PR Move or Political Statement: “Los Suns”
As an Arizona citizen and avid Suns fan, I sit here and watch the Phoenix Suns play game two of the series against the San Antonio Spurs. I cannot help but think this game will mark history, history in the minds of their fans, viewers and the general public across the nation. The Suns have received a lot of national press this week, including a CNN blog, for wearing the infamous “Los Suns” jerseys. The team decided to honor and represent the large population of Latino fans by sporting this look, ironically on Cinco de Mayo (Mexican victory over the French for those of you die-hard partiers). Owner of the Suns, Robert Sarver seems to completely support this move on behalf of representing their diverse team and the local community. Do you think basketball and politics should mix? Did Mr. Sarver decide to make a statement on behalf of his team cause he is an Arizona businessman?
Everyone has something to say in response to the S.B. 1070 being passed by Governor Jan Brewer two weeks ago. Whether people agree or disagree, I was always taught to keep three things out of most conversations “Money, Politics, and Religion.” Does social media follow this rule? I am quite surprised the backlash from this bill being discussed on blogs, Twitter, FB – so many angry people. I am not here to say I agree or disagree. I just find it interesting how the communication channels have expanded over time. Think about it, 10 years ago it was not so easy to express opinions publicly, now you send a tweet and the whole world could potentially see it. One buzz word becomes a national trend for the week.
People have it easy nowadays, you can spread your opinion where ever you like with thousands of readers. Problem is, when will people learn modesty? Is it too late to expect modesty when it is so easy to click a mouse?
When I work with clients on their social media strategies I always keep the controversial three out of my scope of communication, but things are continually changing. More and more 1 on 1 communication/connection is happening with users online.
I think with regards to the Suns, they felt that they could be heavily impacted by a possible boycott of purchasing tickets in future months and felt they had to take a stand of some sort. When your brand is directly impacted, is it advisable to take a stance? Possibly. Great post Sarah, very interested in hearing what others think.
[...] a post written earlier today by the talented Mrs. Sarah Geiger, she discussed the Suns stance on 1070 and its implications in the PR world. She also referenced social media no-no topics, so I thought [...]
I think it was both to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and also to say “hey don’t boycott us we had nothing to do with it.” With many people boycotting arizona (see this: http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/06/arizona.boycott.impact/ ) the Suns don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.
These such boycotts are targeting the wrong people, here in Arizona the people did not vote for Gov. Jan Brewer and we did not vote for this bill. The Suns definitely had nothing to do with it and they don’t want to be boycotted because of something they didn’t do.