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1. Executive Summary 1.1 Company Overview

At Olympus Public Relations, we focus our attention and skills in helping athletes and

athletic corporations achieve and maintain an image as high as the gods. Our drive is to help

clients such as yourself accomplish professional and personal short-term and long-term goals.

We offer you our services we have perfected since our company began, and you will find, Mr.

McGwire, that these services cannot be matched. Our familiarity with sports media, fans,

philanthropy, and entertainment will be at your fingertips. We are an extremely successful firm,

and you will not doubt that the future of your image and reputation are in good hands.

1.2 Career Overview

Mr. McGwire, your remarkable professional career began, following your place on the

1984 U.S. Olympic team, when you were drafted 10th

overall by the Oakland Athletics in the

1984 Major League Baseball Draft. As a rookie in 1987, you hit an impressive 33 home runs

before the All-Star break and were a unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year,

finishing with 49 home runs, 118 runs batted in, and a .289 batting average.

In the following three seasons, Mr. McGwire, you hit 32, 33, and 39 home runs, and were

the first Major Leaguer to hit over 30 home runs in each of your first four full seasons. In 1988,

you hit game-winning home runs in the 16th

inning of games on both July 3 and 4. Your most

famous home run came soon after in Game 3 of the 1988 World Series against the Los Angeles

Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning, which brought the only victory for the Oakland

Athletics in that Series. In addition, you won a Gold Glove, an annual award given to players

who displayed signs of superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position, in

1990. In the 1992 season you hit an impressive 42 home runs; the highest of your career up to

that point. Your spectacular performance helped the Oakland A’s clinch the American League

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West Division title in that year; their fourth in five seasons. In 1996, you impressed fans with 52

home runs in 423 at-bats, also hitting a career high .312 batting average, while leading the league

in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage. These great accomplishments were just a

preview of what you had in store for Major League Baseball.

In the 1997 season, you were traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Following this trade, you

then led MLB with 58 home runs. At the end of that season, you signed a contract to stay in St.

Louis. As the 1998 season progressed, you, along with Ken Griffey, Jr. and Sammy Sosa were

competing to break Roger Maris’ single-season home run record. After an intense rivalry, you

finished the season with an astounding 70 home runs, four ahead of Sosa’s 66. You are also

credited with “saving baseball,” along with Sammy Sosa, for the incredible performances that

encouraged younger and older fans to attend games after the famous 1994 MLB Strike. You

ended your career in 2001 with 583 home runs, which was the fifth-most in history. In 2009,

you joined baseball once more by accepting a position as the hitting coach for the St. Louis

Cardinals.

2. Situational Analysis 2.1 Situational Analysis

Mr. McGwire, throughout the late 1990s you were unfortunately under suspicion of using

the performance enhancing steroids. During this time you continually refused to talk about your

involvement or admit to any usage of these substances. This in turn caused rumors to circulate

and your silence seemed to confirm your usage to your fans and other individuals. In 1998, you

broke the record for single home runs in a season and this accomplishment in particular drew

more attention to the possibility of steroid use. Although you continually denied using steroids,

in 1998 you did admit to taking the muscle enhancer androstenedione. Even though

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androstenedione wasn’t yet banned by Major League Baseball, your use of this drug did not help

support your previous statements of non-steroid use.

Then in 2005, Jose Canseco released a book that contained personal testimonies of

professional baseball players using steroids, and claimed that you had used performance

enhancing drugs since the 1980s, and that he had personally injected you with them. In this

same year you, Mr. Canseco, and nine other MLB players and executives testified at a

congressional hearing on steroid use in professional baseball. On March 17 you made a

testimony, under oath, that neither confirmed nor denied your use of steroids. Later, in October

2009, the St. Louis Cardinals offered you the position of hitting coach. After accepting this

position, you admitted to using steroids during your playing career, including your infamous

1998 season. However, your confession also contained claims that your usage of steroids was to

recover from injuries rather than for performance enhancement. Your recent failures to attain

election into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 have been said to be due

to the infractions associated with the use of steroids.

3. Planning 3.1 Objectives & Goals

Our goal is to repair your reputation as one of the greatest baseball players of all time and

help you obtain a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mr. McGwire, you were a phenomenal

baseball player and have continuously demonstrated your knowledge and passion for baseball by

your work as hitting coach for your former team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Your name is still

synonymous with baseball and home runs, but dealing with the stigma that comes with your

admitted steroid use has kept you out of the Baseball Hall of Fame. We suggest you continue

your positive involvement in Major League Baseball, and additionally focus your efforts on

community involvement and philanthropy. This will favorably change your persona and gain

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you positive media coverage, in hopes of swaying the votes of the Baseball Hall of Fame voting

board.

