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The Eagles are, Smartly, Embracing the “Quarterback Controversy”
By Kyle Scott
Published:
Gotta hand it to the Eagles’ PR people, again. Ever since firing VP of Communications Rob Zeiger and Chief Marketing Officer Tim McDermott last November and then hiring Anne Gordon and, later, Brian Papson for those respective roles, the team’s marketing and PR has gotten noticeably better. We’ve mentioned it before on the site – from the way they rolled out Chip Kelly when he first got here to the #FlyEaglesFly campaign – but here’s yet another example of the team controlling the message during a big week.
Instead of running from the quarterback debate-controversy-competition between Michael Vick and Nick Foles, the Eagles are embracing it. Check out these Tweets this afternoon:
Brilliant. That immediately disarms the negative connotation of quarterback controversy and turns it into a positive. They did the same thing with Andy Reid’s firing. I do think they got a bit too out ahead of the Riley Cooper thing and fanned the flames of their own fire (putting a crying Cooper in front of cameras was a bad idea), but that was probably a lose-lose situation. A QB controversy, however, doesn’t have to be.
Well played.
Kyle Scott is the founder and editor of CrossingBroad.com. He has written for CBS Philly and Philly Voice, and been a panelist or contributor on NBC Sports Philly, FOX 29 and SNY TV, as well as a recurring guest on 97.5 The Fanatic, 94 WIP, 106.7 The Fan and other stations. He has more than 10 years experience running digital media properties and in online advertising and marketing.