The Great Publicist. The great publicist is strategic … and understands “new” messages are “newsworthy.” This publicist will not steer you wrong and certainly not take you on as a client if he/she cannot help out. The great publicist doesn’t just have a hefty national and regional rolodex, the great publicist has friends he/she simply has to pick up the phone and call. Although coverage through public relations is never guaranteed … this person WILL have a proven track record. A great publicist may not know everyone despite being a social butterfly … but a needed contact will just be a phone call away. A great publicist can get your product in the hands of celebrities and get you on television. Importantly, a great publicist sends weekly status updates and calls you immediately if your press release is not being picked up. If your publicist is not doing any of these things you have hired the wrong person.
The Brutally Ugly Publicist. The brutally ugly publicist will take on any and all clients and basically ignore them. They deliver little to no coverage. The brutally ugly have no concept of timing of a campaign and charge extravagant retainers only to deliver a fraction or results at the end. This person will not know the correct format of a press release and will also send it to the media with spelling errors. The brutally ugly will pitch the health editor of a magazine for their fashion client because the brutally ugly does not take the time to learn which editor/producer does what and instead pitches everyone. This person receives emails from producer/editors asking not to contact them ever again. The brutally ugly publicist is not strategic and written releases by this person will say … “new lipstick out.” Beware of the brutally ugly publicist.
Sadly, some of my clients have had some brutally ugly publicists and have wasted money. If you want to chat about the difference or even chat why public relations vs. advertising, or M Com Publishing’s book publicis …. send me an email at michele@mcommunicationsinc.com I can explain and I sadly come up with great media pitches at 5 a.m.
