Publicity whiz Brian Berger has parlayed a few loyal clients into a thriving business and a sports radio show on KXL.

Talk business
Brian Berger voices the big-bucks side of sports on the air
By PETE SCHULBERG

Portland Tribune - Issue date: Tue, Sep 14, 2004

On a sun-drenched Sunday morning, public relations consultant and part-time radio host Brian Berger is holed up inside the KXL (750 AM) studios chattering a mile a minute into a microphone.
The high-energy Berger is doing what he does best talking up the business of sports with his co-host Keith Forman. In baseball parlance, Berger is mixing up his pitches and hitting the corners.
“If I'm Kobe Bryant's publicist, I'd say let's have the rebirth of Kobe, let's see lots of smiling next year and be more proactive with the media," Berger says.

“Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens was on trial for murder, and (sportscaster) Marv Albert went through a very embarrassing trial (for biting a woman on the back). And both of them had their careers revitalized. And don't forget Kobe still has four years to go on the Nike $45 million contract. “Kobe ought to take a page out of Bill and Hillary Clinton's playbook," Forman adds.

In rapid-fire succession and without the aid of listener phone calls, Berger and Forman serve up nonstop banter on their one-hour radio program, “Sports Business Radio" which airs following Seattle Seahawk broadcasts.

Unlike the case with most sports talk shows, these hosts and former college buddies would rather compliment each other's arguments than shout each other down. They seem to see eye-to-eye on almost everything whether it's the Seattle Mariners not taking advantage of the marketing potential of right fielder Ichiro Suzuki or about Phil Mickelson signing with Callaway Golf Co.

“I just thought he had a great concept," says KXL General Manager Tim McNamara, who bought into Berger's idea earlier this year. “The business of sports is becoming such a big part of it all."

It is one more example of how weekend talk radio is finding targeted audiences with shows covering such wide-ranging subjects as personal finance, home design and even barbecuing. “It's a unique show," says Berger, 35.
It also demonstrates how Berger, president of Brian Berger Public Relations, has forged a career in the world of marketing, sports and celebrities. Working out of his Pearl District office, Berger has a client list that includes Nike Inc. (The Jordan brand and Nike Golf), Los Angeles Laker forward Brian Grant, the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and former Miss America Katie Harman.

“He's very well-connected in the community," says Lee Weinstein, director of corporate communications for Nike. Weinstein most recently has been working with Berger on next month's “Walk + Bike to School Day" project, a statewide effort to push kids to get to school under their own power.

Catapult to success

Berger, whose wife, Catherine, is expecting their first child, already has attained his career goal -  to go independent with his own public relations consulting business by the age of 30.

“He's one of those people who gets it in terms of how everything works," says Ric Bucher, senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and columnist for ESPN.com. “He allows your story to be told and never tries to manipulate things. Those (PR people) are few and far between.

Berger's next step is to syndicate his radio show to stations around the country. Two companies already have expressed interest.

“My dad told me growing up don't be a wisher," Berger says. “If you want something, just go do it. And I still remember that."

It also has helped that Berger seems to be playing the “Forrest Gump" card. The Phoenix, Ariz., native consistently has found himself at the right place at the right time while events swirl around him.
Berger was the play-by-play guy for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in 1990 when Loyola became the highest-scoring team in the country and advanced to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament. Forman was his on-air partner. It was at the same time that Loyola's star center, Hank Gathers, died of a heart attack and brought even more national attention to the team and to Berger. “It was a real springboard," Berger says.

In the Blazer fold

After interning at Los Angeles TV station KTLA and later with Blazer Broadcasting, Berger found himself helping to lead the Oregon Arena Project's public relations and marketing machine while the Rose Garden was being built.

In 1998, Berger went on his own, taking advantage of the contacts he had made with the Blazers. “When I left the Blazers, there were whispers. "He doesn't have any clients,", but I take all that stuff as motivation.

Berger's best-known client, former Blazer Brian Grant, is a PR person's dream, active in charities, happy to work with sponsors and an all-around pleasant guy. Traded to the Lakers in the Shaquille O'Neal deal, Grant's aura has even more potential in the media-saturated L.A. market.

I've been around a lot of athletes, but I never hit it off with any of them like Brian," Berger says. "He likes doing things in the community and with sponsors."

While it's a lot more common now for NBA players to have their own PR people, Berger's expanding business relationship with Grant during his Blazer days raised some eyebrows among team personnel and media representatives. They thought the PR guy in his 20s was grabbing onto Grant's coattails.

But that's ancient history. And now, Berger's passion appears to be his radio gig. “Maybe I can carve out two or three clients and spend the rest of the time with the radio show," he says.