From Guest Blogger, Ann Convery: Want the Real Secrets of a Super Star? Ask Will Smith

March 27, 2013 Leave a comment

FILM Smith 1Hi ,

Years ago, Will Smith was doing OK
as a rising TV star and movie actor.

But he was dead clear about his goal:
he wanted to be the biggest movie
star in the world.

So he and his manager studied
the 10 top-grossing movies of all time.

10 out of 10 had special effects.
9 out of 10 had special effects with creatures.
8 out of 10 had special effects with creatures and a love story.

They found the sweet spot in the market.

So they found a special effects script
with creatures and a love story.

Matthew Perry dropped out of
“Independence Day” at the last minute,
and Smith was in.

It was the highest grossing movie of 1996.

“Men in Black” didn’t do too badly either.

By age 44, Will Smith had accrued $4.4 Billion
in box office receipts.

What does this mean for you?

Will Smith’s success is no accident.
He studied the market and
made it happen.

Will Smith, and it might surprise you,
Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Mick Jagger
plotted their rise to the top.

If you want to go from where you are
to the top of your field, take this little test:

Have you actually studied your rise to the top?

Do you have a juicy, mouth-watering vision,
in living color, of what life will be like when you
get there?

Do you know what the sweet spot is
in your market?

Do you know what your market craves
and can’t get enough of?

Do you know what draws people to you and makes them
want you, you, you?

Do you know how to create that?

Think Will Smith. Bruce Willis. Tom Cruise.

Their star power is not an “accident of birth.”

Smith studied every actor, like Don Cheadle,
who came on “Fresh Prince” to learn the
secrets of what made them good.

Do you study the stars in your market
to see what makes them stand out?

Do you know how your market sees you now?

Do you know how to reposition
yourself for amazing success?

Do you have a mentor who can take
you there?

And by the way, you need that
juicy, mouth-watering vision from
the top right now.

Research proves that without a
crystal clear picture of your success,
you’ll never believe you can get there.

So you won’t have the motivation
to get going.

So you stay where you are.

Success is not fairy dust.

It’s more than hard work.

It’s a series of deliberate, planned, calculated,
shrewd moves.

If you answered “yes” to 8 out of
10 questions…

World – Stand back!

You’re on your way.

And..

There’s 1 spot left in the Private Accelerator
Program for entrepreneurs who are hell-bent
on reaching the top.

If this is you, and you’ve got butterflies
just thinking about it –
Good sign.

Send a quick email to annc@annconvery.com with “Ann, I’m interested” in the subject line.I
I’ll send you a one-page application so we can see if you’re a good fit for this high-octane ride.

Copyright © Ann Convery 2012

McMullen, Marion. “The Secret of Will Smith’s Success.” Photo. Coventry Telegraph. 12 Jun 2012. 27 Mar 2013. <http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/passtheremote/2012/06/the-secret-of-will-smiths-succ.html&gt;

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The Art of Success

March 26, 2013 Leave a comment

art of successAs an artist, you never know what is going to grab the media’s attention.  That’s why your best bet is to do the work you love and then tailor your marketing to fit your artwork.  I’m not a believer in trying to figure out what‘s going to entice the media, or coming up with the next big thing. Film companies and TV networks have tried that approach for years and you’ve seen what their track record is like.  Your job is to focus on your art, your creativity and on your strengths.  But that doesn’t mean you forget about the marketing aspect of your business, because art is a business.    And that needn’t be a bad thing.  It simply is.  Don’t resist it; use it to your advantage.

It all comes down to your perspective and how you approach this aspect of your career.  Remember creative marketing is an art.   Not to mention the fact that without marketing, most likely your art will be your avocation instead of your vocation.  But again don’t tailor your work towards your marketing, but tailor your marketing towards your art.

For example, our client, Brendan O’Connell, has been painting his Walmart series for going on eight years now.  This is not a series he’s worked on because he thought it would be a great marketing tool.  He painted the series because that’s what he was organically moved and inspired to paint.  He was following his calling.  Now the media has caught up.   His work has struck a chord.   He was featured on CBS Sunday.  Watch Brendan O’Connell (Walmart’s Warhol) CBS Sunday.  He’ll be coming out in People magazine; he was profiled in the New Yorker and was interviewed on the Colbert Report.

Brendan O’Connell on the Colbert Report!

