The title of this piece is fair warning from poet Emily Dickinson. It aptly describes the play-out of a fleeting celebrity life. You’re handed just enough time to enjoy fame, capture media attention and be written about, talked about, Facebooked, tweeted or Instagrammed.
A celebrity or entertainment communicator has the enviable opportunity of regularly coming face-to-face with famous and “want to be famous” people. From these encounters, the communicator can debunk or reaffirm time-tested principles of good public relations, as well as pick up new knowledge and skills to add to his or her years of professional PR practice. Having been in the midst of celebrity communications management for some time, allow me to share some observations about how celebrities or would-be celebrities can thrive in the ephemeral showbiz world.
You can be written or talked about in media positively or negatively. But it’s best to start with your truth every time. For sure, it will not be a bed of roses. Thorns will prick your sensitive fingers very often. Unpalatable things — accurate or distorted — will cross your path and others can pick up on it. And if you go by the classic communications theory that says, “Perception becomes reality,” the lie will be received as fact if it gets talked about in broadcast media or shared on social media with frequency. In such asituation, you will go through the media sift and scrutiny and at the end of it, what is valuable is your truth, and that is the information you can start with for your defense.
Everything starts with the basic idea of dominance. In communications, the “rule of first” prevails. Your first claim, first image or first mnemonic device will form the belief or attitude of your targeted publics. It could be the most influential message or visual element that will kick off people’s perception and stance about you.
Whatever your role in life is, you should stand for something. You are a brand. You must have clear, focused, and differentiated branding. Know your best attributes and worst traits, and work around them. Project an image, which historian Daniel Boorstin describes as “not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product or service.”
Define your publics, and determine how you want them to see you. Be familiar with your landscape, develop an intimacy with your publics’ demographic and psychographic characteristics, and you will have a better chance of efficiently connecting with them, and eventually turn them into brand evangelists. When you’re done with your personal brand compass, acceleration strategies and executions, add a social dimension to your package. Support an advocacy or public service project that resonates with your targets. It can provide conscience to what you are doing, attract legions of fans and bring lucrative advertising endorsements.
Getting bad press is part of the territory. Expect it to confront you. It is uncomfortable, but you can’t avoid it. But you can be a “darling of the press” too if you are seen as so laudable that editors and reporters are not eager to rip into you. If you err, they can rush to your side and give you the benefit of the doubt. The best way to evade bad press is to conduct yourself well, especially in the public eye, and treat your media partners with respect and sincerity.
An indiscretion in a private affair can become fodder for public discussion. Be on guard. Always behave as if you are constantly being watched. Your misbehavior can get photographed, videoed and uploaded onto a blog, published in a tabloid, or broadcast on TV and radio. If the truth has been exposed, you can run, but you can’t hide. And it’s going to haunt and damage you. The harm may not be forever, but you will need an extensive image reconstruction job to be able to bounce back. Several local celebrities have been through tight spots, and some of them came out of it exceptionally well. They overcame their careless moments by taking full responsibility for their actions quickly, unwaveringly and truthfully. By any measure, that’s the only way to go if you want continue with your career.
Your fans will give you career support. Take care of them. Own a target niche. It can be as small as three or as large as a million. You can define it by looking inward and being aware of who you really are. What is your public persona? Did you come from humble beginnings? What special talents do you have? What social or political issues are you familiar with, and where do you stand on those issues? Your niche groups must be “targetable” with your message and reachable by specific media platforms. The niche groups that you are able to develop will help open doors, push you into the mainstream or celebrity arena, expand your territory, sustain your competitiveness, and protect you from falling down. They can be your most loyal followers who will be around come rain or shine.
Key messaging is important in projecting your star. If you have to face the media, make sure you have something to say. Identify your “selling propositions” clearly and proactively convey them at every interview opportunity. If these are not apparent in your head, don’t even dare attempt a media talk. You might just blabber and lose your bearings. Follow the rule of three in message sharing, for example, when pushing a new TV soap, talk about the program concept, the stars, and the production team. Stick to a message track in all your communications so you don’t get lost.
Whatever you call it, the public loves persistence. “Try and try until you succeed” is a timeless adage found in many slum-book entries and it is truly a reminder that patience is a virtue. Tenacity can bring you to a higher plane. A matinee idol followed his dream of becoming a rock singer and was able to cut some records. He may not have been thoroughly successful in his experiment, but he persisted in realizing his dream. In the process, his mainstream presence was reduced, but he was able to stage a successful comeback. People loved him once, and they love him again. All it took was a great action-drama soap that showcased his rare acting talent. His momentum was redirected to a road that leads him to where he is truly good at, and to new advertising endorsements.
Visibility in media-covered events can provide productive results. Walk the red carpet during awards nights, participate in a celebrity auction, or join a fashion-for-a-cause affair. Show off your wit, your fashion sense and your band of devotees. Keep in mind that events are parties with a purpose. To be a true-blue celebrity you need to go to events, not because of the eats and drinks, but because of the media people that you will meet and hopefully make friends with.
Media people are your friends. Develop and nurture your camaraderie with them. There is no reason to avoid the entertainment pages of the tabloids and broadsheets and the broadcast talk shows. They are important coverage channels. They bring a big number of dedicated readers and loyal viewers. Be friends with them. Business magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller declared, “Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.” And media and your media friends can help you in that aspect big-time. Balance your “jologs” moments with an occasional cover for a glossy magazine or interview on an English talk show.
If you have reached the top, prepare for the eventual descent. When you attain icon status, expect to be knocked out and brought down from your pedestal. A British-American actress known for her early ingénue roles, Olivia de Havilland said, “Famous people feel that they must perpetually be on the crest of the wave, not realizing that it is against all the rules of life. You can’t be on top all the time, it isn’t natural.” Mark Twain voiced a similar thought: “Fame is a vapor, and popularity an accident or something you design. The only earthly thing is oblivion.” Controversies will haunt you, and if not handled well can hasten your downfall. Identify your dodging tactics to stay afloat, or better yet, write your attack plan. The best defense is always a good offense. Dig a well of goodwill with the public and the media through generous and caring acts. It will be tremendously helpful later.
If you wake up one morning and find yourself famous, relish your time for it can be short-lived, especially if you don’t handle it well. Andy Warhol’s “15 minutes of fame” might be all you have. So enjoy the view fast, and while it lasts.
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Email bongosorio@yahoo.com or bong_osorio@abs-cbn.com for comments, questions or suggestions. Thank you for communicating.