As published this morning at: http://popdemonium.com/2010/07/challenges-celebrity-pr/

One of the most challenging parts of working in celebrity publicity is re-shaping an image which the world already thinks they know. Constant public scrutiny, the demand of hundreds of media outlets calling non-stop, and the immediacy of today’s media make this even harder. The latest news from Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Tiger Woods and other shining stars, makes one wonder about the differences between a celebrity and a “normal” human being.

After years of work with corporations and celebrities, I realize that the media often decides a story angle before they actually hear the facts. In “Bias” – probably the century’s most significant media-criticism book – Bernard Goldberg, ex-CBS producer, states that a lie in media terms is not really a lie, “they would pass the polygraph test… they honestly believe what they’re saying. And that’s the biggest problem of all”. Just last week, in an unprecedented rule in England, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt won their case over privacy against a gossip outlet that reported an upcoming divorce. The damages will be accounted for by the paper and offered to the intruded couple. And, all this because drama sells paper, whether it’s true, false or exaggerated. I mean consider how many headlines were written on Tiger Woods, but what do we really know other than that he cheated on his wife?

The media simply feels compelled to respond to massive public interest, and human fascination. Celebrity representatives often can’t respond quick enough to damaging news – and this lack of response, or failure to fix the issue, can often shape the story. In contrast to a company, brand or product, the “celebrity brand” stands alone. If something is perceived to go wrong you can’t accuse production lines, ‘industry trends’ or forces of nature, like BP has tried to do. Instead, the individual celebrity is the only one who can break, or fix, his or her “brand.”

In today’s new media world, information is excessive. It has inflated the online market, and questionable stories and their sources are all around. The media and its key players – reporters, producers and editors – find themselves competing hard for your attention, click, and ‘retweet.’ This struggle makes it more challenging to proof-check every single story as the cycle is a 24-hour “news” cycle where everything and anything can happen anytime. Unfortunately, this also allows some to promote their own goals and stockholders’ interests by bullying people along the way. Perhaps the cure will come with online, fee-based content, which will charge readers for access but in exchange make a commitment to value and quality for the reader. It’s rumored that the New York Times and Apple will adapt such a model.

I have commented extensively in the media regarding Woods, Lohan and Gibson, and I believe in today’s America, with strategic planning and a PR plan, all of these figures can make a return to some degree and repair their image. They too are human beings, and for them too life shall go on.

Recently we have seen a return of sorts of Rev. Ted Haggard, who was forced to resign nearly four years ago as president of the politically powerful National Association of Evangelicals and to step down from the mega church he founded, after admitting that he had bought methamphetamine from and had a sexual interaction with a male prostitute. Haggard confessed in a tortured letter, calling himself “a deceiver and a liar” who had long wrestled with desires he described as “repulsive and dark.” Now, in his comeback, the energetic and positive Haggard says he is back to doing what he was born to do. “Tiger Woods needs to golf. Michael Vick needs to be playing football. Mr. Haggard needs to be leading a church.”

Celebrities, too, are human beings, not lab rats. They make mistakes, like human beings, but their image can be harder to manage. They possess a “brand personality” that’s constantly up for scrutiny.

There is logic in a celebrity stating “this is what I do best, let me do my job.” Some can and will recover a blunder with the media, while others will not stand the test. Celebrities are individuals with red blood. They’re individuals with a wide public awareness and they represent something – bad or good. Working closely over the years with some of America’s most famous people, I wont allow my children to worship someone who can dunk a ball, golf the best, win an Oscar; look up to people you know, not people on TV or movies.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO of 5WPR, one of the 15 largest PR firms in the US. Named to the “Ad Age” and “PR Week” 40 under 40 lists, he was a semi-finalist for the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. His agency represents leading brands in all spaces, and has worked with celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Pamela Anderson and Nick Cannon.

Through the years, we have represented a slew of celebrities, ranging from Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, to Pamela Anderson, hall of fame athletes, and others. Whether or a major mega-star, or up and coming celebrity, universally celebrity PR campaigns are very demanding, time consuming and hard work, for many reasons.  (And of course that’s before the “colorful” (and I can tell a ton of stories, but wont am sworn to secrecy).

Adrian Grenier’s recent comments to the WSJ that celebrities wont need Public Relations representatives in the future: “I don’t have a publicist and never have.  I’m no stranger to self promotion. I find it first of all more authentic when you put a bit of your creative touch to what you’re trying to share.”

