Online Public Relations Thoughts

Great public relations happens in odd places and in odd ways sometimes. This is a story about a baseball park, and it is not about the many promotions that baseball teams run throughout a season. It is about WiFi. The San Francisco Giants baseball team has outfitted its entire park with WiFi connections so businesspeople playing hooky at the game can do their e-mail on their laptop computers while watching the game. It's a fabulous idea: I wish I had thought of it myself. In addition, the Giants have provided fans with a Digital Dugout that feeds them scores and other information during the game.

It would be great to report that a PR person on the San Francisco Giants thought this up, but that isn't the case. The idea came from the Chief Information Officer who uses information strategically throughout the ballpark to benefit the players and increase interest for the fans. One feature he is installing now is neat. You can order food from your seat and have it delivered to you rather than getting up and missing half an inning while trying to buy three hotdogs and two beers.

Great PR is everywhere. It just takes creative thinking, and, as this example proves, anyone can build better relationships with the public.