The bottom line is he stay focused on his art first, but was prepared when media interest surfaced.  So, yes come up with a marketing plan and a direction, make that an integral part of your career gameplan, but don’t try to assume you know what’s going to interest the media and tailor your work in that way.  You’ll generally be wrong and you won’t be doing your work…

…Focus on your art, your unique vision and then tailor your marketing accordingly.  Be authentic, do your work and prepare for success.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2013

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The Art of Music Marketing

March 6, 2013 Leave a comment

music marketingBack when I was still managing musicians you could take a cassette to an A&R rep, drag him or her down to see a band perform and if they struck the right chord (so to speak) the label could take over from there.  Times have changed.

Truth is even if a label does get excited about an act or a singer; now a days they’re as much in the dark about how to launch a new artist as anyone else.  Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating it a bit.  The labels still have some clout.  But you basically follow my drift.

The bad news is there is no longer that huge well oiled machine that can take a band, run them through the process, and pop out a potential mega star.  Although, truth be told that machine was not always a benevolent one and quite a few artists lost their sound, persona and soul while being run through the process.

The good news is more artists have a shot at getting their music out there.  Production costs are miniscule compared to what they used to cost.  More and more artists are able to control the process and more albums, CDs, Downloads (whatever) are being produced.

The really tricky part now is how, without the help of a label, artists can get their music heard.  It’s tricky but not impossible.  Musicians that realize that marketing is now a part of their job description can take their fate into their own hands.  Yes, the music is the thing, but musicians who focus on their look, image, PR, guerrilla marketing, social media outreach can still reach a formidable market.

It takes work time and dedication, but not that long ago this type of individualized outreach was not possible.  Without a label there was little chance of finding a real market.  Times have changed.  Chances are no A&R rep is going to make you into the next rock superstar, but you now have the control box in your hands.  Use it!

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2013

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PR Tip of the Day: Developing a Trend Story

February 21, 2013 Leave a comment

Trends2012Don’t only stay on top of the news and breaking stories; also keep a look out for trends in the media, in pop culture or in your specific field.  A good PR approach is to define a new trend or a new approach that you can discuss and explain to the media and the general public.  For example, if you’re a musician or producer, can you address how the music industry is shifting and explain how the various new trends in music are impacting the culture at large.  The Internet has changed the music business in ways no one could have predicted a decade ago.  Develop a PR pitch on how the music industry has changed and give your take on how musicians or producers can utilize the net to enhance their brand and outreach.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2013

 

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PR Tip of the Day: Expanding Your PR Focus

February 6, 2013 Leave a comment

expand your focusExpanding Your PR Focus:  When creating your PR pitches, your primary expertise is the area you’re going to generally focus on.  But that focus doesn’t have to be limiting.  Before launching your public relations outreach, study different ways that you can present or pitch your primary story.  For example, if you’ve produced a new film, you can talk about the story line, the actors, the director, the journey it took to bring the film to fruition, any current topical stories that the film touches on, how the film reflects the culture, etc.  There are a number of different approaches you can take and you want to broaden your pitch when approaching the media.  The more story angles you given them, the greater your chances of garnering media coverage.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2013

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Producing A Film? Create Your PR Plan First

December 7, 2012 1 Comment

Film PRMaking a film can be a magical experience, but  many filmmakers get so excited about and engrossed in the making of their film that they forget producing their film is only step one.  Actually the production of your film should be pretty far down the line in your film to-do list.  Particularly when it comes to new filmmakers, the excitement of making a film, and all that is involved in scripting, pre-producing, casting, production and post production, has a tendency to become all consuming.  Creating the film becomes everything.  But here’s the question, what are you going to do once your film (filled with joy, enthusiasm and dreams as well as blood sweat and tears) is completed.  How are you going to get your film, promoted, marketed, distributed?  How are you going to build that bridge between your finished product and your audience?

If this article were actually a script, we’d be having a flashback sequence here.  We flash back to the incarnation of your project.  We would fade back to before you edited, shot, cast, or wrote your film and add a new focus to the process.  In this sequence your new flash back approach in the past would change your future.  You’d figure out a game plan outlining how to PR, promote and market your film.  Your new public relations plan would act as a guide, as a roadmap as you moved forward in your filmmaking process.  It would be a bridge-building process between you, your audience, distributors, potential investors and influences.  It would be the focus that helped insure your film would have a strong shot at succeeding.

So many filmmakers come to me after they’ve finished their film.  They’ve been so wrapped in the process and the project has inevitably gone over budget.  They didn’t consider a marketing campaign before they started production and now have very little money left for marketing.   There’s often little I can do for them at that point.  Those I have most success with either start with me during pre-production, or from the start realized that marketing was an essential part of the game plan and kept that in mind during the production process.

