O que podemos aprender sobre Relações Públicas através da conferência de imprensa de apresentação de Jorge Jesus no Sport Lisboa e Benfica
This text is being written immediately after the official press conference presenting Jorge Jesus, also known as JJ, in his second stint with Sport Lisboa e Benfica as a football coach, on August 3, 2020, and aims to evaluate a communication moment that demonstrates the power of good Public Relations.
Whenever we look for an event that uniquely marks a brand with a very personal and distinctive touch, it is necessary to think very clearly and well-informed about how to do it. In football, there are remarkable moments that simplify the choice of this type of event, but they should not be neglected.
What was evident today was the extreme care taken by the communication structure to convey a specific message in every detail of image, space, and interlocutors. This is precisely what we will evaluate in this article:
Space
It is no coincidence that the press conference to present Benfica's new coach was held at the Benfica Academy, and not at the Estádio da Luz as usual. There may be many reasons, and it may even be suggested that they are due to better social distancing conditions; however, this space is the home of SL Benfica's training area, and holding an event of this type in this space reduces the negative perception given over time about the coach not betting on young club athletes. In addition to the choice of space, a comparative graphic of the number of young players launched into the first team has been created and disseminated in recent days by the press, which dictates that Jorge Jesus has launched more young players than his predecessors.
Image of the Space
Not being at the Estádio da Luz, choosing the airy area of technical training that architecturally resembles a nest, makes a direct connection with all the club's symbolism, as well as demonstrating that the coach would feel at home, moving from the "Urubu's Nest" to the "Eagle's Nest". In addition to all this, the decoration of the platform where the focus was on the club's symbol and the coach's image, which is surrounded by all the trophies he had won in his first spell at the club, reinforces his winning image and sentimental connection to the club.
Interlocutors
The choice of Rui Costa to speak after the club president and before Jorge Jesus, again, was carefully thought out and validated in order to show that there is a real structure in the football area within the club and that there are extremely important people for the sport who continue to have a relevant weight, all this after many conjectures where it was said that some elements no longer had relevance.
After analyzing these points, we must analyze a unique and symbolic discourse that Jorge Jesus brought, where nothing was left to chance. The entire speech was correctly articulated and covered all the questions that would need to be answered:
- Is Jorge Jesus the same as the one who left Benfica a few years earlier?
- How would Jorge Jesus apologize to the club's fans?
- What will the team's performance be like?
- What is the sports project that the club will face?
To all of them, with the exception of the last question, Jorge Jesus answered in a fluid, clear, and assertive speech. Exception to the last question, because a sports project cannot be limited to saying that it is to win everything, there must be a strategy, a model, and none of the interlocutors answered that.
Now Jorge Jesus knew how to use his presence, his own very local way of speaking, and physical expression to show his eagerness to win titles again. He responded with passion for what he does and made it clear that his passion is for the profession and not for the club: “I am a football coach, not of any team. I die for my teams where I work.” and “with me, Benfica will not play twice as much, they will play three times as much and we will destroy.
More than this would be asking too much, knowing all the recipients of his message what his club preference is.
His ability to answer questions from the various journalists present was as good or better than his ability to articulate his first speech. Where he knew how to exchange the form of treatment of journalists closer to his personal circle and the Benfica brand, with others who have a more neutral position. The extreme correctness with which he did it, but without leaving aside his personality, demonstrated that we are facing a man who now knows how to assess who he has in front of him and how he can and should respond, something only possible with life experience and media training.
The relevance of this meticulously planned action can be seen by the number of people who were watching the club's Facebook Live, which reached 15,000 people, as well as the more than 5,000 reactions during the presentation period and the volume of comments in real time that exceeded 4 digits.
But was everything good? No, it wasn't. There could have been some adjustment at the level of online communication to make sure that all online information platforms could be fully updated. One of these cases is Wikipedia, which, already having a brief reference to the new position occupied by the coach, still maintained a photograph (something that captures much more attention on a simple page) referring to his time at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo.
We cannot fail to include a list of JJ's natural blunders, without which it would not be the same:
“acarditar”
“acardito”
“cu prewsidente”
“ca mesma”
“propucionar”
“contrate”
“có que ganhava”
“xiguei”
“munta grande∝
“a gente volta a não ganhar”
“impertante”
“vamo lá ver”
“capacidade estrutural”
“onde m’amavam, onde m’adoravam”
“nós tamos convictos”
“não tou a xigar ao Benfica”
