The contrast between scheduled viewing to the boom of streaming services has rapidly developed in the last ten to fifteen years. This new era has transformed how audiences gather around the TV each week. Behind this comes the transformation of entertainment PR in Australia. Now that the playing field has changed. Talent, TV and streaming PR have been forced to adapt their tactics for entertainment clients.
TV publicity once relied on anticipation. Now, it relies on momentum.
What once used to be families gathered around TV screens at a specific time has now become social media, binge culture and fandom communities.
Entertainment PR is no longer tied to premiere night alone. PR agencies require constant, interactive social-first approaches in their campaign.
Let’s take a look at the then vs now of TV and streaming for public relations, and how their approaches have differed with the developing entertainment cycle and modernisation of TV.
Then: How TV and Streaming PR Used to Be
A core memory for all includes sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast and watching the local morning show. It was certain that every morning there would be a segment showcasing up and coming TV. Talent PR agents would be tooth and nail in trying to get their clients on the show to advertise their upcoming TV series, new season or new movie.
Traditional entertainment PR in Australia recognised the Today Show or Sunrise as the bible of peak publicity for their entertainment clients. Entertainment journalists and critics held significant public authority over up-and-coming TV and movies and cast appearances on these segments were crucial for increasing ratings.
Not only were ratings and morning shows important, magazine features, newspaper interviews and billboard campaigns created traction for TV and entertainment. A premiere was also considered PR tactic to draw attention to the TV show. These traditional entertainment PR tactics operated in a controlled and predictable cycle. Viewers consumed TV at the same time each week, often fitting their desired programs into their schedule.
Built around “appointment viewing”, the specific time which TV shows or movies would be broadcasted or shown in cinemas, made entertainment PR linear. It was clear to see exactly how a campaign would go. The recipe was mastered until the digital age came along.
Now: How The Traditional Entertainment PR Landscape Has Shifted
The most noticeable change – the shift from a scheduled media model to a constant, always-on, audience-driven archetype. Today, the rise of streaming platforms has forced the traditional entertainment model to evolve. The Netflix, Stan and Amazon boom has impacted the change the most. Not to mention the hundreds of other smaller streaming services out there. I am sure you can find your favourite show on one, if not four of these streaming services.
These streaming platforms are available anywhere and anytime. With multiple logins, mostly add free and downloadable. Binge culture has evolved from this – a new phenomenon which TV and entertainment PR strategists must incorporate into their campaigns. Instead of shows being released one episode a week at a time, seasons are fully dropped on the platform, with entertainment PR tasked with keeping the season relevant for an extended period.
To do this, TV and entertainment PR has looked to social media as a support. Generating catchy and trendy content for TikTok, spaced over an organised period allows the campaign to remain relevant, ignited through trends and audience interaction. Red-carpet premieres rely on a strong presence of content creators, dressed up and generating shareable moments, all coordinated through well-established relationships with a PR agency.
As entertainment PR specialists, we have learnt that emotional connection and personality are the key to remaining relevant and organising a real connection with audiences. These audiences have the power to dictate the campaigns effectiveness and overall messaging for the client.
As scary as this is, creating planned, engaging and relevant content to trends is the most effective entertainment PR tool in the digital world.
The Biggest Shift for TV PR
The buzz is a challenge. Traditional models have structured campaigns orchestrated step by step because the process was linear, and somewhat more controllable. Now, social media trends can die out in the shortest possible time.
The talent PR specialists’ job has changed. They aren’t trying to engage media as their main form of publicity, it’s the audience.
It’s obvious that the way consumers watch TV has changed from the traditional timely broadcast to a wherever-whenever approach. This means less focus on the traditional method of PR coverage such as morning shows and billboard signage and more focus on presenting straight to audiences.
Put it this way, not many viewers are checking the TV shows rating written by a critic in the newspaper. They are looking at what is the next best thing to watch on Netflix on their for-you-page.
Now audiences are far more overwhelmed with streaming and social media platforms making the audiences overwhelmed with entertainment options. It is now entertainment PR specialist’s jobs are to navigate this and present a clear and concise campaign, which is social media focused.
What Does This Look Like in Practice?
Agent 99 was approached by Big Owl Pictures regarding their client Matt Moran, a well renowned Australian chef, who was bringing a new show to SBS called “Memory Bites”. Agent 99 was tasked with delivering a campaign that would drive an audience to the series, creating excitement around the celebrity guests and each unique episode.
The aims were clear, and these ultimately wouldn’t change whether this campaign was activated twenty years ago or today. The greatest change was in the fabric of the campaign, we wanted to drive buzz and excitement for the show through incorporating a social, content-based plan to our PR strategy.
Agent 99 created a range of video and static posts to promote the TV show which successfully engaged with audiences and was carefully timed to sustain momentum with the audience around the show. Creating this authentic, shareable content for their social media platforms boosted awareness of Memory Bites and built a loyal following.
With the Instagram page receiving a 3.5K increase in followers from the start to end of the campaign, the engagement rate for the page was positive, sitting at 27%. Agent 99 delivered 54 pieces of tailored content for the page, and these posts reached over 360,000 interactions from other accounts.
Entertainment PR has been challenged with captivating audiences, moving through a traditional model, to the modern landscape. Whilst traditional TV PR still holds value, there is no doubt that good reviews by established critics can positively establish your client, the industry has moved towards adopting social media platforms as a key strategy in campaigns.
For Agent 99, we aim to move forward with this for our entertainment clients. Our campaigns embody sharable content that stays relevant.
Agent Zarah
