Back in a 2010 interview, famed publicist Lois Smith stated: "I’m so glad I’m not doing publicity now. Between celebrity magazines and Web sites, there’s so much out there to be filled up, so much information that has to be put out there simply because those publications exist. First of all, whatever you’re pushing, it becomes a story 30 seconds after you put it out there. I don’t care about hearing so much information minute by minute. People are desperate to fill the space they’ve got; they’ll print anything, go with anything, pursue rumors, and even create them. It’s not what I call publicity." (The Wrap, 2012)
Social media is that powerful that it can expose a problems, content, and triumphs in a real-time, on-demand environment. How does Hollywood cope and harness the nature of social media and the stay-relevant nature of entertainment? And, where does leave entertainment communications professional? How can the entertainment publicist or marketer embrace the concept of storytelling while keeping up with the demands of social media (and watching out for the ethical and professional perils)?
While there may be no clear cut answer, we do know that now is the
time for PR to lead the entertainment industry to add value to the audience’s/consumer’s lives and
build a relationship with them. It is no longer about stand-alone brand-created
messages and content, it has transformed to finding, rating, and aggregating/sharing.
The role of the public relations professional,
and therefore Public relations team has evolved beyond that of the liaison
between the brand and the media. Now, PR
must be able to cultivate and grow relationships with media, partners,
community and customers through a web of narratives. These narratives are a dynamic
set of messages that are generated through content creation and curation. The social web is the conduit for this
narrative.
And there are plenty of talent management companies that are beginning to understand this relationship and are augmenting their service offerings such as Verve Management.
PR can help the the entertainment brand curate the appropriate content; by narrowing down interesting news to share with social networks, thereby enticing audiences to read posts and support the brand. The more interesting the news or information that brand disseminates, the more likely audiences will be to evangelize and trust the brand. In fact, in curating content, PR does not have to be the original creator, rather a facilitator for sharing of useful information, which is less of a strain team and departmental resources.
Something to keep in mind when dealing with an entertainment brand and discussing relevance - we may want to remain relevant, but sometimes that relevancy comes at a handsome price driven by social media. As protectors (and purveyors) of the entertainment brand, we must make sure that the appropriate material is available as well.
