So is any publicity good publicity? it depends largely on if you are simply looking for attention or if you are looking for positive attention and a specifically crafted image for your brand. We are all familiar with parents whp refuse to give a disorderly child any negative attention, by disregarding their tantrums and mischeif while giving positive re-inforcement for proper behavior. If you want your brand to look like a disorderly child to potential clients, customers and the general public then bad press might be of value to you. That is not a joke, but a true statement. Think about rock n’roll bands, eccentric artists, and the like. many of them would indeed fall into this category. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have that kind of freedom to play with our image.

Good public relations is not just about bringing attention to a brand, but about crafting a brand’s image so that when the public thinks of that brand, they associate certain images and ideals with that brand. Sometimes, as tempting as it may be, you cannot accept every media request that comes down the pike. If you look at media coverage and a media image as a secondary career that will boost and bolster your primary career you have to give thought and direction to public relations and media opportunities. Would you take any job that comes your way? Would you work with any client or customer, no matter how inappropriate they might be for you? Public Relations campaigns are similar in that way.

Knowing what your brand stands for and what it does not is a component of your public relations campaign that must be agreed upon with your public relations firm so that you can navigate the media to achieve a certain level of recognition in your market while upholding the integrity of your brand.

The answer is, if the publicity that is achieved is directly in line with the best possible PR outlets for your company and if the press is achieved in a targeted demograhic, you have the best possible chance of turning public relations into sale$. The kind of press that is best for upping a company’s sales is not always what the public relations client wants. There in lies a giant conflict. For instance, if an automotive company had to choose between being featured on Good Morning America or being featured in a popular automotive magazine or blog they might likely choose GMA, but the niche media placement would likely serve them better in instant sales.

If a drugstore cosmetics line had the choice between being featured in a market page of Allure Magazine or a media spotlight column in a CVS or Rite Aid bulluten, they make likely choose Allure, but the glossy image of their product in the high-end beauty magazine is a misfire for reaching their target market.

Vanity public relations has its place when it comes to attracting more press and investors, but an instant sales spike is not as likely, so for this reason when embarking on a public relations campaign, goals and expectations must be sketched out and agreed upon before a company invests that monthly PR retainer.

So many people are in a rush to obtain magazine, radio and television coverage for their business, while neglecting the public relations benefits of online social media and online social networking. In this case I have to credit one of my public relations clients for teaching me this valuable PR lesson.

Not too long ago, I began running a public relations campaign for a new niche social networking and micro-blogging website and after some strategy meetings we collectively, if apprehensively came to the conclusion that the right approach for us would be to first build a thriving online community and a groundswell of buzz before venturing into the traditional media.

Long story short, we vigorously pursued a presence on Facebook, FriendFeed, Xanga and Twitter and then began contacting social networking, dating, relationship and other types of high profile blogs that fell into the site’s proper demographic. Well our efforts paid off, and our greatest public relations advocates became Internet users, who began linking to the site, Tweeting about the site and posting excerpts from the site and our viral reach was outstanding.

Radio soon came calling and there has been radio coverage of the site on an ongoing basis almost since launch. We are now taking all of this incredible grassroots public relations ammunition that we have accrued over the past two months and beginning to approach televison and magazines.

The definition of public relations is changing, and although glossy magazines have prestige they don’t offer groundswell public relations like the blogs do, and nothing else in our modern history does either.

The drawback to purchasing any beauty products or even in publicizing beauty products is in sorting though all of the clutter. How do you do that? Whether you are a PR firm who is handling a beauty account or simply a consumer heading to your local Sephora, CVS pharmacy or department store beauty counter, every brand claims to have the best beauty line on the market and you just don’t know where to begin or where to spend your dollars. It can be overwhleming and turn something fun into a daunting task. So, I break it down as follows. Specifically speaking, my I am handling beauty public relations and promoting a beauty brand or beauty line, I break it down by product. It is not as easy to get an entire beauty or cosmetics brand noticed as it is to get one super star product noticed amongst the clutter. it is all about piece mealing by product. For example, as someone who has done the leg work I can tell you this:

