Take me out to the...........ball game?

I figure I should probably start my first blog off by introducing myself. My name is Simon Kerrigan, I study Marketing and Public Relations at Curtin University, and like most here I am in my final semester of what has felt like much more than your standard 3 year degree. I think every PR student has their own field or industry in which they are passionate about, and for me that industry is sport. It is therefore no great surprise that I jumped at the opportunity offered to intern for Perth Heat Baseball Club.


Yes that's right Perth has a Baseball club, and a very successful one at that. There is a noticeable lack of awareness about Baseball in Australia, which explains why the Perth Heat were hiring communication interns, ideally to correct this fault. A lot of younger people (myself included) may not be aware that there was a period in time where Baseball was very popular in Australia, and during the 1990's, the Perth Heat would regularly sell out its 5,000 seat venue at the no longer existent Parry Fields. Perth Heat are currently in their 25th Year of operation, and a lot of the PR efforts are related to emphasizing this history.

Nowadays the Perth Heat compete in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) which runs during the Australian summer from November-February. The games are played out at Thornlies Barbagallo Ballpark, where the Perth Heat have won 3 of the past 4 championships. On top of this, the Perth Heat play host to a number of internationally renowned players who use the league as pre-season training for the American Major League Baseball Season (MLB) which starts up at the conclusion of the Australian Season in March.

(Not a bad place to eat your lunch on a nice day)

I strongly believe there is great potential for a re-ignited interest in Baseball in Perth, and Australia. The largest reason I have for this belief is the Perth population, and how this sports crazy city is willing to adopt any team or cause it believes represents Perth well. The recent resurgence of Basketball and the Perth Wildcats I believe provides a solid framework for new sporting brands to develop.

The business side of the club is run on-site at Barbagallo Ballpark, in an often crowded back-office behind the pitch. At times the Office can feel like a revolving door, with staff constantly going to and from meetings with various sponsors, players and coaches. The Perth Heat are also in control of "Baseball WA" which organises and manages the wide array of local competitions and little league Baseball in Perth. A majority of the staff working at the club are from American Colleges, so it has been interesting working with them, and figuring more out about their culture.

The first task that I was given in my role was to draft a Communications Plan for the Perth Heat, seeing as they did not currently have one. I will go into more specifics about the role of communication and PR at the Perth Heat in later posts. This post was more or less an introduction into who the Perth Heat are as an organisation, and what it is like working in the office initially. (Please note there is a slight delay between when this post was written, and when I have posted it).

Feel free to leave a comment asking me about my experience thus far, and I will endeavor to get back as soon as possible.

Till next time
Simon