Ideally you want to start promoting your film and creating a buzz online and in the media before you finish shooting or editing your project.  A well thought out media relations and social media campaign can serve you in a number of ways.  Keep in mind, depending on your needs; you are going to be addressing different audiences with your media relations campaign.   One outreach could be directed to the general public, another to a more targeted grout of viewers, another to distributors and still another to possible investors.  You can also start creating a buzz for upcoming projects while promoting your current film.

So dive into your film project.  Make the very best film you can.  But be smart about it.  Make a PR and marketing campaign an essential part of your film’s game plan.  You don’t want to end up with a film that a few of your friends see, or gathers dust in your home, or gets submitted to a few film festivals and then fades away.  You’ve put your heart, soul, time and money into your film project.  You now owe it to the film and to yourself to give it a chance to succeed.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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SIX P.R. SUCCESS TIPS

August 15, 2012 2 Comments

When launching a public relations or publicity campaign, you want to highlight your company, product or service, but to be successful you need to go a few steps further. You want to educate, to enlighten and you want to entertain. It’s important to realize how important it is to meet those objectives.  Many business owners mistakenly think of media relations as fluff and hype.  Granted that type of PR does exist, but the glitter and flash isn’t what makes for an effective campaign. What makes PR and media relations effective is that it tells a story, educates, entertains, enlightens and it gives the public information on a particular topic or field that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. So, how can you create a media pitch that meets those requirements?  To start, study these tips:

  1. Study the various media outlets.  You’re going to succeed by learning how the media thinks, not by assuming you think they know what they want.  Put yourself in the place of the editor or producer that you’re pitching.  Rethink your presentation with an eye at how you could fit a story on your business, product, or talent into the format of that media outlet.  What story would work?  What would the focus be?
  2.  Broaden the way that you view your business.  Don’t just pitch the obvious, look for various hooks and stories, including human interest stories, business-based stories, etc.  For example when we worked with a Hyperbaric Oxygen Center, we made sure to broaden our approach so the pitches were media appropriate.   We pitched it as a medical story and placed them in the L.A. Times, pitched it as a beauty-oriented story and placed it in W magazine, and other women’s publications.
  3.  Press conference, events.  Events and press conferences can be helpful if used judiciously.  But you have to be realistic and have a really strong hook.  If it works, it can help take a campaign to the next level, but keep in mind that it takes quite a bit to get the media to an event or a press conference.  Make sure you’re offering a compelling reason for the media to show up.   Also, if a big story hits on that day you’re in trouble, so always be aware of that fact.
  4.  Write a book.  I know, easier said than done. But a book makes for a great media calling card.  He helps present you as an expert in your field
  5. Tie your story to a story that is being covered in the news.  Look for current events or news stories that are being covered in the media.  Now see if you can find an angle that you can use to tie your story to the larger story.  For example, when I was doing PR on my book Spin to Win, I would scan the news to see if there were any stories of celebrities or companies that were having media or PR issues.  I’d then pitch a story on how said celebrity or company could best handle their image problem.
  6. Find the editorial calendars for publications and pitch them stories that fit in with stories their planning.  Most every publication uses an editorial calendar.  Study them and see what stories they’re working on that you can tie your pitch to.  It makes it an easier pitch if you already know they’re working on a particular topic.

These are a few tips to get you going.  Remember you want to pitch towards the media’s needs.  Do that and you’ll meet your needs.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Whaling, Heather. “How to Take Your PR Pitches to the Next Level.” Photo. Mashable. 03 Mar 2012. 15 Aug 2012. <http://mashable.com/2012/03/03/better-social-media-pitches>

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Public Relations for Artists

July 12, 2012 Leave a comment

PR for artists is an art in itself.  Effective public relations comes down to compelling storytelling.  The more compelling the story, the more effective the PR campaign.  Unlike with advertising, or direct marketing or other forms of promotion, by utilizing PR or media relations you are the news.  Developing effective stories is the most important part of a campaign.  A compelling story that connects with their readers, viewers or listeners is what writers, editors and producers are looking for.

As an artist, your responsibility is creating the best work you can. The trouble is, particularly now in the age of social media, it’s often difficult to realize that creating your work is step one.  In the real world, it’s not where your job ends if you want your art to reach your audience.