Public Relations is more than self-promotion for celebrities, its shaping and positioning a brand, its filtering requests, and many other responsibilities.  I agree with a comment I read made by a CEO of a PR agency “Dollar for dollar publicity is one of the great bargains left in Hollywood. If a celebrity makes $6 million a year, for example, they probably pay a publicist give or take $5,000 or $6,000 a month, or one percent of their net. When you compare the hours a publicist puts in to the ten percent a manager or agent gets…I don’t think agents or managers are overpaid, but I think publicists are underpaid.” As he further stated, a good publicist will drive their client to be themselves.

I am just returning to work today from a week in the gorgeous French Riveria (visited Monaco, Nice, Cannes and other areas), and the amount of wealth and high profile people there was amazing.  Who would handle the many celebrity mistakes made in places like this, or false sightings which are reported ?

Nearly all CEO’s have Public Relations pros, or PR agencies handling their needs, and so too should celebrities. Celebrities need PR specialists, much as they need lawyers, accountants, doctors and others who know their fields the best way.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Although I was raised in the Bronx and spent innumerable days at Yankee Stadium, I will nevertheless admit to having attended the Mets home opening of the $800 million Shea Stadium last night.  It was quite a memorable experience.   I went with a top-tier journalist and a major client (who has season tickets), and we sat in the 2nd row behind home plate, celebrity center, listening to Governor Patterson make small talk as he was loudly booed by the stadium. 

Sitting up there was a social event, with everyone constantly moving around.  I spent an inning in the front row with a colleague with whom I sit on a non-profit board, met a lot of potential sources for new business and had face time with influencers.

In terms of the brand, the stadium itself is breathtaking: small town feel, part Disney, and certainly nothing like the old Shea.  The immaculate, luxurious Sterling Club felt more like a high-end hotel than a baseball game. 

One thing which jumped out at me was the lack of big-name advertisers.  A local, small construction company, small car dealerships, and even Caesar’s Palace in Atlantic City – all prominent advertisers at the stadium, but very odd brand fits for the Mets.  Sign of the times, even with Citigroup spending their millions and millions.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Every day this week, I walked one block south of our offices to the tents at Bryant Park. Out on the street in front of the Fashion Week tents, lights were flashing and people were gawking. But while some were there for the fashion, I was there to people watch. As a marketer, I’m always inspired by the creative street theater and guerrilla marketing events saturating the Bryant Park sidewalk during Fashion Week. People watching allows me to see trends and make observations first hand. Reading a media report is a far cry from the palpable excitement on the street.

This morning, for instance, I encountered a few cross dressers promoting the Janice Dickinson show swarmed by photographers and a crowd of people. It’s a great example of a low cost, high impact way to capture influencers.

While I won’t reveal here the many successful stunts 5WPR executed for Fashion Week, I can say that street theater and guerrilla marketing are amazing ways for brands to capture mind share and media share at huge events, without incurring huge costs.

If you’re open to big ideas and have a entrepreneurial mindset, you can always find a way to incorporate your brand into the mecca of huge events, without having to pay the multimillion dollar price tag. Whether Fashion Week, The Superbowl or Sundance, 5W PR always finds creative ideas and angles to enter the media landscape, permeate the discussion and penetrate the tastemakers who attend. Brands need to seek creative, winning concepts… and winning sometimes means being outside rather than inside the box. Those who take the biggest risks with their brand often reap the biggest rewards. And by far the most attention.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Yesterday’s arrest of Kanye West at LAX was surprising to me primarily because it doesn’t happen more often.  West was arrested for suspicion of vandalism after confronting paparazzi media and allegedly smashing their  cameras.  The struggle between celebrities and the paparazzi is an issue that high profile people must deal with on a day-to-day basis, and it is extremely trying on both physical and emotional levels. It is incredible that today, even after the death of Princess Di, celebrities still have very little protective barriers between them and an intrusive swarm of prying media. Yes, people in the public-eye lose their right to complete privacy when they perform, appear in movies, or get rich by possessing rare athletic ability, but does that mean that there should be no boundaries whatsoever?  Should their children be endlessly subjected to flashing lights? Should they not be allowed to lead somewhat normal lives?

5W has worked with countless celebrities.  I vividly remember walking out of court with Lil’ Kim after she was sentenced in her perjury trial a few years ago. We were managing her crisis communications, and as we walked out the front door, we (Lil’ Kim, one security escort, two attorneys, two of her family friends and I) encountered at least 100 members of the media all jockeying for a shot or a comment.  It was a wall of reporters and photographers, flashbulbs blinking in her face. To say it was a mob scene is an understatement.  After the paparazzi got their pictures, they still wouldn’t move.  There was no choice but to push forward for the two blocks we were required to walk.  It was a very dangerous situation, and in LA, this happens every single day.

