How come the global giant, with powerful PR and communication resources, has kept silence around its new brand ambassador ever since?<\/strong><\/p>\n While I am writing this, Nike doesn\u2019t mention Halep\u2019s name not even once on its website. Just dig into the news section as well as into Tennis<\/a> and Athletes<\/a> pages \u2013 and you will run into Canadian Eugenie Bouchard (WTA 116).<\/p>\n Scroll down, click back, search for Halep. Nothing.<\/p>\n Is it because Nike needs more than four days to write and spread a press release?<\/p>\n Or are we missing something?<\/p>\n Let\u2019s dig deeper.<\/p>\n There is a basic rule in journalism saying to doublecheck sources. The Romanian journalists only made a transcription of Halep\u2019s words. But did anyone check that with Nike? Or mentioned Nike\u2019s silence?<\/p>\n \u201cDear Media Relations Department, what do you say about your new athlete?\u201d<\/p>\n Or: \u201cLook, we were told the contract was worth EUR 1.3 million\/year. Others say EUR 1.7 million. We also heard about USD 2 million. Is it a four-year contract indeed?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGive us something.\u201d<\/p>\n Who leaked those figures to journalists anyway?<\/p>\n Since Nike hasn\u2019t come up with an official statement by now, there is one possible explanation. A dishonest PR strategy coming from Halep\u2019s team, to boost her brand after the deal with Adidas ended<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is just a scenario.<\/p>\n But the fact is that the powerful sponsor is behaving as if Nike hasn\u2019t included Simona Halep in its global collection of tennis stars, next to Roger Federer (Men) or Eugenie Bouchard (Women).<\/p>\n It is not a top athlete\u2019s job to know how to spread the news. It is not his or her job to make corrections when journalists fail in reporting with fairness and accuracy either.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s a world champion\u2019s job to hire the best available communication specialists to pamper his or her image as a strong global brand.<\/p>\n Halep hasn\u2019t acted as a global brand amid her media coverage and followers worldwide.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a press release on Nike\u2019s website<\/a> as an example (January 28, 2018). \u201cToday, tennis great Roger Federer defended his title in Melbourne, bumping his win count at that major tournament up to six.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Federer in the headline. Federer in the lead. Federer in the picture. Autograph by Federer.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s come back to Simona Halep now. Not a single word about Nike on a website which appears first on Google*. The last press release<\/a> was published on January 27, 2018.<\/p>\n#1<\/strong> Broken rule<\/strong><\/h4>\n
#2 Dishonest PR?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
#3 Personal branding<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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