How You Can Utilize the Celebrity PR Angle

February 15, 2012 Leave a Comment

When it comes to PR, business owners and entrepreneurs generally think of the obvious.  An owner of a hair salon will think of stories that have to do with hair care.  On optician will think of stories that have to do with eyewear, a florist will think of stories that have to do with flowers.  That all makes sense, right?  Yep.  And that’s a start, but if you really want to get your story covered in magazines, newspapers and TV segments, you need to be a bit more creative than that.  For example, if you do own a hair salon, come up with the top ten best celebrity hairstyles and explain why, or maybe give the worst celebrity hairstyles.  You don’t have to be the hairstylist who worked on the celebrities, but you can be the one to comment and position yourself as a hairstyling expert.  If you’re an optician, develop a story on why glasses are really jewelry for the face and then come up with a list of celebrities that illustrate why glasses are a beauty item.  If you’re a florist, come up with a pitch based on flower arrangements used at celebrity events, political events, or any event that is featured in the news.  Comment on why the floral arrangements worked or didn’t work and what you would suggest in the future.

The best way to launch a successful media campaign is to give the press options.  You have a story that you want to tell through the media.  Chances are you have one or two main angles or story ideas that you want covered.  Those are where your focus lies, they are you primary objectives.  But don’t stop there.  Broaden your approach.  For good or bad (and I think I know which one it is) we live in a celebrity-based culture.  The media loves celebrity-oriented stories, so brainstorm a bit and see how you can tie your story into a pitch that offers a celebrity angle.  This might be the furthest thing from your mind and that type of story might very well bore you to tears, but don’t let your personal bias, keep you from presenting a story angle that the media will pick up.  Have fun with it.  Think out of the box.

This celebrity-oriented approach can often be the way to prime the pump and get your media relations campaign off the ground.  From there you can broaden into a more comprehensive campaign.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

James. “Celebrity News”.  Photo. Celebrity Cheeze. 02 Feb 2012. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://celebritycheeze.com/the-history-of-celebrities/>

Filed under Entertainment, Lifestyle PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why Your Clients’ Stories Define Your PR

February 13, 2012 Leave a Comment

Your best stories are those that show how your product or service helps your clients.  For example, if you’re a physician, your best stories are patient success stories.  A doctor is the expert who can explain how to treat a disease or how a particular procedure works, but it’s his or her patient stories that are going to connect with the media and the public.

It’s the same in any business.  Regardless what your profession is, you have an impact on the lives of others.  And the impact you have on your clients can make for your most compelling stories.  Those are the stories that, in essence, tell your story.  Perhaps you made someone’s life easier by saving her time, money, or stress.  Maybe you helped someone lose weight, feel better, look better.  What are your success stories?  Whether you’re an attorney, a plumber, a life coach or an artist, you have an impact on the lives of others. And the impact you have on your clients can make for your most compelling stories.  Those are the stories that, in essence, tell your story.

Before launching a marketing or public relations campaign, take some time to work on the anecdotal stories which you feel best illustrate what you do, those which most effectively tell your story.   Now match the various anecdotal stories to the appropriate media outlets.  For example, using a medical story again, 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.  If you’re an author of a how-to book, the stories you’d pick to pitch to Redbook or Ladies Home Journal, would differ from those you’d pitch to Forbes or the Wall Street Journal.

Make a list of clients you have worked with who have interesting, impactful or inspiring stories they can tell.  You want these stories to illustrate how by working with you, their lives were changed or transformed.  Keep in mind; these transformations don’t have to be huge.  You don’t have to save someone’s life for your stories to resonate; your stories could be serious, fun, lighthearted, or practical.  Perhaps you made someone’s life easier by saving her time, money, or stress.  Maybe you helped someone lose weight, feel better, look better.  All of these make for good anecdotes, which in turn can lead to great PR pitches, which can land you media coverage – which in turn can help you land more clients, build your business and grow your business.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Filed under Medical PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lady Gaga & Her Little Monsters

February 9, 2012 1 Comment

Lady Gaga rules Twitter.  With roughly 19 million followers, she leaves others in the dust.  Lady Gaga was also the first to top one billion YouTube video views.  So what is the obvious next step for the Queen of YouTube and Twitter?  Start your own social network!  And that’s what Gaga has done.  Little Monsters is an invite-only (exclusive, eh? Kinda like getting let in by the doorman at a club) the site which is currently in beta test, is built around her fan base.  Think of a traditional fan club on steroids.  According to media accounts the site will be similar to Pinterest, the mobile app that has users “pin” where they go, what they do and what they like.  It will also be somewhat similar to Digg in that users will be encouraged to share and post content from other sites.

The site is developed by a company named Backplane where (surprise) Troy Carter, Lady Gaga’s manager is one of the founders.  But here’s the question, for now followers and viewers who visit and join Lady Gaga on other sites are coming from a large pool.  They are also not defining themselves so specifically as Lady Gaga fans as they would be by joining a social network build exclusively around her and her fan base.  Few rocks stars have true staying power and if the fame starts to wane, you have the very real potential of a mass exodus.  To rely on a fan base to fuel a social media site can be a gamble.

That’s where it becomes a PR gamble.  Initially it makes for great media.  Any and every pop culture outlet will react to the Little Monster media relations and publicity blitz.  You’ll see and read about it everywhere.  It’s a sure slam dunk at first, not unlike Michael Jordon launching his own brand of athletic shoes.  What will be interesting is to see where Little Monsters is in a year or two.  If fortunes turn, could it suddenly be uncool to be on the site?  It’s hard to know at this point.  As time goes on it could be important to begin to minimize the Lady Gaga presence on the site and focus on fully branding Little Monsters as a stand alone entity.  But one thing is for sure, up to this point Lady Gaga has been a PR Monster, so who knows how far her army of Little Monsters can take her.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

MiKael. “The hand used on various official T-Shirts.” Photo. wikia. 09 Feb. 2012. <http://ladygaga.wikia.com/wiki/Little_Monsters>

 

Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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