From Storytellers to Strategic Advisors: Sports Leaders Provide Valuable Lessons for Communicators

At this year’s Sports PR Summit, FleishmanHillard’s Chief Growth Officer Mitch Germann sat down with Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) President of Media & New Enterprises Zach Leonsis for a wide-ranging conversation about multistakeholder audiences, transformation and the evolving role of communications.

The lessons extend far beyond arenas and game days. They reflect a broader reality facing communications leaders across industries and sectors: stakeholder audiences are multiplying, channels are fragmenting and the expectations placed on communicators have never been higher.

The Stakeholder Map Is More Complex Than Ever

Communicators often treat “the audience” as if they are singular.

In reality, today’s organizations operate within an ecosystem of stakeholders that may share a common interest but have very different priorities.

For sports organizations like MSE, that means communicating simultaneously with season ticket holders, casual fans, corporate partners, employees, players, league officials, elected leaders and local communities. While everyone may want the teams to succeed, their expectations of the organization differ dramatically.

The takeaway for communicators is clear: one narrative does not mean one message.

The strongest enterprise narratives are anchored by a consistent strategic story, but tailored for specific audiences, channels and moments. Communications teams increasingly must balance message consistency with audience relevance.

Narrative Ownership Has Become a Competitive Advantage

One of the most notable themes from the discussion was the growing importance of direct-to-consumer communications.

Leonsis emphasized that organizations cannot rely solely on third-party coverage and conversation to define who they are. In a world where social platforms amplify every opinion, organizations must proactively tell their own story or risk having others define it for them.

That means complementing earned media coverage with strong owned channels and a disciplined content strategy.

For communicators, the difference is in whether you are using the direct channels to your audiences strategically enough.The organizations that win attention today are often the ones that can move seamlessly between earned, owned and shared media environments.

Transformation Communications Requires More Than Announcements

Large-scale change initiatives often fail not because the strategy is flawed, but because stakeholders experience the transformation differently.

MSE’s Capital One Arena renovation provides a useful example. Different stakeholder groups care about different outcomes: players focus on facilities, corporate customers focus on experiences, fans focus on value, and civic leaders focus on economic impact.

The communications challenge lies in helping each audience understand what the transformation means for them.

Successful transformation communications requires sustained storytelling, message sequencing and audience-specific framing over months or years – not just a single launch moment.

Communications Leaders Must Operate Like Business Leaders

Perhaps the most important takeaway came in response to a simple question: What do business leaders need from communications teams today?

Leonsis’ answer wasn’t media relations. It wasn’t content creation.

It was partnership. He described communicators who understand the business, anticipate criticism, identify potential pitfalls, sharpen narratives and prepare leadership for inevitable scrutiny.

That’s a meaningful shift in expectations.

The most valuable communicators today are helping shape key decisions before they’re announced. They have a seat at the table.

In an environment defined by complexity, reputation risk and stakeholder scrutiny, communications has become a strategic operating function.

The Bottom Line

Sports has always been a pressure-tested environment for communications professionals. Every decision is scrutinized. Every stakeholder has a voice. Every narrative evolves in real time.

Today, communicators are being asked to manage more stakeholders, more channels and more scrutiny than ever before. Success depends on moving beyond traditional storytelling and embracing a broader role: strategic advisor, business partner and architect of trust.

Because in today’s environment, communications isn’t simply about telling the story.

It’s about helping shape the future of the organization behind it.