The PR of Best of the Best Dog Show
The annual Westminster Kennel Club shows happen the second week in February – beginning on February 11 (Saturday) and continuing on through February 13-14. All eight events and sessions are televised onFox Sports (Fox Sports GO and FS1) and Nat Geo WILD. Pulling all of that off takes a roomful of experts, judges, analysts, reporters, and more.
Some of those eight events will be televised for the first time live this year in New York City’s Madison Square Garden as well as at Piers 92 and 94. Fox Sports’ 10-year agreement to televise the events, signed back in 2015, goes into effect with the 2017 broadcasts.
Gail Miller Bisher, the Club’s director of communications, will provide expert analysis and commentary along with FOX Sports announcer Chris Myers – they will be the main faces for the coverage of this event and both bring a lot of experience to the shows. Bisher has 30-plus years of experience including conformation, earthdog trial, and obedience competitions. Myers has nearly two decades with FOX Sports and has announced at events with the NFL, MLB, and NASCAR, including five showings at the Super Bowl for coverage. This will be the first year that the show can be streamed through various devices and apps. Another first is streaming backstage coverage with those getting ready to perform, and with the winners.
But PR for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show isn’t just about finding the announcers, experts, judges, and such. It’s also about lining up vendors for the event, including the American Kennel Club, selling its branded merchandise and offering pedigree chart printing. It only takes a few minutes. 4Pets is another vendor. They offer safety products for the transportation of dogs in vehicles. Also in attendance will be Angel on a Leash – a group working with therapy dogs. Many others with dog-related businesses or organizations will have booths at arguably the best-known dog show in the world.
As far as the dogs and owners go, dog shows and getting to the ultimate annual show doesn’t come cheap. The American Kennel Club recently estimated that about $330 million was spent each year by participants in travel and competition costs. And much like the big awards shows in Hollywood, winning doesn’t just happen overnight, there are campaigns and ads run extolling the virtues of the canine participants.
If you are already a fan of the show or want to watch it, check out FOXSportsGO.com or their app (found on Amazon App Store, iTunes, Google Play, and Windows Store. Those allow for live streaming of the events. It may also be on a connected device you own such as Roku, Apple TV, Xbox One, Fire TV, Chromecast, and Android TV.
