Recently the New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America announced that their organization has honored the New York Jets with the Award of Excellence. The official announcement from the PRSA was as follows:
The New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America is proud to honor the New York Jets with its prestigious Award of Excellence for the organization’s significant accomplishments and contributions to the profession of public relations. The Award of Excellence, which honors New Jersey-based organizations that have excelled in consumer engagement, crisis communications and overall public relations, was presented to the PR team of the New York Jets at the 21st-annual Pyramid Awards, held June 15 at the Basking Ridge Country Club in Basking Ridge, N.J. Sponsored by the New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA NJ), the Pyramid Awards honor the state’s best work and top practitioners in the field.
The New York Jets have recently received several recognitions including nominations by Sports Business Journal/Daily for “Best Professional Sports Team” and “Best Sports Facility of the Year,” as well as three Sports Emmys from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for their “Hard Knocks” television series. Throughout the year, the Jets also continued to stay committed to several philanthropic causes, such as the Alliance for Lupus Research, NYC Department of Education, United Way and more, with programs like Hometown Huddle and Tix for Kids, while at the same time, developing a new stadium, which incorporates environmentally friendly materials, practices and elements. The brand is also extremely active in the social media space with nearly 1 million Facebook fans, and is the most followed team in the NFL on Twitter, with more than 150,000 followers. In addition, in 2010 alone, the team tackled several crises, which all were effectively managed by the New York Jets’ PR department.
“When it comes to generating positive publicity, as well as dealing with potentially negative exposure, no one was more effective last year in New Jersey than the New York Jets,” said Rich Lukis, president of PRSA NJ. “The Jets have proven to be one of the most PR-savvy organizations in the state, and we are proud to honor them as this year’s Award of Excellence winner.”
The New York Jets have come a long way when it comes to public relations. The team has made a concerted effort to interact with their fan base effectively using a variety of social networking platforms. In addition Gang Green does a nice job hosting fan related events like draft parties and pep rallies that keep everyone excited about the direction that the team is heading.
In terms of dealing with the media, the New York Jets have been pretty proactive in terms of making themselves available. It is no secret that the Jets love to be in the headlines, but the team has done a pretty good job handling themselves, even when dealing with issues that reflect negatively on the organization. With all things considered I think that the New York Jets were a perfect choice for the Award of Excellence.