A Positive Image
Starts With Media Training
By: Anthony Schoettle
While most eyes were on the Indianaolis Motor Speedway's
2-1/2-mile oval this month, Kevin Long was more interested in what
happened in the media room.
Long is not a news reporter, but he's been focused on every word
spoken to the media this month by drivers, team managers and
owners.
It's Long's job to make sure those speaking into the mike maximize
the benefit for themselves, their teams and sponsors. He owns and
operates MVP Sports Media Training LLC, a West Lafayette firm that
trains athletes in the art of dealing with the media, and he was
hired by the Indy Racing League this year to train its
up-and-coming drivers.
Long, 36, gained his media experience working in the press offices
of Beltway politicians, including three Indiana Republicans: Sen.
Dan Coats, Rep. Dan Burton and Vice President Dan Quayle.
Later, Long, a 1992 Purdue University graduate with degrees in
political science and history, did media training for the U.S.
Department of Defense, serving in war zones from the Middle East to
Bogota, Colombia.
While in Bogota, he caught a television interview with National
Basketball Association star Kevin Garnett, who was making comments
about being armed for the next game and going to war.
I was sitting in the middle of a war zone, Long said, and it struck
me how inappropriate those comments were.
So three years ago, with no clients lined up, Long launched MVP. He
quickly worked contacts he'd made playing high school and amateur
baseball. Long said his Capitol Hill contacts helped arrange
meetings with some top-shelf sports executives.
Purdue University men's basketball coach Matt Painter, who went to
Delta High School in Muncie with Long, was the first to hire
MVP.
Long works with athletes in groups or solo, with rates ranging from
$1,500 to $ 10,000 per session. He wouldn't divulge his
revenue.
He also sells software that allows clients to monitor Internet
chatter about their organization and helps assure favorable Web
site content emerges from fans' Internet searches.
Painter said he was impressed with Long's presentation, and
referred him to the basketball programs at the University of
Arkansas and Colorado State University.
George Mason University men's basketball coach Jim Larranaga hired
Long just before the team's miracle run to the NCAA Final Four in
2006.
We became a national story, said George Mason assistant coach Chris
Caputo. Of course, part of that was our tournament run, but our
kids never would have been ready to handle that without Kevin's
media training. It helped us become media darlings, and that was
good for our program and the university as a whole.
A direct-mail piece caught the attention of Indy Racing League
officials, who became convinced Long could help drivers in their
top developmental series, Indy Pro Series.
Long uses a classroom setting to teach athletes how to field
questions and respond appropriately. He videotapes mock interviews
and critiques them with athletes, and makes athletes play the role
of reporter to give them a unique perspective.
Part of the Indy Pro Series is about training the drivers on and
off the track in all facets, said Tim Harms, IRL media coordinator
for the Indy Pro Series. "The media attention really intensifies
when you begin running alongside the [IRL], and these guys have to
be prepared for that."
Long said how drivers handle themselves in public may determine
whether they're able to secure sponsors and sign contracts with top
teams.
"Image is everything in any top-level sport, but in motorsports
where there's a more direct connection with sponsors, I think
having a good public presentation is even more important than with
other sports," said Paul Swangard, managing director of Warsaw
Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon.
Long's work with the IRL led to other deals, including one to work with communications executives for all 32 National Football League teams.