Victoria’s Secret, beleive it or not, makes the best mascara
MAC makes the best lip colors, just in terms of pigmant and texture they are pretty superior
SUN, in my opinion, makes the best, most natural looking self-tanner and I recommend the SUN cream for the face neck and chest areas and their foam for the entire body application.
NARS makes incredible blush (both powder and cream/powder in a stick). And their highlighters make your skin glow. I recommend “Orgasm” powder blush and cream blush in a stick form
Eye color and eye pencils, I am a huge fan of Chanel
For those with sensitive skin look no further than Clinique. Clinique will not steer you wrong and their color cosmetics are pretty good. I actually really like their lip closses, especially berry blush.

So there you have it. I am not brand loyal! I go for the best possible beauty product. When I am doing public relations for a beauty brand I always ask to try to line and I pick out about 3 superstars out of the whole product bunch and we tout the genius of those particular products and why they are a must have in every woman’s makeup bag. If you have a beauty brand think about which product you ar emost proud of and which brand is really the anchor of the entire line. Which product did you really nurture to make it superior in the market? Once identifying your stand out product you are ready to promote it to editors, bloggers, buyers and consumers. Why do women have to have it? What beauty problem does it fix and why or how?

I have been working in the public relations and marketing industry for about a decade and during that time have worked with and for many different kinds of people, and as I said above every so often I have worked for someone who is abusive. In the past I stuck it out because I thought that was what you were supposed to do. Wrong. Now, at the ripe old age of 35 I hear my late grandfather’s words in my ears when he said to me, “Me and my partner made a lot of money in the lighting business, and we never worked with anyone we didn’t want to work with. If they were nasty or a pain in the a** we told them to take a hike.”  Bottom line: no one can ever buy you for a buck. Work hard, yes! Be humble, yes! But never allow anyone to bark at you, talk down to you or bully you. Tell them to take their money and have a nice day. I ain’t worth it.

I used to be good friends with comedian Dave Chappelle and one day back in 1999 we had lunch together in LA, and then we were having a heart to heart talk about business, of which at the time I knew nothing. He was complaining that although he was fairly successful and fairly comfortable financially he said he did not have “F*** You money.”  Hmmm, interesting. I didn’t have ANY money at that time, so this went right over my head .  But the concept of f*** you money stuck with me, and when do you have it?

If you can pay your bills, and you are living then you have it. We should all reserve the right to say f*** you; both rich and middle class alike.

Never let anyone own your dignity, at any price or in any business, public relations agency owners included.

xo

If you take a moment to think about what makes it into the news in general, it is not the norm. What makes a beauty product newsworthy? The same thing that makes any product, service or person newsworthy – something about that product that is the exception to the rule. A beauty product can be the exception to the rule because of its price point, its ingredients, packaging, customer base, owner/creator. But, there must be something about it that is different, thus making that beauty product worthy of news coverage.

The news, in general, is all about too much, too weird, too expenseive, too cheap, too pretty, too sexy, too out of reach… the news is never about run-of-the-mill. The beauty industry is never a place where you want to fit in. With every account I handle I learn just as much as the client does, and with one beauty public relations campaign in particular I remember that the retail price point and the packaging were both so over the top and ludicrous that every major media outlet as well as every minor media outlet just had to blab about how crazy and ludicrous it was. They couldn’t help themselves. the more they blabbed the more the phone rang and it just kept feeding on itself. That was a lightbulb moment for me as a publicist and believe me, I have ad many!

Many of my public relations clients throughout the years have tried to insist that I sell their steak because their steak just tastes so good, but they don’t always understand that I need to sell the sizzle, not the steak. It’s the sizzle that sells in the media. Media is not about reality. It is about fantasy and selling an image. The quality of the product will sustain the attention once that attention is achieved.

I am preparing for an interview with Precious star and Oscar frontrunner, Mo’Nique for PR.com, and in doing so I went to see the film Precious last night. I knew the film would be intense and that many parts of the would be disturbing so I made my fiance go with me.