Creating the work is step one, marketing it is a whole other story. But if you realize that creating a successful PR campaign for your work is an art form in itself, you can begin to look at it with new eyes. Whether offline or online, your story is your fortune. A band, author, filmmaker or a painter becomes successful once they tell their story in a believable, impactful way.  Effective PR truly is the art of storytelling. The media doesn’t want to be sold or hyped. It doesn’t want smoke-and-mirrors or jargon. What it wants (and needs on a daily basis) is compelling stories.  PR can bring stories about you, your work and your career to your target market and to investors and influencers in your field.  It is a way to create and develop your brand.  It’s also a way to get out such practical information as where your shows and exhibits will be, which galleries are showing your work, activities or organizations you’re involved with, collaborations you’re working on, new work you’re creating.

To start you need to know your target market and your audience.  Understand where they find their information, what do they read, watch and listen to?  What sites or blogs do they visit?  What interests them?  Who else shares those interests?

Now develop stories about your art, your journey as an artist, your perspective on art and the art world, etc.  You never know where your most compelling stories are until you work on them.  Don’t just stick with the obvious.  Chances are you’ll be surprised by which stories will connect with the media and your audience.  But then again, art is like that.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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Alice Cooper, Pat Benatar PR- & You

May 3, 2012 Leave a comment

I began in the media world as a freelance writer.  My focus was on music, primarily rock.  I learned how the PR and marketing machines worked, but also learned how working with their teams, rock acts formed their own brands and created their own legends.  For example, two of the rock stars I interviewed, Alice Cooper and Pat Benatar and Kate took very different paths and approaches, but both created an image and a brand that defined them, and made them quite a bit of money.

Alice (Vincent Damon Furnier) had perhaps the most fun of any rock star with his mage, paving the way for KISS and a plethora of shock rock bands.  The band was the house band at the Whiskey on the Sunset Strip and became the band to walk out on (something I had to admit to Alice that I had done myself).  As the image and act grew, he added guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, boa constrictors, and baby dolls to his act, drawing on a number of  influences from horror films, and vaudeville acts, to the more theatrical Broadway musicals.  He pioneered an over-the-top, theatrical and uber violent brand of heavy metal created to shock and rock.  In person, Alice is a fun, funny amiable guy, who talks about his alter ego with a wink and a smile.

Not as over the top as Alice, Benatar created her own alter ego.  Initially Benatar’s focus was on classical and Broadway theatrical styles. Rock did not seem to be in the cards.  Inspired by Liza Millelli she quit her job as a bank teller and decided to give a singing career a stab.  Yet, Out of that Pat Benatar the rock sex goddess was born, which lead to two multi platinum albums and decades of success.  Again this was a case of creating a brand, an image and turning that brand into a career and an amazingly successful business.

You might think you have nothing in common with Alice Copper or Pat Benatar, but (surprise) you’re wrong.  Chances are you’re not launching a new rock act (then again maybe you are), but the basic gameplan of creating a brand and an image is the same whether you’re an entertainer, an entrepreneur, a physician, an attorney, a jeweler, or the owner of a new social media site.  You want to establish your brand.  You want to create that message, story and image that is specifically you and that separates you from the competition.  Your brand and story can be loud and carnival like or extremely subtle and sophisticated.  It depends on you and your company.   You’re image probably won’t have much to do with spandex, guillotines, or over the top make up.  Then again, if it does – use it!

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

 Ochs, Michael. “Alice Cooper.” Photo. Rolling Stone. 02 May 2012. <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/alice-cooper>

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How To Stand Out In a World of Dot.com Gerbils

April 16, 2012 Leave a comment

The internet has not only drastically changed industries, such as music, media and film, it has changed marketing forever.  Let me restate that, it is changing marketing on an ongoing basis.  How we send and receive information is in a constant state of flux.  There is no final destination; no point of arrival, there is only a constant ever evolving journey.   The not-so-long-ago lonesome trails of the net are now overly congested and traffic is bumper-to-bumper.

This is true not only of the number of web sites themselves but of the proliferation of web and dot-com advertisements. The amount has reached critical mass.  Not only has how we receive our information changing from PCs and Macs to pads and smart phones, but the amount of information that is flowing to us seems to be growing exponentionally.

The problem is the more information we receive, the less we actually register.  Every day we are bombarded with emails, pop ups, banners, etc.  It’s bad enough that we’re assaulted online; the offline world offers little escape.  From sponsorship of college football bowl games, to billboard ads, to stickers on produce, companies are trying any and every advertising and marketing avenue available to lure customers to their sites.