3.2 Target Audience

Target Audience Description of Audience

Males and Females, Ages 14-24 Aspiring Middle School, High School, and

College athletes who would benefit from a

lecture series about steroid use in sports.

Males and Females, Ages 35+ Audience who were and/or are fans during your

career and especially the 1997-2001 HR record

chase with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Baseball Writers Association of America These individuals are member of the voting

board that determine your entry into the

Baseball Hall of Fame.

3.3 Strategies 3.3.1 Fan Relationship

At Olympus Public Relations, we believe it is important to continue the positive

relationship you have with your fans. Your fan base increased during your home run race with

Sammy Sosa, as MLB had just come off the player’s strike in 1994. You essentially helped to

reestablish the fans’ enthusiasm for the sport again. It is essential, to keep these fans and garner

new ones by answering fan mail, signing baseball cards, and even mentioning your appreciation

for them in an interview before or after a St. Louis Cardinals game. We feel that your decision

to return to MLB, and your former team, as a hitting coach was a very good move, and was a

definite step forward with your fans, as they gave you a standing ovation prior to the Cardinals’

home opener on April 12, 2010. It is important to show a kind of “Fan Appreciation Day,”

everyday. When your fans see that their support matters to you, it will continue to grow.

3.3.2 Associations

Even though your use of steroids were for health reasons, were not banned in MLB, and

were available over-the-counter (meaning it was legal and safe), they still carry a negative

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stigma. Now that you have openly admitted the use of steroids, it is important that you sever all

ties with those affiliated with the use of the drug. This includes former and current athletes, and

especially Jose Canseco, who accused you of illegally using steroids in his published book.

What we advise is further enhancing your relationship with revered individuals in the world of

baseball. One such person is former MLB player, Ken Griffey, Jr. Throughout his major league

baseball career, Mr. Griffey was a popular player and fan favorite around the league. His

popularity reflected well upon professional baseball. Griffey has been called one of the most

prolific home run hitters and is fifth on the list for most career home runs. Home runs are not all

you have in common; Griffey recently retired this past year, but still works in professional

baseball as a special consultant for the Seattle Mariners. He, like you, is also a big contributor

to philanthropic endeavors. Associating yourself with Mr. Griffey will highlight your

similarities and all of the positive accomplishments you have achieved.

3.4 Activities 3.4.1 Educational Engagement

One way to improve your image in the public eye is by lecturing to middle schools, high

schools, colleges, and especially student athletes, about the dangers of the use of steroids and the

positivity of sportsmanship. Seeing as you have first-hand experience, we suggest showing your

goodwill by telling others your story, and encouraging young athletes to shy away from any use.

This will also allow you to tell your side of the story and why you regret using steroids, because

the audience will be able to hear it in your own words, rather than obtain a skewed version from

a third party. Beginning at local Missouri middle schools and high schools for free can enhance

your image. Then you can move on to finding an agency, such as The College Agency, that will

designate you an agent that can book you at colleges and universities and showcase your lectures

at conventions, such as the National Association for Campus Activities, NACA. The College

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Agency is a reputable organization and has been a nominee for Agency of the Year in 2007,

2009, and 2010. It is used by colleges and universities all over the country for their various

speaker and lecture series’. You will be able to tour throughout various locations during the

school year because the baseball off-season correlates with Fall, Winter, and Spring semesters or

trimesters. We at Olympus Public Relations will create press releases and pitch letters to send to

local, regional, and national media outlets in order to garner good press regarding your efforts to

educate youth. Some of these media personnel will include reporter T.J. Quinn of ESPN, who

reported a great deal on performance enhancing drugs and is a member of the BWAA; New York

Times sports journalist, George Vecsey, who wrote about your home run record chase against

Sammy Sosa; and many great writers at Sports Illustrated, including “America’s Best

Sportswriter,” Gary Smith.

