I was in a deep sleep. It was 8:17 AM and I had worked the day before-Public Relations on Super bowl Weekend LI in Houston, TX. Tending to celebrities and kissing babies. My PR Partner in crime woke me up with a crisis. One of the celebrities that she had booked for a red carpet event was now all over the blogs. I pulled out the second phone, woke up my media team and we all got to work. Needless to say one harmless picture with a celebrity and a mystery woman had gone viral and started a myriad of fires and my partner in PR was the firefighter.
Behind the scenes work is somewhat hard to prove to those who do not understand what Public Relations entails. Recently becoming more popular among those who want to boost their brands PR Specialists and Publicists to date have been a mystery among new industry professionals. Most commonly confused with promotions the intricate details of the skills one has to ensue to carry the title far exceeds the tasks of a promoter. While they work hard to bring a crowd the Publicist is working hard from the conception of the event idea: Preparing press releases, gathering media and committing to being the voice to the public from the people.
Ice Cube and Mike Epps painted a hilarious but accurate picture of the industry and how things can go wrong when one chooses a “janky” promoter. Although this was a comedic flick the fact remains that selecting the right individuals to assist you with creating a great event can be the caveat of a success or a failure.
As a Publicist and media professional I know firsthand the countless hours spent on creating articles and writing professional documents that are key components when providing quality service for top clientele. While celebrities and corporations have always understood the value of having Public Relations newcomers specifically the African-American consumers are now quickly grasping the concept.
Promoters have now resorted to adding PR to their resume using past events as experience. Having never written a dissertation or a media-catchy press release they resort to outsourcing internet junkies overseas for pennies on the dollar. And so the battle begins…