Developing a New PR Approach

July 25, 2011 Leave a comment

Marketing has shifted dramatically in the past decade.  With the advent of blogs and social media, companies now have different marketing and PR needs.  With that in mind, it’s important to rethink your approach to media relations.  As opposed to focusing solely on traditional PR campaigns or 100% on online campaigns, consider a menu of strategies.   What fits your specific needs can vary, from

1) A full blown traditional PR and social media campaign,

2) A campaign that emphasizes traditional public relations, along with a more targeted online media approach,

3) One that cover a targeted traditional media outreach in conjunction with an online media approach,

4)  A campaign that focuses 100% on online PR

5) A social media campaign.

6) You get the picture, you can mix and match.

Remember what is right for you and your company depends on your specific needs and its budget.  Although it is possible to launch a successful online PR campaign, it is quite different from a traditional media outreach.  The media outlets and the overall approach have to be handled differently.  When launching an online campaign, you’re targeting bloggers, online media, forums and individuals via social media such as Facebook and Twitter.  Your approach needs to be more conversational and more personal in its tone. The traditional media approach is more formal and more press release driven.

This is a PR/marketing world of mix and match, and no one approach is designed to fit all.  Study your prospective clients and customers; review your marketing needs and how to best reach your target market. Now come up with a plan that specifically meets those needs.

Although both traditional and new media PR campaigns can be successful, your best bet is to create a campaign that encompasses both. Whereas some companies have been quite successful going strictly with the online approach, your needs might be better served by adding the credibility of being featured in the news.  A feature in a magazine or segment on a TV program changes how you’re viewed by your clients and prospective clients.  You are more readily perceived as an expert in your field.   People who see your magazine articles and TV segments on social media sites will view you as an expert, as a professional who can be trusted.

A strong traditional media campaign is still imperative to gain the credibility and validation of being featured as a news story.  Yet particularly when starting out, you can achieve your initial marketing goals if you have both a strong online presence and a limited traditional PR campaign.

Develop a media relations plan and campaign that is designed specifically for your needs.  Don’t assume you intrinsically know who your target market is and how to reach them.  Do your homework.  It will pay off in the long run.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, Media, Media Relations, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why You Don’t Know That – You Need PR

July 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Many people still feel that Public Relations is for celebrities, politicians and professional athletes; those people are missing a huge marketing opportunity to build their business.  Do you need to sign more clients, sell more products, increase your cash flow, establish your brand, interest more prospects, or broaden your target market?  Then read on.

Do You Need To:

Sign more clients?

Sell more products?

Generate a better cash flow?

Interest more prospects?

Get in front of your target market?

Establish your brand?

Grow your business?

Establish yourself as an expert in your field?

Get in front of decision makers?

Broaden your market reach?

Separate yourselves from the others in your field?

Fill your seminars, telseseminars and workshops?

Market and sell your book?

Find a distributor for your film?

Create a buzz around your concerts and your CD?

Land more speaking engagements?

Achieve the validation and credibility that only comes by being featured in the media?

 If the answer to any of those was yes -  You need PR

Many people still feel that Media Relations is for celebrities, politicians and professional athletes; those people are missing a huge marketing opportunity to build their business.  Public relations is not primarily for entertainers or politicians.  It is one of the most powerful marketing tools available for growing your business, landing clients, finding customers and growing your brand.  PR can achieve a variety of goals.  Some clients are looking to establish their product and reach their target market, others are primarily looking to establish themselves as experts in their fields, while others are looking to build their business and increase their cash flow.  Others are looking for a way to reach their target market, or broaden their reach into new markets.

Understanding that PR is vital is particularly important in a challenging economy.  What good is it to offer a quality product or service, if no one knows it exists? What good is all of your hard work, if you keep it a secret? You could have the best product or service that there is, but if you don’t build a bridge between yourself and your clients or customers, your success is unlikely.

An effective public relations campaign is an integral and extremely necessary part of any business plan. Developing and implementing an effective public relations campaign should be as integral a part of your business as paying your bills, or buying your materials.

Keep in mind that your job is to reach your market, your customers and your clients.  Once you do decide to move forward, begin with some clear specific objectives.  Do you want to increase your business by a third in one year? Do you want to open another store or branch? Do you want to take a product national? What are your long term goals?

