How to handle PR of a Celebrity?

Friends, Thank you very much for taking out time from your very busy schedule to read my blogs at www.sureshgaurprguru.blogspot.com and now onwards at  www.medium.com/@sureshgaur56 also. Sharing knowledge of PR with you has become my passion now.  Today I’m happy to present my 85thblog on the topic: “How to handle PR of a Celebrity”.

Friends, who is a Celebrity? 

Answer is - Celebrity is an individual selected by you, me, and the like minded public at large. Celebrity is about choice – The choice the public makes on certain individuals. 

Celebrity is more than a media creation - it dominates our culture. The process that ordinary human life undergoes when it is placed under the intense glare of the media spotlight is called celebrification.  The equity of film stars, TV stars, film & stage singers, dance performers, painters, authors, top sport persons and socialites etc. is something that is traded socially. There are ‘responsibility celebrities' who have the power to inspire a certain class of audience and have shown a broad appeal with responsibility towards their target audience. 

Celebrity PR refers to the communication that cultivates a celebrity by focusing on a particular form of focussed and concentrated communication i.e. Public Relations and media management. Much of the PR role in celebrity world is focused on promotion, publicity and media relations; which explains what PR actually does in terms of celebrity status. PR aims to raise the profile of a celebrity by promotion and publicity in the media and help to maintain and uphold a reputation as much as it can.

 
The person who handles PR of a celebrity is generally called a Publicist. A publicist is a person whose job it is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album. The term "publicist" was coined by Columbia law professor Francis Lieber (1800–1872) to describe the public-like role of internationalists during the late nineteenth century.

A celebrity publicist is a public relations specialist who helps their celebrity clients to understand and interact with the media and manage their public image. Celebrity publicists generate positive press and media exposure for their celebrity clients and make sure that their public reputations remain untarnished. 

A celebrity publicist manages all media relations of a celebrity client, which can include famous actors, singers, authors, politicians, public speakers, media personalities and sports stars. They also typically coordinate publicity events and make sure that their client knows where to go and what to do. Other responsibilities may include writing press releases, releasing statements, escorting clients on red carpets and attending press junkets. They field questions and act as a liaison between the celebrity, journalists and the general public. Celebrity publicists may also generate their own publicity by pitching story ideas to newspapers, magazines, TV shows, radio shows and Online media about their clients. If the client does something that can be perceived negatively, it is up to the publicist to conduct damage control.

A celebrity publicist is on the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They oftentimes have to work long and late hours, as well as be willing to travel with their client as needed. It is their job to make sure the client is happy and everyone's needs are met. The main duties of a celebrity publicist also include fielding questions from the media, securing interviews for their client and maintaining a positive relationship with the press. A good publicist knows how to smooth over controversies to keep a positive spotlight on his client. He has media contacts and makes smart recommendations on which products his client should endorse. And he knows his way around cyberspace. There are monetary, political and legal ramifications to any scandal, and a good publicist knows what words to put into the mouth of an angry celebrity. 

A celebrity publicist must make sure their clients are regularly interviewed by print or electronic media or at least contacted for sound bites. They must have a story that will sell in the media. It also involves choosing the right red carpet events, shows to host, launches and brands that will be endorsed. A good publicist would never want to see their celebrity client(s) at a shady event or promoting an inferior product. The publicist must always be on the look-out for new appearances and events, which the celebrity may associate with.

Role of Celebrity PR is focused on promotion, publicity and media relations. PR aims to raise the profile of a celebrity by promotion and publicity in the media and help to maintain and uphold their reputation to the extent possible. Celebrity PR can;

·      Create positive impressions

·      Reinforce the brand

·      Shape and manage reputation

·      Educate and inform about Media 

·      Media training i.e. Media Interviews

·      Marketing guidance and Support 

·      Increase visibility

·      Manage social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

·      Manage website

Celebrity PR has influenced the lives of celebrities in many ways with branding being one of the most common aspects. Products such as clothing, sportswear, perfume, jewellery, real estate, electronic products, soft drinks, health and food products etc. have been recognised by the world through the help of celebrities who advertise these products through the media.

Today anyone can become a celebrity. Skills are no longer required; no need of a sport or acting talent but instead outrageous acts or a likeable personality in a reality programme such as BIG BOSS etc. and any such show will pitch any common person into stardom and with work from a good celebrity publicist that person can go from being an average one to being seen on the front page of magazines, be the face of brands and being followed by the media. These common man turned celebrities become well-known to the public because of the backing of a celebrity publicist or celebrity PR. 

To sum up, any individual, no matter how big or small, ultimately depends on his/her reputation for survival and success. Effective PR can help manage reputation by communicating and building good relationships with all their stakeholders.

Thank you for reading the blog. 

 

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Comments

  1. GS Bawa8 February 2022 at 22:24

    An interesting reading, as always your content is full of wisdom and practical tips. I personally feel client is client, not big or small for ther agency; it's the duty and responsibility of the media agency to serve towards image building.

    ReplyDelete

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