There is a fast paced world far away from this one, where the flash of the paparazzi remains inescapable, fans clamor in line waiting for an autograph and the eyes of the world are just watching and waiting for you to make a mistake. The nights are long but the night after can be even longer, especially when your dirty laundry has been aired for everyone to see. Social media only acts as a catalyst for juicy gossip which spreads faster than wildfire. You could be sitting in a cafe in the south of France and all of the sudden everyone knows that you prefer Gruyere over Swiss on your grilled cheese sandwich. A celebrity cannot take two steps out the door without someone tweeting about it. If you are one of Hollywood’s elite, this is the reality that you live in. There is no manual, yet, on how to survive such a cutthroat world. What is a poor star to do?
That’s where the PR practitioner comes along. They serve as a spiritual guide to all of the madness, attempting to clear a path to success for their client to follow. However, with all of the distractions, temptations and liabilities of today’s world the profession is anything but easy. Imagine chasing after a young celebrity who has practically unlimited funds and a plethora of possible bad influences. Not only are they torn between the life of indulgence that naturally comes with fame, but also an innate desire to simply be a normal adolescent. I can hardly fathom what Justin Beiber’s publicist goes through everyday trying to manage the life of one of the world’s biggest pop stars. She works every day to maintain Beiber’s squeaky clean image while simultaneously grappling with his natural teenage urge to rebel. That woman has a ton on her plate. So what are some of the responsibilities and challenges of the modern PR practitioner?
Age of Instant Gratification
Social media platforms such as Twitter have made information more readily available than ever. Most celebrities are patrons of the microblogging website and some even send out tweets personally. Does this mean that a PR practitioner is no longer necessary for the average celeb? Simply not true. Social media has given publicists even more the dig their hands into. The savviest publicist knows that social media is the platform of tomorrow and represents branding opportunity never before thought of. Tweeting is not only about broadcasting one’s day to day happenings. A celebrity’s tweets help support a carefully formulated public image.
A PR practitioner still has the job of relating a certain message back to the public. They act as the buffer between the star and the media. Therefore, careful use of social media as a tool to promote a client is vital.