Managing the media for corporate clients is far different than managing celebrity-driven paparazzi media.  Every type of public relations, whether crisis-based or paparazzi, consumer or technology, requires different skills and a completely different set of “rules.” I don’t believe for a second that today’s incident between Kanye West and a swarm of paparazzi is an isolated occurrence, nor will it be the last time we read about a celebrity fighting for his privacy with paparazzi.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Reporters surrounded Lil Kim

At the epicenter of today’s branded consumer entertainment culture are consumer/corporate brands hiring (partnering with?) celebrities to represent their products. Whenever a brand hires a celebrity, instant brand associations abound, with tremendous potential upsides and downsides. In my career, I have encountered extremes in this endeavor among CEOs and CMOs of clients. I can remember a major consumer CEO saying, “We will never ever hire a celebrity. Ever. I have worked too hard to allow some DWI-prone star or idiot drug-addict celebrity to affect my business,” and regardless of countless opportunities that CEO had, he always said no. He was too concerned about the potential risks. On the flipside, we at 5W have worked with many brands that did hire celebrities for brand campaigns — large and small — and some of those have been extremely successful.

I write this in reference to David Duchovny being instantly fired as the face and celebrity endorser of shoe company Johnston & Murphy due to his “sex addiction.” Duchovny, who plays a sex-obsessed character on TV apparently has the same issues in his personal life. Interestingly, just last month the brand issued a statement saying: “David embodies success and confidence, along with a great sense of style, communicating the ideal image for the Johnston & Murphy brand.”

Anytime I read about issues like this, I wonder if these brands really did the proper vetting vis a vis celebrities. Did they do more than speak to the agent/manager of this celeb? Did they have essential relationships that enabled them to talk to nightclub owners, or find his wife’s best friend? Hire private detectives? Really ask around in the circle of people who knew the truth? These sorts of things (and others) are all necessities for any brand truly willing to “win” at celebrity endorsements/PR.

Steve Stoute, a master at marrying brands to celebs, is rightly quoted in this week’s Adweek discussing how celebrity sponsorship has forever changed. The most successful relationships, he says, come from brands and artists viewing themselves as true business partners.  Proper vetting and planning is required for celebrity endorsers. It’s much more than just taking someone’s picture holding your shoe in the year 2008 and beyond.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR

Admittedly, I haven’t watched much of the Olympics, but I have read a number of articles that I found interesting regarding unofficial sponsors of the Olympics. Athletes and sponsorships are big business, and it is often entrepreneurial brands that (attempt to) find less expensive ways to capture the public’s attention at high-profile events.

These two were some of the more unique instances:

* In an official team photo of the U.S. men’s basketball team, member Dwight Howard’s footwear was obscured, as he won’t wear Nikes. I think the picture that Nike released allowed Howard’s foot to be invisible in what was probably the easiest way possible.

* Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser of sunglass company Oakley attracted a ton of attention.

At the end of the day, sponsors pay athletes a lot of money and have to insist on pushing their athletes to do all they can do to protect the brands’ investments.

Ronn Torossian
5WPR

I am an immense fan of Mark Cuban for many, many reasons. Having interacted with him on a few occasions (admittedly on the basketball court), I find him to be brutally honest and the quintessential entrepreneur – smart, focused, fun, accessible and real.  For that reason, I often read his blog.  Recently, I found his brother’s blog post about Evander Holyfield‘s bankruptcy to be especially interesting.

Over the years, we’ve worked with many high profile athletes and entrepreneurs, from Sean Combs to Pamela Anderson to Roy Jones.  In the process, I’ve learned the truth behind many misconceptions of celebrity wealth, so I don’t find Holyfield, Tyson or other bankruptcy examples surprising. I’ve met many celebrities who aren’t wealthy in the least, for many reasons:

* Stars usually have very short career spans, without proper financial planning for when they are no longer relevant and large checks no longer appear. 

* Becoming a celebrity creates basic lifestyle changes.  A sex symbol from a single movie may suddenly need constant security (which they pay for themselves), or a black car to chauffer them, since public transportation poses a threat or a nuisance.  As a star of a humongous HBO movie recently told me – “many changes.”     