Keep your eye on the future. This is a long-term, cumulative process.  Write down your short-term and long-term objectives, then put together a campaign with those objectives in mind.  One client we worked with was featured in Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR and countless other media outlets, but these interviews did not come about overnight. They were part of a long term commitment to achieving her PR objectives. If we had stopped her campaign in two or three month’s time, she would never have been in Time or the Wall Street Journal and would never had known that her campaign was going to pay off in that way.

So even though the chances are you don’t think you need PR, if you’re looking to build your business, land more clients, generate more sales, establish your brand, give it a shot.  As they say, you’ll be glad you did

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, PR, Public Relations Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Difference Between Publicity and Public Relations

June 30, 2011 Leave a comment

To be honest, there are a slew of different definitions regarding what publicity is and how it differs from public relations. Publicity and publicists are generally viewed as being connected solely with the entertainment world.  Actors and actresses have publicists.  Feature films have publicists.  In a way the term has become archaic.  Whereas not only actors and singers have publicists, basically a traditional publicist is the Hollywood rep we’ve all come to know.  They place their clients in the media, take them to events, do red carpet walks, set up press conferences, etc.   Whereas companies in any field need media coverage, most need the services of a public relations firm, as opposed to a publicist.

Public relations is a unique marketing approach.  Unlike advertising where an ad firm can control the content and the placement, a publicist can control the content that he or she delivers to the media he or she cannot control its placement or how the media presents the story. There are different ways of getting stories placed.  There is the proactive approach where you pitch an editor, writer or producer a particular story or angle and there is the reactive approach where a journalist contacts you looking for someone to interview for his or her story.  There are also times where you see that a particular story is being covered.  Then there are different types of stories, there are those that feature you as the main focus.  Those are features that spotlight you, your product, your service or your story.  Then there are stories or segments where you or your company or product are included in an already existing story.

On the other hand a well placed news story can be much more valuable than an ad or a commercial because of the validation and credibility factors business people and entrepreneurs generally feel they don’t need publicists.  In point of fact they do need publicity, but that is simply one part of an overall public relations program.  Public relations is a much broader topic.  It encompasses publicity but publicity is only one piece.  Public Relations is an umbrella term that can include investor relations, crisis communications, media training, special events and sponsorships, and other activities.

In fact many people use the terms interchangeably what one calls a PR consultant another will call a publicist, and what one person refers to as publicity another will call a media relations campaign.  The terms don’t matter as much as the ways the campaigns are structured and the results.  The bottom line in any PR or publicity, or media relations, or public relations campaign is creating effective compelling stories.  Effective PR is the art of good storytelling.  For a campaign to work it’s important to define the story, develop written material that tells that story, understand the target market, and find the media that communicates with that market and present that story in a compelling manner that meets the media’s needs.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, PR, Public Relations, publicity Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Fashion PR Truism: Out of Sight, out of Mind

June 28, 2011 1 Comment

Perhaps in fashion, more than in any other industry, “out of sight out of mind” is a truism, which is why PR is such an important element of a successful fashion line.   It’s very difficult for fashion and clothing lines to become truly successful without being in the public eye.  Fashion lines can grow without traditional advertising, but if you’re a new designer hoping to build your brand and grow your company, trying to do that without media coverage is like not putting a label on your designs.   More importantly why would you want to launch your line without being featured in the media?  By appearing in magazines, newspapers and TV shows your designs are viewed as newsworthy.  You and your fashions get the validation and credibility that comes with being featured in the news.  Today traditional media works hand in hand with blogging and social media.  If you land an article in a local newspaper you can then amplify that article by posting it on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and other social media sites.  By combining a traditional media campaign with a social media campaign, you can create an extremely powerful branding and marketing campaign for you and your designs.

But don’t just jump into a media relations campaign.  My advice is that you either hire a public relations company or PR consultant to launch your campaign for you.  Yes, it is an expense, but the pay-off can be huge and the cost is negligible compared to monies involved in launching a traditional advertising campaign.  If you are unable to afford a public relations firm, don’t just wait on the sidelines.  There are steps you can take and actions you can make to get started.  But do your homework before moving forward.
To start, know your story.  Good PR is good storytelling.  Figure out what your story is before approaching the media.  What makes your fashions different, unique?  What about your personal story?  Do you have a compelling human interest story about how or why you started your own line, or began in the fashion industry?