Once you have a child you feel like every child is your child. Since having my son I have developed a very strong direct heart-line to every child I see. As a mother you want every baby to have a safe, loving and nurturing environment, and for someone who has the condition of over- empathizing, witnessing any kind of neglect or abuse to any child feels like a punch in the heart, yes, even in a movie.

Why can’t every baby be born into a good home with qualified parents? Doesn’t that sound strage, “qualified?” Well, you have to be qualified to obtain any other important job, why not to be a parent? It sounds a bit cliche, but caring for a baby and raising a child is by far the hardest job in the world, and yet anyone can have a baby.

Mo’Nique did a phenomenal job in portraying a deeply emotionally disturbed and deeply ignorant woman and mother who lashes out terribly at her daughter and her grandchildren, perhaps she did too good of a job because the next morning here I am still haunted by her realistic portrayal. But, actually, as I write this I realize I am not haunted by Mo’Nique’s Oscar-worthy performance, but by the fact there are really homes like the one portrayed in the film. There are really girls like Precious out there in our inner cities, perhaps many in suburbs too. There are really mothers like the one Mo’Nique plays to perfection in Precious.  And there are really babies born into such  circumstances.

Why?

I just came acorss an article on AOL about that eyelash enhancing drug, Latisse and those commercials with Brooke Shields that we have all seen ad nauseum. Turns out some of the possible side effects of using this strictly for cosmetic enhancement drug are permanent. Duh! Why put a chemical into your system or on you unless it is medically necessary?  For people who use things like Botox, Latisse, permanent makeup, etc. and suffer uncomfortable, unsightly or dangerous side effects, I have this to say and this is a quote straight from the film Anne of Green Gables, “Now I hope you see where your vanity has gotten you.”  Leave nature alone.

I have seen Vanessa Williams on The Rachael Ray Show specifically to promote Botox Cosmetic. That’s why she was on Rachael Ray. She wasn’t promoting an album or a film. She was on there to plug Botox! Seriously? Ok.

Sally Field has been seen in commericals promoting the bone strengthening drug, Boniva. I’ll give Sally some points for the fact that it is a legitimate medical drug and not for cosmetic purposes, but why promote a medication for a drug company? Was Sally so passionate about the results she experienced with Boniva in stengthening her bone density that she just had to shout it from the rooftops? I just don’t know if I buy that. I think that generally speaking, celebrities lend their names to drug company advertising campaigns for money. I just don’t think that decision is a good one. All of these drugs have side effects and possible complications, as all drugs do. Why lend your name to that?  It is just asking for possible trouble and there are much better and more image enhancing ways to make a buck these days with a famous name.

I’m not saying Sally Field could make an appearance at the lastest night club opening, but I’m sure there are other options for her.

I don’t know if any of these women were advised by their public relations firms to accept these deals or if it was cooked up by greedy agents, or perhaps it was brokered through the celebrity, themselves.

Either way, I just don’t agree with it.

The single most important thing to consider when choosing a public relations or marketing firm to represent your company is a shared vision with similar values. It’s really that simple. As a personal example, Allison Dawn Public Relations tends to gel most effectively with companies and organizations that share a vision of strong work ethics, corporate responsibility, philanthropy and a general awareness that public relations and publicity is a long term career, and not a single, short term project.

Building, polishing and cultivating a public image that will resonate with the media, potential consumers and with your industrty’s insiders requires ongoing strategic planning and public relations efforts that consist of: traditional public relations, community outreach, viral marketing, online social media, philanthropic outreach, impeccable customer service and ongoing branding indentification strategy.

When a client signs with my PR Firm, and says they just want as many media placements in magazines and on television as possible in the shortest amount of time, I can do that for them. I can blitz the media with their product samples or service and pitch their company ad nauseum, and our firm has a good track record at getting media placements, but in our optinion that is only part of the picture. One issue with “quick fix” publicity is that there has to be a strong news angle or “hook” to get a large amount of publicity in a short amount of time. Very often, and many PR Firms will not fess up to this, but if the brand is unknown this requires something of a circus trick. You have to make the brand, product or service seem as outrageous and novel as possible to generate media interest quickly. Does that help in the long run? It depends whom you ask.

