by BCCI communications strategy described as ‘nested’ and ‘technically content’
The Meta-Announcement Era
MUMBAI — The Board of Control for Cricket in India held a press conference Wednesday to announce that it will hold a press conference next Tuesday to discuss the scheduling of a press conference in which it will announce the team for the upcoming Test series, a communications architecture that BCCI Secretary Jay Shilpa described as “building anticipation in a structured and transparent manner.”
Forty-seven journalists attended the Wednesday conference. The conference lasted eleven minutes. No information about the Test squad was released. A media pack was distributed containing the date of the Tuesday conference, a BCCI logo, and a bottle of water.
The Strategic Logic
“Content is not only what you say,” Shilpa explained. “Content is also when you say you will say something. We are managing the news cycle proactively.” A reporter asked whether the team had been selected yet. Shilpa said the selectors were “in dialogue.” Another reporter asked who the selectors were dialoguing with. Shilpa said the selectors were “in dialogue with the process.” The conference ended.
Cricket analyst Harsha Bhoglesworth said the BCCI’s communications approach had become “a genre unto itself.” “Other boards announce squads,” he said. “The BCCI announces that an announcement is coming, then announces a date for the announcement, then announces the announcement, then holds a press conference about the announced announcement. It generates six pieces of media coverage from one squad. From a content standpoint it is actually genius.”
The Squad Itself
The Test squad is expected to feature familiar names with one surprise inclusion that sources describe as “bold but defensible,” a characterisation that has appeared in BCCI squad reporting since 2011 and which, by this point, describes the team’s entire selection philosophy. The BCCI confirmed the Tuesday press conference will begin at 11 a.m., last approximately twenty minutes, and be followed by a press conference about the press conference. Accreditation requests are open.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com
