Murray Scores an Ace with the Media

So he did it. Andy Murray is the name on everybody’s lips. The mere mention of his name now compels most of us to smile and fills us with a huge sense of pride that finally we have a British tennis superstar. Endless column inches and hours of radio and TV commentary have been dedicated to reliving the moment when Andy scored the winning match point on Sunday. But what of the man himself? Often described in the past as a ‘dour scot’, why has the great British public finally taken him to their hearts so much that he can affect the mood of the nation?

Well as always, behind the great man there is a huge team of specialists making sure that not only is his tennis on top form but also his image. Behind the scenes, the image makers have been working tirelessly to ensure that we see the softer side to this incredibly focussed and driven individual. It’s no coincidence that a documentary about Murray ran shortly before the tournament enabling everyone to try and engage, understand and get behind this talented young man from Dunblane. Murray may not like having to reveal his personal side but he is smart enough to know that as well as the punters who want to see more of the real Murray, there is also the lucrative world of sponsorship.

It’s not just the image makers that Murray has taken on board. A media with an insatiable appetite for the personality behind the talent and the ever looming threat of the deadline means they want/expect a bit of a show when it comes to the post match press conference.  Murray himself has been quoted as saying that he tries to keep himself in check when handling the media. Not wanting to show emotion in case it creates an unwanted distraction from his game. However, this time, if you have followed any of his interviews, there is a softer side emerging. His media training is paying off. Plus he has learnt how to turn a negative into positive. Even when faced with a curved ball by Jon Snow yesterday on Channel Four News as to what his thoughts were on Scottish Independence, he did a perfect manoeuvre of acknowledging the question but then not actually answering it!

So there is a lesson here – Murray has realised that if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. As much as he has kicked against the demands of creating the right image and managing the media, he knows that its much easier to work with the system than constantly try and fight it – as it is for any key spokesperson in any organisation. In this day and age it is dangerous to think that by ignoring the media or worse trying to antagonise them – that the attention will go away. By not thinking about how they come across to their audience and the image they project – this can often lead to becoming disconnected with the customer and make themselves appear unapproachable. We often find that during our media training courses that it’s the delegates who are the most apprehensive at the start of the course, make the best spokespeople by the end of the course– because they care, they show passion in their voice and they want to get the message right.  They become the superstars the media want to interview over and over again.

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