The sheer volume is so overwhelming that most of us are left with little more than a memory of countless dot-com companies that offer something – we’re just not sure what.  From traditional ads and commercials, to PR and media relations campaigns, to email marketing and social media campaigns, companies are trying any and everything to get your attention.

In real time the internet has shot from toddler to grown-up overnight, and the marketing strategies of even one or two years ago will no longer suffice.  So, where does that leave the entrepreneur who is looking to successfully market his or her online business?  Advertising, when done adeptly and consistently, is essential, but these days it can only take an internet company so far. To truly establish a company in the public eye, it’s imperative at some point for the message to take that defining, and validating leap from an ad that precedes the evening news to the story featured on the news.

Whether a company’s objective is to obtain more funding or attract more consumers to its site, there is nothing as validating and legitimizing as a well-placed print piece or TV segment.  The trouble is that not that many years ago, garnering Internet-oriented press was relatively easy.  Remember all of those articles and TV segments heralding the emergence of MySpace?   Stories about the launching of new IPOs, teen-aged wunderkinds who became overnight billionaires, and the very novelty of it all commanded reams of print as well as hours of TV and radio coverage. The wanna be Amazon.coms of the world were featured in every magazine and newspaper and on every TV and radio station.

Well, these days not only are consumers inundated with dot.com information, so is the media, and launching a successful media relations campaign is a bit tougher than it once was.  Still, when it comes to launching and implementing a successful marketing campaign for your online company a strategic mix of traditional PR and social media is your best bet.  As to the hows; I’ll be covering that in my follow up article.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

PETERD. “Fish.” Photo. SEOBOOK. 17 Oct 2011. 15 Apr 2012. <http://www.seobook.com/web-publishing-strategies-help-you-stand-out-competition&gt;

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Who Benefits Most From PR and Media Relations?

April 11, 2012 Leave a comment

One huge mistake when it comes to PR and media relations is thinking that it only helps those that are already established. For example, in the entertainment industry only George Clooney of Jennifer Aniston need PR, or in the business world only Apple and Google can really benefit from a public relations outreach, or in medical arena, only the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins School of Medicine can take advantage of PR and media coverage.  Whereas it’s true that all those listed can and do take full advantage of concerted PR campaigns, it is perhaps even truer that those actors, companies or physicians who are up-and-coming can benefit even more.

Those that I listed above need PR to keep their image strong, but those that have yet to become known in the media are the ones who truly need the poser of PR.  They’re the ones who need to establish themselves in the market, as experts in their fields, and need to reach their clients and customers.  Apple, or Clooney or the Mayo Clinic don’t need to actively pitch their stories as they did before.  The media know to come to them.  Their job is mainly to screen requests and when they have a new story to tell, to alert the appropriate media contacts and set up stories.  It’s the newer companies, or those who have never utilized PR in the past that need to court the media and actively pitch their stories.

Ever wonder how the Clooney’s, Google’s and others got to where they are?  Hard work, talent, expertise, great products-  and plenty of media exposure.  None of these would be at the top of their fields without hundreds of stories in the media including TV, newspapers, magazines and radio.

PR can be like money; those that need it the least get it the most.  That’s why public relations is so vitally important for companies that want to grow, reach their target market, and land more clients or customers.  PR offers the validation and credibility of being featured in the news.  It presents entrepreneurs and companies as premiere in the field.  It opens doors, builds businesses and establishes brands.

So, don’t make the mistake of thinking that your company or business or career isn’t big or important enough for PR.  In fact it’s the opposite that’s true.  Instead of waiting to become big or successful enough to warrant PR, use a creative public relations campaign to transform your business into that successful company you’ve been dreaming of building.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Getty Images. “George Clooney.” Photo. IndiWo. 25 Feb 2008. 11 Apr 2012. <http://indiwo.in.com/india/features/entertainment-life/in-pics-oscars-2008-hot-men-on-the-red-carpet/30631/0&gt;

“Apple logo.” Photo. Forbes. 13 May 2011. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2011/05/13/apple-analyst-says-no-lte-in-iphone-5-to-add-sprint-t-mobile/&gt;

“Google Building.” Photo. The Inquisitr. 11 Nov 2012. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.inquisitr.com/89991/google-fires-raise-tipster/&gt;

“Mayo Clinic: Defend Your Corporate Identity.” Photo. Bloomberg Businessweek. 11 Apr 2012. <http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/10/1006_twitterville/17.htm&gt;

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