I have spent the past several weeks writing about sports PR from the outside looking in — analyzing campaigns, case studies, and organizational decisions. This week, I got to talk to someone on the inside. I spoke with Kishan Malhotra, an intern at MVTPR, a sports PR and marketing agency based in Evanston, Illinois. 

Q: Tell me about your role at MVTPR.

A: “My primary goal is to improve the digital footprint of the company — revamping the website and LinkedIn to match agencies operating at a higher level. Right now the agency grows mostly through referrals, through people in the industry who know our work. But we want to move into a space where someone can look up MVTPR, see our capabilities and case studies, and connect with us directly through the website. That has been my main focus.

Beyond that, I help out wherever I can — working with clients, contributing to campaigns, and supporting event activations. We do a lot of brand partnerships and brand storytelling, which is really what I want to do long term.”

Q: What does a typical workday look like?

A: “I go into the office Monday through Wednesday and work remotely Thursday and Friday. Honestly, I love the in-person days. Just being in an environment where everyone is talking about sports — basketball, tennis, whatever is happening that week — it makes the work feel really alive. The remote days are a little slower for me personally. I really thrive in a hands-on, collaborative setting.”

Q: What projects have you been working on?

A: “One of the clients I have been most involved with is The National, which is the largest sports collectibles convention in the country. Part of what we do is take what is essentially a five-day event and turn it into a 365-day presence — making sure the brand shows up at every major sporting moment throughout the year, like the NFL Draft. It is about keeping the conversation going well beyond the event itself.

We also work with the BNP Paribas Open, the tennis tournament in Indian Wells, which is one of our biggest clients on the PR and media side. And then there is Cisco, our largest client overall, where we do a lot of B2B marketing.”

Q: What drew you to PR specifically?

A: “I have always had separate interests in sports and in marketing, and this internship has been the first time I have really gotten to put those two things together. Last summer I interned at a PR and marketing firm where I worked on social media and brand storytelling, and I loved it — the idea of using strategic communication to tell a story, or pairing a client with the right media to improve their reach. That experience made me realize PR was the direction I wanted to go.

What I really want to do long term is use sports as an asset to explain what a brand does. The metaphors you can build are incredible. We did work with Cisco where the concept was essentially: the offensive line protects the quarterback so he can make a downfield play — and your network infrastructure protects your systems so your business can succeed. That kind of storytelling is exactly what excites me about this field.”

Q: What makes a good sports PR practitioner?

A: “Having your finger on the pulse of what is happening and being genuinely timely. In sports PR, you have to know what is going on right now and match your messaging to that moment. A great example is the NFL schedule release. Every year it is this fun PR exercise where teams compete to announce their schedules in the most creative way possible — one team this year did a Simpsons parody. We saw that and immediately built content around it for our clients. That ability to see what is culturally relevant and move quickly is essential.

Creativity matters just as much though. Sports gives you such a rich language to work with — the metaphors, the narratives, the emotional investment people already have. A good sports PR practitioner knows how to tap into that in a way that feels authentic rather than forced. We saw that with our tennis client too. When we noticed the Masters dinner was getting a lot of attention, we pitched the idea of a winner’s dinner for the BNP Paribas Open. Just being able to see what works in one context and ask whether it translates to yours — that is a real skill.”

Q: Why do you think sports PR matters?

A: “PR is about how stories are received — how information gets amplified and how audiences engage with it. What makes sports PR particularly effective is that sports already has built-in emotional investment. People care. So when you use that as a vehicle to tell a story, whether about an athlete, a brand, or an event, you are working with an audience that is already paying attention. That is a huge advantage. The challenge is making sure the communication is creative and genuine enough to actually earn that attention rather than just assume it.”Kishan Malhotra is a Northwestern University student currently interning at MVTPR, a sports PR and marketing agency in Evanston, Illinois. You can learn more about the agency at mvtpr.com.