February 6, 2012

PR Strategies: It Takes a Village … To Build a Brand

By Darren Capik, Founder, Watch It Now Entertainment

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have revolutionized the way celebrities are branded and immersed into the public. It has become vital to position public relations at the forefront of these thriving channels to develop an innovative and exciting voice that will distinguish itself from the white noise that currently flusters the networks.

In a world inundated with vast outlets for communication, people are flooding the Internet with redundant messages. It is our job to connect with consumers through an inspiring message, personality and promise.

Twitter, for example, is an instantaneous venue for communication with no restriction to the amount of messages disseminated. The issue there is that people are sending out exhausted and nonsensical information. An important aspect of this modern venue is sustaining an interesting message by delivering quality media covering pertinent topics to the celebrity's specific brand.

Watch it Now Entertainment (WIN) has established itself as a leader in fitness DVD media, creating educational media exercised by health, fitness and sports personalities. Our unique contribution to the industry is that our company provides a full-service experience for our clients, including production, post-production, distribution, marketing, and public relations. By collaborating all aspects under one roof, we are able to instantly control an energized, exciting and unique output to the consumer on every level.

Through our core business we realized an opportunity to utilize our production resources to enhance the richness of our clients' brands in the social space. This was accomplished by creating custom tailored media our clients could share with their networks that differ from the blur of superfluous information currently out there. It is essential for all celebrity brands to produce media that is aligned with their personalities, creating value to the consumer. If the celebrity is disseminating information in any format (be it video or text), it must be meaningful and engaging and most importantly, UNIQUE, otherwise the consumer will lose interest and stray.

The credibility and vitality of the brand is reliant on a sustainable message. An increased social media following is the result of an exclusive voice along with enhanced engagement. These two things create a pulse, which creates sales, which strengthens the overall brand. It is a cohesive journey and WIN has a hold on each rein to lead the brand to become a thriving influencer.

Consumers expect to hear from the celebrity directly, to engage with them in two-way communication and understand their lives on a very personal level through a continuous stream of stylized content. Whereas before, the media controlled the image of the celebrity; today the celebrity has control. Once an affective message is developed, the brand needs to build strong relationships with the fan base through engagement. This leads to an unhinged support and adoration on an authentic level, opposed to a connection based on stories featured in periodicals and news outlets. Fans assume immediate access to the personality through social networks and are enthralled at the idea of direct interaction.

When controversy arises, the consumer now looks at the Facebook or Twitter page of the celebrity first. It is undeniably important to address the issue quickly with kit gloves. Doing so not only helps to steer clear of a PR disaster, but it fosters a heightened sense of consumer loyalty.

The public relations industry needs to adjust to this social media shift and adapt their communication plans to incorporate tailored media in all formats. A circulation of a magazine pales in comparison to the potential social media following of a celebrity. Social media is now one of the strongest, most significant outlets to a brand's "contact list." With 140 characters or one webisode, a message can instantly reach the attention of millions, whether to calm a storm, influence a thought or fulfill the desires expected from that celebrity.