Interview with Matthew Fletcher-Jones, PR Sports Specialist for Cause Collective
Updated: Sep 4
As a figure working in Sports PR, Matthew Fletcher-Jones promotes and increases the media presence of athletes, teams and sports organisations. Matthew writes articles about teams and players after sporting events. However, he works for himself “as a creative for sports and usually works to amplify media coverage for sponsors” he explained when talking about his job. He is also hired by companies to work on short films which are used to spread awareness, making them relatable for the audiences. Some examples of this are the “Manchester United Prostate Cancer UK short film”, and he also worked on a “film about the people who didn’t make it into football”, using some of the ex-Chelsea academy players who got released.
What has Matthew Fletcher-Jones been involved in?
Matthew Fletcher-Jones has written extensively for outlets like City AM covering the cultural divide and marketing impact surrounding the launch and growth of “The Hundred”. He has also evaluated how the "tournaments shifted its commercial strategy away from traditional partners to lean-heavily onto family-focused branding". As well as this he’s also worked on several slogans for example the “Bring it Home” slogan for the Commonwealth Games and the “Back in the Game” slogan for the BOG Standard for phs. As well as this, he has worked on a campaign to turn the 1966 World Cup final into colour, Channel 4 later paid for it to be colourised and streamed it in on the 6th of June 2021, they did this to spread awareness about the Alzheimer’s Society.
The Manchester United X Prostate Cancer partnership
In late November 2024, a short film was released about a Manchester United fan, Mark Farrington, who is living with prostate cancer. "He talks about the struggles and worries of trying to go to see the games because the men’s toilets in stadiums don’t often have bins" Matthew explained whilst summarising the film. This meant he couldn’t dispose of his catheter bag at games "which led him to not come anymore due to the stress of not being able to dispose and change his catheter bag". Matthew Fletcher-Jones helped direct this film and worked with Mark Farrington, Manchester United and phs who had all partnered together to make sure "Old Trafford’s bathrooms had appropriate places for men's disposal", making the bathrooms more accessible for people like Mark who struggle with going to matches because they can’t properly dispose of waste bags. This short film spread awareness nationally and "even led to winning the Consumer: Sport category award at the EMEA, up against huge brands such as F1 with Lewis Hamilton and Team GB". You can click on the link below to watch the video that Matthew produced with Mark, Manchester United and phs.
The challenges and importance of Matthew’s role
The importance of Matthew Fletcher-Jones’ role is extensive as he creates a positive image to the public around certain teams and athletes which overall increases their exposure in the media and further builds the positiveness around them by the media. As well as this, he is important because he helps to "spread awareness" about things in short films such as prostate cancer. The storytelling in these short films is what makes them able to spread awareness and "tell the story of what’s happening to many causing emotional connection with the audience and for some it being relatable to them".
One of the challenges Matthew faces in the role is that he has must stay up to date with the sports trends and "maintaining a flexible schedule so he can balance out his journalism and other projects with his life when he isn’t working". Another challenge is the public opinion, this is because "PR affects and shapes the public's views on sports", as they highlight the positives and the concerns about them in articles. This outlines the importance to needing a strategic approach to help handle complexities of the public media.
Advice from Matthew
Matthew's advice for people considering a career in sports media was straightforward, "be curious, study campaigns and content that capture not only yours but others attention, and to remember that the best stories are the ones people want to share".