* Celebs often lack the desire to really work. They pay a ton of lip service, but often refuse to show up on time, take advantage of interviews, and focus on important decisions that need to be made about their businesses, careers, etc.  

* Everyone wants to make a dime off them.  I can’t tell you how many cold calls my entertainment staff and I receive from pariahs who seek or want something from these folks.  The dozens of money managers who cold call me wanting to manage celebrity finances, or sell them something, is unreal.  I have on occasion asked them, “Why not chase my countless entrepreneurial CEO’s who have less people around them, are easier to sell and more likely to hire you?” 

Articles like this are one of the reasons why 5W has built a tremendously successful business of athlete-entrepreneurs who are smart, focused and realize that there is a life after professional sports.

There is a tremendous need for better managers and better advisors who will be straight with these folks.  Additionally, these stars need to realize that on-air, on-court antics are one thing, but the same behavior won’t fly when it comes to doing business with corporate America.  Many stars who are infamously difficult are in fact a charm when it comes to marketing or sponsorship deals.  At the same time, those regarded as charming are, in fact, sometimes dishonest. This is another reason why stars need calculating managers to help them make decisions and need brands off the court or off the screen.

We have worked very hard to build a niche in the arena of being “cool enough to work with the stars/athletes, but buttoned up enough to work alongside decision makers in corporate America.”  It’s a fine balancing act.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

I just returned to my office from my first day at the National Licensing Show, a 5W client.  As their Agency of Record, my firm has been all hands on deck ensuring the show is a complete success.  It was another very proud moment for me as a business owner and an entrepreneur.  One of my staffers, employed at 5W for nearly four years, said to me at the show, “Wow! How did we grow to get an account like this?”  It was a chance to stop and reflect.  This is a phenomenal show and a great client that is very exciting to work on.  What a moment it was for me and my staff.  Together, we have spent months preparing for the influx of press covering the Expo.

The show kicked off with a Nickelodeon press conference featuring M Night Shyamalan, who spoke on his next projects and how he selects which ventures to undertake.  His anecdotes included some humorous dinner discussions with his children.  Shymalan was followed by senior Viacom executives, who were treated as quasi-rock stars by their licensees.  It was fascinating to listen to the discussions on the evolution of licensee products and the like.

Walking the floor of the show, you see everything from Dora the Explorer to Elvis Presley to Manchester United programs to household cleaning products.  The impact of licensed products on every aspect of our life and behavior is simply unbelievable.  Brands impact our ability to trust, our ability to think, and our ability to behave.  They have simply penetrated all aspects of culture.  It is fascinating to observe brands that never really made it, which I vaguely remember, alongside items like Dora the Explorer and the Ghostbusters, which I so vividly remember from childhood.  The Ghostbusters Mobile at the entrance was incredibly cool. 

A few other comments:

After seeing Batman at the Warner Brothers booth, I had a discussion about one of my most vivid childhood memories.  I grew up a huge fan of Batman and Robin.  I really loved the POW!, KABOOM! and other noise bubbles that came from the characters’ mouths when they punched or were punched.  One afternoon in 1981, I was home watching Batman and the show was interrupted by the shooting of Ronald Reagan.  I complained endlessly to my mother, asking why Batman was interrupted and when it would come back on the air.  While my mother valiantly tried to explain to me the historical importance of the shooting, all I wanted was Batman.
 
The Jacob Javits Center is a small country of its own.  I admittedly don’t go more than once or twice a year, but the immense size of the center makes you feel like you are in Las Vegas.  From the concession stands to the sheer size and organization, it’s a place I plan to visit much more in the year to come in order to visit executives and farm for new business.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Sunday’s NY Times piece about Sharon Stone’s recent comments on the earthquake that hit China made me remember a very high-powered, ultra-nervous CEO we worked with who vowed to never, ever under any circumstances use celebrities for fear of what their (mis)actions might do to his brand.

Sharon Stone, best known for her role in Basic Instinct (certainly sexy and risqué), has made some very controversial comments.  She reinforces the need for brands to be strategic and targeted when working with celebrities, as well as cognizant of the risks.

All too often, our firm will receive a call from a celebrity agent on behalf of an A-list celebrity who wants an endorsement deal from a client we represent because “he or she is looking to get into the space.” However, if we inquire about price, it’s the same as the usual going rate.  I always caution clients: don’t get excited when you get a similar call.  More often than not, it’s an agent making a cold call trying to get a check.

There’s plenty of upside in choosing the right celebrity endorser for consumer brands, but the decision needs to be strategic and focused –  not just after a star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR