of output just showing goings on at the training centre and there was a feeling the fans really got to know the players. Add to that we had fairly regular updated from people in power at the club about what was going on.

In the last 18-24 months that seems to have dried up massively. Whilst it may be argued we were fortunate to have a group of players comfortable in front of the camera I struggle to believe no one else in that time hasn't been willing to step forward and do a few bits and pieces. In the grand scheme of things it might not be that important but it's worth pointing out there is no bond between much of the current group of players and the fans. Why would there be? We don't know them. It's arguably too late now as minds have been made up about them and any output showing them having a laugh would be jumped all over. Had there been a few gentle introductions in the summer and a bit of getting to know you stuff them maybe perceptions wouldn't be the same as they are.

Would better PR see fans more accepting of our current form? Very, very doubtful. However all these things are linked. When we have enjoyed success in recent years it has been with a team that the fans related to and in turn the players made the fans aware we were appreciated. There was almost a feeling of knowing the players and guys like McGinn, Bartley, Murray, Fontaine et al clearly wanted to be here and it was ensured that we were made aware of that. Now it's easy for people to trot out the 'wage thief', 'mercenary' and 'charlatan' lines because we can only base things on what we are seeing on the park rather than being aware of the whole package.

It's easy to argue 'we are a football club' and of course that is true. However we are also very much a business and the success of any business hinges on customer engagement and satisfaction. We are arguably 4 or 5 months away from a disastrous drop off in ST sales. A bit of a charm offensive on the PR side of things coupled with improved performances on the park could go some way to minimising that.

[Viva_Palmeiras]

Whilst you cannot legislate for numpties, can’t help but feel that the Fans Reps cop flack in the absence of PR in times of crisis.
I appreciate that there are times when no matter what gets put out just gets caught in the crossfire but surely we can do better?

Here’s hoping for better times ahead.