Once you know your story, study the publications.  Become acquainted with what they write about, who reads it and what their target market is.  Most magazines have editorial calendars, study them.  Remember that monthly publications work on a long lead time.  In August they’re gearing up for the Christmas issue.  

Come up with interesting and unique pitches.  Focus on what makes you and your designs unique; now think of creative ways that you can present your story and your fashions to the media.  

Invest in quality photos and an attractive website or blog.  You don’t need to break the bank here.  You can be creative.  Make deals with up and coming photographers and come up with a clean, attractive, but inexpensive site, but make sure the look is fun, exciting and attractive.

Write, or hire someone to write a one-page (it cannot exceed a page) press release that tells your initial story in a compelling and succinct manner.

Make a list of media that would work for you.  Don’t come up with a list that includes hundreds of media outlets; create a local list and a national list of no more than 20 outlets.  Find the appropriate editors or writers and concentrate on those.
As mentioned earlier, do not neglect social media.  It not only enhances your traditional media campaign; it is also a way to speak directly with your customers.  Create your own YouTube channel and tape any and all shows or live promotions that showcase your designs.  Also, videotape yourself talking about your line and fashion in general.  Start establishing yourself as an expert in your field.  Wear your own designs whenever you’re in public (well you don’t have to wear them to throw out the trash), but you get my drift.  Remember if you don’t think enough about your designs to wear them, why will anyone else?
Regardless of how you decide to PR and market your brand, it is one of the most important steps you can take.  So – get started!

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Fashion Design, Fashion PR, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Traditional plus Social Media: The Beauty Biz Success Secret

June 24, 2011 Leave a comment

According to research conducted by The NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, in 2010, total  U.S. prestige beauty generated $8.4 billion, an increase of 4 percent in dollars, compared to $8.19 billion in 2009.

Beauty is a huge market and that figure does not take into consideration all brands and products.  The bottom line is that beauty sells.  As with fashion and entertainment a beauty-oriented company needs to develop a strong brand in order to be truly successful and nothing is more effective for creating a powerful brand and brand awareness than PR and media relations.   Through public relations your product or service is positioned as a news story, not as an ad or a commercial.  Through the media, you are also positioned as an expert in the field, as a beauty guru.  Soon the media starts coming to you to learn the latest beauty or skin care tips and secrets.  You help define beauty and style trends, while positioning both you and your company via the media.

You can then meld a blogging and social media campaign with your traditional media campaign.  For example, if you receive coverage in your local newspaper on your salon, or your new product line, you can take that article and link it on your blog as well as on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Digg and other social sites.  You have now turned a local article into a national article.  Or conversely, you can tape a very cool, interesting segment and post it on YouTube.  In the beauty world you can be a bit outrageous, so make it fun, make it interesting, give it attitude.  Now using your blog, Facebook, Twitter and other online venues, try and create a buzz around that video.  If you generate enough interest you can then pitch your YouTube phenomena to the mainstream media and garner media coverage in print and TV.  That’s not a slam dunk, and requires work and some creative thinking, but we’ve done it, so it is possible.

The key to a successful beauty PR campaign is to create a compelling story around your product or service.  Make it interesting, stylish, and compelling.  Always keep your target market in mind. Then study the media outlets that reach your target market.  Now develop a number of different stories to pitch to a variety of different media outlets.  Each media source has needs and interests that are specific to it.  The primary secret to launching an effective media relations campaign is to focus on what the various media outlets need, and pitch each outlet accordingly.  For example, beauty trade publications will be interested in a business angle, whereas your local media will respond to a pitch with a local slant and a national TV show is going to be more willing to run with a story that has a strong visual component.  Being in the beauty field offers you strong visuals, so be creative and use them.  Also remember that the ingredients, the look and the packaging itself can offer you a compelling story.  If you use eco-friendly packaging, or if your ingredients are non allergenic, or if you utilize customer recycling initiatives, these can all be angles you can pitch to the media.

More and more, savvy beauty-oriented companies are spending zero on traditional advertising and utilizing a creative mix of traditional public relations combined with a creative blogging and social media campaign to build their business, grow their brand and achieve success in the beauty biz.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under beauty, Beauty Industry PR, beauty products, Marketing, PR, traditional media, TV Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

PR: The Play

June 22, 2011 Leave a comment

An office.  Two men are sitting at a table.  One is talking very animatedly.  The other is listening and occasionally taking notes.  

Client:  You don’t understand, this is a story that the media will pay you to pitch them.  Listen, I know PR.  I could probably teach you a few things.