3.4.2 Community Involvement

Your current work at the Mark McGwire Foundation for Children to support agencies

that help children who have been sexually and physically abused is a wonderful philanthropic

endeavor. Because this foundation was created before your admittance to using steroids, we

believe that you would also benefit from adding to your community involvement by working

with the St. Louis Sports Commission’s Sportsmanship Initiative. More community involvement

will build your public image and fan morale, which is essential to your long-term success. The

Sportsmanship Initiative is a series of programs implemented by the Sports Commission to make

St. Louis a model community for good sportsmanship and to create more positive environments

for kids to play sports. It hopes to reinforce the ideals of respect, civility, integrity, and fair play

at all levels. Not only will your image benefit from donating your time, but also by adding to

their known scholarship fund to create more college scholarships for graduating seniors in the St.

Louis area. Your participation in this organization will show the community your stance on

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sportsmanship, and your love for athletics. You will ultimately be recognized as a good

community citizen by supporting a program that improves the quality of life in the community.

Any events your foundations are a part of will be promoted to the media via a media alert that we

will create at Olympus Public Relations.

4. Administration and Evaluation 4.1 Staffing 4.1.1 Personal Assistant

Mr. McGwire, being the iconic baseball player that you are, while also holding the

position of the St. Louis Cardinals’ hitting coach, you will require additional staff to help you

throughout your day. In order to maintain positive relations with the fans and media, a

professional personal assistant is imperative. Your new personal assistant will assist in simple

tasks, such as sorting various fan -mail, managing and updating your schedule, keeping track of

all invoices and emails, and running personal errands as needed. We highly recommend, Mr.

McGwire, that your personal assistant be male, primarily in his mid-twenties to mid-thirties, and

have at least obtained a Bachelor’s degree. He should have extensive experience as a manager or

assistant in, yet not limited to, the sports industry. Desired qualities for your assistant include an

extremely responsible, flexible, accountable, detailed, respectable professional who maintains

the utmost confidentiality throughout his work. We will oversee the preliminary selection of

potential candidates, but of course, you will make the final decision in the selection process.

Your assistant is a gatekeeper; he will organize all aspects of your professional and personal life,

therefore making it easier for you to keep track of everything and act accordingly and timely.

Thus, during the baseball season, the ability to focus on your success in coaching will be

improved, thanks to your new personal assistant.

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4.1.2 Event Coordinator

Hiring an event coordinator will further improve your balance between coaching and

positive relations with fans and media. A professional event coordinator will assist in planning

events for your charity, educational speeches or visits, and all other fundraisers or occasions that

will arise. Mr. McGwire, at Olympus Public Relations, we know how difficult it will be to find

equilibrium between family life, your career, and the interactions you will encounter with the

public. Along with your personal assistant, your event coordinator will work behind the scenes to

allow you to focus on balancing these three aspects of your life. The coordinator’s main job is

establishing a budget, scheduling dates, times, and locations, setting up transportation, and hiring

support and security if need be. Your event coordinator will manage every fundamental

background element of fundraisers or events, while also listening to any input from yourself, and

therefore will allow you to not worry about these background details and focus more on your

status and positive attitude throughout the events you attend. We feel the most appropriate event

coordinator for you, Mr. McGwire, will be a highly driven individual with at least a Bachelor’s

degree. It is ideal that your event coordinator will have a degree in Communications, Marketing,

or Entertainment Management, but this is not a requirement. Your coordinator must have a

background with other high-profile athletes or celebrities, and he or she must have a positive

reputation throughout the industry. He or she will work around the St. Louis Cardinals’ schedule

and will set up school visits and charity events on off-days, the off-season, and post-game, if

possible. Your event coordinator will add numerous events to your schedule, providing many

opportunities for you to enhance your relationship with your fans.

4.1.3 Personal Coach

Lastly Mr. McGwire, we believe that maintaining connections throughout the community

of Major League Baseball is the most vital aspect of amplifying your Hall of Fame eligibility.

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Throughout your years as a successful slugger, you have created relationships with managers,

coaches and teammates. It is important that you uphold all positive relationships that you have

made throughout your tenure within Major League Baseball. It is essential for you to have a

personal coach, or mentor. Many athletes, celebrities, and social icons have turned to mentors

during times of need or personal advising.

