Did you notice that back then every time JK Rowling was on the verge of releasing the next Harry Potter book, Mark Knowles comes up with little tidbits of trivia to further whet the appetite of rabid fans? Relatively, in the Hollywood limelight, whenever Jennifer Aniston gets hounded by the press as to her social life post-Brad Pitt, you could be sure that there will be Stephen Huvane speaking up in defense of his client.
These seemingly “voices” of the celebrities are what you call their publicists. Nowadays, every time you hear a searing gossip or issue about a celebrity, there is almost always a mention of these representatives in most forms of media. But what do these individuals actually contribute to their famous clients? If you look at it more closely, a publicist’s job is half advertising and half public relations.
It’s half advertising because publicists are called to create media attention for the works of their clients. If there’s a new book or movie involved, expect publicists to get the necessary press coverage.
It’s also half public relations because publicists are tasked to preserve the supposedly good reputations of their clients. They need to highlight the positive side of their clients, all the while downplaying the negative aspects.
Indeed, the publicist of today is called to do a variety of things to make this advertising cum public relations work, namely: write press releases, write articles, brainstorm for more news, strategically get journalists to feature their clients, coordinate events, schedule interviews, and manage public appearances.
As Timothy Sexton aptly elaborates in his site, “You may be called upon to track down reporters one day and fend them off the next. One way to look at being a publicist is to view it in terms of being a metaphorical bodyguard. You won’t be required to actually take a bullet for your boss-at least let’s hope not-but when the publicity is bad and your job becomes that of controlling damage you can expect to be thrown to the dogs with the expectation that you’ve got the skills to defuse the situation.”
