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.

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.

One thing that certainly gives me an advantage as a publicist and marketing consultant that most of my colleagues do not have is my direct access to some of the most famous, brilliant, and innovative minds of our time. I don’t take this opportunity lightly or ever take it for granted. I am grateful for this every day!

That being said, President Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe was one of those meetings of the minds that left a huge impression on me, mainly because he was one of the greatest teachers of grassroots marketing and public relations that one could ever hope to learn from. As I read his book, The Audacity to Win, in preparation for our interview together I couldn’t help but soak up the invaluable playbook by which David Plouffe and his partner David Axelrod ran Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign. Some of the things that jumped off the page the most were the following strategies:

1. Rather than simply competing with your competition for existing customers or clients, create new customers in areas where your competition may not have looked. I use this tactic to my clients’ advantage when I work now.

2. Don’t be above canvasing at the most grassroots level. If it’s good enough for our President, it should be good enough for your company or organization. This could include making phone calls, door to door, newsletters, flyers, attending conferences, visiting private clubs or schools… anywhere you can reach people in their own familiar environment to get your message across one person at a time. The catch: You better have a solid and concise message. Practice and polish before you hit the “field.”

3. Be above anything petty. Don’t get “down in the muck,” as President Obama would always say to David Plouffe during his campaign. Forget negative message public relations strategies or retaliation. Stay a cut above by displaying integrity. Announce what sets you apart in a positive way rather than cutting down your competition. Don’t retaliate against your competition with a counter negative attack. That is so 20th century, no? Be more evolved. Instead, clarify why they are incorrect and go on to communicate your authentic message.

To read my interview with David Plouffe – http://www.pr.com/article/1137

To visit Allison Dawn Public Relations and read more about how I work with my own clients click – www.allisondawnpr.com

The very first political public figure I interviewed was Ralph Nader who is known for being a Washington outsider and exceptionally open with his opinions and views. He doesn’t need to worry about pissing off the establishment. Those horses have already left the stable. So, in short, he was quite open and very in-depth with his thoughts and views. Essentially a cake-walk in that regard and also extremely kind.

My next political interview for PR.com was with Ron Paul, another Washington rebel of sorts and someone who actually left a pretty indelible thumbprint on the 2007/2008 Republican Presidential primary race. John McCain may have earned the Presidential nomination for his party, but Ron Paul became a pop culture cult hero among conservative independents the world over. His answers were a bit more packaged than Nader’s but they were in-depth, and he was not afraid to take sides on issues including abortion, taxes, healthcare reform and welfare.

Dennis Kucinich was the next Congressman to cross my path and I interviewed him for PR.com as well. The complete antithesis of Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich is at the extreme left, more so than even President Barack Obama. If people think President Obama is liberal, they would have been in for quite a ride had Dennis Kucinich won the 2008 Presidential Primary race. Dennis Kucinich created a high profile platform for himself as well when he ran in the 2007/2008 Presidential Primary race, trying to nab the Democratic nomination. Problem? He tipped his hand too fast and all his cards spelled “bleeding heart liberal.” Dennis Kucinich was a mixed bag during our interview. Public Relations-wise he was able to muster the courage to answer some questions with a great deal of personal opinion and emotion, and didn’t hold back. When it came to questions regarding how he would vote on various bills brought forth by President Obama he became a little repetitive in his answers, not wanting to go into too many specifics, which I understand. Those fights are often best left to the House floor. He also did not want to directly address his opinions on Rahm Emanuel who had just recently been appointed White House Chief of Staff at the time of my interview with him.

My interview with Howard Dean shone a spotlight on a politician sticking to their talking points and staying on message at all costs. To his credit, his message was to be a vocal advocate for healthcare reform and for a public option that would resemble what Congress enjoys in their own privileged healthcare benefits. Though his message was clear, well thought out and on target with current news headlines, he was clearly not comfortable veering off topic or message at all and did not wish to step outside his book’s talking points to reveal any other thoughts drifting through his mind as it pertained to any downsides of a public option in healthcare or to discuss any other topics unrelated.

Last night I had the privilege of conducting an interview with David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s campaign manager and the now legendary figure who many credit with making the impossible possible and creating history in ushering Obama to the White House. Stay tuned for my thoughts on David Plouffe…