For those in the business, here’s an interesting article about the evolving importance of Hollywood
publicists. As you’ll read, this writer chooses to take the “glass half empty” approach because now Hollywood publicists have willfully inserted themselves between their studio executive clients and the media (therefore making it harder to get a timely interview). That’s not a surprise. I, on the other, view this change as a positive if these publicists learn to provide real value. And, I’ll explain why shortly.
I’ve always felt that this distinct sect of public relations professionals represents the farthest extreme (and in some cases the bottom of the barrel) in our sometimes maligned industry. Unlike their corporate or political PR brethren, these tinsel town media flaks have always been about “schmoozing” versus building long lasting trustful relationships. In publicist language, the word strategic is defined by “get me in that story now” or “contain the damage” or “you’re fired,” instead of figuring out the right positioning and campaign that should be implemented to build a company, product, or star’s sustainable brand. And, definitely the worst reality of all is how they treat their own (which follows suit of the larger Hollywood world). It’s kill or be killed, stab the next guy in the back and a definite take no prisoners approach to business. Just think of the hugely popular show "Entourage" and you’ll have a full picture of this stereotypical industry.
But, now that big corporations have swallowed up the studios and even smaller independent film companies, a certain air of corporate sophistication has entered the room. And, that has changed everything. Once upon a time, big studio heads were completely accessible to any reporter though a simple phone call. Hollywood publicists didn’t get in the way, because (for the most part) their only mission in life was to seek out publicity, of almost any kind. And, from my experiences, they tended to be powder puff promotion people who couldn’t have played any type of strategic or helpful counseling role to clients. So, why use them, right?
Today, these mega-public companies (like Time Warner, Disney, Fox and GE) will not take a chance that their studio heads (or senior executives) are spouting off at the mouth. After all, loose lips sink ships. And, with a 24/7 completely transparent consumer controlled world, any misleading, wrong, or slanderous comments made could only serve to inflict great pain on the parent corporation. More importantly, the executives who run these corporations understand that building or maintaining a positive brand means that the executives within each business or component of the company need to show great restraint and acumen in consistently reinforcing messages and responsibly thinking about the real consequences that exist.
Based on this reality, this new breed of publicist shouldn’t just act as a meddlesome middleman because “that’s now his job.” That would be a shame and only serve to infuriate the media. Instead, a smart public relations executive needs to play the role of information gatherer, story development contributor/process manager (managing all the moving parts that reporters need access to) and message protector. In this way, he’s serving both his client’s interests, as well as becoming an important and trusted resource for any good reporter.
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