We’re in the information age and everyone seems to need access to the right information at the right time, which means they also have to provide the right story about their own services to others. However, few people choose to become a publicist themselves and even fewer know when to hire one.

Having run a marketing communication company and having worked in the entertainment industry, I’m often asked, “When do I need a publicist?” The answer is obvious when watching for the warning signs. If three or more of the below warning signs appear during a project, it’s time to hire a publicist.

1. Can’t Think like a Reporter: Journalists need attention getting and entertaining stories regularly. They also need stories that are focused on their area of news. The best way to prep a press release is to imagine standing in a reporter’s shoes and asking the question, “Will this interest my readers?” By using an objective and unbiased perspective we can obtain greater objectivity on what we’re promoting, which will provide greater access to the media.

2. Don’t Know the Rules: Capturing the media’s attention with great news is only a small part of the puzzle. Knowing what to pitch, when to pitch it, and how to pitch it is almost an art form in of itself. A publicist knows these things like the back of their hand and takes specific actions to constantly prep and update the detailed information. This develops open communications with the press and avoids the disasters associated with reporters who have little time for amateurs.

3. No Time to Read Outside of Market: Great publicists continually read outside of their market to stay up on the latest trends in other industries. This gives them a creative advantage when they turn their focus back to their own industry. This discipline helps them to understand how changes affect the target markets and empowers them to design campaign changes that can take advantage of the trends before they peak.

4. Don’t Receive Media Alerts: Following every social media discussion on a topic of expertise is difficult, let alone knowing when and where it was published. To stay on top of who is being quoted, many publicists employ a tracking service to gather the information. The more popular services include Newsie.com, Talkwalker.com, and Mention.net.

5. Don’t Understand Value of Local Media: Local media generates area attention, which generates regional press. If done properly, regional press generates statewide and national press, which in turn can generate international press. All news stories start at the local level and swell outward like a grassroots movement. Each step requires a fanning of the PR flames into a blaze. Those who attempt to start at the national level typically fail.

6. Not Creative with Subject Line: Since email and social media have become primary channels of contact with the press, it’s critical to make sure the subject line in the correspondence is pithy and sells the press. The words chosen must generate a newsworthy feel for the press to consider it. Otherwise the notice may never be read and considered.

7. Struggle to Build Strong Relationships: The stronger the relationship with the press, the more opportunities surface for getting a message out. This can be extended with “thank you” notes following interviews and published stories. Staying in touch also increases visibility and brings opportunities only given to reliable sources of news.

The goal of the publicist is to go beyond the accumulation of great mentions, features and reviews. They’re job to is create news and facilitate its dissemination in various media, while building trusted relationships that can be called upon in times of new and big releases.

© 2013 by CJ Powers

Collaborations with the Chinese will continue to increase in the coming years since China now represents the second largest film industry in the world. According to Forbes, in 2012 the U.S. saw $10.8 billion in revenue (6.5% increase over 2011) and China saw $2.7 billion (30.2% increase over 2011). The Chinese film industry is in its infant stages and is on pace to exceed U.S. box office by 2020.

In the U.S. there is one movie screen for every 9,000 people, suggesting the market is saturated. In China, the market is far from saturation with one screen for every 220,000 people.

Master Han, the “godfather” of the Chinese movie industry is looking for more industry professionals to collaborate and help improve their industry. “We must try and attract more foreign technologists, expertise, producers, investors, distributors, directors, actors and artists, to come and collaborate with us on high-quality co-productions. And then learn from them.”

With a large readership of international filmmakers from over 100 countries, I thought it might be helpful to post a link to the Chinese American Film Festival (CAFF). The deadline for entries is September 30, 2013, which is just around the corner.

CAFF is an independent organization that demonstrates to the world how effectively the Chinese and American cultures can join together to create great film. The festival also serves as a platform for international dialog and collaboration in film education, financing and production.

Events are held in Hollywood, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It includes the Golden Angel Awards, movie screenings, and forums. Hundreds of industry professionals attend from the U.S., Europe and Asia. The events are also a great place to improve brand awareness to Asian Americans and to those international decision makers in attendance.

Last week a female photographer made a choice to not photograph an event, only to have the New Mexico courts state that she discriminated against the lesbian couple by turning down the photographing of their commitment ceremony. The photographer thought being a U.S. citizen gave her the freedom and the choice to decide who she would take on as a client and who she would not take on.

The court held that “a commercial photography business that offers its services to the public, thereby increasing its visibility to potential clients” is bound by the New Mexico Human Rights Act “and must serve same-sex couples on the same basis that it serves opposite-sex couples.”

In other words, because the photographer used her freedom of speech to promote her business, she has lost her right to choose who she would take on as a client and who she would not take on.

I’m curious to know what happened to the photographer’s freedom to choose the type of work she wanted to do. I’m also curious as to what power enabled the New Mexico courts to determine which of the two people got to maintain their “freedom” – The right to choose what projects we work on versus the right to choose any photographer a person wants.

When I was growing up, discrimination laws allowed both parties to maintain a certain level of rights, but not control all of the rights. For instance, the person hiring a photographer had the right to hire a photographer, but not necessarily a specific one if others were available. And, the photographer had the right to take the weddings they wanted, like the more profitable ones or the ones that paid their bills on time.

Even the Boy Scouts faced the issue when a girl wanted to join. However, the court allowed the Boy Scouts to turn the girl away if there was a Girl Scout club available, as it was similar in nature. The unique thing is that fighting to give a girl the right to join the Boy Scouts does not give her the opportunity to be a part of a boys club. For once she joins, the club is no longer a club for boys, as her presence nullifies it.

I was raised in a small town that had signs in it’s store windows stating that the proprietor of the establishments had the right to refuse services to anyone not wearing a shirt or shoes. It would be interesting to find out if a proprietor would have to now serve a gay person that entered the establishment without shoes.

Theoretically they would not have to serve a person without shoes because they only serve the niche market of people who wear shoes. The New Mexico court stated they “must serve same-sex couples on the same basis that it serves opposite-sex couples.” In other words, all are served who wear shoes, which means no one is discriminated against.

However, in the case of the female photographer who also serves a niche market, the court decided her niche market didn’t count. In fact they refused to hear it.

The female photographer only photographs a niche market of clients who hold to a certain religious belief. The lesbians did not hold to that belief and therefore were not considered clients. With the lesbian couple not being a part of the niche market, it made me wonder if the lawsuit was for political reasons. After all, why would a person who lives outside of a niche, demand that a niche photographer take their pictures?

I did wedding photography to help put myself through college. I had the freedom to pick what dates I would be available to shoot and I had the freedom to choose what weddings I wanted to shoot. Frankly, I learned to avoid the ones where the bride or groom kept dickering about the price, and the ones with an open bar – You would not believe the things I captured when people got drunk and how many of my pictures became evidence in court.

According to the New Mexico court, if a lesbian who planned an open bar and constantly dickered on my price wanted to hire me, I’d have to take the job if I had used my freedom of speech to promote my business. This interpretation of the law is dangerous and flies in the face of our country’s freedom of choice stance when it comes to selecting the projects we want to work on.

But now, the New Mexico ruling leads us down a slippery slope that destroys our freedom of speech. According to them if you advertise, which all businesses do, you become a slave to the one wanting to hire you – Leaving you powerless to choose what jobs and projects you take or reject.

It’s my hope that the appeals court will overturn this interpretation of the law and make sure our freedom of speech stays intact, especially since it’s at the bedrock of our freedom to choose.

© 2013 by CJ Powers