Sometimes, the best angle for your story isn’t always the most obvious one.
For an excellent illustration of this rule, look no further than several recent PR wins for the TB12 Foundation, an organization founded by Tom Brady to help educate and inspire athletes to excel in both sports and life through access to innovative health and wellness resources.
The Challenge
Tom Brady founded the TB12 Foundation while he was still the quarterback for the New England Patriots. As we all know, he’s now playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and since he left New England, it hasn’t been as easy to garner the same level of local publicity.
Still, the foundation continues to do incredible work in Massachusetts and deserves quality editorial coverage. So the question is: how can we highlight the relevance of this work now that Tom Brady is no longer a local athlete?
Goodwin’s Approach
Tom Brady didn’t create his foundation to get his name in the media. He created it to give people access to the same training and care that has afforded him such a long and storied career.
So how can we best leverage this angle? We can spotlight the people who have excelled using the program and helped make it the success that it is today. They’re the real stars of our story.
Here are a few examples:
Brockton student athletes: In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the TB12 Foundation began discussions with Brockton Public Schools to learn more about the community and the challenges that their students and families struggled with. . Early in the pandemic, TB12 staff spent an afternoon volunteering to distribute meals in Brockton and as the relationship grew, so did their unwavering commitment to helping the next generation of student athletes thrive.
At the end of 2020 through mid-2021, a total of 16 Brockton High students participated in the TB12 program, where they received structured training and bodywork from TB12’s body coaches to increase pliability and performance. At the end of the program, they were congratulated by TB12 co-founders Tom Brady and Alex Guerrero on an extended Zoom session.
The stars of this story are the students that the foundation assisted, and by positioning it that way, we were able to secure a great feature in their local newspaper.
The TB12 Boston Marathon team: In 2021, a team of 19 runners volunteered to join the TB12 Foundation’s Boston Marathon team. Each of those runners had a story to share and several were quite powerful.
One team member, Kevin Flike, was a former Green Beret who suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen during a tour in Afghanistan. He was told he’d never walk again, but after working with the TB12 Foundation he was able to complete the Boston Marathon—something his doctors and friends thought could never happen. His story was featured on WCVB Channel 5.
Along with Kevin’s feature, we secured additional press placements featuring some of the other runners on the team and their reasons why they chose to support the Foundation.
These examples demonstrate how the focus of a story doesn’t always need to focus on the most recognizable name. The stories delivered an impact because they spotlighted the everyday people whose lives were dramatically changed by the TB12 Foundation.
Client Win
These stories are wins in and of themselves, and earlier in the year, based on previous Foundation success stories, we scored even bigger PR win: a spread in the 2021 NFL Playbook magazine’s Impact Issue.
NFL Playbook contacted Goodwin to find out what the TB12 Foundation had been up to over the past year. Thanks to the incredible cooperation and collaboration between our team and the team at the foundation, we supplied the magazine with pictures and stories that highlighted TB12’s life changing work.
This spread demonstrates the success of identifying and pitching compelling and meaningful stories. Although they don’t directly involve Tom Brady, the coverage showcases how his vision for a charitable foundation impacts the people and communities it serves.
It’s important to note that media relations success at this level is impossible without the support of an entire organization. Lisa Borges, Executive Director of the TB12 Foundation, is a creative and innovative partner who helps drivePR success to the organization.
Noteworthy Coverage
- NFL Playbook Impact Issue
- Here’s what Brockton student-athletes gained from Tom Brady’s training program
- Green Beret chases Boston Marathon goal with help from TB12 Sports
- Brookline Runner Joins TB12 Marathon Team
- Woburn’s Will DiTullio to Run Marathon for TB12 Foundation
- Hingham Celebrates Our Local Marathon Runners
Whether or not your organization has a recognizable name or celebrity attached to it, having the skills to identify new and emerging stars for your stories can help attract quality media coverage. Want to work together to amplify your coverage? Reach out to me today.