PR Consultant:  I’m not quite sure about the way you want it presented.  I mean the fact that you can change people’s lives is great.  But we need to show the media how you do that.  We need to offer them transformational stories with a strong narrative.

Client:  Just tell them to read my book.

PR Consultant:  You can’t always count on them reading your book.  We need to give them short, concise easy to understand pitches that will offer them a good story.  We need to pitch a story that meets the media’s needs.

Client:  (Irritated) What do you mean they won’t read my book?  Do you know how long it took me to write that book?  Do you know how much time, effort, money, blood, sweat and tears went into creating that book? (Raising his voice)  And now you’re telling me they won’t read my book?

PR Consultant:   Some will, but our job is to get them to talk about your book, to get them to interest the public in buying and reading your book.

Client:  Well that’s your job.  Do it.  And besides, I’m telling you, it’s easy.  As soon as they hear about my book and read it they are all going to be begging me to go on the show or to do interviews with me.  I’m telling you.  This is basically shooting fish in a barrel.  You should be paying me.

PR Consultant:  Believe me no campaign is easy.  What we need are stories that grab the media’s attention.  The way we do that is by pitching them stories that will appeal to their readers, viewers or listeners.  We need to think backwards from their perspective.  Once we meet their needs, we’ll meet yours.

Client: (Starting to lose his patience) I’m telling you; just explain to them that I change lives.  There’s really no one else out there like me.  I can’t believe Oprah went off the air.  She would have begged to have me on

PR Consultant:   What we need are specifics.  We need specific stories that we can pitch to women’s magazines, news publications, talk shows, etc.  That’s what I wanted to go over today, specific stories on how what you do changed the lives of people you’ve worked with.  Their transformational stories are your best stories.  For example, when representing a physician, I’ll focus on patient stories, that way you can see the impact, the transformation and people relate to that.

Client:  You don’t get it, this isn’t about my clients: it’s about me!  I don’t see why you just don’t send them my book and then call them and get me on national TV.  You’re making this much more complicated than it needs to be.  I tell you once they read my book, it’s a done deal.  This is easy; I should have my own TV show by next season, right?

                                                                                                Lights Fade: End Act One

Yep, true story.  He wasn’t a bad guy, he simply didn’t understand the process or the media’s needs.  More importantly, he didn’t want to take the time to learn how the process works, educate himself and pitch towards his strengths.  What I needed were short, concise, transformational stories.  I needed to be able to show the media how he transformed people’s lives.  To him it was obvious.  It was all about him and it was all in his book.  But the story was not about him, it was about how he changed people’s lives.  His client’s stories were his best story.

As to having the media read the book, the trouble is that nine times out of ten the media’s not going to take the time to read it.  They’re going to look at the cover, read the back page and read a press release.  And you have to sell them on the story then and there.  It had a second act and a good ending.  We met again and were able to come up with some specific story ideas that grabbed the media’s interest and his PR campaign was a successful one.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, PR, Public Relations, small business, traditional media, TV Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The PR How-to Bible

June 18, 2011 1 Comment

It’s said that you can’t find the right answers until you ask the right questions.  So with that in mind if you are thinking of hiring a PR firm or of launching a media relations campaign for yourself, the following is a list of how to questions to ask yourself before moving forward.  Done correctly, a PR campaign can establish your brand and build your business and establish you as an expert in your field.  It’s the most powerful marketing tool out there, so give it a shot, but first do your homework.  Find out what you need to know how to do in the list below.

As you go through the list, write out your answers and see where you feel most comfortable and where you feel you need some help, or points that you need to give more thought to.  Once you’ve reviewed the questions and developed your own list, you can start searching for the right answers.

With that in mind, before you move forward on a PR campaign, you want to know:

PR CAMPAIGN CHECKLIST:
How to set up your public relations objectives
How to outline your PR timeline
How to develop your story
How to come up with 5 story angles.
How to write a press release
How to decide which stories to start with,
How to decide what angles to pitch local and national media
How to deliver press releases
How to create a media list
How to pitch the media
How to do an interview
How to develop an interview script for TV, local, newspaper, national
How and when to send out press releases,
How to brand your company using PR
How to create a compelling PR story
How to use media relations to reach your long term marketing goals
How to pitch your story and not your product or service
How to establish yourself through the media as an expert in your field
How to find a media trainer
How to meld social media and PR
How and why to develop a blog
How to use video marketing in your public relations campaign
How to create a story online
How to magnify and amplify an article or TV segment on the internet.
How to pick a PR consultant that meets your needs
How to use PR to launch and develop your brand
How to use your media in advertising, online marketing, and social media.

