From the days of working on the Warner Bros. Pictures account in Canada promoting theatrical film releases, I have been fascinated by the world of Entertainment Public Relations, what it encompasses, and the impact it has on the businesses in this space, and its audiences.
At the time, I wasn’t working in a specific Entertainment PR Agency, as we did have other clients in the food and beverage space too. However, this was my baby, and in my time, I launched over 35 films (including some of the Harry Potter releases) and on my last day before moving back to Sydney, I organised an interview with Tom Cruise for his latest movie. I sprung this on one of my local radio contacts that day, and she literally got so excited that after the live interview she said on-air that she needed to head home to change her clothes as she was sweating profusely!
I digress…. Entertainment PR doesn’t just mean promoting new films. The sphere is very wide and includes raising awareness about anything that essentially entertains people. This can be working on special events, concerts, theatre shows, music releases and bands, sporting events, board games, podcasts, restaurants and dining, and many things in between! But what I do know, is that PR in this realm is super exciting, fast paced and satisfying because it brings people joy!
For any entertainment brand out there, PR is an integral component of the marketing mix. Reason being is that unlike a lot of other fields (where the content can be niche, challenging and hard to understand), entertainment is something that most people consider high on their list of loves in their lives, whatever guise it comes in. And therefore, because there is such a large audience, many media outlets are interested in the latest content across all the aforementioned areas.
This means that brands in the entertainment field can take serious advantage of what PR and influencer marketing can offer, and amplify their message far and wide without having to spend on a huge marketing budget.
When a new product or show launches, for example, Entertainment PR can have a huge impact and deliver strong word of mouth, where your target audience continues to do the work for you well after the PR campaign finishes.
However, to ensure success, there are some common basic requirements that need to be considered prior to embarking on an Entertainment PR project:
- Does your PR Agency have solid credentials in the entertainment space? Assuming you will use an agency for your Entertainment PR project, you can simply find this out by asking for their case studies in this field. You must feel really comfortable with the agency and their experience as you only have one chance to get this right.
- Do you have the right talent or spokesperson to front media and influencer interviews? Entertainment PR delivers many interview opportunities as media and influencers want to know all you can tell them about the exciting new launch. Having access to talent who are featured in your film for example will ensure that you secure top tier media with the highest possible reach. One of the most common ways to generate international coverage is to host media tours with your talent, or host junkets, where journalists from around the world come to one central spot to interview the talent face to face.
- Will you have samples to seed? This can be in the form of free product samples, or tickets. Again, the purpose is to seed these with the right people in order to generate social media content, reviews and positive sentiment.
- Will you be creating a launch event? This can be with either for consumers, or media and influencers/VIPs (if you want them to preview your product or show to kick start that word of mouth). This should be carefully planned so that you can get the best outcome and buzz out of your event.
- Do you want to come up with a stunt instead of a launch event? One of the most simple and brilliant stunts I saw in recent years was when the new Stephen King Movie IT came out. The clever agency involved tied red balloons to gutters across the streets of Sydney CBD, which caused a sea of interest and media attention.
So, as you can see, there are many ways to promote anything entertainment related! The above just scratching the surface. The creativity that lives in this space is endless, and fun.
In this new series of blogs around Entertainment PR, we will share with you deeper insights into the subfields, the role that PR can play strategically and tactically, and we will also share with you some of the amazing case studies and projects we’ve been fortunate to work on as a team.
And in the meantime, if you would like to find out how we can help you get the word out about your entertainment brand, please feel free to reach out to us!
Agent Sharon
