Perspectives from outside the profession: Q&A with #CSCUNITE23 featured speaker Chris Werle
College Sports Information Directors of America
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Perspectives from outside the profession
Q&A with #CSCUNITE23 featured speaker Chris Werle (Padilla)
by Barb Kowal – College Sports Communicators, Director of Professional Development & External Affairs
In this month’s “Perspectives Outside the Profession” column, we introduce a featured speaker at the upcoming #CSCUNITE23 Convention, Chris Werle. Werle is senior vice president at Padilla, leading its crisis communications and critical issues management practice. He brings three decades of experience to the agency’s senior leadership group, helping clients develop strategies and solutions for protecting their brands and reputations. His areas of expertise are in crisis and critical issues management, employee engagement, social impact consulting, and coaching.
Most recently Chris served as a consultant to collegiate athletic departments where he counseled these organizations in brand differentiation, reputation management, marketing and communications planning, leadership outreach, and development/advancement strategy.
This work was a continuation of Chris’s time as a Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Minnesota where he led athletic department external functions and worked closely with university administration regarding crisis counsel and brand management.
In anticipation of Werle speaking at the upcoming CSC Unite 23 Convention, we spoke to him about some pressing issues and trends in communications.
Hear more from Werle in Orlando! Look for Werle to speak at the following times in June:
Sunday, June 11
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM: Featured Session: The value of intentional career building to increase your influence
Presenters: Chris Werle, Padilla Senior Vice President, Crisis and Critical Issues Management; Beth Goetz, University of Iowa Deputy DIrector of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer; Moderator: Tony Neely, University of Kentucky Assistant AD/Communications
Monday, June 12
Division I Divisional Day Session
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM: Taking the next steps in developing your strategic communications skills
Presenter: Chris Werle, Padilla Senior Vice President, Crisis and Critical Issues Management; Moderator/Host: Kevin Trainor, University of Arkansas Senior Associate Athletic Director for Public Relations & Former Student-Athlete Engagement
Q&A With Chris Werle
In this challenging time of limited staffing and budgets, college sports communications professionals are always looking to enhance their profile in their organization and become part of the decision-making process. Can you offer some tips for our members — whether they hold the title of an associate/assistant AD, director, assistant director, or intern — on how to start distinguishing themselves in the workplace?
CW: When I begin working with a school, one of the first things I say to the communications staff is "if you act like an SID, they'll treat you like an SID."
Communications professionals, even the younger ones, are subject matter experts and provide value to coaches and administrators. So be confident in your recommendations and educate leadership as to why you are advocating for a certain course of action and how the likely outcome furthers the objectives.
As you gain experience, the best way to distinguish yourself and become an integral part of the decision-making process in any organization is to regularly add value so it would seem unwise not to consult you or bring you into an important discussion. CSC members who anticipate unintended consequences of decisions, build strong relationships with various campus departments and leadership, understand all facets of the athletic department, and can quickly identify all sides of an issue will be able to add valuable input at critical times.
Do you have any advice for CSC members on reaching multi-generational fan bases and audiences on their platforms? From Gen Z to Millennials to Boomers and Gen X, what is some quick advice on how, why and when to adjust your strategies?
CW: College athletics is no different from any type of consumer marketing in that you need to start with the audience, understand what is important to them and determine the best way to persuade them to an action you desire. Knowing your audience segments and what is truly important to each is key. With regard to the different generations and communications channels and platforms, you want to be careful about overgeneralizing. While it was true at one time to say that the older generations prefer to have information pushed to them, while the younger ones like to come and pick through what you put out, it is becoming less of a clear division each day.
So rather than spend resources on message delivery, let your advocates do that for you. Focus your efforts on putting out fun, original, brand-aligned, and interesting content where fans can find it, and let them share it with their networks for you. Those people who identify as the college athletics experts or the biggest fans in their social groups are your best conduits. They'll share it for the social currency it provides them and it will be more impactful coming from them than from you.
One of the trending topics today is the explosion of AI and ChatGPT. How do we leverage the latest in commtech? There are many pros and cons of using this technology. Of course, telling a brand's story requires relationship building and leaning into emotional intelligence-things the chatbot/AI is unable to replicate. What is your take on this tech growth and how best do you see CSC members using it as they look to being more efficient in their work?
CW: Oh man. Answering this one is like charging a hard hit fly. Odds of getting burned are high!
At Microsoft, we used to beta test new software internally and what first becomes clear with any new technology is what not to do with it. Those early lessons are already well-known with AI generated statements and documents.
AI seems limitless in what it can do, yet very much limited by its inputs. We're beginning to learn which source material makes up the universe from which these chatbots are generating output and some of it is truly concerning. Garbage in, garbage out.
That said, as CSC members are being asked to do more every day in the areas of social media, content creation, monitoring/listening, NIL support, recruiting tools and more. The opportunities to potentially automate or even disregard certain tasks is exciting to consider. Just go and ask a chatbot to create game notes, or look up an obscure "last time this happened" query that you invariably get from a reporter with two minutes left in a game. It's pretty impressive. The counsel I would offer is much like any other new technology, test it thoroughly, ensure there is always human oversight in the equation, and beware the unintended consequences. Technology is a tool, not a strategy.
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