These aren’t all of the how-to points you need to review, but if you’ve gone through and answered all of the above questions, you are well on your way to launching an effective public relations campaign for you and your company. Perhaps the most difficult question is how to know how long to give a campaign.  Generally, I’d say give it at least six months.  Trying a campaign for one or two months is counterproductive.  If you stop in two months, you’ll never know how successful it could have been.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, PR, small business, social media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Small Business Marketing Success Secret

June 15, 2011 Leave a comment

The biggest problem that most small business owners have with PR is that they don’t fully understand the process or how it can help build their business or establish their brand.  Most think that public relations is only for large corporations or those in the entertainment world and that it has to do with stunts and smoke and mirrors.  None of those perceptions are correct.  PR is a multi pronged process that includes traditional media, online presence including blogs, sites and social media,  byline articles, public speaking and establishing yourself as an expert in your field.  PR can and should be utilized by entrepreneurs, authors, contractors, service providers, business professionals such as physicians and attorneys, home workers, as well as any and all small businesses.

It is inexpensive compared to other forms of marketing and the only marketing avenue that can offer you and your business credibility and validation and position you as a go-to expert in your field.  Although effective media relations is an art, it need not be mysterious.  It is in essence the art of effective storytelling.  Sounds strange, but it’s true.  It is a way of communicating to the media and the public that is compelling, accurate, and valuable.  Defining your story and your message is the first and probably most important step in any campaign.  Whether you’re a veterinarian, florist, restaurateur or hair stylist, you need a clear effective story that is interesting to the media and to the public as a whole.  This is where many companies make their biggest PR mistake, they develop stories that are of interest to them, but not necessarily stories that interest the media.  Most business owners go with the obvious story, which is telling the basics about the service they offer or the product they sell.  That is an important part of any story but very rarely is that enough in and of itself.  Your story is how your product or service transforms the lives of your customers, clients or patients.  Keep that in mind when developing your media pitches and you’ll generally remain on course.

The Small Business PR How-to Guide:

Once you’ve defined your story, you need to define your core audience and then your secondary audiences. Your story needs to speak to and resonate with them.  The next step is to define the media outlets that communicate with your various audiences.  You can have the best story in the world, but if you pitch it to the wrong media, it’s not going to get you far.  For example if you’re selling a revolutionary skin cream, pitching that story to Maxim or Spike TV most likely won’t get you very far, whereas pitching Allure, Vogue, Marie Claire and the beauty trades could be the ticket that establishes your brand and sells your product.

Once you’ve defined your story, message and defined your target market, you’re ready to move forward with your campaign.  Defining your target market is important, but don’t simply think of your overall audience as your customers or prospects, think in broader terms.  Your audience can include can include the local media, your neighbors and surrounding community, vendors/suppliers and anyone who would in any way have a connection to the story you’re telling.  For example, someone who sees a TV segment might not have any particular connection to the story, but could know someone else who does and pass the information on. Always remember, audiences—target market or not–have the power to communicate information about you

Focus on what you know.  What is your expertise? What do you know, offer, produce, provide, market, or understand or do better than anyone else?  Position yourself as an educator.  Your information might seem obvious to you, but to those outside of your field it could be valuable information, or simply an interesting story.

Through PR you reach your target market, separate yourself from the competition, establish yourself as an expert in your field and gain the validation and credibility of being featured as a news story.  So why should entrepreneurs and small business owners use PR?  Because it can build your business and establish your brand.  Because it works!

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, PR, Public Relations, small business, Target Market Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media & Medicine: Developing a Medical Practice Utilizing PR

June 13, 2011 Leave a comment

If you’re a physician looking to market your practice or reach out to new patients, keep in mind that physicians, more than those in other professions, can benefit from an effective media campaign. Press coverage reaches their target market, drives patients their way and gives them validation and credibility. The public generally learns about the latest medical breakthroughs, news, or studies via the media.  It is an avenue they trust and trust is the bottom line when it comes to health care.

Physicians that are featured in the media are seen as the experts, whether they are featured in their local newspaper or on the Today show.  Doctors and health care specialists can present themselves as media go-to experts by offering the media relevant and timely stories.