Mr. McGwire, it would be ideal if this mentor were highly regarded, as well as connected

to the Major League Baseball organization and community. Conveniently, you already have a

strong history with Tony La Russa. He was your manager for the Oakland Athletics from 1987 to

1995, and your manager for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1997 to 2001. Mr. La Russa is a

reputable manager known throughout the league, and has great potential to be a Hall of Fame

manager. Not only is he a respectable in those aspects, but he is also a respectable man who is

liked all throughout Major League Baseball. You need a mentor who has integrity and a strong

personality, and Mr. La Russa possesses both characteristics. Although you have a highly

likeable personality and reputation, it is our job to increase awareness of these characteristics

throughout the league, thus furthering your chances to be voted into the Hall of Fame. If you

continue your positive relationship with Mr. La Russa, he will act like a spokesperson for you,

being more apt to speak positively of you to the media. He will be your confidant and role

model. He is someone you can trust, and who will, in turn, trust you. We cannot stress enough

how important it is to maintain constructive contact with Tony La Russa. Also, positive relations

with players such as Ken Griffey, Jr., Albert Pujols, and Matt Holliday, who have large fan bases

and respected careers, will enrich your public standing. The relationships you currently possess

are key aspects in safeguarding your reputation throughout the world of baseball.

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4.2 Timetable

4.3 Tracking & Monitoring Progress

In order to keep track of your progress, we at Olympus Public Relations will continue to

poll the public to monitor their opinions of you as an individual and as an athlete. By monitoring

their opinions of you we will be able to see which tactics for improving your image and

reputation are working. We will also track the number of votes you receive each year for the

Hall of Fame. Any decrease or increase in votes will help us determine where to adjust our

Today

• Fan Relationships

•You must start with maintaining relations with your fan base in order to garner positive media for yourself and the St. Louis Cardinals.

6 Months

• Associations•We will help you attain assocations with well respected individuals in the MLB community that will further your positive image with current and potential fans.

12 Months

• Philanthropy•You will further your involvement in your current foundation, as well as establish yourself as part of the St. Louis Sports Commission's Sportsmanship Initiative.

36 Months

• Educational Lectures

•You will begin work on a lecture series that will help further your agenda of educating young athletes about sportsmanship and the dangers of steroid use. Joining The College Agency can build your credibility as a serious speaker.

10 Years

• Baseball Hall of Fame

•Our ultimate goal is to have you inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame which will be the epitome of your success in MLB.

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approach accordingly. Any good media awareness garnered by your philanthropy efforts will aid

us at Olympus Public Relations in tracking the increase in your image and reputation.

5. Budget 5.1. Bottom Line

As your public relations firm, we will advise you on ways to make the most of your

current financial aspects in your personal and professional life. You will find our suggestions are

flexible pending your personal interest, but are emphasized due to success they have had for

other clients in the past.

5.1.1 Hitting Coach Salary

As the St. Louis Cardinals’ current hitting coach you obtain a steady and generous salary

as personal funds. We suggest you consider setting up savings accounts for you and your

family’s future. You might be interested in looking into investments that can not only increase

your revenue, but can also show support for the businesses and organizations in which you

choose to invest.

5.1.2 Celebrity Endorsements

Mr. McGwire, it is our goal to obtain various endorsement deals for products and services

that enhance your positive image. Though we believe most of these offers will come after you

obtain entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, we will strive to acquire them immediately. If there

are certain products, services, or organizations you feel strongly about representing, we will

work to meet your preferences. At Olympus Public Relations, your image is our first priority

and we do not want you to endorse something you do not believe.

5.1.3 Philanthropy

You have already taken the first step of creating your own charity, the Mark McGwire

Foundation for Children. Donating your time and money are equally important in keeping this

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foundation alive. We also suggest you work with an organization that is sports-related, which

will further highlight your positive reputation. The St. Louis Sports Commission’s

Sportsmanship Initiative is a perfect vehicle to do so. Your participation in this organization and

especially through contributions to their scholarship funds, will only further strengthen your fan

base in the community of St. Louis.

5.1.4 Staffing

As we stated previously, acquiring a personal assistant and event coordinator is an

integral part to our plan. They will ultimately make your life easier, but both require a set fee to

be negotiated at the time of hire. You must also keep in mind that working with The College

Agency will require you to give a percentage of your contractual fee to your agent associated

with that company.

5.1.5 Olympus Public Relations Fees

As a leading public relations firm in our field, we charge $25,000 a month, plus expenses.

It would be in your best interest to invest in our firm’s skills and resources, including our

phenomenal staff and our contacts throughout the industry and media. We will be with you and

constantly monitoring your success and achievements in every step you make toward reaching

the Hall of Fame.