Alexei Auld is back with a brand new book available 7 Secret Sources of Inspiration: A Snappy Guide for Creative Procrastinators to grill Eugene S. Robinson (who's pushing a GoFundMe to pay for the new Oxbow album) and myself with some PR stumpers from the world of combat sports.
For the audio only version check us out on SoundCloud and be sure to subscribe to MMA NATION on iTunes and subscribe to MMA Nation on YouTube so you'll never miss an episode. This week's kerfuffles include:
- At 0:44 - You're a New York UFC fan. You've patiently waited for years to have the Octagon in Madison Square Garden. When the MMA ban was lifted and UFC 205 was announced, you eagerly sat screenside to buy tickets for the inaugural New York show...and were gobsmacked to see ticket prices exponentially exceeding non-NYC UFC venues. You know they're doing what they gotta do, just to get by. But you're damn sure poor, so tell me why it's too much for too many people.
- At 9:48 - You're WME-IMG. Last Friday, you announced an ownership expansion of the UFC to include twenty-three celebrities, including, but not limited to Serena and Venus Williams, Tom Brady, Ben Affleck, and directors Michael Bay and Tyler Perry. What is your PR plan to "elevate this brand and capitalize on its entertainment and sports crossover appeal'?
- At 15:49 - You're the New England Patriots. After suffering your first home shutout loss in over twenty years...to the Buffalo Bills, of all teams, their coach Rex Ryan told the Boston Globe's Ben Volin, "My sources inside the New England Patriot building said that Jacoby Brissett would be the QB. How's that? I'll stir some stuff up". After years of being called cheaters, do you take the Bills to task?
- At 19:15 - You're Sam Allardyce. Fresh from being appointed to your job as manager of the England National Football team, you were busted giving advice on how to get around Football Association rules on third party ownership and negotiating a four-hundred thousand pound deal. You left your job shortly thereafter, but what PR spin can you make to mitigate your bribery and corruption kerfuffle?
- At 23:56 - You're the Nanyang Yongkang Medicine Company. According to the BBC, you issued an anti-iPhone policy as part of a foreign products boycott related to the "national humiliation" of Japanese Troops invading northeast China in 1931. It reads "If you break this rule, then just come to the office straight away to hand in your resignation." Turns out that your plan is backfiring, since Apple manufactures its iPhones at Foxconn factories based in China. Is it time to dial back?
- At 30:41 - CURVEBALL!
- At 39:43 - TEACHABLE MOMENT: You're Donald Trump. According to the New York Times, you declared a loss so large on your 1995 tax return, it "could have allowed (you) to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to eighteen years". How can you spin this huge PR problem...if it is one?
- At 50:31 - EUGENE'S LOST BATTALION
Enjoy!