Although marketing a medical practice via print ads or commercials can have some effect, that approach has inherent risks.  No patient wants to feel that he or she is being “sold”. Patients want to see someone they trust, someone they feel is the best in their field.  It is that validation and trust factor that comes with being featured in the media. For example, if a prospective patient reads an article that features a physician in the New York Times or USA Today, or sees a doctor interviewed on CNN or on a network nightly news segment, chances are that physician will be viewed as an expert, as a leader in his or her field who can be trusted.

Public relations is also important because a PR campaign is not just about marketing; it is also about educating the public.  An effective media campaign educates and informs.  Used effectively, media relations can not only build a practice, it can educate and introduce new concepts and perspectives and shape the ideas of a community.  Because of that, it’s important that physicians see and present themselves as educators.

Physicians need to keep in mind that their best media stories are not about themselves, but about their patients.  A transformational patient success story with a strong narrative is what the media is searching for.  If you’re looking to reach more patients, bring a story to the public, or position yourself as an expert in your field, you’re best approach is to make a list of patient’s who have interesting impactful stories they can tell.  You want these stories to illustrate how lives were changed or transformed.

There are a number of different media outlets available including Dr. Oz, CNN, the Today Show, Men’s Health, Shape, the Wall Street Journal and hundreds of other media outlets.  Before presenting a story match the various patient stories to the appropriate media outlets.  For example a story about a ten year old struggling with Autism, would be pitched differently than a story about the latest in bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.  Meet with the patients and review the questions that the media could ask them.  Make your patients as comfortable as possible with the process.  Remember, these patients are not only telling their stories, they’re representing you and your practice.  You want them to be articulate and the presentation to be accurate and appropriate.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under doctor pr, Medical PR, physicians, PR, TV, tv interview Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Deconstructing the Oprah Factor

May 25, 2011 Leave a comment

The Oprah Winfrey Show exits on May 25, 2011 as one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in the United States.  It has run nationally since September 8, 1986, for over 24 seasons and over 5,000 episodes.   It has indeed been a one-of-a-kind phenomena.

I’ve been in PR for over two decades; before that I was a journalist and a magazine editor and I’ve never seen anything like the Oprah effect.  The impact she’s had on popular culture is ubiquitous.  There is the obvious; Oprah’s TV show redefined daytime TV.  The reach and scope of her show was unrivaled.  From the PR perspective appearing on Oprah was like winning the Triple Crown and the Super bowl (not an easy task) she was indeed the crown jewel in the media relations world.

Can you place me on Oprah? was the one constant request every new client and prospective client had.  Perhaps the most interesting part was that every client was completely convinced he or she was perfect for the show.  As I was repeatedly told “Oprah will thank you for pitching this idea”.  Although we did place clients on Oprah, strangely enough her producers did not jump at every pitch as clients repeatedly assured me they would.

Although her show initially followed the Phil Donahue formula, she eventually shifted her approach focusing on more positive can-do, new age and spiritual topics.  Her show was a mix of celebrity interviews, self improvement segments, book club and favorite things segments.  Although generally a media darling, Oprah was criticized for frequently airing shows that were viewed by many as hour-long daytime infomercials. Her promotion of books belonging to her book club was also criticized.

Oprah became perhaps the brightest pop culture star in the U.S., but (and perhaps even more importantly) she became a verifiable star marker.  From Gail King and Dr. Phil, to Dr. Oz and, Nate Berkus, Oprah launched careers.  Yet her impact was far wider than those personalities that she personally helped launch; authors, fitness gurus and New Age sages owe their success to appearances on her show.  Oprah became the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on steroids.  If she touched it or recommended it, it sold; she created stars, trends and other media celebrities.

Where she goes from here will be interesting to watch.  It will be difficult for her to keep the type of power she has for two decades without her daytime show.  A network is an ambitious undertaking, but difficult to launch.  Her viewership drops precipitously as she moves from the high visibility of a major network to the myriad channels of cable.  Still, in the past she’s succeeded where others have failed.  She helped shape pop culture unlike any other individual we’ve ever seen.  She is not a person to bet against. With her TV show, magazine, and now her OWN network, Oprah has impacted the culture in a unique way.  She is no longer the ruling monarch of daytime TV, but she could still have other surprises in store… to be continued.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Media, Oprah, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

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