Consulting
With more than 20 years of combined communications, public relations, and social media marketing experience between them, our team provides customized solutions and communications support to professional sports teams, athletes, and foundations.
Services
corporate communications
-
Identify and research client’s target audiences and stakeholder groups and craft tailored communications strategy for each.
-
Develop an understanding of client’s long-term goals and create key messaging.
-
Create crisis communications plan. Support with crisis situations and train staff on appropriate actions.
-
Work with client to establish metrics to measure and review communication effectiveness.
strategic planning
-
Conduct an assessment of client’s pre-existing communications plan and perform a SWOT analysis to identify areas of improvement.
-
Stakeholder Interviews: Engage with key client stakeholders to identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the current communications plan.
-
Performance Analysis: Review past communications activities, including media coverage and social media engagement, to pinpoint successes and areas for improvement.
-
Competitive Benchmarking: Compare client’s strategies with other sports leagues to identify best practices and potential areas for differentiation.
media relations
-
Leverage vast network of industry contacts across both traditional and non-traditional North American media outlets.
-
Identify and pitch on- and off-field stories and features.
-
Develop press releases, media advisories, brand toolkits, annual reports, and other media-focused materials.
-
Secure interview opportunities and manage media requests.
-
Provide extensive media training for athletes, coaches, and staff.
thought leadership
- Identify speaking and networking opportunities for client’s leadership team. Proactively pitch client involvement in major industry events/conferences.
- Secure guest appearances on podcasts, interviews in top-tier publications, and features in industry-specific media to amplify the leadership team’s voice and influence.
- Develop and publish thought leadership articles, blogs, and opinion pieces authored by the client’s leadership team, positioning them as experts in the sports industry.
social media
strategy
-
Work with client to identify and shape desired social media “voice”. Identify where and how client’s audiences are consuming content.
-
Create monthly social strategy with suggested calendar. Tailor content and engagement strategies for each social media platform, ensuring the client’s presence is optimized for maximum reach and impact across different channels.
-
Monitor and analyze social media metrics to track the effectiveness of campaigns, providing insights and recommendations for continuous improvement and strategy refinement.
Meet the Team
Meghan O'Donnell
Co-founder
Meghan is a communications and media relations professional with nearly a decade of experience in the sports industry. Having worked with professional sports teams and major brands such as ESPN, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the American Cancer Society, her specialties include strategic planning, executive communications and thought leadership, media relations, and internal and external stakeholder engagement.
Samantha Ward
Co-founder
Samantha Ward is a sports marketing and social media professional whose industry experience includes stops at ESPN and the Boston Red Sox. Since launching empowHERed, she has continued working with athletes to build their brands through social media strategy and media training, and provided personalized public relations support to growing businesses and foundations.
