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University of Florida Case Study
Brenda Frysinger, Former Staff Assistant
Ask Brenda Frysinger, the University of
Florida’s former sports information staff assistant, if she will ever handle
credentials the “old way” – that is writing it all down and keeping all
records by hand.
“No,” says Frysinger simply, with very strong
reasons.
Most importantly, Gator football and basketball
credentials are now being managed through PressPass -- Sports Systems’
online credential management tool that is changing the way media relations directors
organize quite possibly their most arduous task.
Just about all of us SIDs have been there
before, whether writing down game notes, doing stats, managing a game-day
staff or handling numerous calls and setup interviews. As the trend grows more toward SIDs
handling public relations duties, less time is available for processing
credentials. What’s even worse
is the lost personal free time while we rumble through faxes, emails, phone
messages and letters requesting credentials; some at the last second.
“(In the past) Every request was made via
phone, fax and email,” said Frysinger. “Keeping track of all requests and how they were made was
not the most effective way (to manage credentials). Then you would have to
follow up with phone calls to let people know if they were approved and
denied.
“Now we send everyone to the (PressPass) web
site and they request what they want. They are informed instantly as to the status of their
requests.”
With PressPass, the media spends less time
taking care of credentials for events. They enter a site and make their requests in real time,
for a game or series of games in a season, knowing that when they press the
“Process” button that they’re almost finished. The system automatically
sends a confirmation email.
Then Frysinger and the Florida staff take over.
Frysinger logs into a
password-protected site and can view all pending requests. Then by using pull down menus for
approvals/denials and clicking the “Process” button, Frysinger can manage all
credentials for a game or season for each organization, and in the process
has sent emails to the media contacts and each attendee informing the
individuals of their status.
PressPass can also attach .PDF files to emails
that can include information on the event, such as where to pick up a pass,
and media information about the location.
Essentially, the paper trail has ended. In a few clicks, media are informed
quickly and efficiently, and the Florida staff finishes their tedious task
in exponentially less time.
“The quicker ability to approve credentials,”
is mentioned by Frysinger as the greatest advantage to PressPass, but
that’s not where the advantages end. In fact, the administrative side of the system does far
more than approve and deny as any SID using the system quickly learns.
PressPass gives users the ability to create an
unlimited number of reports that can be “filtered” by any question asked of
the attendees. If you need to
know who is attending a certain game, and only want to show who is approved
and needs a seat in the press box, a report can be created to show which
attendees fit the criteria. Reports
can show any information that was gathered from the media, and can be
downloaded on screen or to an excel file (for printing and generation of
mailing and seating labels) or text file. The possibilities are limitless, and again, more time is
saved.
“(I really like the) instant knowledge of those
intending to attend games,” says Frysinger. “I also can get labels and spreadsheets at a click (and I
didn’t have to enter the first bit of information –- YEAH!).”
Frysinger says she still spends a good three to
four hours a week processing credentials (labeling envelopes, mailing,
setting up calls, etc.), but the time saved getting from point A to point
B, has been immense.
“I think Mr. (Norm) Carlson (Florida’s
Assistant AD/Historian) said he would spend an entire Sunday at the office
doing these credentials in the past.”
If that sounds familiar, there is now any easy
solution: PressPass. Electronic credential processing for conference
tournaments and bowl games is becoming standard practice for staff, and our
service is the gold standard in this field. Media relations directors can service media faster and
more efficiently and actually have … dare we say … free time!
Contact a Sports Systems
representative at 201-585-9269 to see how you can improve your operations
and save time with PressPass.
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