The business of showbiz

Whilst juggling more than two hats on a daily basis, as many of us do, I was struck once again by the fact that we, as PROs, have one of the most amazing, fulfilling and educating professions available.

I would have to say that with a celebrity it is so much more personal and on a completely different level to that of executing PR for a company. I believe it's based more on the human factor and psychology, as you have to prepare them on many levels and generally make sure they are in a 'good place' before facing VIP's, media or entering on stage/screen. One has to have, to a certain degree, an intimate friendship, balanced professional relationship and a mutual respect in order to get the job done. As they say, 'the show must go on'.

When we execute PR for a company, even though lives, professions and reputations are indeed on the line, at the end of the day, we perhaps look on a corporate as a building, office premises, machinery or even a product. Should the company close under negative circumstances, a director, for example can move on with only the direct industry generally aware of what happened whereas a celebrity does not have that luxury – the industry and public are their audience. The negative impact affects their entire life, status, etc and will remain with them forever. Once again it is back to the human factor versus the corporate machinery.

An individual employee can at the end of the day hide behind the corporate curtain as they are just one of the many cogs that make the business work. A celebrity has sole responsibility of their career and has no way of hiding behind a smoke screen or indeed moving on. For them, there is no such thing as closing the office door and going home to be individuals and not be associated with the company, they are 'the Company' 24/7.

Another thought is that when dealing with a company, technology such as telephone calls, emails and faxes are the foundation of the relationship, whereas with a celeb, one would spend more one on one personal time with them in an informal setting as opposed to the corporate boardroom. One gets to know the families and close friends involved whereas this is unlikely with a corporate client. Communication is often faster with a celeb due to the direct contact one has in comparison to dealing with a corporate client - when one must scale the corporate ladder for a decision.

An internal or external PR may not necessarily be privy to the truth behind the company they are representing, its 'health' or any hidden agendas that are withheld perhaps by its shareholders/directors and Board. When dealing with a celeb, one must know the true and full story, warts and all, in order to execute the job properly. One is dealing directly with a person, a mind, flesh and blood, a personal history and emotions.

One would generally utilise the full spectrum of our expertise for a corporate client – writing comprehensive editorials, strategies, organising functions, trade fairs, CSI projects, building the image, adjusting the identity, and so on. A celeb has more specific requirements and expertise designed for exclusively for them as a person and public figure.

So to round this up, I would say the difference between executing PR for a celebrity to that of a company is that one is dealing with a person, the human factor, opposed to the corporate machinery.

For a company you are not generally representing an individual but rather a corporate Image, Identity or product – possibly seen as the third person and referred to accordingly.