What Is Publicity?
January 7th, 2010
Yesterday on the BuxMont digital blog, I wrote about a book I recently found in a thrift shop: “Advertising Principles.” It was published in 1931, more than a quarter-century before the rise of the Mad Men era, and it’s fascinating to see how it discusses various areas of advertising, which we generally think of as a 1950s animal.
As I was preparing that BMd blog post, I came across the following answer to the question, “What is publicity?”
Publicity, as its name implies, is simply information of sufficient value to be run as news. Every statement, however, should be an unvarnished fact.
Bingo.
Takeaway for marketers: Just because something is news to your company or your client doesn’t mean it’s news to your intended audience. Consider that audience first and foremost when crafting your message.
January 7th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
It’s the hardest part about being a good publicist – teaching your client that the media comes first – and to them it’s their audience that matters – the customer. Why is news for them and how does it help them? First and foremost. Not what does my client want it to say. That’s an ad.