What I often try to explain to clients is that a better way to attract positive media attention that will likely last and build over time is to spend the first part of the marketing and public relations campaign making the client newsworthy. Doesn’t that make sense? Creating a strong foundation and public relations platform that we can then go to the press with has long lasting results. For instance, if product placement and buzz in the celebrity weeklies like US Weekly, Life & Style Weekly or Star Magazine is what a client has set their sites on, well then we need to first set our sites on building a celebrity following. The press then follows and it has a more organic feel. That is why we love to work with celebrity stylists, personal publicists, costume designers, and the like.

If a client’s goal is to eventually link up with a high profile charity that is headed up by a well known entertainer or politician, well then don’t we need to establish a resume, so-to-speak, of philanthropic work that will impress that particular targeted person?

I could cite endless examples. The point is, don’t put the cart before the horse. Everyone will see what’s in your cart but it won’t go anywhere.

Fashion public relations is visual and fantasy-based. It’s all about presenting a certain image. When I work with a fashion client I usually break the brand down to its foundation and re-make it from the ground up. Does that sound weird? Here’s what I mean, and these are just a few fashion public relations tips that anyone can use to achieve media coverage and consumer buzz for apparel and accessories.

In all of my career I have never seen an industry quite as saturated as the fashion industry. High end couture and celebrity-driven lines seem to reign supreme in fashion pr and everyone else is forced to fight for the remaining showroom and retail floor space.  But here are some fashion public relations strategies that can still stack the public relations and marketing deck in your favor.

How are you presenting your fashion line? Every fashion designer needs a website, that is an obvious point, and assuming you have a professional looking website, how is your line being displayed? I will never forget one particular client who I worked with a few years ago. When we first began working together she was displaying her clothing on headless mannequins and photographing her clothing that way. I didn’t understand how a fashion designer could allow her creations to hang pitifully on headless mannequins. Where is the fantasy and intrigue? Clothes are meant to be worn by people, beautiful people who carry themselves with flare and have a sparkle in their eye = confidence. Display your apparel properly… on human beings. Look at your entire line for the upcoming season and pick the stand-out pieces. Find a model or models who wear your designs well and project the fantasy you want to convey. My public relations firm, Allison Dawn PR, puts together photo shoots for fashion clients, but anyone can do this on a relatively small budget. There are many photographers, makeup artists and models vying for a chance to build up their portfolios. You can create images that will capture the attention of media, consumers, buyers and the entertainment community if you adhere to your vision. I have created lookbooks, start to finish, for $2000.00.

Be strategic with your samples. Don’t give out samples to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Samples are valuable and should only be given out with imminent purpose. Distribute samples with care to the following sources:  wardrobe stylists, editors and celebrity publicists. BUT, this should be a relatively short list. Sit down and make three lists:

Which celebrities fit the body type, lifestyle and image that reflects the image of your fashion line

Which magazines and blogs write about fashion and accessories that seem to fit the same demographic as your own line. Remember this includes the look of the apparel and accessories but also the retail price point. If there is a particular magazine or page in a magazine where the editors seem to consistently include pieces that look similar to your but the average price point of what they cover is $50.00 to $250.00 and your pieces average from $500 – $1000 then that is not the right venue for your line.

Research talent agencies that represent wardrobe stylists (yes, they have agents) and invest in a Hollywood creative Directory to contact TV and film products directly to inquire about presenting your link to their costume designers.

Know how to use your bragging rights appropriately. When it comes to Fashion PR, it’s all about “who is wearing your line?” Retail buyers and sales reps for that matter are shaky at best about trying out new lines. However, they love to see glossy pictures of celebrities out and about wearing your line in the celebrity weeklies, or in fashion magazines. They also love to see your pieces on the red carpet, or to hear how much so and so actress just loves that sweater or scarf from your latest collection. Don’t be shy about announcing these exciting developments in press releases and in email pitches to editors and fashion reporters.

Stay tuned for more on fashion public relations in upcoming blogs.