Celebrities Defined - A Brief Overview of Entertainment PR

Being a celebrity is quite different from working as an actor or a musician... you can do your job and even take in your handsome paycheck, but at the end of the day-you re only regarded as star when people know who you are. So what makes you stand out above the rest? And let us note that when we are talking about the entertainment industry so the rest is a pretty large number. You can argue as much as you want, however, in the end-- a publicist is what makes you officially stand out. A high-caliber publicist introduces (or re-introduces) you to the public. Without the public consistently caring about you, it is near impossible to succeed as a person in the entertainment industry with celebrity status. You are not a celebrity unless the public wants to know more about you and what you are currently doing-- and the media is the integral passageway to your desired audience. Now it is important to keep in mind that for most talent, a publicist can be unnecessary. In fact, if a PR firm is legitimate, they will turn down prospective clients seeking their services unless that talent has a solid reason for needing the exposure. Day in and day out, publicists are contacted with inquiries from people who assume the key to instant stardom is a publicist. Sure, we do help you get there but you have to crawl before you walk. You can t just assume we can get you featured in Vanity Fair just because you do the job that you do (no matter how well you do it). You have to have something going for you that will set you apart from everyone doing the very same job as you. Why are you original? What makes you the next big thing? Why should the world care? Any logical publicist would tell you that they cannot generate press, create appearance (red carpet) requests, or fuel public interest if the talent has nothing of consequence to report. Most people who are at the right stage for a publicist are on the cusp breaking through to the next level in their career. That can be anything as minor as landing a small role on a hit television show to releasing an album and touring with someone who is getting a ton of what we call- buzz. Now on the flip side, even though some publicists say that you have to ripen your craft prior to seeking PR representation, it is not necessarily true. If that were the case, reality stars would never acquire fame for what they do-- being themselves. They may not have much experience in the public eye, but they do have something... Reality stars have a TV show behind them which has created the buzz they need for their publicity efforts to take effect. Coming back to the focal issue at hand-- being the term celebrity and all its glory. Talent and their reps need to understand exactly why it is NOT a good idea to pass on publicity. As discussed, there are times to wait and ripen yet times to seize the moment as well. You need to assess every aspect of your career. There are a number of actors who choose to refuse PR services assuming their management can just field the requests and that is all they need. Not true. Unless you are someone like Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt (who trust me, need a publicist for other reasons!) you will seldom be approached by media. Even if you re promoting a hot new movie, there are only a handful of media outlets that will cover your project and even then-they won t necessarily come to you for the interview. There are many people involved in a project who can comment on the experience: directors, supporting actors, producers, etc. If you want to make sure that you are noted for your achievement, you need a publicist to assist you. Taking that a step further, not only will your publicist assist you but they will make sure to do so in a way that stands in line with branding you as the celebrity you want to be. This branding comes into play with every detail of your career. Which events you attend and how often, what you wear in a photo shoot, what you decide to say about an experience, and much more are all the actions you take which come together to brand you as a celebrity. To end, let s take the idea further. Becoming a celebrity is different than just getting famous. The word famous is not as everlasting as the term celebrity. Sure, by definition they both mean the same concept but in theory-a celebrity should be timeless. Remaining a celebrity is an on-going job and the word doesn t come lightly. You need a team built around you to help you stay that way. Mona Loring, president of MLC PR brings forth solid experience in public relations, magazine writing, copywriting, marketing, and business development. Holding powerful positions such as public relations director, copywriter, entrepreneur and leader of media relations for a number of charity organizations, Loring offers original PR approaches and resourceful insight. monaloring.com