Abstract
Public relations entail building and maintaining a company or individual’s reputation to the members of the public. It involves improving the image of the company in order to maintain a competitive edge in the industry. It is important to structure public relations in the entertainment industry appropriately to ensure success in this industry. Effective communications skills are essential in offering the right information to the public and media to allow them understand the company better. Public relations officers in this industry should be creative and be able to make sound judgments when relating with the public. Public relations are crucial in this industry because it can spin a bad situation to the advantage of the company. Thus, public relations officers in the entertainment industry should strive to improve the industry’s image whether online or through publications and show the industry in a positive light no matter what.
Key Words: Public Relations, Entertainment Industry, Public and Media
Introduction
Businesses have become extremely competitive in the contemporary world and thus, organizations need to have an edge that makes them stand out. To gain a competitive advantage over others, companies need to have something that makes them more appealing and unique to both the media and the public. The public are the ultimate target of the products or services offered while the media is responsible for selling them. “Public relations also referred to as PR, assist a company in gaining this competitive edge” (Henslowe, 2003, p.45). Public relations are about managing communications between the public and the company. The major objective of public relations is to improve the reputation of an organization. People that work in public relations should be skilled publicists and they should be able to present the company to the public in the best light possible. Different industries conduct public relations differently with the main goal of building reputation. This paper discusses the process and career of public relations in the entertainment industry.
Public relations in the entertainment industry
The entertainment industry is one of the most dynamic industries in any country. This industry changes often and a slight mistake could ruin the reputation of the industry within a short period. Thus, public relations officers that works in this field need to be vigilant in managing communications with the public to enhance the industry’s reputation. The duty of public relations officers should be to give the public and the media a better understanding of how the company works. PR enables a company to achieve its full potential because it provides feedback to the company about what the public wants (Hall, 2007). For the entertainment industry, this feedback is vital in order to offer the right services according to the needs of the public.
Public relations can turn around a worse situation to the advantage of the company. A public relations officer should be able to present a company or an individual to the public in a positive manner no matter what the situation. The entertainment industry, for instance, involves movies and television shows. The public could be having negative perception about the kind of shows or movies aired on television, which eventually ruins the reputation of the producers of the television shows and movies. However, public relations can spin the situation and present the company in a positive light.
In order for public relations officers to work effectively, they require certain skills in their job. Among these skills, include excellent communication skills, both verbal and written. “Effective communication is the core of public relations” (Johnston &Zawawi, 2009, p.73). A PR person should be able to deliver information clearly in an effort to sell the company or individual whose reputation is at stake. The message intended for the public should be clear to avoid misinterpretation that could cost the company’s image. Additionally, public relations should ensure continued existence of the company through effective communication.
Creativity is an essential skill of public relations in the entertainment industry. The major goal of entertainment is to amuse people and create happiness in the lives of the public. Thus, creativity comes in handy when practicing public relations. A PR person should come up with something interesting that can make everything else stop because it catches the public’s attention. Whatever the PR person creates should be able to build the image of the individual or company to the public. For example, a PR professional should be able to market creatively an actor to the public.
The entertainment industry is diverse and it entails several important aspects. Thus, a public relations officer in this industry must be very skillful at multitasking and time management. In order to represent an individual or company effectively, a PR staff should be able to plan, develop and implement the right public relations strategies. To improve the image of say a filmmaker or recording artist, public relations require that the public knows the strengths of these people. The public should find a reason to choose certain filmmakers or artists and not others because they have something unique.
Public relations in the entertainment industry can be involving and thus a public relations officer in this field should be able to work under pressure (Mogel, 2010). The PR person should be able to deal with various questions from the public and exercise patience in his or her work. For instance, a company or a reputable individual may be under attack because of a negative action attributed to it by the public. It is the responsibility of public relations to handle the situation and turn any criticism around to protect the company or individual’s image.
The public often has different tastes and preferences. The entertainment industry is open to criticism because what could be entertaining to one person may not be entertaining to another person. Public relations should strive to meet the needs of the public according to their preferences. These relations should manage critics that could destroy a company or individual’s image in the entertainment industry. The public relations can build goodwill in the target market through special programs and events.
Given that the entertainment industry is broad, the work of public relations should involve extensive research. Public relations officers should be able to determine what the public needs from this industry and what is unnecessary. These officers should be able to identify aspects that are likely to ruin the industry’s reputation and initiate new methods of drawing the public’s attention. People involved in public relations should be able to solve problems and make the right decisions when faced with challenging situations. In addition, public relations should provide appropriate judgment, which sells a company or an individual to the public (Hall, 2007).
Public relations not only involve rapport with the public but also with employees, investors and other workers. All these parties require some level of public relations because they determine the overall performance of the company. Public relations should focus at building awareness of the company’s services or products to all these parties and thus build the reputation of the company. Workers in this field need to have the right marketing skills in order to establish contact with these parties and build the company’s image.
The process of public relations also involves preparing and supervising the production of direct mails, brochures, promotional videos and photographs for the public. These are the main means of communication that the entertainment industry and the individuals in this industry rely on to build their image (Henslowe, 2003). Therefore, public relations should ensure that the design of these means of communication is appropriate and contains the right information that can sell the industry. Public relations in this industry also involve researching, writing and distributing publications to the targeted media. These publications should contain the right information aimed at building and maintaining the industry’s character.
The entertainment industry involves producing magazines, articles, annual reports and other publications about certain companies or individuals to the public. Part of the work activities of public relations is to write in-house some of these publications. Public relations officers should design these publications to ensure they are entertaining and deliver the intended message to the target audience. Public relations should use the right communication skills in delivering messages to the public and avoid distorting information that could ruin a company’s reputation. Since public relations officers have knowledge in marketing, journalism and communications, they should be able to design appealing press releases that aim at building, maintaining and managing a company’s reputation. This reputation in turn gives a company a competitive edge over the others in the market. The entertainment industry has advanced because of increased technology. It is common to find the industry advertising its products and services through the internet. This advancement in technology has diversified the work of public relations. Thus, public relations now involve updating the company’s website with the right information that can build reputation (Phillips, 2009).
Conclusion
Public relation is an essential aspect of communications without which an industry cannot survive. It entails building and managing the reputation of a company to the public and the media. The entertainment industry is dynamic and sensitive therefore, public relations should aim at building the right image for this industry. Public relations should be able to spin around every aspect of this industry to give it a competitive edge in the market. PR persons should have the right communications skills, be creative, problem solvers and great decision makers so that they can assist the industry in retaining a good image to the public and achieving its full potential.
References
Hall, P. (2007).The New PR. Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Larstan Publishing.
Henslowe, P. (2003). Public relations: A practical guide to the basics. London: Clays ltd.
Johnston, J. &Zawawi, C. (2009).Public relations: Theory and practice. Australia: Allen &
Unwin.
Mogel, L. (2010). Making it in public relations. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.
Phillips, D. (2009). Online Public Relations. London: Kogan Page.
